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Papers from the thirty-seventh meeting of the
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ISSN 0308-8421
ISBN 0-9539923-5-7
Proceedings of the Seminar for Arabian Studies 34 (2004): 157–163
The processional road between Old Mārib and the Awām temple
in the light of a recently discovered inscription from
MaΉram Bilqīs
MOHAMMED MARAQTEN
The American Foundation for the Study of Man (Glanzman 1999: 73–88; 2002: 187–201), and a size-
[AFSM], under the supervision of Mrs. Merilyn Phillips able collection of previously unknown inscriptions
Hodgson, has been excavating at the Awām temple, or (Maraqten 2002: 209–216; Maraqten & Abdallah 2002:
MaΉram Bilqīs, near Mārib since 1998. These archaeo- 49–53). Further, more than 120 inscriptions have been
logical activities are a continuation of the work which discovered in the last season (February to April 2004),
Wendell Phillips carried out at the MaΉram Bilqīs be- primarily in the Peristyle Hall. A team of AFSM epi-
tween November 1951 and February 1952 (Albright graphists including Dr. Yusuf Abdallah, MuΓahhar Iry-
1958: 215–268). Five seasons of excavation have now ānī and myself are currently preparing a publication of
been carried out in the AFSM's renewed campaign, and these inscriptions, which will appear in the ongoing
its discoveries include new buildings outside the ovoid AFSM publication series.
wall of the temple, significant archaeological artefacts
FIGURE 1. MB 2002 I–20.
158 Mohammed Maraqten
A new inscription mentioning the cities" (Ja 665/20).
processional road between Old Mārib and — The stem hΜbyn is an infinitive of the causative stem,
hΜby, of the root Μ–B-Y. This form of infinitive shows
the Awām temple the ending –n.1 The original meaning of the root Μ–B-Y
seems to be "want, desire" and it also has the meaning
Among the important inscriptions discovered in the "refuse" in Arabic (Lane pp. 12f.). HΜby, the causative
2002 season, one gives information about mхbΜ/Μwm, stem, can be understood as "to stop, prevent, hinder".
"the Awām Road", a route connecting the old city of This interpretation is based on Arabic Μabaya, which
Mārib and the Awām sanctuary. This four-line inscrip- also has the meaning of imtanaΚa "refrain, abstain, keep
tion, MB 2002 I–20, measures 75 cm in length and 29 from doing something" and of manΚ "hindering, preven-
cm in height on a block with a total height of 35 cm. tion". Furthermore, the Arabic lexica gloss the verb Μabā
The letters are 6 cm in height with 1 cm spacing be- as kariha "be disgusted" (e.g. Lisān s.v. Μby), and the
tween the letters (Fig. 1). It was originally covered with causative stem akraha means "to force [to do or not do
red paint, some of which is still preserved. It was dis- something], to compel". As a parallel to Arabic akraha,
covered in situ on the north-west side of the external hΜby as the causative stem of Μby, could then be under-
wall of the Peristyle Hall at the Awām temple. Palae- stood as "to force or take hold of somebody". However,
ographically, this inscription can be dated to the Middle in our inscription the first interpretation of hΜbyn as "to
Sabaic period, around the second or third century AD. prevent" is to be preferred, since ΜΟΨ and hΜbyn are the
verbal expressions of two different actions which are
Text forbidden, namely to seize somebody (ΜΟΨ) or to prevent
somebody (hΜby) or stop him from entering or passing
1. Ψt/Μl/чn/ΜΟΨ/whΜbyn/kl/Μnхm/bn on the Awām road. The object is kl/Μnхm "every person,
2. mхbΜ/Μwm/byn/Ήrwnm/wΜwm/wfrm/w any person".
3. Μtym/Ήgn/wqh/Μlmqhw/bΚl/Μwm/bm Line 2. The phrase bn/mхbΜ/Μwm means "from the Road
4. хΜlhw/mlkn/wΜdmhw/хbΜ/wfyцn of Awām" and its location is exactly defined as
byn/Ήrwnm/wΜwm, "between Дarwanum and Awām".
Translation However, using the particle byn "between", namely be-
tween the two temples, gives the impression of a
1. It is not permitted to seize and to prevent anybody movement of worshippers or pilgrims in this space,
from [using] namely the "Awām Road", and indicates that ceremo-
2. the processional road of Awām between Дarwanum nies were performed on this road. It is interesting that
and Awām, our new inscription defines both the beginning and end
3. neither one going forth [to Awām, i.e. a pilgrim] nor points of the road. It starts in Дarwanum and ends at
one coming back [also a pilgrim]. Thus ordered the Awām.
