Post on 20-Feb-2023
An ancient Arabian zodiac. The constellations in theSafaitic inscriptions, Part I
This contribution identifies a previously unrecognised mode of reckoning time in the
Safaitic inscriptions - the stars. Twelve zodiacal constellations are identified,
along with the constellations Orion and the Pleiades.
Keywords: Ancient North Arabian, astronomy, zodiac, epigraphy, Safaitic
Ahmad Al-Jallad
LUCL & LIAS, Leiden
University, Room 1.07B, Witte
Singel 25/M de Vrieshof 4, 2311
BZ Leiden, The Netherlands
e-mail: a.m.al-jallad@hum.leidenuniv.nl
1. Introduction
This paper identifies the names of the zodiacal constel-
lations in the Safaitic inscriptions1 and their use for the
reckoning of time. The North Arabian zodiac differs in
many significant ways from the contemporary Aramaic
and Greek systems while sharing important similarities
with the Babylonian tradition. In the following, I will
present the process of decipherment, followed by an
etymological discussion and a selection of relevant
inscriptions. A fuller historical treatment will be carried
out in a second article.
2. The seasons and the constellations
Many ancient societies relied on the stars for the reckoning
of time. The identification of the constellations is therefore
connected to the yearly cycle as experienced by the inhab-
itants of the Ḥarrah. In a brilliant 1992 article, M.C.A.
Macdonald identified four seasons attested in the Safaitic
inscriptions, which correspond to four out of the five
seasons known to the Rwala Bedouin, as recorded by
Musil (Table 1).
Three of these appear together in two inscriptions:
Mu 113
l s:
ʿd bn ḍb bn ʿbd bn ʾdm w ḥll h- dr dṯʾ f ʾyḍ f s²ty f h
bʿls¹mn qbll
By Ṣʿd son of Ḍb son of ʿbd son of ʾdm and he camped
here during the season of the later rains, then the dry sea-
son, and then winter so, O Bʿls¹mn, show benevolence
Commentary
ʾyḍ: this rare reflex of the verb qyẓ, which exhibits the
sound changes q > ʾ and ẓ > ḍ, is attested only once
more in MKMR 9; see Al-Jallad (2015: §3.7.4.1) and
Macdonald (2004: 498) for further discussion.
The same sequence is encountered in an inscription
from the Ḥarrah, which is rather difficult to interpret:
SIJ 10082
l <<>>bʾmrh {w} gdʿw[ḏ] nw{y} w ʾqwy w dṯʾ w qy[ẓ]
w s²ty h- rḥbt ʿwd w h ʾ{l}{t} s¹fʾ -hm
By Bʾmrh and, {O Gdʿwḏ (divine name)}, let there be
pasture and endurance while he spends the season of the later rains, the dry season, and the winter at this raḥabah for a second time; and, O ʾlt, let them [i.e. the seasons] provide sustenance
1 Safaitic refers to a script used by the inhabitants of the Ḥarrah,
the basalt desert of what is today northern Jordan and southern
Syria and the adjacent portions of Saudi Arabia, to inscribe rock
inscriptions in several closely related dialects of Old Arabic (see
Huehnergard, forthcoming).
2 While the first {w} more closely resembles a g on the copy, the
inscription clearly transitions from a personal name to a divine
name, and so a conjunction is expected. The g is distinguished
from the w by a diameter or secant line. If the absence of the line
is not the result of a copy error, then it is possible that the author
forgot to carve it after forming the circle. The next word gdʿw is
best restored as gdʿw[ḏ], a manifestation of the deity Gadd. The
syntax of the prayer formula to Gdʿwḏ is paralleled in C 4457.
The single ẓ of this inscription was restored by Macdonald
(1992a: 7). I have no explanation as to why the author began
with larger letters, swerved into a progression of small letters,
and then went back to carving large ones.
