| Masub inscription | |
|---|---|
 The inscription at the Louvre | |
| Created | 221 BC in Umm al-Amad, Ptolemaic Kingdom |
| Discovered | 1887 Northern Israel |
| Present location | The Louvre |
| Language | Phoenician |
The Ma'sub inscription is a Phoenician-language inscription found at Khirbet Ma'sub (French: Masoub) near Al-Bassa. [1] The inscription is from 222/21 BC. [2] [1] Written in Phoenician script, [3] it is also known as KAI 19. [4]
It is considered by the Louvre to originate from Umm al-Amad, Lebanon, around 6-7 km to the northwest of Kh. Ma'sub, on the basis of the reference to an Astarte temple in the inscription; such a temple has been excavated at the Lebanese site. [2] [5] This theory is contra the original provenance statement by Clermont-Ganneau and has also been recently contested by Friedman and Ecker, who see no reason to construe a new provenance and suggest that a second Astarte temple, a twin to the northern one from Umm al-Amad, was built at the southern entrance to the Ladder of Tyre pass, i.e. at or near Ma'sub, thus creating a ritual "bracket" for the pass. [2] In Dunand and Duru's catalogue of Umm al-Amad inscriptions, it is number iv. [6]
The inscription is given as: [7] [8]
PLY
’Š
BN
H’LM
ML’K
MLK
-th (side), which the ʾElim (gods), the envoys of (the divine couple) Milk-
L‘ŠTRT
B’ŠRT
’L
ḤMN
to ʿAshtart, in the holy courtyard of the god Ḥammon
YM
ŠLŠ
ḤMŠM
ŠT
L‘M
[ṢR]
-phoi (literally "the gods-brothers"), (in the) three-(and)-fiftieth year of the people of [ Tyre ],
KM’Š
BN
’YT
KL
’ḤRY
[HMQ]
as also they built all of the other tem-
[DŠ]M
’Š
B’RṢ
LKN
LM
L[SKR]
-ples which are in the land, to be to them for [memory]
[WŠM
N‘M
‘D]
‘LM
[and good name for] eternity.
Baal, or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord' in the Northwest Semitic languages spoken in the Levant during antiquity. From its use among people, it came to be applied to gods. Scholars previously associated the theonym with solar cults and with a variety of unrelated patron deities, but inscriptions have shown that the name Ba'al was particularly associated with the storm and fertility god Hadad and his local manifestations.
Phoenician is an extinct Canaanite Semitic language originally spoken in the region surrounding the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Extensive Tyro-Sidonian trade and commercial dominance led to Phoenician becoming a lingua franca of the maritime Mediterranean during the Iron Age. The Phoenician alphabet spread to Greece during this period, where it became the source of all modern European scripts.
Astarte is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess ʿAṯtart. ʿAṯtart was the Northwest Semitic equivalent of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar.
Umm Al Amad, or Umm el 'Amed or al Auamid or el-Awamid, is an Hellenistic period archaeological site near the town of Naqoura in Lebanon. It was discovered by Europeans in the 1770s, and was excavated in 1861. It is one of the most excavated archaeological sites in the Phoenician heartland.
The Thrones of Astarte are approximately a dozen ex-voto "cherubim" thrones found in ancient Phoenician temples in Lebanon, in particular in areas around Sidon, Tyre and Umm al-Amad. Many of the thrones are similarly styled, flanked by cherubim-headed winged lions on either side. Images of the thrones are found in Phoenician sites around the Mediterranean, including an ivory plaque from Tel Megiddo (Israel), a relief from Hadrumetum (Tunisia) and a scarab from Tharros (Italy).
The Umm Al-Amad votive inscription is an ex-voto Phoenician inscription of two lines. Discovered during Ernest Renan's Mission de Phénicie in 1860–61, it was the second-longest of the three inscriptions found at Umm al-Amad. All three inscriptions were found on the north side of the hill.
The Phoenician Adoration steles are a number of Phoenician and Punic steles depicting the adoration gesture (orans).
The Phoenician Sphinx inscription, also known as the Abdadoni inscription is an inscription found at Umm al-Amad, Lebanon.
The Phoenician sundial is a 2,000 year old scaphe sundial discovered in Umm al-Amad, Lebanon.
Phoenician votive inscriptions or Punic votive inscriptions are votive inscriptions in the Phoenician and Punic religion, dedicated to a certain god or gods, mostly on stelae. The inscriptions have a standard formula, including the name of the god, the statement of the vow, the name of the vower and a closing statement. Most of the inscriptions were found in Carthage, and dedicated to Tinnit, Baʿal Ḥammon or both.
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