CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodB1
Textual typologyLegal text
Royal inscriptionYes

TEXT

marker


   1  S²hr Hll Yhnʿm bn Ydʿʾb mlk Qtbn ṣry w-s¹f[ḥ b](n) Ḥṭbm mḥrm ʿm ḏ-Dwnm w-bn Rṣfm mḥrm |
   2  ʾnby S²ymn w-bn tḥt (S²)ms¹ w-rbʿ S²hr ʾdm-s¹ ʿmydʿ w-Hfnm bnwy Hybr w-Hwfʾl bn-mw Hy—
   3  br ʾbn w-Rʾbʿm bn Ḥyw w-ʿlym w-Ys²ḥrʿm bnwy R(b)ḥ w-ʾḫhy-s¹my ʾrby ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ w-tʾnṯ-s¹—
   4  m w-ʾwld-s¹m bn s¹nṣfm w-s¹kt w-ʾḫḏ w-gddm l-ʿṣm wdm w-bntm w-s²ftm l-ʿm w-ʾṯr—
   5  t n-l ys¹tfḥwn ʾrby ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ w-tʾnṯ-s¹m w-bny-s¹m w-bnty-s¹m b-ʿlw ḏt mḥrtn w-ṣr—
   6  ytn w-ṣry S²hr ʾdm-s¹ ʾrby ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ w-tʾnṯ-s¹m w-bny-s¹m b-ṣdq-s¹m ḥg ḏt mḥrtn w-ṣrytn w-
   7  ʾs¹ṭr-s¹ w-ṯfṭ S²hr ʾdm-s¹ ʾrby ḏ-Lbḫ l-s¹ṭr w-ftḫ ḏtn ʾs¹ṭrn b-s¹rn Lbḫ w-mḥd-s¹m b-
   8  byt ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ b-ḏ-Ġylm w-b ḫlfn ḏ-S³dw b-Tmnʿ wrḫ-s¹ ḏ-Tmnʿ ḫrf S²hrm -Ygr ʾḫr—
   9  n w-l yhlkwn w-ṣtdq ʾrby ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ ḥg-ḏt mḥrtn w-ṣrytn w-ḥg ṣrytm s¹ṭr l-s¹—
  10  m S²hr Ygl w-tʿlm-ʾy yd S²hr

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  S²hr Hll Yhnʿm, son of Ydʿʾb, king of Qataban, proclaimed the oracular decision and publicly announced from the Ḥṭbm temple of ʿm ḏ-Dwnm and from the Rṣfm temple
   2  of ʾnby S²ymn and under the protection of S²ms¹ and Rbʿ S²hr for his subjectsʿmydʿ and Hfnm those of Hybr and Hwfʾl, he of Hy-
   3  br ʾbn, and Rʾbʿm, he of Ḥyw, and ʿlym and Ys²rḥʿm, sons of Rbḥ, and their fellow clansmen the Priests of ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ with their womenfolk
   4  and their children, on the basis of performing ritual actions and obeying (?) and submitting (?) and making offerings (?) for (the establishment of) a covenantal relationship of love and affiliation and good promise with ʿm and ʾṯr-
   5  t; then let the Priests of ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ and their womenfolk and their sons and their daughters hold themselves bound in accordance with this edict and oracular deci-
   6  sion; and S²hr proclaimed the oracular decision for his subjects the Priests of ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ and their womenfolk and their sons to their benefit according to this edict and oracular decision and
   7  its written records; and S²hr ordered for his subjects the Priests of Lbḫ to write and to inscribe these written records in the valley of Lbḫ and in their own devoted space in the
   8  temple of ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ in ḏ-Ġylm and within the gate ḏ-S³dw in Timnaʿ; its month ḏ-Tmnʿ, the last year of S²rhm he of Ygr; and let the Priests of ʿm ḏ-Lbḫ conform themselves and receive their due according to this edict and oracular decision which S²hr Ygl had written for
   9  them; and the signature (was made by) the hand of S²hr.
Mazzini 2020: 163-164Mazzini, Giovanni 2020. The Ancient South Arabian royal edicts from the Southern Gate of Timnaʿ and the Ǧabal Labaḫ. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 8).

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure » Gate
MaterialStone
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteHajar Kuḥlān
Ancient siteTmnʿ
Geographical areaWādī Bayḥān
CountryYemen
FoundIn situ
Archaeological contextUrban context: City gate ḏ-S³dw
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Mazzini 2020: 163-176, 205-210, fig. 25Mazzini, Giovanni 2020. The Ancient South Arabian royal edicts from the Southern Gate of Timnaʿ and the Ǧabal Labaḫ. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 8).