CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


Upper right fragment
By kind permission of Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome
photo
Upper right fragment
By kind permission of Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome
photo
Upper left fragment
By kind permission of Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome
photo
Lower right fragment
By kind permission of Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome
photo
Lower left fragment
By kind permission of Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale, Rome
photo
Ansaldi 1933: figs 88, 97
photo
Mordtmann and Mittwoch 1931: 165-166, figs 146a-b

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRaised
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodC. Conjectural
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT

marker


   1  S²krwdm ʾḫṭr bn ʿmyṯʿ bn ʿmyṯʿ ↯(w)-bn-hmw S¹ʿdʾl w-Rbbs¹mʿ bnw ʿmy—
   2  ṯʿ bnyw w-brʾ mhẓllm l-byt-hmw Ġylm w-ḥẓ↯ww ḥẓy-hmw w-ṣllw bnwt-hmw Mwgl—
   3  m w-ṣllw mwṯb-hmw Ġyln (w)-qdm-hw ʿs¹mym w-mḥ↯ḍrtn l-mknt mwṯbn Mwglm w-s²rʿ—
   4  (w kl) mḏqn (ʾby)t-hmw Ġylm w-Ṣnʿn (w)-hgr-hm(w) Ḍ↯(ʿ)ṭm w-rmt hwr s²dw-hmw (Ḏ)hbm ±
   5  b-ʿṯtr w-ʾlmqhw w-b s²ym-hmw Wdm ḏ-S¹(mʿn) w-S²[ʿ](b)↯[m w-W]dm ḏ-ʾyfʿ w-b-
   6  s²ms¹-hmw w-rbʿ-hmw w-b ʾmrʾ-hmw ʾmlk S¹bʾ [w]-ʾq(w)↯l-hmw ʾly Mʾḏnm
   7  w-rṯdw bnw ʿmyṯʿ ʾbyt-hmw ʿṯtr S²rqn (b)n mhb↯(ʾ)s¹m b-ʿṯtr w-Wdm

