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M 356 JSMin 7; RES 3695
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Minaic » Marginal Minaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 2.5 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text - fragmentary |
TEXT
[... ...]
1 [... ...] w-Mʿn (b)k(l)n w-(wbl) (b)-m(ʾ)tm [... ...]
2 [... ...] kl ʾklh ys¹ʿrbn byt Wd k-s¹m w-
3 [... ...]yh-s¹ bn-kl ʾym w-ḥbm w-tmrhm w-
4 [... ...]m wfq ṣʿ ʾḥly ws³q ḥmr bn-kl (ʾ)—
5 [... ... ʾ](ḥ)ly qnyh Wd ḫwlny b-ʿbr-s¹mn w-mn ḏ-
6 [... ...]ḏyt ḏn mḥ(r)n ʾn ys¹ʾl-s¹ ḫwlnhn w-
7 [... ...]yt mḥrh mnqlh Mʿn w-l ys¹tʾby-s¹ b-
8 [... ...](n) w-qny-s¹ w-tʾby-s¹ w-ḥrm ḥrmn Nkrḥ w-
9 [... ...] w-mn ḏ-ys¹ʿrb ʾkl (ʾ)ḥly ʾẓhr rgl
10 [... ... yw]mnt ftḥn w-(mḥrn s²)hr ḏ-S¹mʿ ḏ-kbrh
11 [... ...]
| 3 | at the beginning of the line Jaussen and Savignac suggest s¹qn]yḥs¹. |
| 10 | integration suggested by Beeston. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 [It is decreed by X and Y the two kabirs of the Minaeans in Dedan] and the Minaean residents and caravaneers in full assembly: [that 2 there shall be imposed a market-tax on] all comestibles marketed in the Bayt Wadd, whether belonging to them (the Minaeans) or 3 [to others; the tax] on everything, both cereals and dates and 4 [other comestibles] is the equivalent of a ṣāʿ, of commodities carried on asses, from each 5 [ass-load. Exemption is granted for] commodities which are the property of Wadd, by two authorized persons acting along with the two (kabirs). If anyone 6 fails to act] in compliance with this regulation whenever so required by those two authorized persons 7 [(and the kabirs?)] in conformity with the Minaean transport regulation, then they shall require him to stay (without pursuing his journeys) in 8 [(the town of Dedan?);] and as for his property and stock, it is under the ban of Nkrḥ and 9 [the other deities.] But if anyone markets comestibles which are commodities carried by human transport, 10 [it is free of tax.] Date of the decree and regulation is the month ḏ-S¹mʿ of the kabirate of 11 [... ...] |
| 1-10 | Beeston's translation (Beeston 1978 a: 142-3) has been followed until the middle of l.10. The words between brackets are supplemented portions of his attempted rendering. |
| 1-2 | translation by al-Saʿīd 1994: 263:"...und den minäischen Siedlern und Karawanenführern in der Vollversammlung... ...alle Lebensmittel, welche in den Tempel des Wadd hineingebracht werden (oder: welche [die Minäer] in den Tempel des Wadd hineinbringen)". |
| Beeston 1978 a | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1978. A Minaean market code. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 41: 142-145. |
| al-Saʿīd 1994 | al-Saʿīd, Saʿīd F. 1994. Die Verben rtkl und s1ʿrb und ihre Bedeutung in den minäischen Inschriften. Pages 260-267 in Norbert Nebes. Arabia Felix. Beiträge zur Sprache und Kultur des vorislamischen Arabien. Festschrift Walter W. Müller zum 60. Geburtstag. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Stone piece |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 33, w. 31 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | al-ʿUlā |
| Ancient site | Ddn |
| Geographical area | Ḥijāz |
| Country | Saudi Arabia |
| Found | Reemployed. In modern times |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
This is an interesting decree on the trade of comestibles, setting the taxes for the transport of goods in Dedan and the punishment for the contravener (a forced stop and the gods' ban on his merchandise). The temple of Wadd seems to be central for the transaction and some goods are defined as being property of Wadd.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Jaussen and Savignac 1914: 242-247, pls LXXIII, XCV/7 (facsimile) | Jaussen, Antonin J. and Savignac, M. Raphael 1914. Mission archéologique en Arabie. II. El-ʿEla, d'Hégra à Teima, Harrah de Tebouk. (Publications de la Société française des fouilles archéologiques, 2). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner. |
| Beeston 1978 a: 142-3 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1978. A Minaean market code. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, 41: 142-145. |