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Maraqten-Qatabanic 1
Maraqten, Mohammed
Maraqten, Mohammed
Maraqten, Mohammed
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Qatabanic » Central Qatabanic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Raised | ||
| Execution technique | Casting | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
TEXT
1 Ṯwbʾl w-ʿmḏkr bnw Qdrn s¹qn—
2 yw Ḥwkm Nbṭ w-ʾlhy bytn S²bʿ—
3 n s¹qnytn w-ʾbn mgnn w-hrrnyw
4 s²ʾmynyw w-ms³ndyhn [..]w ykw—
5 nn mdlwt-s¹my s¹lʿt ʾḥlf w-ʿs²r
6 krkr ḏhbm qyḥm [...] s²lt ʾkr—
7 mn ywm ʿlw w-s¹wfy (Ḥwkm) w-ʾlh—
8 w bytn S²bʿn Ṯwbʾl w-ʿmḏkr bn
9 ʾrḍtw w-ʾhgr s²ʾmt w-Nbṭm w-Ks²—
10 d w-Mṣr w-Ywnm w-ywm ʿlw w-s¹wf—
11 y Ḥwkm w-ʾlhw bytn S²bʿn Ṯwb—
12 ʾl bn hgrn Rqmm s¹bʾtm s¹bʾ
13 b-qdmw ḏtn s¹bʾtn b-ybs¹n w-bḥr—
14 n w-mlʾt l-yʿlw w-(ġ)wr w-s¹n{|}s²y Ḥ—
15 wkm w-ʾlhw bytn S²bʿn Ṯwbʾl
16 w-ʿmḏkr ʿd hgr-s¹my Mrymtm b-w—
17 fy ʾʾḏn-s¹mw w-mqmhy-s¹my w-[kl]
18 ḏm qnyw b-ʿṯtr w-b ʿm
19 w-b Ḥwkm w-rṯdw Ḥwkm [w-ʾlhw b]—
20 ytn S²bʿn kl s¹qnyt w-[... ... bn kl ms¹]—
21 nkrm w-ms¹fʾ[ym bn brṯ-s¹m]
| 4 | The editor reads ḏw, but it is not easy to propose a grammatically convincing integration. |
| 4-5 | The subject of the verb ykwnn is mdlwt, perhaps a plural noun. |
| 6 | If s²lt is "three" it seems very unusual in Qatabanic where "three" is always ṯlt. |
| 14 | The editor reads: mls¹t surely to be corrected into mlʾt. After yʿlw the reading is uncertain, it seems better to read ġwr instead of mwr (both of them hapax in Qatabanic). Then I prefer to read a third verb and not, as the editor did: ws¹n s²y), but a word separator is between s¹n and s²y. |
| 21 | Indeed, it could be: brṯ-s¹. The editor integrates: brṯ-s¹w. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Ṯwbʾl and ʿmḏkr, of the family Qdrn, dedicated 2 to Ḥwkm Nbṭ and to the gods of the temple S²bʿn 3 the dedication and the stone of the garden and two northern 4 warehouses and two inscriptions, the values of them 5 should be s¹lʿt ʾḥlf and ten 6 krkr of red bronze and .. three (?) ʾkrm, 7 when Ḥwkm and the gods of the temple S²bʿn 8 raised and save Ṯwbʾl e ʿmḏkr from 9 the lands and the towns of the North: Nbṭm, Ks²d, 10 Mṣr e Ywnm; and when Ḥwkm and the gods of the temple S²bʿn 11 raised and save Ṯwbʾl 12 from the town of Rqmm, during the expedition he did 13 before this expedition, by sea and by land. 14 Forever might Ḥwkm 15 and the gods of S²bʿn bring up, and made go back and return Ṯwbʾl 16 and ʾmḏkr into their city Mrymtm in 17 safety of their faculties, their resources and 18 that they have possessed. By ʿṯtr, ʿm 19 and by Ḥwkm. And they entrusted to Ḥwkm [and to the gods] 20 of the temple S²bʿn the whole of dedication against whomever 21 could damage or move it from its place. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Support type | Artefact » Plaque » With framework |
| Material | Bronze |
| Dimensions | h. 66, w. 30 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | Hajar al-ʿĀdī |
| Ancient site | Mrymtm |
| Geographical area | Wādī Ḥarīb |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple S²bʿn of Ḥwkm Nbṭ |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The historical importance of the text is remarkable. The Qatabanian caravans went towards the North, by land and by sea, to the lands of Nabataeans, Chaldeans, Egyptians, Ionians. In the inscription there is the first attestation in ASA of Petra (Rqmm).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Maraqten 2014 b: 97-114, figs 3-4 | Maraqten, Mohammed 2014. On the relations between Bilād al-Shām and Yemen in the pre-Islamic period. Pages 97-114 in Mohammed Maraqten. A pioneer of Arabia. Studies in the Archaeology and Epigraphy of the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula in Honor of Moawiyah Ibrahim. Ed. by Zeidan Kafafi. (Rome «La Sapienza» Studies on the Archaeology of Palestine & Transjordan, 10). Rome: La Sapienza. |