214
Arab. arch. epig. 2014: 25: 214–230 (2014)
Printed in Singapore. All rights reserved
Commentary
nwy: this word usually appears as a verb meaning ‘to
migrate’, but prayer formulae usually express a request for
a boon or favour. Here, nwy should probably be taken as
‘a grazing place’ or ‘pastureland’ (HALOT #6037), and
would stand opposite the known curse mḥlt ‘dearth of pas-
ture’; see for example, WH 24.
ʾqwy: this is the infinitive of the C-stem of the root √qwy,
which signifies ‘strength or endurance’ in Classical Arabic
(CAr), here perhaps, ‘grant strength, endurance’. Infini-
tives are commonly used for the purpose of commands in
the Safaitic inscriptions as an alternative to the imperative.
h-rḥbt: Macdonald (1992b: 23) has argued convinc-
ingly that the term rḥbt, when it appears with the article
h-, refers to an open area in which water collects and pro-
duces abundant herbage, a raḥabah. This is in contrast to
the term without the article, which refers to the area
known today as al-Ruḥbah.
s¹fʾ -hm: this phrase reflects a request from the deity ʾlt,
so the basic sense of this root as found in the CAr lexicons
as ‘foolish’ or ‘ignorance’ seems unsuitable. A connection
with Ugaritic spʾ ‘to eat, devour’ (del Olmo Lete & San-
mart�ın 2004: 766) is more appropriate, and in the current
context may reflect a verbal noun with the subject
expressed as a pronominal suffix.
: :
Both of these inscriptions suggest that the year was divided into three primary seasons (Table 2). The winter s²ty, as Macdonald has recognised, encompassed the contemporary Bedouin aṣ-ṣferi and aš-šta, stretchingfrom early October to mid-February. Dṯʾ would then corre-
spond to the Rwala as-sm�ak, stretching from mid-February
to mid-April. Qyẓ corresponds to the dry season, but may
also have included the early summer. The term s:
yf occurs
only three times in the Safaitic inscriptions,3 which sug-
gests that it was not a regular season for their authors.
M.C.A. Macdonald has suggested to me that it may signify
a transitional period between dṯʾ and the dry season, qyẓ.
Two other inscriptions record a series of three terms in
an identical order, mlḥ, ḏkr and ʾmt. The translations of the
editiones principes follow:
C 4985
l zdʾl bn n _gft bn ʾʿly bn ḍḥy bn ḥwq bn kwnt bn s²wʾ w
ḥḍr ẖlqt mlḥ w ḏkr w ʾmt w s¹lḥ h- ʾbl mdbr w zrʿ h- rḥ
(—)bt f h ʾlt s¹lm w nqʾt l- ḏ yʿwr
By Zdʾl son of N _gft son of ʾʿly son of Ḍḥy son of Ḥwq
son of Kwnt son of S²wʾ and he stayed in the caves of
Maliḥ, Ḏakir and Amat, and the camels were dispersed in
the desert. And he sowed the Ruhbat and, O Lat, health
and vengeance against him who obliterates4
KRS 169
l nʿrt bn ẖdmt bn trml bn s¹ry bn s¹hm w _gz b- nẖl f h yṯʿ
s¹lm w klʾ h- s¹my ḥḍ{r} mlḥ f ḏ{k}{r} f ʾmt f yʾs¹ f h
bʿls¹mn r{w}ḥ w s¹lm
By Nʿrt son of Hdmt son of Trml son of S¹ry son of
S¹hm and he was on a raid in a valley and so O Yṯʿ [grant]
security and he watched the sky {camping near a perma-
nent source of water} [at] Mlḥ and {Ḏkr} and ʾmt and
Yʾs¹ and so O Bʿls¹mn [send] {relief from adversity and
uncertainty} and [grant] security
I will comment on both inscriptions more extensively in
the next section. A few words on the interpretation of klʾ
in KRS 169 are in order, however, since it bears directly
on the interpretation of the terms mlḥ, ḏkr and ʾmt. The
translation of the editio princeps of klʾ as ‘watched’ is
probably incorrect. Instead, it should be connected with
the sense of ‘retain, detain’, and refers to the lack of rain
(HALOT #4241). A comparable use of this root is found
in Gen. 8: 2 wayyikk�al�e(ʾ) hag-ge�sem min-ha�s-�s�am�ayim
‘and the rain from the sky was restrained’. In this inscrip-
Table 1. The seasons in the Safaitic inscriptions compared to the
Rwala.