[god] Almaqahū, lord of Awām, in his oracle — The term mхbΜ "road" is attested several times in the
4. to the king and to his servants, SabaΜ and Fayцān. Sabaic inscriptions. For instance, we are informed about
the construction of kl/mnqltn/wkl/mхbΜ/sbΜ/ln/Οlf/Κrn/
Commentary Κmln/Κd/Οlf/mryb "All hill paths and roads from the gate
of the fortress ΚAmlān to the gate of Maryab" (CIH
Line 1. The first line starts with a phrase which occurs 955+418/2, von Wissmann 1982: 346ff.). The fortress
frequently in Sabaic legal documents, namely Ψt/Μl/чn, ΚAmlān is located to the east of СirwāΉ.
"it is not permitted" or "it is illegal", see, for instance, — The object kl/Μnsm "every person, any person" desig-
Robin-KāniΓ 6/1. The root чnn means "be legal, be law- nates a pilgrim or a visitor, i.e. wfrm/wΜtym. — wfr: The
ful" (SD p. 139; Biella 1982: 507) and is followed by meaning of the verbal stem hwfr, "to perform a pilgrim-
two infinitives, ΜΟΨ/whΜbyn. age, celebrate a feast" is well established in the Sabaic
— The verb ΜΟΨ means "take, seize" and is known in the inscriptions (SD pp. 157f.; Biella 1982: 139f.).2 In
South Arabian inscriptions particularly in military con- GeΚez, the root wfr means "go to a field (for any agricul-
texts with the meaning "to take someone as prisoner, to tural activity), go out into a countryside, feed in a pas-
capture" (SD pp. 3f.; Biella 1982: 10–12). In one Sabaic ture" and, by extension, to "go to any place" (Leslau
inscription, for instance, a king sent men lΜΟΨ/lhw/ΜΟΨm 1991: 606f.). The basic meaning of wfr in this inscrip-
/bn/mхbΜ/hgrnhn "in order to seize for him [somebody] tion seems to be "somebody who is going to Awām to
as a prisoner from the expeditionary force of the two perform or to undertake a pilgrimage", or possibly just
The processional road between Old Mārib and the Awām temple 159
for the purpose of visiting the temple. However, the /bΚl/Μwm/bmхΜlhw can be translated "Thus ordered the
traffic along the road to Awām seems to have been pri- god Almaqahū, lord of Awām, in his oracle". The for-
marily connected with pilgrimage. It is legitimate to mula Ήgn/wqh/Μlmqh is attested several times in the Sa-
suggest that the term wfr in this inscription should be baic inscriptions (e.g. YM 547 = CIAS 32.21/r 1/1), see
understood in relation to pilgrimage to the Awām tem- also Ήgn/wqht/цmхm "as Shamsum has decreed" (CIH
ple, since this temple was the most important one in 571/1).
ancient Yemen and also the main pilgrimage-site in the Line 4. The inscription states that this decree was made
whole region. through the oracle of the god Almaqahū to "the king and
The common meaning of the root Μtw/Μty in Sabaic is to his worshippers: SabaΜ and Fayцān" (mlkn/wΜdmhw
"come, come to, come back, arrive at a destination". The /хbΜ/wfyцn). However, the name of the king is not men-
verb Μty with the meaning "come back", is especially tioned in the inscription. Both ΜцΚb (sg. цΚb, "sedentary
well-attested in military contexts (SD p. 9; Biella 1982: tribe"), SabaΜ and Fayцān, occur several times in the
28f.). Moreover, this verb is also well-attested in Sabaic, Sabaic inscriptions (e.g. CIH 609/7) and Fayцān seems
e.g. tΜtww/bn/mn/mΉrmn/ΨΜwm "coming back from the to have played an important role in the Sabaean federa-
sacred area temple of Awām" (Ja 735/12). tion.
The phrase kl/Μnхm … wfrm/wΜtym may mean simply
"anybody, pilgrim or visitor", i.e. distinguishing be-
tween pilgrims and those who are simply visiting the The function and significance of
temple. As such, it may be an example of merismus, that the inscription
is the use of two opposites to designate the whole (e.g.
the expression "all creatures great and small", to express This inscription was discovered in situ and should be
the concept of "the whole of creation"),3 and would be considered in its archaeological context. Its function
paralleled in the phrase kl/Μ[n]хm/bhΕm/wqΓnm "Every- was the protection of pilgrims and visitors to the Awām
body, great or small" (e.g. in CIH 619/2) which is at- temple, who at times had presumably been accosted and
tested several times in juridical inscriptions as an ex- robbed. Because of this, a religious injunction or law by
pression for "all, everybody, without exceptions". On the god Almaqah had to be proclaimed to protect his
the other hand, kl/Μnхm … wfrm/wΜtym could mean worshippers. This inscription proves that not only the
"anybody [who is] either going forth [to Awām, i.e. a grounds of the Awām temple but also the processional
pilgrim or a visitor] or coming back [also a pilgrim or a road to it, were considered holy, and that certain behav-
visitor]". I would prefer the latter, since it suggests iour was forbidden there.
