A New Proposal for the Lost Beginning of Qatabanic Inscription CIAS 47.82/j 1

The inscription CIAS 47.82/j 1 is a South Arabian legal document which comes from the ancient kingdom of Qataban. Since the beginning section of the inscription is missing, H×fner proposed a detailed reconstruction of it which however seems to be questionable (particularly the use of the verbal forms: Üry wâfÃ). On the contrary, we may postulate the presence of âgdd (a technical verb meaning to renew) in the missing incipit of the inscription without being able to reconstruct the exact sentence in its entirety. Accordingly, the key word gdyt, occurring in line 1, 6, 8, should be interpreted as $renewal% (in the technical sense of $renewal of edict%) and consequently the whole text might be viewed as a renewal enforced by the Qatabanian king Wrw£l Áyln Yhn¥m. Under this perspective a revaluation of the general content of the text might reveal new interesting results; as a first impression we are allowed to affirm that we are dealing with one more example of the articulated policy of alliance between the royal Qatabanian power and the tribal reality.