Seasons Safaitic Rwala Time period
—— —— as:
-s:
feri early October–early January
the winter s²ty a�s-�sta early January–mid-February
the season of
the later rains
dṯʾ as-sm�ak mid-February–mid-April
the early summer s:
yf as:
-s:
eyfi mid-April–early June
the dry season qyẓ al-q�eẓ early June–early October
Table 2. The division of the year by season.
Seasons Safaitic Rwala Time period
the winter s2ty as:
-s:
feri early October–early January
a�s-�sta early January–mid-February
the season of
the later rains
dṯʾ as-sm�ak mid-February–mid-April
the dry season qyẓ (including the
transitional s:
yf)
as:
-s:
eyfi mid-April–early June
al-q�eẓ early June–early October
3 These are WH 2327, 3500 and KRS 2282. The fact that all the
other seasons are attested frequently, including s²ty and dṯʾ,
makes it unlikely that the authors of the Safaitic inscriptions
were only absent during s:
yf.
4 Ryckman’s Latin is: Zaydoʾilo, filio Naghafati, filii ʾaʿlayi, filii
Daḥiyi filii ḥuw�aq�ı, filii Kuwaynati, filii �saww�a �ʾı. Et versabatur
in cavernis Malih et Dhakir et Amat. Et disperse sunt (?) cameli
in deserto. Et seminavit in Ruhbat. Et, O Ilat, salutem, et vindic-
tam ab illo qui oblitteraret.
215
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
tion, the verb has an active sense: ‘and the sky withheld/
restrained it’. The third person pronoun referring to the
rain probably assimilated to the article: */wa kallaʾ-ah-
has-sam�ay/, which is also common in the inscriptions.5
This reinterpretation fits well with the fact that the
author ‘despaired’, yʾs¹, and then asked the rain-god,
Bʿls¹mn, for ‘relief’ rwḥ so that he would remain
secure, w s¹lm.6
Both C and KRS took mlḥ, ḏkr and ʾmt as toponyms.
These terms also occur independently, usually as an object
of the preposition b- or following the terms rʾy and ks¹ʾ.
For example:
AbaNS 1117
l s¹lm bn s:
bḥ w s:
yr b- ʾmt f h rḍw _gnmt
By S¹lm son of S:
bḥ and he returned to permanent water
b- ʾmt so, O Rḍw, let there be booty
KRS 1267
l khl bn ẖl bn ʾml w tẓr my b- ḏkr
By Khl son of Hl son of ʾml and he awaited rain b- ḏkr
C 523
l ʾlh bn bʾẖh bn trb w wrd h- nmrt b- ks¹ʾ mlḥ
By ʾlh son of Bʾhh son of Trb and he came to water at
Nam�arah b- ks¹ʾ mlḥ
C 2549
w ḥll h- ʿrḍ b- r{ʾ}y ḏkr nwy
and he camped in this valley b- rʾy ḏkr while migrating
with the tribe
The term rʾy has been the subject of much debate. Litt-
mann (1943: 117) suggested that rʾy signified a watering
place, in connection with the root √rwy, in his translation
of the phrase b- rʾy gml as ‘a watering-place of camels’.
