CSAI
Corpus of South Arabian Inscriptions


By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
By kind permission of K. Noman
photo
Avanzini 1985: pl.15/2
photo
Avanzini 1985: pl. 16
photo
Avanzini 1985: pl. 15/1

INSCRIPTION INFORMATION

LanguageAncient South Arabian » Sabaic » Southern Middle Sabaic
ScriptAncient South Arabian
Script typologyMonumental writing
Text directionRight-to-left
Text appearanceRaised
Execution techniqueIncision
Measure of letters5
Chronology
PeriodD
Textual typologyConstruction text

TEXT

marker


   1  [... ...]s²ʿr Yr(ʿ)ẓ q(y)l [S²]ddm w-(ʾbrt)ʿ Yhḥmd w-Ḏʾbm bny Ṯʾrn [ḏ-]
   2  (S¹l)yt w-S¹mhs¹mʿ brʾw w-hgbʾ w-ndb w-ṯwbn mḥfd-hmw R(dʿm) mḥfd bny Gm(n)—
   3  [m ..] (hgrn) (Ytrm) b[... ...] w-ṣlw-hw bn mwṯrm ʿdy s²qrm b-mqm w-rdʾ ʿṯtr S²rqn w-ʾl-(hm)[w]
   4  ʿṯtr ḏ-Ẓhr-Ys¹r w-mnḍḥ-hmw ʿṯtr ḏ-ʾlmm w-b-mqm w-rdʾ mrʾ-hmw Ys¹rm Yhṣdq ml(k)
   5  S¹bʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-bny-hw S²mr w-Lʿzm w-b-m[q]ymt w-ʾ[ḫ]yl w-ws²(ʿn) s²ʿb-hmw S²ddm Yhqb—
   6  ḍ w-ṯwb ḏn mḥfdn ʾb[r]tʿ Yhḥmd bn Ṯʾrn ḏ-S¹lyt w-S¹mhs¹mʿ |
   7  b-ywm tbrl bn byt S¹mhs¹mʿ byt [bny ]Gm(n)m (ḏ)-b-hg[r]n (Y)trm

Apparatus
Reading based on the new photos taken by Kh. Noman.
3, 7hgrn Ytrb (l. 3) and Ytrb (l. 7) (al-Iryānī).
5qhyl w-ws²ʿ (al-Iryānī).
7For the reading tbrl instead of the previously accepted tbrg, see Mazzini 2011: 130-131 and references cited.

TRANSLATIONS

English

   1  [... ...]s²ʿr Yrʿẓ qyl of S²ddm and ʾbrtʿ Yhḥmd and Ḏʾbm from the family of Ṯʾrn
   2  ḏ-S¹lyt and S¹mhs¹mʿ built, repaired, constructed and completed their tower Ryʿm, the tower of the family Gmnm,
   3  [... ...] city of Ytrm b[... ...] and its façades from foundation to top, by the power and the help of ʿṯtr S²rqn and their god
   4  ʿṯtr ḏ-Ẓhr Ys¹r and their tutelary deity ʿṯtr ḏ-ʾlmm, and by the power and the help of their lord Ys¹rm Yhṣdq king of
   5  Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān and his sons S²mr and Lʿzm, and by the authority, the power and the favour of their tribe S²ddm Yhqbḍ;
   6  and ʾbrtʿ Yhḥmd descendant of Ṯʾrn ḏ-S¹lyt and S¹mhs¹mʿ repaired this tower,
   7  after the house of the family Gmnm bought it for herself from the house of the family S¹mhs¹mʿ, that in the city of Ytrm.

OBJECT INFORMATION

Support typeArchitectural structure
MaterialStone
Dimensionsh. 0.44, w. 128
Link to object record

ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE

Origin and provenance
Modern siteal-Aqmār
Ancient siteYtrm
Geographical areaDhamār
CountryYemen
FoundReemployed. In modern times
Archaeological contextUrban context: Tower Ryʿm
NotesThe inscribed block is inserted above the entrance door of the mosque of al-Aqmār, a village that is also the origin of the inscription, since it is mentioned in the text with its ancient name, Ytrm.
Link to site record

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Avanzini 1985: 85-93, pls 15/1-2 and 16Avanzini, Alessandra 1985. Problemi storici della regione di al-Ḥadāʾ nel periodo preislamico e nuove iscrizioni. Pages 53-115 in Pelio Fronzaroli (ed.). Studi Yemeniti. (Quaderni di semitistica, 14). Florence: Istituto di linguistica e di lingue orientali, Università di Firenze.
al-Iryānī 1992: 52-71, photoal-Iryānī, Muṭahhar 1992. Naqšāni min al-Aqmār. Dirāsāt Yamanīya, 47: 52-71.
Mazzini 2011: 130-131Mazzini, Giovanni 2011. Osservazioni epigrafiche, filologiche e comparative su alcuni testi legali sabei al British Museum. Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 34: 129-147.