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Kamna 30 A
By kind permission of Ch. Robin and J. Schiettecatte
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Early 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 authors of Kamna 30 A and Kamna 30 B were husband and wife. The two inscriptions are engraved on the same stela. |
TEXT
1 Ḥmʿṯt bn Fdym Krryn
2 hqny ʾlmqh Ḫyrhmw
3 w-Rʾbm b-ʿṯtr w-b ʾlmqh
4 w-b ḏt Ḥmym w-b Ydʿʾl
5 w-b Yṯʿʾmr
| 1 | Krryn: it is uncertain whether this nisbe adjective derives from a tribe name or a place name. This form is attested here for the first time. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ḥmʿṯt, son of Fdym, the one of Krr, 2 dedicated to ʾlmqh: Ḫyrhmw 3 and Rʿbm. By ʿṯtr and by ʾlmqh 4 and by ḏt Ḥmym and by Ydʿʾl 5 and by Yṯʿʾmr. |
| Arbach and Rossi 2015: 18 | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2015. Nouveaux documents sabéens provenant de Kamna du VIIIe–VIIe siècle avant J.-C.. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 26/1: 16-27. 2015/06/02; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12052/pdf. [DOI: 10.1111/aae.12052] |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Stela » Stela with framework |
| Material | Stone |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Kamna |
| Ancient site | Kmnhw |
| Geographical area | Jawf - Wādī Madhab |
| Country | Yemen |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The relations between Sabaʾ and Kamna were conflictual during the reign of Yṯʿʾmr Wtr, in the second half of the 8th century BC. However, the record of this marriage between a Sabaic man and a woman from Kamna suggests an alliance between these two kingdoms towards the end of the century.
It is interesting to note that the husband - who was probably a minister of the Sabaean king - writes his inscription in Sabaic, while his wife - servant of the kings of Kamna - in Minaic. The linguistic correspondences between the formulae in the two languages can be observed: hqny vs. s³lʾ, b- vs. b-rʿẓ. The woman adds typical phrases of the Minaic repertoire, like "ywm whbt ḥl Wdm w-rḍw-s¹ fnwt". The invocation is addressed to the kings of Sabaʾ by the husband, but to the kings of Kamna (plus her husband) by the wife.
It is interesting to note that the husband - who was probably a minister of the Sabaean king - writes his inscription in Sabaic, while his wife - servant of the kings of Kamna - in Minaic. The linguistic correspondences between the formulae in the two languages can be observed: hqny vs. s³lʾ, b- vs. b-rʿẓ. The woman adds typical phrases of the Minaic repertoire, like "ywm whbt ḥl Wdm w-rḍw-s¹ fnwt". The invocation is addressed to the kings of Sabaʾ by the husband, but to the kings of Kamna (plus her husband) by the wife.
From the final invocation in Kamna 30 B, it is possible to infer that Ḥmʿṯt was a member of a Sabaean élite in Kamna. His nisbe demonstrates that he was not native from Kamna.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Arbach and Rossi 2015: 16-21, fig. 2 | Arbach, Mounir and Rossi, Irene 2015. Nouveaux documents sabéens provenant de Kamna du VIIIe–VIIe siècle avant J.-C.. Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy, 26/1: 16-27. 2015/06/02; http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/aae.12052/pdf. [DOI: 10.1111/aae.12052] |
| Rossi 2022: 207-209, 473, fig. 34 | 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. |