A New Sabaean Inscription Goes Back to the Reign of the Sabaean King Yuhāqim Yurziḥ Bin Dhamār Ali Dharih: An Analytical Study of the Historical Significance

Abstract

This research is a study of an unpublished Sabaean inscription, which represents a monumental inscription of buildings and structures. It was written on a limestone (blq). It has been found in a wall of a mosque called “Juabah” in Amran governorate, Maswar district, Bani Mahdi village. (Maswar is also called Tukhli as named by al-Hamdani). The inscription was inscribed during the time of the Sabaean King Yuhāqim Yurziḥ, son of Dhamār Ali Dhariḥ, King of Saba (Sheba) around the end of the First Century. It is an evidence of the King’s renouncing to the doubled title "King of Saba," and using his personal title “Yurziḥ” instead, because his name has appeared in many other inscriptions with no reference to any of his personal titles. This research discusses all terms of the inscription including names, gods and temples, all of which are mentioned for the first time.