Aksumite eraRIÉ 183

RIÉ 183 stone inscription

This plaque from Safra preserves complete published translation of four texts; untranslated terms retained.

Date
Aksumite corpus; date uncertain
Place
Safra
Language
Geʿez
Script
Ethiopic

01 · Original text

Geʿez

EthiopicComplete published translation of four texts; untranslated terms retained

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Native-script transcription is not available here; the reading follows the cited edition.

02 · Translation

English translation

Text I 1 Memorandum 2 concerning provisions 3 (of?) sbt according to the rule 4 of Dwly (or: ‘of my country’). 5 What shall be given to them when (if) 6 one establishes the mqrt: 7 one ewe <qualified> gb; 8 when <it is> a (in the case of a) srrt, 9 honey shall be distributed 10 in addition; 11 one ewe <qualified> ʾlt; 12 and when <it is> a (in the case of a) 13 cow, flour <shall be distributed> 14 in addition; 15 and bread, 16 bgs, on the first 17 day; and qrs 18 on the third day; 19 and one cow 20 <qualified> ʾld; 21 and one gabatā 22 of mead; when (if) 23 the mqrt is continued (?): 24 one qnt of butter 25 and flour 26 on the fifth day, both 27 in addition; 28 beer on the sixth 29 day, also in 30 addition. Text II 1 Rules concerning bread. 2 What the king takes: 3 twelve 4 in all; for the priest, 5 six in all; the offerer’s share, 6 nine 7 in all. Text III 1 From a cow: 2 the king <shall take> one half; 3 the person who offered it shall take 4 the hide and the <other> half. 5 It is a rule. Text IV 1 Memorandum concerning the person 2 who offers, having put on 3 a brr garment. 4 He owes an ʾld 5 and butter. 6 But <this does> not <apply> to the person who offers 7 slt, nor to the woman who 8 offers wood.

Independent English rendering of Drewes’s published French translation or lexical commentary; checked against the cited printed page(s).

Drewes presents these as food, bread, cattle-sharing, and clothing/offering regulations. The ritual or secular setting and several crucial terms remain uncertain; angle brackets retain the edition’s supplied sense.

Sources

Editions & references

Edition, catalogue, and image records used for this entry.

  1. RIÉ 183

    A. J. Drewes, RIÉ III.B (2019), no. 183, pp. 178–179.

Habesha History corpus

Abraham J. Drewes, Recueil des inscriptions de l’Éthiopie III.B (2019), pp. 178–179