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Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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Maʿīn 93 B M 392 B


Bron 1998 a: 103-106, 111-112, pls 36-44
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Bron 1998 a: 103-106, 111-112, pls 36-44
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Bron 1998 a: 106-107, 111-112, pls 45-53
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Bron 1998 a: 108-112, pls 54-61
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Bron 1998 a: 110-112, pls 62-68

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodA-B
Textual typologyLists of foreign wives

GENERAL NOTES

As far as the chronology is concerned, see the contribution by Lemaire 1996 and the summary of the matter in Bron 1998 a: 102-103. Lines 24-31 are earlier than the rest of the inscriptions and date back to period A.

TEXT

marker


      [... ...]
   1  w-(ḫ)s³(r) ʿ(mk)[... ... bn]
   2  Qtb(n) |
   3  (Hnʾ)( bn )(Ḏʾb)( ḏ)-[... ...]
   4  [ḏ]-(ʾhl )(Yl)qẓ( s¹)[kr]—
   5  [b w-](ḫ)s³r (T)bʾ bn M[ṣ]—
   6  [r]
   7  Ṣbḥ bn Ḥyw ḏ-Yṯ—
   8  mt ḏ-ʾhl ʿqb s¹kr—
   9  b w-ḫs³r Ḍmd bn D—
  10  dn |
  11  ʿbd bn ʿmkrb ḏ-Ḫḍln ḏ-ʾ—
  12  hl Gbʾn s¹krb w-ḫs³r By—
  13  lt bn Ġztm |
  14  Ḥmy bn Ḏʾbn ḏ-ʾṯʾb |
  15  ḏ-ʾhl ʾṣrm s¹krb w-ḫs³—
  16  r Bmhl ʿzy bn Ddn |
  17  Ḥyw bn Ybḥrʾl
  18  ḏ-Gdrn ḏ-ʾhl ʿ—
  19  qb s¹krb w-ḫs³r |
  20  Tbʾ bn Mṣr |
  21  Lḥym bn ʾbs¹mʿ
  22  ḏ-Mlg ḏ-ʾhl Gḥḏ s¹kr—
  23  b w-ḫs³r Tbʾ bn Mṣr |
  24  Ys¹mʿʾl bn Bʿṯ—
  25  tr ḏ-S¹yl ḏ-ʾhl
  26  ʿlyʾl ḫs³r Rḍw—
  27  t bn S¹mʿy
  28  Ḥmʿṯt bn Ybḥr—
  29  ʾl ḏ-Ġrbt ḏ-ʾhl
  30  Mwqh ḫs³r Yṯʿ
  31  bn Ḫs²m
  32  Ḥnbṣ bn Ḥyw ḏ-B—
  33  ẓʿ ḏ-ʾhl ʿmd s¹kr—
  34  b w-ḫs³r ʾḫlḥy bn
  35  Qdr |
  36  Lḥy bn Ḥyw ḏ-Ḥḏ—
  37  kt ḏ-ʾhl Qrn s¹k—
  38  rb w-ḫs³r Qynt b—
  39  n Qryn |
  40  ʾws¹ bn Ṣbḥ ḏ-Bw—
  41  s¹n ḏ-ʾhl Gbʾn s¹—
  42  krb w-ḫs³r Ġṯm b—
  43  n Ddn |
  44  Ḥyw bn ʾwys¹ ḏ-Ḥzmn
  45  ḏ-ʾhl Ns¹wr s¹krb w-ḫs³—
  46  r ʾnṯt-s¹ Ms¹qy ḥrt L—
  47  ḥyn |

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Hnʾ son of Ḏʾb ḏ-[... ...]
   2  of the clan Ylqẓ has married
   3  and paid the price for Tbʾ from
   4  Egypt.
The formulaic expression "has married and paid the price for (the fiancée)" is repeated throughout the inscription. Only the names vary.
24-31The formulaic expression here includes the verb ḫs³r “endowed/paid the price for”.
46-47"his wife Ms¹qy, free woman of Liḥyan".

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure » Pillar
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 280, w. 35, th. 30
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteMaʿīn
Ancient siteQrnw
Geographical areaJawf - Wādī Madhab
CountryYemen
NotesIt was generally accepted that the inscriptions Maʿīn 93-Maʿīn 98 were in the extra muros temple of ʿṯtr ḏ-Qbḍm. However, Halévy's silence on this topic and the disappearance of the stelae suggested an original location inside the town (Bron 1998 a: 102), which was recently verified when Fontaine and Arbach there found the top of a pillar with an unknown inscription of the same kind (Fontaine and Arbach 2006: 115, fig. 26).
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

Maʿīn 93-Maʿīn 98 are long lists of the names of Minaean men and their foreign wives.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bron 1998 a: 106-107, 111-112, pls 45-53Bron, François 1998. Maʿīn. Fasc. A: Les documents. Fasc. B: Les planches. Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques. 3. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: Herder. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente]
Lemaire 1996Lemaire, André 1996. Histoire du Proche-Orient et chronologie sudarabique avant Alexandre. Pages 35-48 in Christian J. Robin and Iwona Gajda (eds). Arabia Antiqua. Early Origins of South Arabian States. Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Conservation and Exploitation of the Archaeological Heritage of the Arabian Peninsula held in the Palazzo Brancaccio, Rome, by IsMEO on 28th-30th May 1991. Rome: Istituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente.
Arbach 2022: 135, fig. 47Arbach, Mounir 2022. The city-states of the Jawf at the dawn of Ancient South Arabian history (8th-6th centuries BCE). I. From cities to kingdoms. (Arabia Antica, 17/1). Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider. 2025/12/29; https://doi.org/10.48255/9788891322920.
Rossi 2022: 67, 356-357Rossi, Irene 2022. The city-states of the Jawf at the dawn of Ancient South Arabian history (8th-6th centuries BCE). II. Corpus of the inscriptions. (Arabia Antica, 17/2). Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider.