CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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H 2c CSAI I, 62


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Measure of letters6
Chronology
PeriodD
Textual typologyConstruction text
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT

marker


   1  [Nbṭm] Yhnʿm bn S²hr Hll w-bn-s¹ Mrṯdm mlkw Q—
   2  [tbn b]rʾw w-s¹wṯr w-s¹s²qr mwrtn Yfʿn mwrt b—
   3  [yt-s¹m](y) Ḥrb w-bʾr-s¹ Bḥrm b-ws²ʿn ʿṯtr S²rqn w-ʿ—
   4  [m ḏ-Dw]nm w-ʾnby S²ymn w-Wrfw ʾmr ʿm
   5  [w-ḏt Ṣ](n)tm w-ḏt Ẓhrn w-Ns²bt w-ʿz(yn)[ mnḍḥw]
   6  [Ḥrb w-s²m]s¹-s¹my (bʿlt) [Qly] w-ws²[ʿn mlkw Qtbn]

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  Nbṭm Yhnʿm, son of S²hr Hll, and his son Mrṯdm, kings of Qa-
   2  tabān, constructed and laid the foundation and completed the fortification Yfʿn, the fortification of their
   3  palace Ḥrb and its well Bḥrm; by favour of ʿṯtr S²rqn and ʿ-
   4  m ḏ-Dwnm and ʾnby S²ymn and Wrfw ʾmr ʿm
   5  and ḏt Ṣntm and ḏt Ẓhrn and Ns²bt and ʿzyn protectors of
   6  Ḥrb and their solar deity, the Lady of Qly, and by favour of the two kings of Qatabān.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeStone piece
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 58, w. 140, th. 32
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin
Modern siteHajar Ibn Ḥumayd
Ancient siteḏ-Ġylm / ḏt-Ġylm
Geographical areaWādī Bayḥān
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextUrban context: Royal palace Ḥrb
Link to site record

CULTURAL NOTES

Nbṭm Yhnʿm son of S²hr Hll is the last king of Qataban. During his reign (after 160 AD) Qataban loses its independence and is annexed by Ḥaḍramawt. With his son Mrṯdm he has left one of the only two construction inscriptions dated at period D. The text comes from Hajar ibn Ḥumayd, at that time capital of the kingdom. It commemorates the construction of the royal palace Ḥrb and its well by the will of ʿṯtr S²rqn.

The two divinities mentioned in the concluding invocations, Ns²bt and ʿzyn, seem to be the protectors of the royal palace Ḥrb (see CSAI I, 156=CIAS 47.82/o 2 and CSAI I, 157=CIAS 95.11/o 2). The divinities are followed by "their solar divinities" (referred to both Ns²bt and ʿzyn), an expression that evokes "and their gods" of earlier periods.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beeston 1962 a: 47-49, pl. 10/4Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1962. Epigraphic and Archaeological Gleanings from South Arabia. Oriens Antiquus, 1: 41-52.
Jamme 1969 a: 338-41Jamme, Albert W.F. 1969. Inscriptions from Hajar bin Ḥumeid. Pages 331-354 in Gus W. Van Beek. Hajar bin Ḥumeid. Investigations at a Pre-Islamic Site in South Arabia. (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 5). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Beeston 1971: 19-20Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1971. The Labakh texts. Qahtan. Studies in Old Arabian Epigraphy. 2. London: Luzac and Co..
Jamme 1985: 101-106Jamme, Albert W.F. 1985. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe XIV. Washington. 2025/04/17; https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.38250301. [Privately printed]