Habesha History
Profile

418 inscriptions

Inscriptions

DʿMT and Aksumite texts in their attested scripts, with published translations and exact sources.

Deutsche Aksum-Expedition photograph of the 52-line RIÉ 189 Ethiopic inscription recording Ezana’s Noba campaign.
RIÉ 189ʿEzana’s Noba campaignAksum, Ethiopia

Catalogue

163 inscriptions in chronological order

Showing 73–96
RIÉ 38

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 38Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainYeha

Inscription from Yeha

Surviving fragment, partly interpreted. The beginning is lost. The readings and meanings of the intervening words are uncertain; the final protective formula is translated by the edition.

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 47

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 47Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainYeha

Inscription from Yeha

Surviving text, partly interpreted. mṭry designates the altar but its precise meaning is uncertain. The final sequence ws nsb tyw remains uninterpreted; “projection” describes the stone surface.

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 58

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 58Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainMatara during the excavation of the mound B

Dedication from Matara during the excavation of the mound B

Surviving dedicatory fragment. The beginning, ending, and part of the divine name are lost; brackets retain the edition’s restoration.

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 64

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 64Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainMatara during the excavation of the mound E2

Inscription from Matara during the excavation of the mound E2

Probable personal name. The same letter sequence names the tribe Bakīl elsewhere, but the edition considers a personal name more likely here.

BKLM

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 68

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 68Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainMatara

Inscription from Matara

Name; other marks uninterpreted. Two m signs on the right-hand stone remain uninterpreted.

ʿNYM

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 69

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 69Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainDibdib

Dedication from Dibdib

Published translation of the three-line dedication. DWL may designate a locality, region, people, or tribe; the edition does not resolve which.

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 74

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 74Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainFeqya, engraved on a stone

Dedication from Feqya, engraved on a stone

Surviving dedication with editorial restoration. The lost verb could have been singular or plural. <This stone> is supplied from the object, not a surviving word.

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 75

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 75Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainFeqya, engraved on a stone

Dedication from Feqya, engraved on a stone

Published translation of the surviving three-line dedication. <This stone> is supplied from the object. HYW is probably a co-dedicant.

Native-script transcription is not available here.

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 88

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 88Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainTokhonda, engraved on a stone

Inscription from Tokhonda, engraved on a stone

Alternative readings of a personal name. Both readings are offered; the root is secure but the final consonant is not.

SMʿN / SMʿS

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 89

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 89Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainKelette Afa, engraved on a stone

Inscription from Kelette Afa, engraved on a stone

Published translation. GʿSY may be a local name; its etymology is uncertain.

WKLʾL bn GʿSY

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 90

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 90Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainLaʿlay ʿAddi, engraved on a stone

Inscription from Laʿlay ʿAddi, engraved on a stone

Preserved personal name. The same name occurs in RIÉ 91 and 124–126.

GBRN

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 91

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 91Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainLaʿlay ʿAddi, engraved on a stone

Inscription from Laʿlay ʿAddi, engraved on a stone

Two preserved personal names. The etymology of ḤDBR remains uncertain.

GBRN // ḤDBR

Early highland inscriptionRead text
RIÉ 92

No verified photograph or facsimile of this artifact has been retrieved.

RIÉ 92Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertainLaʿlay ʿAddi

Inscription from Laʿlay ʿAddi

Two partly legible names from four texts. Only the names in Texts II and III are more or less legible; the reading and derivation of both remain doubtful.

WNʾN / ʿNʾN (?) // DBRY

Early highland inscriptionRead text

Source register

Source register

RIÉ 1–443, with separately numbered text versions, supplements, and Arabian witnesses from the checked corpus and DASI. Dates and uncertain identifications follow the cited editions; missing texts, translations, and images are recorded below.

181–199 of 199 entries. Copies and language versions retain their own references.

DʿMT & early highlands19

  1. RIÉ 175

    Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertain · Saro · Early highland inscription; Old South Arabian alphabet

    Preserved personal name and preferred vocalization. The internal ʿ may represent a vowel; the causative interpretation is preferred but remains an etymological proposal.

    Original
    Full native-script edition not retrieved. A partial transliterated reading is available.
    English
    English rendering of the published translation or lexical commentary.
    Image
    No verified artifact image retrieved for this entry.

  2. RIÉ 176

    Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertain · Awalo · Early highland inscription; Old South Arabian alphabet

    Published translation. Both names may be local; the proposed South Arabian connection of DʿMN remains conditional.

    Original
    Full native-script edition not retrieved. A partial transliterated reading is available.
    English
    English rendering of the published translation or lexical commentary.
    Image
    No verified artifact image retrieved for this entry.