While some have accepted this identification, faute de
mieux, it remains unclear how rʾy should be derived from
the aforementioned root or why it should signify a noun
of place.7 Jamme rejected this interpretation and instead
suggested the meaning ‘in sight of’ or ‘in view of’ on the
assumption that the terms ḏkr, mlḥ and ʾmt, which often follow rʾy, were toponyms (1971: 34–35). I agree with Jamme that rʾy as a reflex of √rwy is unlikely, but I do not see how his translation renders a better interpretation of these constructions. Ks¹ʾ, on the other hand, has not enjoyed as much discussion. Most have taken it to mean a ‘track’ or ‘way’, based on a rather extreme semantic leap from its Classical Arabic counterpart kasaʾa ‘he, or it, pur-sued or followed another’ (Lane 2608c). If we consider, however, the fact that mlḥ, ḏkr and ʾmt occur together in the same order in both C 4985 and KRS 169, in light of the sequences of seasons in Mu 113 and SIJ 1008, a better explanation presents itself: these terms may refer to peri-ods of time. Based on their etymologies, I would suggest that they signal the zodiacal constellations, and if we con-sider the time period in which the sun passed through these constellations roughly 2000 years ago, it seems clear that they were used to demarcate the three major seasons attested in the Safaitic inscriptions.8
Before discussing their etymologies, a short excursus
on the apparent interaction of the sun and moon with the
zodiacal constellations is in order. This will cast light on
the meanings of b-, rʾy and ks¹ʾ. The earth’s orbital path
causes the sun’s diurnal arc to shift across the sky over
the period of a year. The series of constellations which
lies on the sun’s annual path, the ecliptic, is called the
‘zodiac’. The sun is said to be in a given constellation
when it rises in the segment of the sky occupied by that
constellation. The ecliptic constellations were identified
by the Babylonians, where they were a part of a larger
celestial coordinate system of seventeen constellations, of
which not all were ecliptic (Koch-Westenholz 1995:
132). By the fifth century BCE, the twelve-part zodiac
had emerged. This system divided the sky into twelve
30° segments, called ‘signs’, each associated with a par-
ticular ecliptic constellation. Since the ecliptic constella-
tions vary in size, the amount of time the sun spends in5 The word for sky, sam�ay, can be treated as both masculine and
feminine in the inscriptions. A parallel expression is HaNSB
119: ʿgz h- s¹my ‘and the sky withheld it [i.e. the rain], which
also occurs in the feminine HaNSB 16 w ʿgzt h- s¹my kll h- s¹nt
‘and the sky withheld it [i.e. the rain] the entire year’. On word
boundary assimilation, see Macdonald (2004: 507).6 Result clauses are formed either by w or l and the optative use
of the suffix conjugation or the prefix conjugation (see
Al-Jallad, forthcoming: §9.5.3).7 An active participle formation C�aʾiC seems possible, but in this
case we should not expect the final vowel to have been indicated
in the orthography; an underlying r�a �ʾı would appear as rʾ and
not rʾy. Moreover, a noun of place rather than an active partici-
ple pattern would have been expected.
8 The only reference in the literature I could find which considers
an alternative explanation for any of these terms is Ababneh’s
interpretation of AbaNS 1117, where he states the following
about ʾmt: ‘It seems more possible to identify ʾmt as a month
name (i.e. with astronomic sense; [sic] e.g. a star name, or one
of the lunar phases). . .’. Unfortunately, his explanation is rather
convoluted, as a month name, a star name and a lunar phase are
rather different things. Moreover, it is unclear how he came to
such a conclusion, especially since he provides no etymological
justification for his interpretation. Finally, since he accepts Jam-
me’s translation of b rʾy as ‘in sight of’, it is unclear how this
would configure with ʾmt being a month.
216
A. AL-JALLAD
each is not uniform. Thus, the zodiac signs sometimes
correspond only roughly with their namesakes.9 The
moon’s path also follows the ecliptic and appears to pass
through the constellations. The moon completes a circuit
on the ecliptic every month, and the full moon will
appear in each constellation/sign once a year.
The zodiacal constellations also appear to rise and set.
