al-ʿUlā 2

Interpretation

Commentary: The photograph was found on Twitter. It is apparently in a private collection. Presumably, it is the end of a longer inscription which concluded with a date in the reign of Fḍg bn Tlmy, after which the mason gave his name. Fḍg bn tlmy is a previously unrecorded king of Liḥyan. For the name fḍg in the royal family of Liḥyān, compare the Tayma stele first published by Livingstone et al. 1983: 108–111, pl. 88 (and see Beyer & Livingstone 1987: 286–288 and Cross 2003: 184–186) the author of which is called pṣgw šhrw (i.e. Fḍg Šhr) of the royal house of Liḥyān.

Livingstone, A., Spaie, B., Ibrahim, M., Kamal, M., Taimani, S. Taimāʾ: Recent Soundings and New Inscribed Material (1402 AH — 1982 AD). Atlal 7, 1983: 102-116, pl. 83-97.
Beyer, K. & Livingstone, A. Die neuesten aramäischen Inschriften aus Taima. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft 137, 1987: 285-296.
Cross, F.M. A New Aramaic Stele from Taymāʾ. Pages 184-187 in J.A. Hackett & J. Huehnergard (eds), Leaves from an Epigrapher's Notebook. Collected Papers in Hebrew and West Semitic Palaeography and Epigraphy. Republished with some editing and additions. First published in Catholic Biblical Quarterly 48, 1986: 387-394. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2003.