CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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A-20-216


By kind permission of GOAM

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Measure of letters4.3
Chronology
PeriodB
Start date - BCE/CE298 BCE
End date - BCE/CE297 BCE
Date accuracyApproximate
Textual typologyDedicatory text

GENERAL NOTES

See the Cultural Notes for the interpretation of the date of the text.

TEXT

marker


   1  [... ... w-]ʾḫw-h w-bn-hn bny ʾmt S²[.]ʾ((ʾmt S²[.]ʾ)) bn Ḏbdt ḏ-ʾl Ḥddn ḏ-ʾl ʿqn
   2  hqnyw S²ms¹ w-ʾlht Ġr w-Hn ʾlt w-ḏt b-S¹mwy w-Brmlky (w)-Btmlkyʾ w-
   3  ʾlht [Grḍ] {w-}(ʾ)fs¹-hmw w-ʾ<w>ld-hmw w-ʾqny-hmw w-ʾn[ʿ](m)-hm<w> [b-S²]ms¹ |
   4  w-Hn-ʾlt-w-ḏt-b-S¹mwy (w)-(B)[r](mlkyʾ) w-Btmlkyʾ w-ʾlht Grḍ (w)-b (ʿ)—
   5  ṯtr w-ʾl<m>qh w-b-ḏt Ḥmym w-b-ḏt Ns²qm b-s¹nt s¹bʿ S¹lk mlk w-b Yd—
   6  [ʿ]ʾl Byn w-rṯdw ms³nd-hmw ʿṯtr w-ʾl(m)qh bn (n)s²ʾ w-hn(krn) |

Apparatus
2Letter s² of S²ms¹ reversed.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  [... ...] and her brothers and their son (or: children), descendants of ʾmt S²[.]ʾ (or: of the servant of S²[.]ʾ), son of Ḏbdt, of the clan Ḥddn of the tribe ʿqn
   2  dedicated to S²ms¹, the goddess (or: goddesses) of Ġr, Hn ʾlt, ḏt b-S¹mwy, Brmlky, Btmlkyʾ
   3  and the goddess (or: goddesses) of Grḍ their lives, their children, their properties and their goods, by S²ms¹
   4  Hn ʾlt, ḏt-b-S¹mwy, Brmlkyʾ, Btmlkyʾ and the goddess (or: goddesses) of Grḍ, and by ʿ‒
   5  ṯtr and ʾlmqh, and by ḏt Ḥmym and by ḏt Ns²qm, during the seventh year of the reign of Seleucus, and by Yd‒
   6  ʿʾl Byn; they committed their inscription to ʿṯtr and ʾlmqh, against any removal or damage.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositṢanʿāʾ, University Museum, A-20-216
Support typeStone piece
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 27.2, w. 47, th. 10
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
NotesIn the museum catalogue the inscription is said to come from al-Bayḍāʾ.
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

The text shares a number of traits in common to the Sabaic text Ry 547. According to Nebes (communication in the 2007 Seminar for Arabian Studies) the inscription, commissioned by inhabitants of Gerrha settled in South Arabia, might date back to the reign of the king Seleucus I (end of 4th century BC). In fact, A-20-216 is written by members of the same clan for the same divinity, and apparently also contains that very dating formula (l.5), even if with a different year. In addition to the well-known Minaean-Persian synchronism, a new Sabaean-Seleucid synchronism seems then be attested in these latest revealed inscriptions.

"[...] A-20-216 et CIH 921 + Ry 547, qui sont datés selon l’année d’un roi Séleucos. Il s’agirait de Séleucos Ier, le fondateur de la dynastie séleucide, à qui remonte également la création de l’ère dite « séleucide ». Il n’est pas exclu que nos deux textes soient datés d’après cette ère séleucide dont le point de départ fut situé fictivement en 312/311 av. è. chr. alors que le roi accède au trône en 305/304 av. è. chr., mais il paraît plus vraisemblable que la date se réfère aux années de règne réelles" (Robin and Prioletta 2013: 159).

This text is a dedication to the goddess Shams and to other South Arabian and foreign divinities, among which the goddess Hn ʾlt, Herodotus' ʾAlilat, is mentioned.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Prioletta 2011: 283-294, figs 1-4Prioletta, Alessia 2011. The Sabaic inscription A–20–216: a new Sabaean-Seleucid synchronism. Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies, 41: 283-294.
Robin and Prioletta 2013: 167, fig. 9Robin, Christian J. and Prioletta, Alessia 2013. Nouveaux arguments en faveur d'une identification de la cité de Gerrha avec le royaume de Hagar (Arabie orientale). Semitica et Classica, 6: 131-185.