When the sun occupies the same portion of the sky as a
constellation, its stars cannot be seen at dawn or dusk
because of the sun’s light. Once the sun has passed on to
the next constellation, however, the stars of the previous
one will become visible on the eastern horizon, rising
slightly before dawn. This is called the heliacal rising of a
constellation. Roughly half a year later, the constellation
will experience an acronical rising, whereby its stars
appear for the first time in the evening sky opposite the
position of the sun.10
In light of our new understanding of mlḥ, ḏkr and ʾmt, it
seems more likely that the terms rʾy and ks¹ʾ have to do
with the behaviour of celestial bodies. The heliacal rising
of the stars/constellations interested Babylonian astrono-
mers, to which they applied the term IGI = ittanmar, ‘to rise
heliacally’ (Reiner 1981: 16–17), from am�arum ‘to see’.
Safaitic rʾy corresponds well with this. There are certain
cases, however, in which rʾy must be taken as a reference
to the acronical rising of a constellation. I would therefore
suggest simply translating the term as ‘the rising’ and
determining whether it referred to heliacal or acronical
rising based on its context. The term ks¹ʾ is comparable to
CAr kusʾun ‘the latter part of a month; its last ten days, or
about that period’ (Lane 2608), Hebrew k�ıse and Syriac
kes�aʾ, both ‘full moon’ (HALOT #4329). Since we have
no evidence to suggest that the month was divided into
three ten-day portions11 or that the terms of the zodiac
even refer to months, I would suggest that Safaitic ks¹ʾ
refers to the full moon when it occupies the constellation/
sign with which it is in construct. Full moons occur when
the moon rises directly opposite the sun, and so we can
roughly determine the time of year to which an inscription
containing ks¹ʾ before the name of a zodiacal constellation
refers. Finally, I would suggest that the preposition b- sig-
nifies the period of time in which the sun rises in a given
constellation.
The question as to whether mlḥ, ḏkr and ʾmt refer to the
actual constellations, to a 30� segment of the sky (i.e. a
sign) or had simply become names for the months
remains. Only a single published Safaitic inscription
attests a clear reference to a month name:
KRS 1965
l ghm bn zhrn bn ʿḏ bn tm bn ʿḏ w ts²wq ʾ[l-] ḥbb b-
s²hr s¹bt f h lt qbll
By Ghm son of Zhrn son of ʿḏ son of Tm and he longed
{for} a friend in the month of S¹bṭ, so, O Lt, show benevo-
lence
‘S¹bṭ’ obviously renders the winter month �səb�aṭ, and
indicates that at least this author was using a version of the
Babylonian calendar. If he is not an anomaly, then it would
appear that the Babylonian month names were in use
among the nomads, suggesting that the zodiacal terms had
not become names of the months. It remains unclear, how-
ever, whether an ecliptic coordinate system consisting of
twelve 30° parts was in use or whether the terms referred
to the constellations themselves. The fact that the authors
of these inscriptions were clearly concerned with heliacal
and acronical risings supports the latter interpretation.
Indeed, there is nothing in the inscriptions that would
require the existence of a system of zodiac signs.
The identification of the constellations is made primar-
ily on etymological grounds, with due consideration to
each term’s context within an inscription. Given this limi-
tation, there is no way to be sure that the Arabian constel-
lations comprised the same stars as their classical
counterparts. While these issues will be dealt with in more
detail in Part II of this paper, they directly affect the way
we interpret the chronological dimension of the astronomi-
cal texts. Variation in the size of the constellations would
influence the amount of time the sun would have spent in
each, challenging our ability to assign accurate dates to the
various celestial references. Moreover, the time of year the
sun spent in each constellation would have shifted by a
few days over the estimated period of Safaitic epigraphic
activity (first century BCE–fourth century CE) due to the
phenomenon of axial procession. Nevertheless, I think it is
safe to assume that the constellations correspond to their
9 Due to the phenomenon of axial procession, the zodiac signs
today do not correspond to the constellations on which they
were based. The sign Aries, for example, corresponds to the
constellation Pisces. Since the Safaitic inscriptions were
produced in the neighbourhood of 2000 years ago, however,
the discrepancy between sign and constellation was much less
pronounced. For further reading, see Kelley & Milone 2005:
26–27.10 Heliacal setting refers to apparent setting of a constellation with
the sun slightly before the sun’s light renders it invisible. The
acronical setting occurs when the stars of a constellation set
opposite the sun at dawn. Neither of these appear to be men-
tioned in the Safaitic inscriptions.11 This division was in use in Ancient South Arabia; see Stein
2005 for further discussion.
