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CIH 79
Jändl 2009: 229, pl. X
INSCRIPTION INFORMATION
| Language | Ancient South Arabian » Sabaic » Central Middle Sabaic | ||
| Script | Ancient South Arabian | ||
| Script typology | Monumental writing | ||
| Text direction | Right-to-left | ||
| Text appearance | Raised | ||
| Execution technique | Casting | ||
| Measure of letters | 1.6 | ||
| Chronology |
| ||
| Textual typology | Dedicatory text |
GENERAL NOTES
| For a general hypothesis of a date for the bronze tablets from ʿAmrān, cf. Avanzini 2008 b. |
TEXT
1 Rbbm Yʾzm bn ʾḫrf hqny
2 ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn ḏn ms³ndn l-qb—
3 l ḏt s¹ʾl-hw ʾlmqh b-ms¹ʾl-
4 hw w-l-qbl ḏ-hwfy-hw b-ḥḍr-hw
5 ḏ-Mʿlṣn w-l-qbl ḏ-s¹ʿd-hw ʾlmq—
6 h mhrgt w-ʾḥll w-s¹by ṣdq—
7 m b-kl ʾbrṯ s²wʿ mrʾ-hmw Yf—
8 rʿ bn Mrṯdm w-l-qbl ḏ-frq ʿb—
9 d-hw Rbbm b-tqdm qdm b-ʿm ʿ—
10 rbn b ḫlf Mnhtm w-l s¹ʿd-hw r—
11 ḍw mrʾ-hw Yfrʿ w-bry ʾḏnm w-m—
12 qmm w-l-ḏt nʿmt w-tnʿmn l-bny ʾ—
13 ḫrf
| 13 | on the edge of the bronze plaque. |
TRANSLATIONS
| English | |
1 Rbbm Yʾzm, of the family ʾḫrf, dedicated 2 to ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn this tablet, because 3 ʾlmqh asked (it) to him in His oracle; 4 and because He protected him in his pilgrimage of 5 ḏ-Mʿlṣn; and because ʾlmqh granted him 6 excellent slaughtering and booty and captives 7 in all the battles wherein he assisted his lord Yf- 8 rʿ of the family Mrṯdm; and because He delivered his servant 9 Rbbm in the attack which he moved against the Arabs 10 in the region of Mnhtm; and may He grant the 11 goodwill of his lord Yfrʿ and abundance of faculty and 12 might; and for what has been favourable and may be favourable to the family ʾ- 13 ḫrf. |
| 5 | Mʿlṣn is probably the name of a site (see CIH 93, 2). SD translates mʿlṣn in CIH 352,7 as the substantive "crop-land", but in this case as well it could be a toponym. |
| 9 | we found in ASA inscriptions ʿrb and ʾʿrb. For Robin 1991-1993 c: 73-74, the first name could be translated "bedouins", the second one "Arabs", Retsö 2003 instead thinks that ʿrb means groups of Arabs indipendent from a South Arabian state, and ʾʿrb were the Arabs dipendent of a South Arabian state. |
| 10 | the region of Mnhtm is in the upper Jawf, today Ḥizmat Abī Thawr. |
| Retsö 2003 | Retsö, Jan 2003. The Arabs in antiquity. Their history from the Assyrians to the Umayyads. London: Routledge Curzon / New York: Routledge Curzon. |
| Robin 1991-1993 c | Robin, Christian J. 1991-1993 [1992]. La pénétration des Arabes nomades au Yémen. Pages 71-88 in Christian J. Robin (ed.). L'Arabie antique de Karibʾîl à Mahomet. Nouvelles données sur l'histoire des Arabes grâces aux inscriptions. (Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Mediterranée, 61). Aix-en-Provence: Édisud. |
OBJECT INFORMATION
| Deposit | London, The British Museum, BM 48461=1862,1028.9 |
| Support type | Artefact » Plaque » With framework |
| Material | Bronze |
| Dimensions | h. 37.7, w. 18, th. 0.4 |
| Link to object record |
ORIGIN AND PROVENANCE
| Modern site | ʿAmrān |
| Ancient site | ʿmrn |
| Geographical area | ʿAmrān |
| Country | Yemen |
| Archaeological context | Religious context: Temple of ʾlmqh ḏ-Hrn |
| Link to site record |
CULTURAL NOTES
The dedicant seems engaged in a war in the region of Jawf against the Arabs. Interesting the presence of Arabs and the proof of relationships between ʿAmrān and the Jawf.
Sometimes the suggested date for an inscription can have far-reaching consequences. If, as I believe, our text is from the late second or early third century AD, the news of clashes with nomads in the region of Jawf is not particularly significant and certainly not unique. Robin 1991-1993 c: 77 counters this proposed date by attributing CIH 79 to the first century BC.
Sometimes the suggested date for an inscription can have far-reaching consequences. If, as I believe, our text is from the late second or early third century AD, the news of clashes with nomads in the region of Jawf is not particularly significant and certainly not unique. Robin 1991-1993 c: 77 counters this proposed date by attributing CIH 79 to the first century BC.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
| Beeston 1937 a: 15-17 | Beeston, Alfred F.L. 1937. Sabaean inscriptions. Oxford. |
| Jändl 2009: 86-87, pl. X | Jändl, Barbara 2009. Altsüdarabische Inschriften auf Metall. (Epigraphische Forschungen auf der Arabischen Halbinsel, 4). Tübingen: Wasmuth / Berlin: Wasmuth. |
| Robin 1991-1993 c | Robin, Christian J. 1991-1993 [1992]. La pénétration des Arabes nomades au Yémen. Pages 71-88 in Christian J. Robin (ed.). L'Arabie antique de Karibʾîl à Mahomet. Nouvelles données sur l'histoire des Arabes grâces aux inscriptions. (Revue du Monde Musulman et de la Mediterranée, 61). Aix-en-Provence: Édisud. |
| Avanzini 2008 b | Avanzini, Alessandra 2008. Criteri editoriali per la pubblicazione dello CSAI. Egitto e Vicino Oriente, 31: 145-157. |