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Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions

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Ja 568 MaMB 259


INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRecessed
Execution techniqueIncision
Chronology
PeriodD
Textual typologyDedicatory text

TEXT

marker


   1  [S¹ʿds²ms¹m ʾs¹rʿ w-bn-hw Mr]—
   2  [ṯdm Yh](ḥm)d bny [Grt ʾqw]—
   3  [l s²ʿbn ](Ḏmry)( )hqnyw ʾlmqh (b)[ʿl ʾ]—
   4  [w]m ṣlmn ḥg-n k-wqh ʾlmqh b-ms¹—
   5  ʾl-hw ʿbd-hw ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb mlk
   6  S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn l-qbly hwkl s¹t(w)[k]—
   7  [l] mlkn ʾls²rḥ l-ʿbdy-hw S¹ʿd[s²ms¹]—
   8  m w-bn-hw Mrṯdm bny Grt b-(ʿ)[m ʾl]—
   9  mqh bʿl ʾwm w-ḥmdy S¹ʿds²ms¹m [w-b]—
  10  n-hw Mrṯdm bny Grt b-ḏt hwfy ʾ—
  11  lmqh ʿbd-hw ʾls²rḥ mlk S¹bʾ w-(ḏ)-
  12  Rydn w-ʿbdy-hw S¹ʿds²ms¹m w-Mr[ṯdm]
  13  bny Grt ḥg-n hnt hwkln [w-l-wz]—
  14  ʾ ʾlmqh s¹ʿd ʿbdy-hw S¹ʿds²m[s¹m w-]
  15  bn-hw Mrṯdm bny Grt w-ql-hmw w-[s²]—
  16  ʿb-hmw S¹mhrm nʿmtm w-mngyt[ ṣd]—
  17  qm w-bry ʾʾḏnm w-mqymtm w-[l-s¹ʿ]—
  18  d ʾlmqh ʾdm-hw bny Grt w-s²ʿ[b-hmw]
  19  (S¹)m(h)rm ḥẓy w-rḍw ʾmrʾ-hmw ʾm(lk )(S¹)—
  20  (b)ʾ w-l wḍʿ w-ṯbr ʾlmqh ḍr w-s²nʾ (ʾ)—
  21  mrʾ-hmw ʾmlk S¹bʾ w-ḍr w-s²nʾ ʾd(m)-
  22  hmy bny Grt b-ʿṯtr w-Hbs¹ w-ʾlm—
  23  qh w-b-ḏt Ḥmym w-b-ḏt Bʿdnm w-
  24  b-s²ms¹ mlkn Tnf w-b ʾly-hmw ʿṯ—
  25  tr-ʿzzm w-ḏt Ẓhrn bʿly ʿrn K—
  26  (nn) w-rṯdw hqnyt-hmw ʿṯt(r)-(S²rq)—
  27  [n] w-ʾlmqh b[ʿ]l ʾwm

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  S¹ʿds²ms¹m ʾs¹rʿ and his son Mrṯdm
   2  Yhḥmd, descendants of Grt, ʾqwl
   3  of the tribe Ḏmry, dedicated to ʾlmqh, Lord of
   4  ʾwm, this statue as ʾlmqh ordered in His oracle
   5  to His servant ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb, king of
   6  Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān, because of the divine favours which sought
   7  the king ʾls²rḥ for his two servants S¹ʿds²ms¹m
   8  and his son Mrṯdm, descendants of Grt, from ʾlmqh,
   9  Lord of ʾwm; and S¹ʿds²ms¹m and his son Mrṯdm,
  10  descendants of Grt, praised because ʾlmqh favoured
  11  His servant ʾls²rḥ king of Sabaʾ and
  12  ḏu-Raydān and his two servants S¹ʿds²ms¹m and Mrṯdm,
  13  descendants of Grt, according to these favours; and may
  14  ʾlmqh continue to grant His two servants S¹ʿds²ms¹m and
  15  his son Mrṯdm, descendants of Grt, and their ql and their tribe
  16  S¹mhrm prosperity and good luck
  17  and soundness of faculties and material resources, and may
  18  ʾlmqh grant His vassals, descendants of Grt, and their tribe
  19  S¹mhrm the goodwill and the satisfaction of their lords the kings of Sabaʾ,
  20  and may ʾlmqh humiliate and crush the war enemy and the personal enemy of the
  21  their lords the kings of Sabaʾ, and the war enemy and the personal enemy of the vassals
  22  of both of them, the descendants of Grt. By ʿṯtr, Hbs¹, ʾlmqh
  23  and by ḏt Ḥmym and by ḏt Bʿdnm, and by
  24  the solar deity of the king Tnf, and by their gods
  25  ʿṯtr-ʿzzm and ḏt Ẓhrn, Lords of the citadel
  26  Knn; and they committed their dedication to ʿṯtr-S²rqn
  27  and ʾlmqh, Lord of ʾwm.

OBJECT INFORMATION

DepositMārib
Support typeArtefact » Base » Of statue with dedicatory inscription
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 159.2, w. 47.7, th. 39.7
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteMaḥram Bilqīs
Ancient siteʾwm
Geographical areaMaʾrib
CountryYemen
Archaeological contextReligious context: Temple of ʾlmqh bʿl ʾwm
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Jamme 1962 a: 53-54Jamme, Albert W.F. 1962. Sabaean Inscriptions from Maḥram Bilqîs (Mârib). (Publications of the American Foundation for the Study of Man, 3). Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Ryckmans, Jacques 1966: 475-476Ryckmans, Jacques 1966. Himyaritica 2. Le Muséon, 79: 475-500.
Bron 1985 a: 134Bron, François 1985. Sur une locution conjonctive en araméen et en sabéen. Pages 133-136 in Christian J. Robin (ed.). Mélanges linguistiques offerts à Maxime Rodinson par ses élèves, ses collègues et ses amis. (Comptes rendus du Groupe linguistique d'études chamito-sémitiques. Supplément, 12). Paris: Librairie orientaliste Paul Geuthner.