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CIAS 49.10/p 2 n° 1 RES 3884bis; Q 83; CSAI III, 6
By kind permission of GOAM
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Awsanite | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 3.8 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text | ||
| Royal inscription | Yes |
TEXT
1 mʿmr Yṣdqʾl F—
2 rʿm S²rḥʿt bn W—
3 dm mlk ʾws¹n w-l-
4 yḥr b-ḏn brṯn ḏ—
5 t bd w-mlʾt w-ʾl
6 s³n s¹wḥs³-s¹ bn br—
7 ṯ-s¹ l-mʿmrm b-ymẓʾ
8 ʿl-s¹ww bn ʾmlk ʾw—
9 s¹n ḥg wqh ʾb-s¹
10 [W](dm)( b)-(ms¹ʾl)-(s¹)
| 7 | Pirenne reads ymṣʾ. The third letter however is a ẓ. The epigraphic explanation suggested by Pirenne (in CIAS 49.10/o 1 n. 2, for the line 3: "on constate que l'on écrit ṣ avec son arc de cercle complet lorsque la lettre précédente laisse, en bas, un vide où l'excès de largeur du ṣ peut se compenser: c'est le cas après le Y de Yaṣduq'il") has to be rejected, as the other example quoted by her, CIAS F59/s 4 49.10 n. 4 shows, in fact, the name of the same king with ṣ instead of ẓ. We probably deal with a fluctuation of the phonemes ṣ and ẓ, which is well attested in ASA languages, instead of with two graphic variants for the phoneme ṣ. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Memorial of Yṣdqʾl F- 2 rʿm S²rḥʿt son of W- 3 dm king of Awsan and let it 4 remain in this place 5 for all time to come. It is not 6 permitted to remove it from its place 7 in favour of some other memorial which replaces 8 it (it is not permitted) for any of the (future) kings of Awsan 9 as his father 10 Wdm ordered in His oracle. |
| Avanzini 2004 a: 541-542 | Avanzini, Alessandra 2004. Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions I-III. Qatabanic, Marginal Qatabanic, Awsanite Inscriptions. (Arabia Antica, 2). Pisa: Edizioni Plus-Università di Pisa. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Aden, The National Museum, NAM 601=AM 60.1283 |
| Support type | Artefact » Slab (mʿmr) |
| Material | Alabaster |
| Dimensions | h. 40.5, w. 28.5, th. 13.5 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Unknown (wādī Markha) |
| Ancient site | Unknown |
| Geographical area | wādī Markha |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
"This is an interesting text, also for understanding the somewhat obsessive psychology of the Awsanite king Yṣdqʾl Frʿm S²rḥʿt.. The fears of the king, even regarding his successors, are an exceptional window on a man and his desire not to be forgotten and see his place taken by others.
Much more than the "Roman style" dress (see CIAS F 58/s 4/49.10 n. 3), this wish to safeguard his "individuality" and not to be obscured by the social group turns him into a potentially interesting personality in Arabian history." (Avanzini 2004 a: 542).
Much more than the "Roman style" dress (see CIAS F 58/s 4/49.10 n. 3), this wish to safeguard his "individuality" and not to be obscured by the social group turns him into a potentially interesting personality in Arabian history." (Avanzini 2004 a: 542).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| CIAS: ii, 155-161, photo | Beeston, Alfred F.L., Pirenne, Jacqueline and Robin, Christian J. 1977-1986. Corpus des inscriptions et antiquités sud-arabes: Vol. I (1977): Tome 1. Inscriptions. Tome 2. Antiquités; Vol. II (1986): Le Musée d’Aden. Tome 1. Inscriptions. Tome 2. Antiquités. Louvain: Peeters. [Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres] |
| Simpson 2002: 191, cat. 263 | Simpson, St John (ed.) 2002. Queen of Sheba. Treasures from the ancient Yemen. London: British Museum Press. [Catalogue of an exhibition held at the British Museum, London] |
| Avanzini 2004 a | Avanzini, Alessandra 2004. Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions I-III. Qatabanic, Marginal Qatabanic, Awsanite Inscriptions. (Arabia Antica, 2). Pisa: Edizioni Plus-Università di Pisa. |