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MAFRAY-al-Miʿsāl 4
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Southern Middle Sabaic | ||||||||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||||||||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||||||||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||||||||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||||||||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||||||||
| Chronology |
| ||||||||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
GENERAL NOTES
| The typology of the text is peculiar; instead of the usual verb "to dedicate" to a god, here we have the verbs: bs²r, hgl, ʿfr. |
TEXT
1 Nṣrm Yhḥmd bn Mʿhr w-ḏ-Ḫwln qyl Rdmn w-Ḫwln bs²r w-hgl w-ʿfr l-s²ms¹-hw ʿlyt bʿlt qyf S²ḥrrm b-ḏt hrdʾt-hmw w-hws²ʿ |
2 S²ms¹m b-ywm hʿnw w-tns²ʾ bn hgrn Wʿln w-ʾrḍ Rdmn Nṣrm Yhḥmd w-s²ʿb-hw Rdmn w-Ḫwln w-tns²ʾw w-hʿn b-ḫms¹ mʾtm w-ʾlfm ʾs¹dm w-
3 ʿs²rhy ʾfrs¹m w-b-ṯmnw mʾtm rkybm ġyr ḥṣqt-hmw w-hʿnw w-mẓʾ ʿd hgrn S²bwt b-ywm tns²ʾw ḍrm w-mʾtmm s²ʿbn Yhbʾr w-ḏ-Hgrm w-s²bʿn |
4 Gdmm w-s²ʿbn Ṣdfn w-s²ʿbn ḏ-Ks³rn w-ḏ-bn ʾs²ʿb w-ʾbwt Ḥḍrmwt ṣġrm w-ḏ-hnṣr-hmw ḏ-bn s²ʿbn Mhrt w-tns²ʾw mʾtmm w-ḍrm b-ʿly mrʾ-hmw ʾlʿ—
5 z Ylṭ mlk Ḥḍrmwt bn ʿmḏḫr w-hwṣl w-hʿn Nṣrm bn Mʿhr w-s²ʿb-hw Rdmn w-Ḫwln bn hgrn S²bwt w-b-ʿm-hmw ʾqdm s¹lḥ mrʾ-hmw ʾlʿz Ylṭ |
6 mlk Ḥḍrmwt w-ḏ-bn ʾbʿl hgrn S²bwt w-ḏ-bn Ms²rqn w-ḏ-bn Qtbn w-ʾʿrb ks³ʾ b-hgrn S²bwt w-kwn gʿr kl ʾs¹d hʿn |
7 ʿm-hmw bn hgrn S²bwt ʾrbʿt ʾʾlfm ʾs¹dm w-mʾt ʾfrs¹m w-hwṣlw w-mẓʾ ʿd hgrn Ṣwʾrn w-hbrrw Ḥḍrmwt w-ʾqdm-hmw ʾs¹d m—
8 ʾtmn b-ṯmnwt ʾʾlfm ʾs¹dm w-b-ʾfrs¹ ks³ʾ b-ʿm-hmw b-hgrn Ṣwʾrn bn ʾfrs¹ mlk Ḥḍrmwt w-kwn tqdmm w-s³ʿtm b-ʾnf Mnʿym |
9 w-tws³ʿ w-tqdm b-ʿm-hmw Nṣrm Yhḥmd bn Mʿhr w-s²ʿb-hw Rdmn w-Ḫwln w-mʿn-mw kwn tqdmn f-s¹ḥt ʾḥḍrn ʾs¹d mʾtmn w-ʾqdm
10 [... ...] ʾlfnyw ʾs¹dm bḍʿ ydm w-kl ʾqdm-hmw f-hrgw w-rʾs¹w w-hnqḏw kl ʾfrs¹-hmw w-ʾs¹rw-hmw w-ʾqdm ʾs¹d mʾtmn |
11 [... ...] ʾls²rḥ w-Mrṯdm ḏ-ʿmḏkr w-Qhdt w-Brlt ḏ-Qhlm ʾḥrr Yhbʾr w-ḏ-Hgrm w-s¹byw w-ġnm w-ṯll ʾrbʿt ʾʾlfm |
12 [... ...] b-wfym w-ḥmdm w-hwbltm w-kwn mʿntn w-s¹bṭ mʾtmn b-wrḫn Ṣyd ḏ-l-ṯmnwt w-ʾrbʿhy w-mʾt ḫryftm |
| 11 | Qhdt w-Brlt suggested by F. Bron. Müller wrote two times: Yhbʾr w-ḏ-Hgrm. |
| 12 | in the Müller's copy: mʿntnw. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Nṣrm Yhḥmd, ibn Mʿhr and ḏ-Ḫwln, qyl of Radmān and Ḫwln announced, made known, performed cultic acts for his solar deity ʿlyt, the Lady of the stela of S²ḥrrm, because 2 S²ms¹m helped them and granted favours, when Nṣrm Yhḥmd and his tribe Rdmn and Ḫwln led a military expedition and initiated hostilities from the city of Wʿln and the land of Rdmn. They initiated hostilities and mounted an offensive with one thousand and five hundred soldiers, 3 twenty cavalrymen, and eight hundred mounted soldiers not to mention their baggage-trains. He led a military expedition and reached the town of Shabwa, when they initiated hostilities