217
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
classical counterparts, but to assign rough dates to the dif-
ferent astronomical events (i.e. early April for the begin-
ning of Aries rather than a specific date). Table 3 lists the
comparable incarnations of the zodiac along with the dates
of both the signs and the position of the sun. While the
fixed dates of the zodiac signs are about a month removed
from the constellations today, the difference would have
been negligible some 2000 years ago. The astronomical
dates estimate the period in which the sun would have
passed through each constellation in the second century
CE.12
3. The constellations
Aries = ḏkr
The Safaitic term corresponds perfectly with the Ara-
maic ארכד , but a loan can probably be ruled out based on
the preservation of the initial interdental. The use of this
root to signify a ram is unknown in CAr, where ḏakar has
a more general sense, referring to the male of a species as
opposed to the female (Lane 970a). The origins of the ram
symbol, replacing the original ‘hired farm-labourer’ is
unclear and continues to be debated (Rogers 1998:19).
The sun would have passed through Aries during the
month of April, placing it at the end of dṯʾ.
Libra = ʾmt
This word is probably related to the root √ʾmt, which
means in CAr to ‘measure or compute quantity’ (Lane
94c), and renders it a suitable match for Libra, the scales.13
This meaning, however, was not known to the Arab lexi-
cographers. In the earliest periods, the stars of Libra con-
stituted the claws and tail of Scorpio, but by the ‘three
stars each’ period (c.1100 BCE), Libra was recognised as
its own constellation (Rogers 1998: 24–25). An echo of its
former unity with Scorpio, however, is preserved in a sin-
gle inscription (see the discussion under ʿqbt). The sun
passes through Libra from mid-September to mid-October,
which corresponds with the end of qyẓ, and therefore sig-
nifies the end of the dry season.
Aquarius = mlḥ
The connection of mlḥ with Aquarius can be made on
the basis of analogy with the previous two signs, namely,
that they correspond to the final constellation of their
Table 3. The Zodiac.
Latin English Greek
Aramaic
(Qumran) Babylonian Sign dates Astronomical dates
Aries Ram Κqιός ארכד the Hireling MUL(-LU2)ḪUN-GA2 agru mid-March–mid-April early April–late April 25 days
Taurus Bull Τaυqος ארות Bull of An MULGU4-AN-NA
(mul.mul) alu/is le
mid-April–mid-May late April–late May 37 days
Gemini Twins Dίdυlοι אימואת the Great Twins MULMA�S-TAB-BA-
GAL-GAL m�a�su/t�uʾ�am�u rabutu
mid-May–mid-June late May–late June 31 days
Cancer Crab Κaqj~ımος הנטרס the Crab MULNAGAR alluttu mid-June–mid-July late June–early July 20 days
Leo Lion Λέxm הירא the Lion MULUR-A/ MUL
UR-GU-
LA n�e�su / urgulu
mid-July–mid-August early July–mid-August 37 days
Virgo Maiden Πaqhέmος הלותב the Furrow MULKI absinnu mid-August–mid-September mid-August–late September 45 days
Libra Scales Ζυcός אינזומ the Scales GI�S-ERIN2 zib�an�ıtu/zib�anu mid-September–mid-October late September–late October 23 days
Scorpio Scorpion Σjοqpιός אברקע the Scorpion MULGIR2-TAB zuqiq�ıpu mid-October–mid-November late October–late October 7 days
Ophiucus* late October–mid-November 18 days
Sagittarius Archer Τοξόsgς אתשק Pabilsag MULPA-BIL-SAG Pabilsag mid-November–mid-December mid-November–mid-December
32 days
Capricorn Goat-horned Αἰcόjeqxς אידג the Goat-Fish MULSUḪUR.