  3. RIÉ 177

    Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertain · provenance unknown · Early highland inscription; Old South Arabian alphabet

    Published translation. The object appears much later than the other monumental Sabaic inscriptions from Ethiopia and may have originated in South Arabia.

    Original
    Full native-script edition not retrieved. A partial transliterated reading is available.
    English
    English rendering of the published translation or lexical commentary.
    Image
    No verified artifact image retrieved for this entry.

  4. RIÉ 178

    Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertain · provenance unknown · Early highland inscription; Old South Arabian alphabet

    Uninterpretable fragment. The text is too fragmentary to interpret.

    Original
    Full native-script edition not retrieved.
    English
    The published commentary offers no secure translation.
    Image
    No verified artifact image retrieved for this entry.

  5. RIÉ 179

    Pre-Aksumite period; precise date uncertain · provenance unknown · Early highland inscription; Old South Arabian alphabet

    Reported word in an unpublished inscription. The inscription remained unpublished; Littmann’s information says it contained dedications to ʿAstar and the word ʿrkn, but no text or translation is available for verification.

    Original
    Full native-script edition not retrieved. A partial transliterated reading is available.
    English
    The published commentary offers no secure translation.
    Image
    No verified artifact image retrieved for this entry.

  6. Addi Akaweh 1

    Early 1st millennium–5th/4th c. BCE (DASI Period A) · ʿAddi ʾAkawǝḥ / Addi Amiq, Wuqro area, Ethiopia; farmer-found in 1995, preserved at Abba Garima church · Early Sabaic (Ethiopia/Eritrea)

    The surviving royal title explicitly names DʿMT.

    Original
    DASI transliteration and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode are available in the reader; surviving lineation retained.
    English
    DASI/CSAI English translation available in the reader.
    Image
    Exact record media available: 1 linked DASI image(s), all visually checked; the reader uses image record 7977.

  7. MG 1

    Early 1st millennium–5th/4th c. BCE (DASI Period A) · Mäqabər Ga‘əwa, Wuqro, Ethiopia · Early Sabaic (Ethiopia/Eritrea)

    Early highland dedication, private inscription, or fragment.

    Original
    DASI transliteration and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode are available in the reader; surviving lineation retained.
    English
    Fresh literal English rendering of the surviving text is available; DASI supplies no English translation.
    Image
    Exact record media available: 1 linked DASI image(s), all visually checked; the reader uses image record 7158.

  8. MG 2

    Early 1st millennium–5th/4th c. BCE (DASI Period A) · Mäqabər Ga‘əwa, Wuqro, Ethiopia · Early Sabaic (Ethiopia/Eritrea)

    Early highland dedication, private inscription, or fragment.

    Original
    DASI transliteration and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode are available in the reader; surviving lineation retained.
    English
    DASI/CSAI English translation available in the reader.
    Image
    Exact record media available: 2 linked DASI image(s), all visually checked; the reader uses image record 11311.

  9. MG 3

    Early 1st millennium–5th/4th c. BCE (DASI Period A) · Mäqabər Gaʿəwa, Wuqro area, Ethiopia; in situ in the temple of ʾlmqh, now Wuqro Museum · Early Sabaic (Ethiopia/Eritrea)

    Royal name; DʿMT is not named in the surviving text.

    Original
    DASI transliteration and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode are available in the reader; surviving lineation retained.
    English
    DASI/CSAI English translation available in the reader.
    Image
    Exact record media available: 1 linked DASI image(s), all visually checked; the reader uses image record 11313.

  10. MG 4

    Early 1st millennium–5th/4th c. BCE (DASI Period A) · Mäqabər Ga‘əwa, Wuqro, Ethiopia · Early Sabaic (Ethiopia/Eritrea)

    Early highland dedication, private inscription, or fragment.

    Original
    DASI transliteration and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode are available in the reader; surviving lineation retained.
    English
    DASI/CSAI English translation available in the reader.
    Image
    Exact record media available: 1 linked DASI image(s), all visually checked; the reader uses image record 11314.

  11. MG 5

    Early 1st millennium–5th/4th c. BCE (DASI Period A) · Mäqabər Ga‘əwa, Wuqro, Ethiopia · Early Sabaic (Ethiopia/Eritrea)

    Early highland dedication, private inscription, or fragment.

    Original
    DASI transliteration and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode are available in the reader; surviving lineation retained.
    English
    No continuous semantic translation is possible from the surviving fragment; the reader explains the limit.
    Image
    Exact record media available: 1 linked DASI image(s), all visually checked; the reader uses image record 7160.