and the recruitment of soldiers: the tribe of Yhbʾr and ḏ-Hgrm, the tribe of 4 Gdmm, the tribe of Ṣdfn, the tribe ḏ-Ks³rn and some of the tribes and the elders of the lesser Ḥaḍramawt and those who helped them: some of the tribe of Mahra. They initiated hostilities with recruitment and war against their lord ʾlʿz 5 Ylṭ, king of Ḥaḍramawt, son of ʿmḏḫr. Nṣrm ibn Mʿhr and his tribe Rdmn and Ḫwln came to the aid from the town of Shabwa and with them the commanders whom their lord ʾlʿz Ylṭ, 6 king of Ḥaḍramawt sent, and some of the citizens of the town of Shabwa and some of Ms²rqn, some of Qatabān and the bedouins who were in the town of Shabwa. The number of all the soldiers who came to their aid 7 from the town of Shabwa was four thousand soldiers and one hundred cavalrymen. And they proceeded and arrived to the town of Ṣwʾrn and they came into the open: the Ḥaḍramawt and their commanders, recruited soldiers, 8 eight thousand soldiers and cavalrymen, who were with them in the town of Ṣwʾrn among the cavalrymen of the king of Ḥaḍramawt. And there was an attack and a confrontation near the foothills of Mnʿym, 9 and Nṣrm Yhḥmd, ibn Mʿhr and his tribe Rdmn and Ḫwln did a confrontation and an attack with them. And as soon as there was an attack then the Ḥaḍramī routed recruited soldiers and commanders 10 [... ...] two thousand soldiers they cut their hands and all their commanders they killed and decapitated and they took as booty all their horses and their troops and the commanders of recruited soldiers 11 [... ...] ʾls²rḥ, Mrṯdm ḏ-ʿmḏkr, Qhdt, Brlt ḏ-Qhlm, the free men of Yhbʾr and ḏ-Hgrm and they took prisoners and took as booty and spoils four thousand 12 [... ...] in safety and thankfulness and with spoils. The military operation and the defeat of recruited soldiers was in the month Ṣyd of the year one hundred forty eight. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Rock |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | al-Miʿsāl |
| Ancient site | Wʿln |
| Geographical area | al-Bayḍāʾ |
| Country | Yemen |
| Found | In situ |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The tribe of Radmān helps the king of Ḥaḍramawt against the rebellion of the tribe Yhbʾr.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Müller, Walter W. 1973 b: 160 | Müller, Walter W. 1973. Ergebnisse der Deutschen Jemen-Expedition 1970. Archiv für Orientforschung, 24: 150-161. |
| Robin 1981 b: 326 (photo of a part of the last three lines at p. 329) | Robin, Christian J. 1981. Les inscriptions d'al-Miʿsāl et la chronologie de l'Arabie méridionale au IIIe siècle de l'ère chrétienne. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres: 315-338. |
| Müller, Walter W. 2010: 19-20 | Müller, Walter W. 2010. Sabäische Inschriften nach Ären datiert. Bibliographie, Texte und Glossar. (Veröffentlichungen der Orientalischen Kommission, 53). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag. |