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
[ʿlhn Nhfn w-bny-hw S²ʿrm ʾwtr mlk S¹bʾ bny] [Yrm ʾymn ml]k S¹bʾ hqnyw s²ym[-hmw Tʾlb] [Rymm ]bʿl [Trʿt] ṯlṯnhn ʾṣlmn ḏ-ḏh[bn ḥmdm b-ḏt] [hw]s²ʿ-hmw T[ʾlb b-]s¹tkmln kl ṭyb w-ṣrf[ tnṭʿw w-hqs²bn] [l-mwṯ]b-hmw Yhgl mʾt s¹rwrm ṣrfm w-kl mhwk[b-hmw w-kl] ʾnhr w-bqlt ʿdy s²rʿt ʾʿmdn w-ṣwrt w-ʾr[fd ʿdy ʾʿmdn w-ʾʿrs³n] [w-]kl s²rʿ qs²mtn w-zwyrn w-kl ṣwrt ḏ-Qyhrn ḏ-ts²ʿw[w ʿdy] [s²]ʾmt ʿdy hgrn Lqṭ w-l-mkntn ṯmnt s¹rwrm w-kl mhw[kb-hmw] [w-s²]rʿ qs²mtn w-twrt-hw w-kl mws¹ṭ hyt mkntn krr[m w-ḥmdm] b-ḏt nbl w-bltn b-ʿbr-hw Gdrt mlk Ḥbs²tn l-tʾḫ[wn b-ʿm-hw] w-s¹tkml hʾ ʾḫwnn byn-hmw w-byn [Gdr]t w-t[gzmw k-wḥd] ḍr-hmw w-s¹lm-hmw [b-ʿly-kl] ḏ-ynts²ʾn b-ʿbr-hmw ḍr[m w-k-bṣḥm] [w-ʾm]nm ytʾḫwnn S¹lḥn [w-Zrrn] w-ʿlhn w-Gdrt kl ʿb[rt-hmw w-ḥm]— [dw ] b-ḏt s¹tkml ʾḫwn-hmw b-ʿm mlk Ḥbs²tn w-ḥmdm b-ḏ[t s¹twfy kl] ʾqwl w-mqtt nblw ʾys¹m b-ʿbr ʾḫ-hw b-bḥrn w-ybs¹n w-[kl ts²ʿ]— t w-zbd ys¹rw ʾys¹m l-ʾḫ-hw w-ḥmdm b-ḏt ts²krw ʿmʾns¹ [bn S³nḥ]— n w-s²ʿbn Ḫwln b-ḍr hs²tʾw w-ntṭʿn b-ʿbr ʾmrʾ-hmw ʾm[lk S¹bʾ] w-bltw S²bt bn ʿlyn b-ʿbr ḏ-Rydn l-hnṣrn-hmw l-ḍrm b-ʿl[y ʾmrʾ]- hmw ʾmlk S¹bʾ w-s¹bʾw ḏ-bn ʾs²ʿbn l-ʿḏrn b-ʿm-hmw b-hwt[ ḍrn ḏ-h]— [s²]t[ʾw] w-qmʿw ḏ-bn hgr Ḥqln w-gbḏw kl ḥblt-hmw w-bʿd[-hw f-tʿ]— rbw w-s¹tḍrʿn l-mrʾ-hmw ʿlhn mlk S¹bʾ w-hys¹rw ṯny r[bbn ʾs²ms¹] bn Rymm w-Ḥrṯm bn Ydm w-s¹lmw w-s¹mʿn qhtm w-b-ḏt [yzʾn] [Tʾlb ṯ]br w-ḍrʿn ḍr-hmw w-s²nʾ-hmw b-s²ym-hmw Tʾlb[ Rymm]
02 · Translation
English translation
1–12
ʿlhn Nhfn and his son S²ʿrm ʾwtr king of Sabaʾ, descendants of Yrm ʾymn king of Sabaʾ dedicated to their Patron Tʾlb Rymm Lord of Trʿt thirty statues of bronze in praise because Tʾlb favoured them by completing (the collection of) the incense (ṭyb and ṣrf) which they asked for (?) and planted for their place (sanctuary?) Yhgl, a hundred measures of ṣrf and all their plantations and all the channels (?) and vegetable gardens up to the canal of the watered ground (or, ʿmid trees) and the supports in the young plantations and all the irrigation of the orchard (or, vegetable garden) and the water distributor and all the ...(?)... of Qyhrn which they ..(?).. towards the north, towards the city Lqṭ; and for the cella (or, peristyle) eight s¹rwr (measures) and all their presses (?) (or, plantations?) and the irrigation of the orchard (or, vegetable garden) and his irrigational installation and all the mid part of this cella (or, peristyle) altogether. In gratitude because, when a mission had been sent to him by Gdrt king of the Habashites seeking an alliance with them, this alliance was duly concluded between the Sabeans and Gdrt; whereby they swore to maintain a united front, for war or peace, in relation to anyone committing aggression against them in war and that in truth
13–23
and good faith there should be an alliance between Silḥīn and Zrrn, that is to say, between ʿlhn and Gdrt for the rest of their lives. In gratitude because their alliance with the Habashite king was thus concluded and in gratitude because he protected all the ʾqwl and mqtt whom the contracting parties sent to each other, on sea or land, and all the subventions and gifts which they exchanged with each other. Also in gratitude because a defeat was inflicted to ʿmʾns¹ of Sanḥān and the commune of Ḫwln in the war which the latter instigated and sought against their lords the kings of Sabaʾ and they despatched S²bt bin al-ʿAlī to the Raydanites in order to gain the latters' support for war against their lords the kings of Sabaʾ, and some (Sabaean) communes campaigned in order to take reprisals on them for this war which they had initiated, and overcame the folk of the town of al-Ḥaql and ravaged all their lands; and subsequently these pledged faith and surrendered to their lord ʿlhn king of Sabaʾ and despatched two hostages, named ʾs²ms¹ of Rym and Ḥārith of Ydm and sued for peace and witnessed qhtm? declared (their) obedience and may Tʾlb continue to put to rout and defeat their wars and their enemies; by their Patron Tʾlb Rymm.
DASI / CSAI, CSAI; line breaks joined and evident spelling errors corrected. Record data: CC BY 4.0.