CC BY 4.0
The above license applies to the data in this record, but not to any images displayed. The images are the property
of third parties and are either used with permission or reproduced from publications (see the credits below each image).
Maʿīn 112
By kind permission of GOAM
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Minaic » Central Minaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Recessed | ||
| Execution technique | Incision | ||
| Measure of letters | 5 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 ʾlws³q qdm Gbʾn bn Yṯʿʾl ʾḫ Ḥyw s³lʾ
2 Gbʾn b-ʾḫwt ʾbydʿ
| 1 | Yṯʿʾl and Ḥyw are royal names in the texts Maʿīn 18, 33, 39, 43 and YM 2009. Therefore, in this inscription they might be names of members of the royal family. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 ʾlws³q, chief of Gbʾn, son of Yṯʿʾl, brother of Ḥyw, dedicated 2 to Gbʾn; with the brotherhood of ʾbydʿ. |
| Arbach and Rossi 2012: 335 | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2012. From city-state to kingdom: history and chronology of Maʿīn between the VIII and the VI centuries BC. Orientalia, 81/4: 318-339, pls XLIX-LVI. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | Ṣanʿāʾ, Military Museum, MṢM 6648+6651 |
| Support type | Artefact » Altar |
| Shape | Squared |
| Material | Stone |
| Dimensions | h. 19, w. 111, th. 52 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Maʿīn |
| Ancient site | Qrnw |
| Geographical area | Jawf - Wādī Madhab |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The king ʾbydʿ mentioned in this text is probably the most ancient king of Maʿīn attested in our sources, as he can be dated to the end of the 8th century BC on a palaeographical basis.
The author of the text gives a significant genealogy: he is son of Yṯʿʾl and brother of Ḥyw. These are probably the kings of Maʿīn mentioned in the texts Maʿīn 18, 33, 39, 43 and YM 2009 before their ascension to the throne. Given that the author belongs to the clan Gbʾn, this would imply that the Minaean kings came from the most important families of the kingdom.
The author of the text gives a significant genealogy: he is son of Yṯʿʾl and brother of Ḥyw. These are probably the kings of Maʿīn mentioned in the texts Maʿīn 18, 33, 39, 43 and YM 2009 before their ascension to the throne. Given that the author belongs to the clan Gbʾn, this would imply that the Minaean kings came from the most important families of the kingdom.
This text is a rare example of dedication to a clan. One wonders if this may be evidence of a cult of eponyms of families.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Arbach and Rossi 2012: 334-336, pl. XLIX/1 | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2012. From city-state to kingdom: history and chronology of Maʿīn between the VIII and the VI centuries BC. Orientalia, 81/4: 318-339, pls XLIX-LVI. |
| Arbach 2022: 95, fig. 31 | Arbach, Mounir 2022. The city-states of the Jawf at the dawn of Ancient South Arabian history (8th-6th centuries BCE). I. From cities to kingdoms. (Arabia Antica, 17/1). Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider. 2025/12/29; https://doi.org/10.48255/9788891322920. |
| Rossi 2022: 299-230 | Rossi, Irene 2022. The city-states of the Jawf at the dawn of Ancient South Arabian history (8th-6th centuries BCE). II. Corpus of the inscriptions. (Arabia Antica, 17/2). Roma: «L'Erma» di Bretschneider. |