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- Pre-Islamic Arabia, Ancient South Arabia, Comparative Semitics, Ancient Near East, Semitic languages, Languages and Linguistics, and 32 moreArchaeology, Comparative Semitic Linguistics, Saudi Arabia, Pragmatics, Language Evolution, Biblical Hebrew, Morphophonology, Cushitic, Egyptian, Afroasiatic linguistics, Hamito-Semitic Linguistics, Idiom Structure and Processing, Phonetics of Biblical Hebrew, Lexical Versus Grammatical Processing, Semitic Morphosyntax, Glides, Pausal Forms, Morphology of Biblical Hebrew, Weak Consonants, Verbal Forms With Conversive Waw, Sabaic inscriptions, History, Semitic Philology, Epigraphic South Arabian, South Arabian Culture, Arabian/Persian Gulf Archaeology, North Arabian Epigraphy, Contact Linguistics, Historical Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, Arabic Language and Linguistics, and Comparative Linguisticsedit
Due to copyright restrictions please email the author for a pdf of the paper. j.schiettecatte@cnrs.fr
Research Interests: Near Eastern Archaeology, Somalia, Horn of Africa, Yemen (History), Epigraphic South Arabian, and 10 moreArabian/Persian Gulf Archaeology, Arabian Peninsula in Antiquity, History of Pre-Islamic Arabia, South Arabian Culture, Ancient Seafaring, West Semitic Epigraphy, Ancient South Arabia, Ancient Maritime Trade Routes, South Arabian Archaeology, and Somalia and Somaliland
(First page only)
Research Interests:
It is the publication of a new historical Himalitarian inscription (Ma'sal 3) from the Ma'sal site in Saudi Arabia, dating from 469 AD, from the reign of Sharhab'il Yakuf and his two sons Abîshamar Nawf and Luhay'at Yanuf, king of Saba ',... more
It is the publication of a new historical Himalitarian inscription (Ma'sal 3) from the Ma'sal site in Saudi Arabia, dating from 469 AD, from the reign of Sharhab'il Yakuf and his two sons Abîshamar Nawf and Luhay'at Yanuf, king of Saba ', dhû-Raydân, Hadramawt, Yamnat and their Arabs from the Highland and the Littoral. The text commemorates the success of a military expedition in the Khatt region of East Arabia and Jaww in central Arabia, where the Himyrite army faced Amr son of Aswad, king of Tanukh, unknown to the Arab tradition. Finally, the inscription reports that the Himyarite army conducted a military operation against "the cities of Khatt, the land of Persia".
Research Interests:
Research Interests:
The Digital Archive for the Study of Pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions (DASI) is a five-year ERC project of the University of Pisa, directed by Prof. A. Avanzini. Started in May 2011, the project seeks to collect in an open-access archive... more
The Digital Archive for the Study of Pre-Islamic Arabian Inscriptions (DASI) is a five-year ERC project of the University of Pisa, directed by Prof. A. Avanzini. Started in May 2011, the project seeks to collect in an open-access archive the whole corpus of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions, with the aim of fostering studies and scientific publications on the epigraphic heritage of Arabia.
The paper describes the main activities carried out in the first two years of the project: the IT research on the cataloguing methodologies of the epigraphic material, the actual work of digitization of thousands of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions and the setting up of the archive website for the fruition of the catalogued material, which opened in October 2013. Moreover, the project encourages the involvement of international partners and promotes the interest in pre-Islamic Arabia through a series of related activities and projects, like the Medina digital library and the IMTO archaeological database, which are promoted in the Arabia Antica portal of the University of Pisa.
The paper describes the main activities carried out in the first two years of the project: the IT research on the cataloguing methodologies of the epigraphic material, the actual work of digitization of thousands of pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions and the setting up of the archive website for the fruition of the catalogued material, which opened in October 2013. Moreover, the project encourages the involvement of international partners and promotes the interest in pre-Islamic Arabia through a series of related activities and projects, like the Medina digital library and the IMTO archaeological database, which are promoted in the Arabia Antica portal of the University of Pisa.
Research Interests:
A bronze tablet with a Sabaic inscription, which appeared in the Sana market, offers the first intriguing occurrence of the goddess 'Athtarum outside the Hadramitic city of Raybūn. The inscription is a penitential text and its content and... more
A bronze tablet with a Sabaic inscription, which appeared in the Sana market, offers the first intriguing occurrence of the goddess 'Athtarum outside the Hadramitic city of Raybūn. The inscription is a penitential text and its content and linguistic and formulaic features are reminiscent of the Sabaic penitential inscriptions from al-Jawf.
