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
ʿ(l)hn N(hfn) w-(b)ny-(h)w S²ʿrm ʾwtr mlk (S¹b)[ʾ bny Yr]— m ʾymn mlk S¹bʾ hqnyw (s²ym)-hmw Tʾlb Rym(m)[ bʿl T]— rʿt ṯlṯnhn ʾṣlmn ḏ-(ḏhbn) ḥm(d)m b-ḏt hws²[ʿ-hmw] Tʾlb b-s¹tkmln kl ṭyb w-ṣrf t(n)ṭʿw w-hqs²bn l-mw[ṯb-h]— [m]w Yhgl mʾt s¹rwrm ṣrfm w-kl mhwkb-hmw w-kl ms¹qy-hmw[ w-kl] ṣwrt w-ʾrfd ʿdy ʾʿmdn w-ʾʿrs³n w-kl ʾnhr w-bqlt ʿdy ʾʿm[d]— n w-kl ʾhdr ms¹tqyn w-ms²trʿn ʿdy ṭytn w-kl ṣwrtn ḏ-Qyhrn [ḏ]- (t)s²ʿww ʿdy s²ʾmt ʿdy hgrn Lqṭ w-l-mkntn ṯmnt s¹rwrm w-k[l mh]— [w](k)b-hmw krrm w-s²rʿ qs²mtn w-ʾhdr-hw w-ʾkfr-hw w-ṣwrt-hw w-[kl] [m]ws¹ṭ hyt mkntn krrm w-ḥmdm b-ḏt nbl w-bltn b-ʿbr-h[w] (G)drt mlk Ḥbs²tn l-tʾḫwn b-ʿm-hw w-s¹tkml hʾ ʾḫwnn b[yn]- hmw w-byn Gdrt w-mṣr ʾḥbs²n w-tgzmw k-wḥd ḍr-hmw w-s¹lm-h— (m)w b-ʿl kl ḏ-yts²ʾn b-ʿbr-hmw w-k-bṣḥm w-ʾmnm ytʾḫwnn (S¹)[lḥn] [w]-(Z)rrn w-ʿlhn w-Gdrt kl ʿbrt-hmw w-ḥmdw b-ḏt s¹tkml ʾḫ[wn]- hmw b-ʿm mlk Ḥbs²tn ḥg-n s¹tkml ʾḫwn-hmw b-ʿm Ydʿʾb Ġy[ln] [mlk] Ḥḍrmwt b-qdmy ḏt hqnytn w-ḥmdm b-ḏt s¹twfy kl ʾqw[l] [w-mq](t)t nblw ʾys¹m b-ʿbr ʾḫ-hw b-bḥrn w-ybs¹n w-kl ts²ʿt w-zb[d] [ys¹r]w ʾys¹m l-ʾḫ-hw w-ḥmdm b-ḏt ts²krw ʿmʾns¹ bn S³nḥn w- (s²)ʿbn Ḫwln b-ḍr hs²tʾw w-tṭʿn b-ʿbr ʾmrʾ-hmw ʾmlk (S¹)[bʾ] [w]-b-ḏt bltw S²bt bn ʿlyn b-ʿbr ḏ-Rydn l-hnṣrn-hm(w) [l]- (ḍ)rm b-ʿly ʾmrʾ-hmw ʾmlk S¹bʾ w-s¹bʾw ḏ-bn ʾs²[ʿb]— n l-ʿḏrn b-ʿm-hmw b-hwt ḍrn ḏ-hs²tʾw w-qmʿw ḏ-bn Ḥqln w-gbḏw kl ḥblt-hw w-bʿd-hw f-t[ʿ]— rbw l-mrʾ-hmw ʿlhn mlk S¹bʾ w-hys¹rw ṯny (r)— bbn ʾs²ms¹ bn Rymm w-Ḥrṯm bn Ydm w-l-s¹(ʿ)— (d)-hmw Tʾlb nʿmtm w-mngyt ṣdqm w-ṯbr w- ḍrʿn ḍr-hmw w-s²nʾ-hmw b-Tʾlb Rymm
02 · Translation
English translation
1–12
ʿlhn Nhfn and his son S²ʿrm ʾwtr king of Sabaʾ and 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 irrigation devices and supports up to the watered ground (or, ʿmid trees) and young plantations and all the channels (?) and vegetable gardens up to the watered ground (or, ʿmid trees), and all the channels of the watering gear and the drinking place up to the well, and the ...(?)... of Qyhrn which they ..(?).. towards the north, towards the city Lqṭ; and for the cella (or, peristyle) eight srwr (measures) and all their presses (?) (or, plantations?) altogether and the irrigation of the orchard (or, vegetable garden) and its channels and its sluices (?) and its ..(?).., 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 him, this alliance was duly concluded between the Sabaeans and Gdrt and the army of the Habashites; whereby they swore to keep a united front, for war or peace,
13–25
in relation to anyone committing aggression against them, and that in truth 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 according to the model of the alliance they had (earlier) concluded with Ydʿʾb Ġyln king of Ḥaḍramawt, before this present dedication. In gratitude also 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: for they had despatched S²bt bin al-ʿAlī to the Raydanites in order to gain the latter's 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 al-Ḥaql and ravaged all its lands; and subsequently these pledged faith to their lord ʿlhn and despatched two hostages, named ʾs²ms¹ of Rymm and Ḥārith of Ydm. And may Tʾlb grant
26–27
them favours and good luck and put to rout and defeat their wars and their enemies; by Tʾlb Rymm.
DASI / CSAI, CSAI following Beeston; line breaks joined and evident spelling errors corrected. Record data: CC BY 4.0.
The English edition follows Beeston. At lines 1–2 it reads “and Yrm ʾymn”; DASI’s edited text restores a descendant formula. The copies and editions differ in line division.