01 · Original text
Late Sabaic
Ancient South ArabianComplete surviving text
Normalized Unicode reading from the cited edition; editorial brackets and uncertain readings are retained.
Scholarly transliteration
l-ybrkn ʾlhn ḏ-l-hw s¹[myn w-ʾrḍn mlkn Ys¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr mlk kl] ʾs²ʿbn [w-l-ybrk]n ʾql-hmw w-mrʾs¹-hmw [w-]ʿrbn-hmw w-d[krw] ʾqwln Lḥyʿt [... ...] w-bny-hmw S²rḥbʾl Ykml w-Hʿn ʾs¹ʾr w-Lḥyʿt Yrḫm w-Mrṯdʾl Ymgd bny [... ... mrʾ-hm]w mlkn Ys¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr | k-dhrw (ql)s¹n w-hrgw ʾḥbs²n b-Ẓfr [... ...]ḍḫ Rʿwm [... ...] w-hrg-hmw ṯlṯ mʾtm [... ...]mw w-k-l-ḏky b-ʿ[l]y [ʾs²ʿr]n w-mṣnʿ S²mr w-Rkbn w-Rmʿ w-M[ḫwn ... ...] w-mtw b-[ʾ](s²)ʿrn w-[dh]rw qls¹n w-hrgw w-ġnmw [ʾḥbs²n] b-Mḫwn b-[ḥw]r-hw Frs¹nytm w-hrbw k[l] ḏ-ʾs¹yw b-ʿly ms¹bʾ-hmw bn Ḥs²ym((ḥs²ym)) w-S¹ʿlm((s¹ʿlm)) ywm [... ...]wd ʾrmn w-k-ḏky ṯny b-ʿ{|}ly Ngrn l-yhʿlnn bn-hmw rhnm f-ʾw yḥrb-h[mw] yḥkk w-k-dʾ whbt rhnn w-s¹[t]ġrw ʿl-hmw mgrmtm w-ky ws¹ʿw [... ...] w-ḫmrtm ʾḫny w-k-kl f(y)ḥ y(m)n whbw [...]n mʾtm rhnm w-k-gmʿ ḏ-hfʾ mlkn w-m[.]w w-kl ʾqwln w-ʾs²ʿbn w-ts¹bʾtn ʾrbʿt ʿs²r ʾʾlfm mhrgtm [w-]ʾḥd ʿs²r ʾʾlfm s¹bym w-ts¹ʿy w-ṯty mʾtn ʾʾlfm gmlm w-bqrm w-ʿnzm w-k-hs¹ṭr ḏn ms¹ndn qln S²rḥʾl ḏ-Yzʾn k-qrn b-ʾs²ʿb ḏ-Hmdn w-ʾʿrbn b-ʿly Ngrn ṯw yqhn mlkn ḏ-yrḍyn w-ʾḫwt-hw w-gs²-hmw ʾzʾn qrn b-ʿm mlkn b-Mḫwn b[n] Ḥbs²t w-yṣnʿn s¹s³lt Mdbn wrḫ-hw ḏ-Mḏrʾn ḏ-l-ṯlṯt w-ṯl[ṯ]y w-s¹ṯ mʾtm w-b-ḫfrt [s¹]myn w-ʾrḍn w-ʾḏn ʾs¹dn ḏn ms³ndn bn kl ḫs¹s³m s¹lm ʿly mlkt Ḥmyrm w-tqdm w-s¹ṭr ḏn ms¹ndn Tmmm bn Mʿdn ḏ-Qs¹mlt S¹bʾyn
02 · Translation
English translation
1–7
May God to whom belong heavens and earth bless king Ys¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr, king of all the tribes, and might He bless their qayls and their leaders and their bedouin and ... the qayls Lḥyʿt [... ...] and their sons S²rḥbʾl Ykml Hʿn ʾs¹ʾr, Lḥyʿt Yrḫm, Mrṯdʾl Ymgd sons [... ...] their lord king Ys¹f ʾs¹ʾr Yṯʾr: when they burnt the church and massacred the Ḥabashites in Ẓfr [... ...] and slew them (to the number of) three hundred [... ...] and then he (the king) sent (men) against ʾs²ʿrn and the fortresses of S²mr, Rkbn, Rmʿ, Mḫwn [... ...] and they (overran?) ʾs²ʿrn, and they burnt the church and slew and plundered the Ḥabashites in Mḫwn along with its (other) inhabitants, the Frs¹nytm, and they put to fight all the rabble and riff-raff that they encountered on their expedition, when [... ...] Then he sent (on a second occasion /two persons?) to Najrān, in order that hostages might be exacted from them, otherwise he would wage war on them (in earnest?); but there was no surrender of the hostages, on the contrary they (the Najrānites) committed criminal aggression on them (the Ḥimyarites). So they [... ...] and many slaves (?); though all the (other) folks of Yemen surrendered over a hundred hostages.
8–12
The total of what the king took in booty and prizes of war - together with all the qayls and the bedouin and the expeditionary troops - was fourteen thousand slain, eleven thousand prisoners and two hundred ninety thousand camels, oxen and goats. This inscription has been written by the qayl S²rḥʾl ḏ-Yzʾn, while taking precautionary measures, along with the Hamdanid tribesmen and bedouin, against Najrān, until the king issues such (other) orders as he pleases; while his brothers and their Yazanid (clients / townsfolk?) were on defensive duty with the king at Mḫwn against the Ḥabashites, and (the king) was fortifying the chain of Mandab. The month of Mḏrʾn of six hundred thirty-three. For the protection of the creator of heavens and earth, and the (angelic) hosts, is this inscription, from any damager. This inscription was executed and written by Tmmm son of Mʿdn, of the family Qs¹lmt, the Sabaean.
DASI / CSAI, CSAI; line breaks joined and evident spelling errors corrected. Record data: CC BY 4.0.