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Ja 2826 CSAI I, 48
Jamme 1979: pl. a
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 3.5 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Construction text | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
TEXT
1 S²hr Hll Yhqbḍ mlk Qtbn s¹ʿs²q w-
2 s¹q(s²b)((s¹q(ḥ))) bytn Yfʿm w-ṣrḥt-s¹ww w-mṣdq-s¹
3 l-ʾmt-s¹ww Gʿmmt w-bnt-s¹ Rṯdt Ḏrḥn w-ḏ-ʿḏ—
4 r-s¹my ẓrbm b-Tmnʿ b-ḥg ʾnby
| 2 | the reading of the verb s¹qs²b is not sure at all. This verb is not attested anywhere else in Qatabanic, but it is known in Sabaic. It seems also possible to read s¹q(ḥ), a well known Qatabanic verb, but there is another letter between ḥ and the word separator. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 S²hr Hll Yhqbḍ king of Qatabān did cut (the stones) and 2 accomplished the palace Yfʿm and its upper rooms and its mṣdq room 3 for his two servants Gʿmmt and her daughter Rṯdt of Ḏrḥn and the 4 successors of the two of them, as a legal property in Tmnʿ, according to the orders of ʾnby. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Architectural structure |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 27. 5, w. 47.5 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Hajar Kuḥlān |
| Ancient site | Tmnʿ |
| Geographical area | Wādī Bayḥān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Archaeological context | Urban context: Private house Yfʿm |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
It seems strange that the king gave the ownership of a palace to a female subordinate (his mistress, perhaps?) and her daughter. We prefer to think that he donated the palace to a priestess and her daughter ("the god's - and not his - servants"). It is quite interesting to note that matrilineal descent may be assumed here, further evidence that the women in question were priestesses.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Jamme 1979: 60, pl. a | Jamme, Albert W.F. 1979. Miscellanées d'ancient arabe IX. Washington. 2025/04/17; https://www.jstor.org/stable/community.38250306. [Privately printed] |