ceremonial movement on the Awām Road. The protection of pilgrims during their journey to
Such a movement between the two holy places, Mārib was the duty of the king, and sometimes he had
namely the temples Awām and Дarwanum, could be to take measures to ensure their safety, as stated in one
understood as a kind of ritual performed on the Awām Sabaic inscription from the MaΉram Bilqīs which in-
Road. If this is correct, the phrase kl/Μnхm … forms us that an officer (mqtwy) was sent to Mārib by
wfrm/wΜtym might refer to this specific religious ritual the king Shammar YuharΚish, king of SabaΜ and Dhū-
movement between these two temples of Almaqah, pos- Raydān (early fourth century AD) lnΞr/wtnΒfn/(b)hgrn/
sibly during the time of pilgrimage, similar to the Is- mrb/lΉΡr/Μbhy "to take care of the performance of the
lamic ceremony of saΚy, running between the two holy rites of the pilgrimage in the city of Mārib during the
places Сafā and Marwah in Mecca during the Islamic pilgrimage time in [the month] of Dhū-ΜAbhay" (Ja
pilgrimage.4 651/16–17). In other places, such safety-measures were
— Дrwnm (Дarwanum/Дarūnum) was the main temple ordered by the deity, as in the case of the god TaΜlab
of the Sabaean national deity Almaqah in the old city of who decreed that action be taken to protect the pilgrims
Mārib, and is probably located under the present-day within the sacred area (RES 4176/2).
Masjid Sulayman, near the foot of the citadel. It is at- Our inscription proves that "the Awām Road", from
tested several times in the inscriptions (e.g. Ja 584/9; Ja Дarwanum to Awām, was considered to be part of the
657/14–15). temenos of the Awām temple. Two things made this
Line 3. Ήgn, (< the root Д-N-G) means "as, according road sacred. Firstly, it bears the same name, Awām
to" (SD p. 69). The verb wqh means to "command, or- "place of refuge", as the temple itself. Secondly, it is a
der" (SD p. 161) and the noun mхΜl has the meaning link between the two temples and is therefore itself a
"oracle" (SD p. 121). Thus the phrase wqh/Μlmqhw holy place.
160 Mohammed Maraqten
FIGURE 2. A plan showing the relationship of Old Mārib to the Awām temple (MaΉram Bilqīs).
(From Seipel 1998: 180).
Our inscription belongs among those divine decrees Roads seem to have been built to connect the cities,
which have the function of regulating the relationship or the temples contained within them, to the extra muros
between the deity and the worshipper (e.g. RES 4176; temples. Indeed, some inscriptions mention the con-
Ghul-Mārib 1) or the treatment of the property of the struction of such roads, which can be described as sa-
temple or the deity (e.g. MB 2002 I–6). cred and processional ways. The term used to describe
these roads is mхbΜ, as in our inscription. For example,
Processions and processional roads in the road (mхbΜ) which linked Shibām Sukhaym with the
Ancient Yemen temple of TaΜlab, erected on the side of the hill of Dhū-
Marmar, is described in one inscription as mхbΜ/Κrn/
In ancient Yemen there is both epigraphic and archaeo- Ψmrmr "The processional road of the hill-citadel of
logical evidence for the existence of processions and Dhū-Marmar" (RES 4624/4). Further, a minister of the
processional roads. There appear to have been two stan- god TaΜlab, who undertook several public construction
dard South Arabian terms meaning "procession", projects, is mentioned as having ΚΨb/mхbΜ/Κrn "repaired
namely mхbΜ and mhyΚ, both having the basic meaning the road of the hill-citadel" (CIH 338) — i.e. Itwat,
"road, way" (on mhyΚ, see Nebes 2000: 298–302). where the temple of TaΜlab was established. This in-
Two main types of temples have been found in scription is engraved on a rock beside this processional
Yemen: the intra muros and the extra muros. Intra road. The interpretation of msbΜ as "a procession" is
muros temples include several in TimnaΚ, the temple of based on the attestation of the verb хbΜ in the meaning
Дarwanum in Mārib, etc. Examples of extra muros tem- of "to make a procession" (Ja 735/7) which allows us to
ples include the Awām and BarΜān temples south of translate mхbΜ/Μwm as "processional road of Awām" in
Mārib and temples found outside other cities. our new inscription.