MA�S2ku6 suḫurm�a�su
mid-December–mid-January mid-December–mid-January 28 days
Aquarius Water-bearer Ὑdqοvόος אלוד the Great One MULGU-LA rammanu mid-January–mid-February mid-January–mid-February 24 days
Pisces The fishes Ἰvhύeς אינונ the Tails mulKUN
ME�S zibb�atu mid-February–mid-March mid-February–early April 38 days
*Ophiucus is the 13th classical constellation that crosses the ecliptic, but it was omitted from the system of zodiacal signs.
Note: The Aramaic names come from the Palestinian Jewish Aramaic text studied by Greenfield and Sokoloff (1989), which is the earliest Aramaic
source containing the names of the Zodiac. The Babylonian zodiac is discussed in Koch-Westenholz 1995: 164; the Akkadian names are from the
Chicago Assyrian Dictionary and Schramm 2010.
12 The current astronomical dates are generally a month later. The
calculation of these dates, along with the heliacal and acronical
rising of each constellation was done by using the software
STELLARIUM © based on the view from the Ḥarrah of northern
Jordan in and around 150 CE.
13 I initially thought ʾmt translated as Virgo ‘the maiden’, but
M.C.A. Macdonald pointed out that the term better fits Libra,
as ʾmt only has the sense of ‘female slave’ in Arabic and other
Semitic languages. I thank him for this suggestion, which is
incidentally a better fit for the division of seasons suggested at
the beginning of this paper.
218
A. AL-JALLAD
respective seasons. The remaining season, the winter s²ty,
ends in mid-February, and therefore corresponds to Aquar-
ius. This connection can also be supported on etymologi-
cal grounds, although the relationship is not as transparent
as with the previous two constellations. Aquarius was
originally depicted as a water-pourer, whom the MUL.
APIN called ‘the great one’. This figured passed on to the
Greeks, who left him unnamed and depicted him with a
single vase pouring water onto Piscis Austrinus (Rogers
1998: 25). The Semitic root mlḥ refers primarily to salt,
and in Arabic, it can signify water that has become salt.
The term mall�aḥ refers to a sailor or seaman, which puts it
in the same semantic field as ‘water bearer’, but this is still
not very close. I would instead suggest that mlḥ refers to
the vessel in which salt was carried, or perhaps even to a
salt worker. The Safaitic inscriptions contain references to
transporting salt, and this could have been a more relevant
image to their authors than that of a ceramic vase.14 While
it is impossible to know for sure how they transported salt,
in many traditional societies today this is achieved by car-
rying it in large baskets or flat pans, which are sometimes
placed on the head or shoulders. Such an image could
have been the basis for the name of this constellation. On
the other hand, an interesting connection between a water
bearer and salt is found in Euting’s Tagebuch einer Reise
in Inner-Arabien (1896: 73–74, 102–103). There, he
describes a scene near K�af in W�ad�ı Sirḥ�an in which a slave
drew water from a well in a saltpan and then poured it on
the ground in order to leach out the salt. Thus, mlḥ could
also refer to the role played by the water bearer in the
manufacture of salt.15
From this, we can reconstruct the following correspon-
dences and translate our inscriptions accordingly
(Table 4).