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  S²krwdm ʾḫṭr, son of ʿmyṯʿ, descendant of [the family] ʿmyṯʿ, and their sons S¹ʿdʾl and Rbbs¹mʿ, descendants of [the family] ʿmy-
   2  ṯʿ, built and constructed a porch for their house Ġylm, finished off their construction and covered with flat stones (?) their building Mwgl-
   3  m, covered with flat stones (?) their temple Ġyln - of which ʿs¹mym is in charge - and the walls for the inner shrine of the residence Mwglm, and erected
   4  all the places of prayer of their houses Ġylm and Ṣnʿn and their city Ḍʿṭm, and the upper end of the watercourse (or cistern) for their cultivated land (?) Ḏhbn;
   5  by ʿṯtr, ʾlmqhw and by their patron Wdm ḏ-S¹mʿn and S²ʿbn and Wdm ḏ-ʾyfʿ and by
   6  their s²ms¹ and their rbʿ and by their lords, the kings of Sabaʾ and their ʾqwl, those of Mʾḏnm;
   7  and the descendants of ʿmyṯʿ committed their houses to the protection of ʿṯtr S²rqn against anyone who may damage (them). By ʿṯtr and Wdm.
2ḥẓww ḥẓy-hmw: "separaverunt conclavia sua" (CIH); "refait leur déclivité (i.e. la pente de leur maison)" (Jamme 1956 a).
3-4"et mundaverunt sedem suam Ġyln et ante eam posuerunt culinam et cameras pro peristylio sedis Mwglm et suspenderunt omnes projectiones domorum suarum ..." (CIH); "und mit Wasser versorgt alle maḏqanat ihrer Häuser..." (Mordtmann and Mittwoch).
For w-qdm-hw: "la sua facciata ʿs¹mym" (Mazzini 2012; cf. Ryckmans 1930: "et sa partie antérieure (de l'édifice) ʿAsamîyum"). Instead, Jamme: "et y préside en ʿAsamite".
4"et tumuli (qui est) post campum ipsorum Dhahab" (CIH); "und die rāmat des Teiches ihres šadw Ḏahabm" (Mordtmann and Mittwoch).
Italian translation by Mazzini.
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1930: 394-395Ryckmans, Gonzague 1930. Notes épigraphiques. Le Muséon, 43: 389-407.
Jamme 1956 a: 18-19Jamme, Albert W.F. 1956. Les antiquités sud-arabes du Museo Nazionale Romano. Monumenti antichi, 43: 1-120.
Mordtmann and Mittwoch 1931Mordtmann, Johannes H. and Mittwoch, Eugen 1931. Sabäische Inschriften. Rathjens-v. Wissmannsche Südarabischen-Reise. 1. Hamburg: Friederichsen, De Gruyter.
Mazzini 2012: 233Mazzini, Giovanni 2012. Catalogo. Iscrizioni. Pages 232-237 in Sabina Antonini, Paola D'Amore and Michael Jung (eds). Il trono della regina di Saba. Cultura e diplomazia fra Italia e Yemen. La Collezione Sudarabica del Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale. Rome: Artemide.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositRoma, Museo Nazionale d’Arte Orientale “Giuseppe Tucci”, inv. 13005/16017+inv. 13006/16018
Support typeStone piece
MaterialStone
DimensionsCIH 660: h. 37.3, w. 159.8, th. 9; CIH 587: h. 30.5, w. 135.6, th. 11.5
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteUnknown
Ancient siteUnknown
Geographical areaUnknown
CountryUnknown
NotesThe territory of the tribe Mʾḏnm (l. 6) was located north-west of Ṣanʿāʾ, from where the inscription may thus come.
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mordtmann and Mittwoch 1931: 165-166, figs 146/a-bMordtmann, Johannes H. and Mittwoch, Eugen 1931. Sabäische Inschriften. Rathjens-v. Wissmannsche Südarabischen-Reise. 1. Hamburg: Friederichsen, De Gruyter.
Ansaldi 1933: figs 88, 97Ansaldi, Cesare 1933. Il Yemen nella storia e nella leggenda. (Collezione di opere e di monografie a cura del Ministero delle colonie, 17). Rome: Sindacato italiano arti grafiche.
Höfner 1935: 37-40Höfner, Maria 1935. Die qatabanischen und sabäischen Inschriften der südarabischen Expedition im Kunsthistorischen Museum in Wien (II). Wiener Zeitschrift für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, 42: 31-66.
Pallottino 1938: 655, fig. 3 (Jamme 411 B)Pallottino, Massimo 1938. Monumenti sud-arabici del Museo Nazionale Romano. Pages 651-657 in Atti del XIX Congresso Internazionale degli Orientalisti. Rome: Tipografia del Senato di G. Bardi.
Jamme 1956 a: 8-18, pl. I/411Jamme, Albert W.F. 1956. Les antiquités sud-arabes du Museo Nazionale Romano. Monumenti antichi, 43: 1-120.
D'Amore, Jung and Messineo 2010: 71, fig. 35D'Amore, Paola, Jung, Michael and Messineo, Gaetano 2010. Yemen. Il paese della regina di Saba (VIII sec. a.C.-VII sec. d.C.). Pages 57-72 in Paola D'Amore and Michael Jung (eds). Vicino e Medio Oriente antico. (Collana Guide Brevi del Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale "Giuseppe Tucci"). Roma: Artemide.
Mazzini 2012: 233, cat. 45Mazzini, Giovanni 2012. Catalogo. Iscrizioni. Pages 232-237 in Sabina Antonini, Paola D'Amore and Michael Jung (eds). Il trono della regina di Saba. Cultura e diplomazia fra Italia e Yemen. La Collezione Sudarabica del Museo Nazionale d'Arte Orientale. Rome: Artemide.
Ryckmans, Gonzague 1937: 253-254Ryckmans, Gonzague 1937. Inscriptions sud-arabes. Quatrième série. Le Muséon, 50: 239-268.