This new evidence of a goddess 'Athtarum in the bronze tablet Sana 2004-1 could testify to the existence in the religion of al-Jawf (besides Hadramawt) of female variants of the god 'Athtar, similar to other cultures of the Ancient Near East. The inscription also offers the opportunity of commenting on the question of the gender of deities on the basis of the epigraphic sources.
This new evidence of a goddess 'Athtarum in the bronze tablet Sana 2004-1 could testify to the existence in the religion of al-Jawf (besides Hadramawt) of female variants of the god 'Athtar, similar to other cultures of the Ancient Near East. The inscription also offers the opportunity of commenting on the question of the gender of deities on the basis of the epigraphic sources.
"The paper focuses on the unpublished inscription A–20–216, housed in the University Museum of Sana, which is a Sabaic votive text dedicated to the goddess Shams and to other South Arabian and foreign divinities and shares a number of... more
"The paper focuses on the unpublished inscription A–20–216, housed in the University Museum of Sana, which is a Sabaic votive text dedicated to the goddess Shams and to other South Arabian and foreign divinities and shares a number of traits in common with another Sabaic inscription housed in the British Museum, Ry 547. This text was discussed in the 2007 Seminar for Arabian Studies by Norbert Nebes, who suggested associating it with an unpublished fragment found in Marib by the German Archaeological Institute. In the scholar’s opinion the inscription, commissioned by inhabitants of Gerrha settled in South Arabia, might date back to the reign of King Seleucus I (end of the fourth century BC).
The inscription at the University Museum of Sana now provides further proof of most of these hypotheses. In fact, it is written
by one of the tribes mentioned in Ry 547 and contains the same dating formula, even if it gives a different year. Some of the foreign linguistic traits of Ry 547 are also shown in the text. From the point of view of South Arabian chronology, A–20–216 is even more important, as it offers a synchronism between Seleucus and a Sabaean king named Ydail Byn."
The inscription at the University Museum of Sana now provides further proof of most of these hypotheses. In fact, it is written
by one of the tribes mentioned in Ry 547 and contains the same dating formula, even if it gives a different year. Some of the foreign linguistic traits of Ry 547 are also shown in the text. From the point of view of South Arabian chronology, A–20–216 is even more important, as it offers a synchronism between Seleucus and a Sabaean king named Ydail Byn."
Nordarabique ancien est une appellation conventionnelle qui regroupe plusieurs écritures alphabétiques consonantiques de la tradition sémitique du sud et attestées par des milliers de graffiti et d'inscriptions : taÿmanitique,... more
Nordarabique ancien est une appellation conventionnelle qui regroupe plusieurs écritures alphabétiques consonantiques de la tradition sémitique du sud et attestées par des milliers de graffiti et d'inscriptions : taÿmanitique, dadanitique, safaïtique, hismaïque et thamoudique (ce dernier incluant, à son tour, plusieurs variétés graphiques).
Research Interests:
Arabian Epigraphic Notes (ISSN: 2451-8875) is a journal of the Leiden Center for the Study of Ancient Arabia. It is dedicated to the publication of epigraphy from Arabia and the discussion of relevant historical and linguistic issues.
Research Interests: Arabic Language and Linguistics, Comparative Semitic Linguistics, Greek Epigraphy, Nabataeans (Archaeology), Northwest Semitic Epigraphy, and 17 moreComparative Semitics, Semitic Linguistics, Epigraphic South Arabian, Nabataean Petra, Arabian Peninsula in Antiquity, Semitic Epigraphy, History of Pre-Islamic Arabia, South Arabian Culture, Safaitic, West Semitic Epigraphy, History of Arabic Language, Ancient South Arabia, Ancient North Arabian Linguistics, Old South Arabian Linguistics, Archaeology of the Levant, Archaeology of the Arabian Peninsula, and Nabataean Inscriptions
Paper presented at the 1st Saudi Archaeology Convention, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (7 - 9 Nov 2017).
