CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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SW-BA/I/1


Fontaine and Arbach 2006: 108, fig. 45

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionLeft-to-right
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Measure of letters5.8
Chronology
PeriodA
Textual typologyConstruction text
Royal inscriptionYes

GENERAL NOTES

The proper name in the inscription is not followed by the royal title, but we may hypothsize that ʾbʾmr Ṣdq was one of the first kings of Nashshān attested in the inscriptions (cf. the archaic writing style). In fact, no royal title accompanies the names of the most ancient rulers of the city-states of the Jawf.

TEXT

marker


   1  ʾbʾmr Ṣdq s¹ḥdṯ byt-ʿṯtr

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  ʾbʾmr Ṣdq founded the temple of ʿṯtr.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure » Pillar
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteas-Sawdāʾ
Ancient siteNs²n
Geographical areaJawf - Wādī al-Buhayra
CountryYemen
FoundIn situ
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʿṯtr ḏ-Rṣf
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

The texts incised on the gate of the temple are among the most ancient ASA inscriptions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Breton 1992 b: 441Breton, Jean-François 1992. Le sanctuaire de ʿAthtar dhû-Riṣâf (République du Yémen). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres: 429-453.
Avanzini 1995: 15Avanzini, Alessandra 1995. As-Sawdāʾ. Inventaire des inscriptions sudarabiques. 4. Paris: de Boccard / Rome: Herder. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres; Istituto italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente]
Breton 1996: 99, fig. 3Breton, Jean-François 1996. Quelques dates pour l'archéologie sudarabique. Pages 87-110 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.
Fontaine and Arbach 2006: 108, fig. 45Fontaine, Hugues and Arbach, Mounir 2006. Yémen. Cités d'écritures. Manosque: Le bec en l'air éditions.
Avanzini 2011: 49, fig. 112Avanzini, Alessandra 2011. Les inscriptions. (Chapitre 4). Pages 43-55 in Jean-François Breton (ed.). Le sanctuaire de ʿAthtar dhû-Riṣâf d'as-Sawdâʾ. (Arabia Antica, 7). Rome: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider.
Arbach and Rossi 2011: 167, fig. 1Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2011. Réflexions sur l'histoire de la cité-État de Nashshân (fin du IXe - fin du VIIe s. av. J.-C.). Egitto e vicino Oriente, 34: 149-176.
Arbach 2022: 34, fig. 2Arbach, 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: 87-88Rossi, 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.