  12. GE Ṣ́ǝrḥan 1

    First half of the 1st millennium BCE · Ṣ́ǝrḥan, Aḥfärom, Tǝgray, Ethiopia · Ethio-Sabaean

    Altar dedication by Taʿattarat naming kings ḏū Lakkān and Lāmān.

    Original
    Complete five-line edition and normalized Old South Arabian Unicode available.
    English
    Complete published English translation available.
    Image
    Exact published artifact photograph visually checked; surviving source image is low resolution.

  13. DAI Grat 2019-1 / Yeh 19 B 102

    Early 1st millennium BCE (no exact date verified from the unavailable primary chapter) · Grat Beʿal Gibri, Yeha, Tǝgray, Ethiopia · Old Sabaic

    Dedication; the primary edition has not been retrieved.

    Original
    Primary edition identified; text not retrieved, so no original or transliteration is published.
    English
    No translation retrieved; none inferred from the chapter title or later citation.
    Image
    No exact artifact figure retrieved; no substitute image supplied.

  14. Henze 1

    Early 1st millennium BCE (DʿMT-period context; no narrower date stated by Weninger) · Parakleitos monastery, near the old Adigrat–Däbrä Damo road, Tǝgray, Ethiopia · Ethio-Sabaean (Old Sabaic ductus)

    Fragmentary dedication.

    Original
    Complete surviving four-line fragment; most of the original text is lost
    English
    This translates only the surviving fragments. The restoration of hqny and l and the identification of yḥʾ with Yeha are editorial proposals, not secure text.
    Image
    1 exact artifact image(s), all visually checked against the cited primary edition.

  15. Afṣe 1

    Early 1st millennium BCE (DʿMT-period context; no narrower date stated by Weninger) · Abba Afṣe monastery exhibition room, Yeha, Tǝgray, Ethiopia · Ethio-Sabaean (Old Sabaic ductus)

    Fragmentary dedication.

    Original
    Complete surviving two-line fragment; both sides of the original text are lost
    English
    The name before hqny is lost; [n]tm is only the possible tail of a mimated personal name. The epithet after ḏ is also lost.
    Image
    1 exact artifact image(s), all visually checked against the cited primary edition.

  16. Afṣe 2

    Early 1st millennium BCE (archaic ductus; no narrower date stated by Weninger) · Abba Afṣe monastery exhibition room, Yeha, Tǝgray, Ethiopia · Ethio-Sabaean (Old Sabaic ductus)

    Short name inscription; interpretation uncertain.

    Original
    Complete published main reading plus the three additional visible signs named by the editor
    English
    Weninger does not print a separate translation. The status of Ṣdqn as a deity and ḏ- as an epithet marker is explicitly tentative; no meaning is assigned to ʾ, d, k.
    Image
    2 exact artifact image(s), all visually checked against the cited primary edition.

  17. HG Färäs May 1 / HG Färäs May 2010

    About the 7th century BCE or earlier (palaeographic) · Found at Guldam near Yeha; kept at Färäs May, Tǝgray, Ethiopia when published · Ancient Sabaic

    Ownership inscription on a bronze vessel.

    Original
    Complete one-line ownership/name inscription; separate monogram retained as ◊
    English
    Complete published English translation. Nebes interprets the text as an ownership mark; a votive use cannot be wholly excluded, but no dedicatory verb occurs.
    Image
    3 exact artifact image(s), all visually checked against the cited primary edition.

  18. ʿAddi Baʿekel 1

    Possibly 8th–7th century BCE; a later date cannot be excluded · ʿAddi Baʿekel, Daʾero area north of Feresmay, Tǝgray, Ethiopia · Local Semitic language close to Sabaic

    Fragmentary text in a local Semitic language.

    Original
    Complete surviving six-line fragment; top, right, and bottom are broken away
    English
    This is a line-aligned rendering of the editors’ tentative interpretation, not a continuous reconstruction. Lines 1–2 join rdʾt / trdʾw and lines 3–4 join w-kl.
    Image
    1 exact artifact image(s), all visually checked against the cited primary edition.

  19. Manzo 2002 fragment reportedly joined to RIÉ 28

    Early 1st millennium BCE context (joined date not independently verified) · Gobo Čela / Melazo area, Ethiopia (reported association with RIÉ 28) · Ethio-Sabaean

    Reported join to RIÉ 28; the joined reading has not been verified.

    Original
    RIÉ 28 has a reader, but the Manzo fragment and the published joined reading were not retrieved; no merge made.
    English
    No separately verified translation for the joined fragment.
    Image
    Exact Manzo 2002 fig. 3 unavailable because the repository post-print is restricted; no substitute image supplied.