The processional road between Old Mārib and the Awām temple 161
Remains of some of the processional roads of an- Notes
cient Yemen have survived. A good example is the ap-
proximately six-kilometre-long processional road at 1
On the construction of the infinitive in Sabaic, see
Jabal al-Lawdh in the Jawf, which starts at the bottom Nebes 1988: 63ff.; and Stein 2002: 393ff.
of the hill and goes up to the temple on the summit 2
On the etymology of wfr, see Müller WW 1997: 101
(Robin & Breton 1982; von Wissmann 1982: 164f.; and Lundin 1987: 55, who put the wfr I and wfr II of
Daum 1999/2000: 223ff.). the SD together and translated them both as "to cul-
Our inscription proves the existence of "the Awām tivate". However, it seems that the root W-F-R in
Road", connecting the old city of Mārib with the Sabaic has the same double meaning as Arabic
MaΉram Bilqīs sanctuary c. 3.5 km to the south. How- Κamara, namely to "cultivate" and to "perform a pil-
ever, the road itself still awaits discovery. Glaser sus- grimage", cf. Arabic iΚtamara "to perform the
pected that one had once existed, and he recorded part Κumrah", and Κāmirūn "those who have performed an
of a bridge crossing Wādī Dhana in the direction of Κumrah". The Κumrah is "a pilgrimage to Mecca
Awām (Müller DH & Rhodokanakis 1913: 45). The which need not be performed at a particular time in
expedition of Wendell Phillips in 1951-1952 also at- the year, unlike the Ήajj, and involves fewer ceremo-
tempted to find it. nies" (Lisān s.v. Κmr).
During the AFSM's second field season (1999) at the 3
On merismus in the Sabaic inscriptions, see Sima
MaΉram Bilqīs, a group from the University of Calgary, 2001: 304ff.
working as part of the AFSM team under the direction 4
On the rituals of the pre-Islamic pilgrimage to
of W. Glanzman, carried out a ground-penetrating radar Mecca, see Zaytūnī 1987: 273-282.
survey over part of the site. They targeted the western 5
Other processional roads are considerably shorter.
side of the sanctuary beyond the North-west Doorway That at al-Hajrah is 68 m long, that at Raybūn is
specifically to test for the presence of a Processional 58 m long and that at Makaynūn is 65 m long
Way leading from the bridge to the sanctuary. Their (Breton 1980: 5ff.).
results demonstrated the existence of a wide, flat area
which could be the remains of a pavement similar to Sigla
those which may have been found on other processional
roads (Moorman et al. 2001: 185f.). If this is correct, it CIAS Inscriptions in Pirenne & Beeston
would be the second longest processional road in an- 1977.
cient Yemen, after that of Jabal al-Lawdh.5 CIH Inscriptions in Corpus Inscriptionum
Semiticarum. Pars IV. Inscriptiones
Дimyariticas et Sabaeas continens.
Acknowledgements Paris: Reipublicae Typographeo,
1889-1932.
Ghul-Mārib 1 Inscription in Bron 1992: 69.
I would like to express my gratitude to Mrs. Merilyn I Inscription
Phillips-Hodgson, President of the AFSM, for all her Ja 584, 657,
help and for her great contribution to the MaΉram Bilqīs 651,665, 735 Inscriptions in Jamme 1962.
project. I would also like to thank Dr. Y. Abdallah, Lane Lane 1863–1893.
President of the General Organization of Antiquities and Lisān Ibn ManΞūr 1955–1956.
Museums of Yemen, with whom I discussed several MB Registration siglum of inscriptions
problems in the inscriptions found during the last season discovered by the AFSM excavations
(MB 2002), and Dr. Abdo O. Ghalib, of the University at MaΉram Bilqīs 1998–.
of СanΚāΜ, with whom I discussed aspects of the relation- RES Inscriptions in Répertoire d'épigraphie
ship between the inscription and its architectural con- sémitique. (8 volumes). Paris: Im-
text. Finally, I would like to thank all those at the Semi- primerie Nationale, 1900-1968.
nar for Arabian Studies 2003 who made comments in Robin-Kānit 6 Inscription in Robin 1982, ii: 52–55.
the discussion after I delivered this paper, and especially SD Beeston et al. 1982.
Professor W.W. Müller. YM Yemen Museum registration number.
162 Mohammed Maraqten
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Author's address
Dr Mohammed Maraqten, Seminar für Semitistik, Wilhelm-Röpke-Strasse 6F, 35032 Marburg Lahn, Germany.
e-mail maraqten@mailer.Uni-Marburg.de
Mohammed Maraqten محمد مرقطن