01 · Original text
Sabaic
Ancient South ArabianComplete surviving text
Normalized Unicode reading from the cited edition; editorial brackets and uncertain readings are retained.
Scholarly transliteration
Lḥyʿt ʾwkn bn Yʿzz w-bn Mʿhr w-ḏ-Ḫwln w-Ḥẓyn bn Klʿn w-ḏ-Btʿn w-Rymn qyl s²ʿbn Rdmn w-Ḫwln w-mḥrg s²— ʿbn Ḏbḥn hgl w-s¹ṭr ḏn ʾs¹ṭrn b-mḥrm s²ms¹-hw ʿlyt bʿlt ʿrn S²ḥrrm b-ḏ-hṯb ʿbd-hw Lḥʿt ʾwkn l-ʾḥmd-hw ḏ-tʾmnm b-ḏt ʾwlt-hw w-mtʿ bn ḥqln ḏ-Ḥrmtm b-ywm tws³ʿ mrʾ-hmw Krbʾl ʾyfʿ mlk S¹b— ʾ w-ḏ-Rydn w-ḫms¹-hw ḫms¹ Ḥmyrm b-ʿm ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb mlk S¹bʾ w-ḫms¹-hw ḫms¹ S¹bʾ w-thrgw w-tqdmn m(lk)— n s²rqm ʿd mʿn ywmn b-ḥqln ḏ-Ḥrmtm w-bn-hw tʾwlw b-ʾḥllm w-mhrgtm ʾs¹dm w-ʾfrs¹m bḍʿm w-ʾḥyw— m w-bn-hw Yḥmd bn Mrṯdm w-frs¹-hw qyl s²ʿbn Bklm ḏ-ʿmrn w-bn-hw S¹ʿdʾlw bn Qdmn w-frs¹-hw Yr— ḫm f-ʾwl ḥywm b-kl s¹rw-hw kmlm w-b-kl ts²rʿt-hw w-bn-hmw bn mqtwt ḏ-Hmdn w-frs¹n ḏ-rkb mṣrm | w-ʾwl-hw ḥym ġyr-mw ʾs¹dm w-ʾfrs¹m rkbtm w-rglm ḏ-zḫn w-ḏ-bn-hw ʾmḥḍ bn ḫms¹ Ḥmyrm ḏ-s¹tṯqf b-ʿm- hw w-bʿd-n hyt s³ʿtn f-tʾwl mlk S¹bʾ w-ḫms¹-hw l-ṯlṯ ms¹bṭtn w-tʾwl ʾrḍ-hw w-mrʾ-hmw Krbʾl ʾyfʿ w-ḫms¹-hw ḫms¹ Ḥmyrm f-rtʿw ʾywmm ḏ-rḍyw w-bn-hw tʾwlw ʿdy hgrn Hkrm b-hwbltm ʾs¹d— m w-ʾfrs¹m ʾḥywm w-mhrgtm w-s¹ṭr ḏn ms³ndn Lḥyʿt ʾwkn ḏ-tʿhdm b-ʾrḫ w-mqm ḏt ʾy-mw knt s³ʿtn | w-mhrgtm b-qdmy ḏn ywmn f-k-ʾl ywm ʾtw ḫybm dkb-mw mhrgtm w-ʾḥllm w-hwbltm w-b-ʾnḍw ʾḥrbm w-ʾgw— bm w-ʾqs¹dm w-dglmtm ṭybm w-ṣrfm w-ṭybm ḏ-ʾẓfrm w-gmwdm kl ḏ-ygtrʿnn ʾḥbs²n b-ʾrʾs¹-hmw w-k-s¹ʾd- hmw ʾʿḍd-hmw w-kwn ḏn bltn ṣdqm w-ʾmntm w-b-wrḫn Mḏrʾn ḏ-l-ts¹ʿt w-s¹bʿhy w-mʾt ḫryftm bn ḫrf ʾbʿly bn [Rtʿ] w-tḫrf Ḥmyrm ḏ-l-ṯlṯt w-s¹ṯhy w-ṯlṯ mʾtm bn ḫrf Mbḥḍ bn [ʾbḥḍ]
02 · Translation
English reading
1–8
Lḥyʿt ʾwkn, son of Yʿzz ibn Mʿhr and ḏ-Ḫwln and Ḥẓyn ibn Klʿn, ḏ-Btʿn, and Rymn, qyl of the tribe Rdmn and Ḫwln, those who wield power upon the tribe Ḏbḥn made known and wrote this inscription in the temple of his Solar deity ʿlyt, the Lady of the citadel S²ḥrrm, because Her servant Lḥyʿt ʾwkn expressed gratitude for Her aid (for Her praise); in fact, She let him return and saved him from the plain of Ḥurma, when their lord Krbʾl ʾyfʿ, king of Sabaʾ and ḏu-Raydān and his army, army of Ḥimyar, attacked the enemies against ʾls²rḥ Yḥḍb, king of Sabaʾ and his army, army of Sabaʾ, and they fought and met in battle the king, from dawn to the end of the day, in the plain of Ḥurma. From there they came back with spoils and victims, men and horses killed in the battle and alive; among them: Yḥmd ibn Mrṯdm and his horse, qyl of the tribe of Bklm ḏ-ʿmrn, and among them: S¹ʿdʾlw ibn Qdmn, he brought back alive his horse Yrḫm and all its harness, completely and all its equipment; among them also a maqtawi of Hamdān with the horse, that he mounted in the campaign and he brought back it alive; without speaking of the wounded: men, stud horses and foot soldiers; as well as a certain number of destructions, made by the armed forces of Ḥimyar, under his command.
9–15
After this victory, the king of Sabaʾ with his army came back three times, but then he came back in his country and their lord Krbʾl ʾyfʿ and his army, army of Ḥimyar, stayed there as long as they liked. From there they came back to the town of Hakir with booty: men and horses alive and dead. Lḥyʿt ʾwkn wrote this inscription, as a fulfilment of a vow - about the exploit and the place in which the attack and the carnages occurred - made before this day. Never he came back disappointed and without spoils of killed enemies, trophies, war takings, but with spear heads, shields, bows, jewels - of gold, silver and brass - and ribbons, all that the Abyssinians have used knoting on their heads. And She granted them their harvest. This mission was excellent and sure in the month Mḏrʾn of the year 179 of the era of ʾbʿly, son of Rtʿ, and of era of Ḥimyar, the year 363 of Mbḥḍ, son of ʾbḥḍ.
DASI / CSAI, CSAI; line breaks joined and evident spelling errors corrected. Record data: CC BY 4.0.