Research Interests:
Ancient South Arabian (ASA) designates a group of four Semitic languages, namely Sabaic, Qatabanic, Minaic and Ḥaḍramitic, attested from the end of the 2nd millennium BC until the advent of Islam in the southern part of the Arabian... more
Ancient South Arabian (ASA) designates a group of four Semitic languages, namely Sabaic, Qatabanic, Minaic and Ḥaḍramitic, attested from the end of the 2nd millennium BC until the advent of Islam in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula (nowadays Yemen).
In view of the many isoglosses shared, these languages have been traditionally considered as closely genetically related idioms being part of one linguistic family. On the other hand, they do show many specific traits and the level of diversity among each other is increasing, thanks to new available data and recent analytic studies. Subsequently, some scholars have now argued that the relationship among these languages should be revised, and even questioned the existence of ASA as a language family.
This paper intends to re-examine the relationship among the ASA languages through the comparative presentation of the main grammatical phenomena and the assessment of the most relevant shared features of these idioms.
In view of the many isoglosses shared, these languages have been traditionally considered as closely genetically related idioms being part of one linguistic family. On the other hand, they do show many specific traits and the level of diversity among each other is increasing, thanks to new available data and recent analytic studies. Subsequently, some scholars have now argued that the relationship among these languages should be revised, and even questioned the existence of ASA as a language family.
This paper intends to re-examine the relationship among the ASA languages through the comparative presentation of the main grammatical phenomena and the assessment of the most relevant shared features of these idioms.
All’estremità meridionale della penisola araba, nell’attuale Yemen, una fiorente cultura si è sviluppata dalla fine del II millennio a. C. fino alla metà del VI secolo d. C. I sudarabici, conosciuti nel mondo antico come produttori... more
All’estremità meridionale della penisola araba, nell’attuale Yemen, una fiorente cultura si è sviluppata dalla fine del II millennio a. C. fino alla metà del VI secolo d. C. I sudarabici, conosciuti nel mondo antico come produttori d’incenso e di altre sostanze aromatiche, sul cui commercio fondarono la loro prosperità e ricchezza, furono anche abili costruttori di opere monumentali come templi, città e dighe.
Tuttavia, queste popolazioni si distinguono soprattutto dalle altre culture dell’Arabia e del vicino Oriente antico per il loro enorme corpus epigrafico, che conta più di 11.000 iscrizioni ed è quindi la collezione di documenti epigrafici più grande del mondo semitico.
Questi testi, incisi su una straordinaria varietà di supporti e materiali (pietra, legno, bronzo) sono scritti in quattro lingue diverse ma apparentate, rappresentative dei regni principali dell’Arabia meridionale: Sabaʾ, Maʿīn, Qatabān e Ḥaḍramawt.
Pur avendo lingue diverse, tuttavia, i sudarabici impiegarono un unico sistema di scrittura alfabetica, sviluppatosi poi in due grafie diverse, che conobbero un’evoluzione indipendente e furono utilizzate per scopi e su supporti diversi: la scrittura formale (monumentale o maiuscola) e quella informale (minuscola o corsiva). La scrittura formale, di cui abbiamo le testimonianze più numerose, è regolare, geometrica ed esteticamente bella, e fu usata su supporti durevoli e destinati ad essere esposti; la scrittura informale, incisa su materiale deperibile come bastoncini di legno e steli di palma ebbe, invece, un uso prevalentemente privato.
Tuttavia, queste popolazioni si distinguono soprattutto dalle altre culture dell’Arabia e del vicino Oriente antico per il loro enorme corpus epigrafico, che conta più di 11.000 iscrizioni ed è quindi la collezione di documenti epigrafici più grande del mondo semitico.
Questi testi, incisi su una straordinaria varietà di supporti e materiali (pietra, legno, bronzo) sono scritti in quattro lingue diverse ma apparentate, rappresentative dei regni principali dell’Arabia meridionale: Sabaʾ, Maʿīn, Qatabān e Ḥaḍramawt.
Pur avendo lingue diverse, tuttavia, i sudarabici impiegarono un unico sistema di scrittura alfabetica, sviluppatosi poi in due grafie diverse, che conobbero un’evoluzione indipendente e furono utilizzate per scopi e su supporti diversi: la scrittura formale (monumentale o maiuscola) e quella informale (minuscola o corsiva). La scrittura formale, di cui abbiamo le testimonianze più numerose, è regolare, geometrica ed esteticamente bella, e fu usata su supporti durevoli e destinati ad essere esposti; la scrittura informale, incisa su materiale deperibile come bastoncini di legno e steli di palma ebbe, invece, un uso prevalentemente privato.