Let us now turn to the inscriptions that contain these
three terms together:
C 4985
l zdʾl bn ngft bn ʾʿly bn ḍḥy bn ḥwq bn kwnt bn s²wʾ w
ḥḍr ẖlqt mlḥ w ḏkr w ʾmt w s¹lḥ h- ʾbl mdbr w zrʿ h- rḥ
(—)bt f h ʾlt s¹lm w nqʾt l- ḏ yʿwr
By Zdʾl son of Ngft son of ʾʿly son of Ḍḥy son of Ḥwq
son of Kwnt son of S²wʾ and the sun was present in the
portions of Aquarius, Aries and Libra [i.e. an entire year],
during which he pastured the camels on slḥ-plants in the
inner desert and sowed this Rḥbt so, O ʾlt, let there be
security and a curse upon him who would efface
Commentary
The author recounts the activities of his year through
the use of two parallel constructions. He begins by stating
that an entire year has gone by: ‘the sun passed through
the portions of Aquarius, Aries and Libra’ and then, in a
parallel circumstantial clause introduced by w, mentions
two activities which must have taken place at different
times of the year: ‘pasturing the camels in the desert and
sowing the Rḥbt’.
ḥḍr: in most cases, ḥḍr should be interpreted as ‘he
camped near permanent water’ (Lane 590b). This interpre-
tation does not fit the context, however, as it would imply
that the author camped at permanent water while also pas-
turing the camels in the inner desert, and sowing a shallow
depression where water collects (the Rḥbt). Instead, I
would take ḥḍr in contexts such as these to refer to the
‘presence’ of the sun, in line with the basic sense of this
root (Lane 588c). Grammatically, ḥḍr is probably a suffix-
conjugated verb. While one would expect feminine
concord with ‘sun’, agreement in Safaitic is erratic, and
several nouns that are feminine in other Semitic languages
take masculine concord in Safaitic (see e.g. s¹my below).
hlqt: the root √hlq has the sense of ‘to divide, measure,
or portion’ (Lane 799c; HALOT # 2919), and here I would
suggest that it refers to the portion of the sky occupied by
or allotted to each of these constellations. Thus, the phrase
ḥḍr hlqt would mean ‘it [the sun] was present in the por-
tions of (Aquarius, Aries and Libra)’ or in other words, the
sun made its yearly journey, passing through the last con-
stellation of each season.
s¹lḥ: the primary definition of Arabic s¹lḥ ‘to void excrement’ is not appropriate in this context, nor is the D-stem ‘to arm with a weapon’ (Lane 1402a–b). Instead, I would interpret this as a denominal verb meaning ‘to pas-ture on ʾislīḥ’ a type of plant which is said to cause the milk of the camels to become abundant, or it can refer to a type of herb growing on tracts of sand (Lane 1402c–1403a). The latter meaning is especially suitable in this context, as the author pastured in the inner desert.
nqʾt: the etymology of this term remains unknown, but
it surely signifies something negative as it appears
exclusively in curses. I have therefore chosen to translate
it neutrally as ‘a curse’.
KRS 169
l nʿrt bn ẖdmt bn trml bn s¹ry bn s¹hm w _gz b- nẖl f h yṯʿ
s¹lm w klʾ h- s¹my ḥḍ{r} mlḥ f ḏ{k}{r} f ʾmt f yʾs¹ f h
bʿls¹mn r{w}ḥ w s¹lm
14 E.g. HaNSB 184 w mlḥ f ʿny kbr ‘and he traded salt and toiled
continuously’. The vessel for carrying water would have also
been a leather sack in the desert, and not a ceramic jug.15 I thank M.C.A. Macdonald for this reference.
219
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
By Nʿrt son of Hdmt son of Trml son of S¹ry son of S¹hm
and he raided this valley, so, O Yṯʿ, may he be secure; and
the sky withheld its rain during [the sun’s] presence in
Aquarius, then Aries, then Libra, and so he despaired, so O
Bʿls¹mn, let there be relief that he remain secure
or put another way:
. . . and the sky withheld its rain in the winter, then the
season of the later rains, and then the dry season, so he des-
paired, so O Bʿls¹mn, let there be relief that he remain
secure
Commentary
_gz b- nhl: the verb ‘to go on a raid’ usually appears as
_gzz, which must be a D-stem of a geminate root √ _gzz. This
inscription may then attest a G-variant of this root, or may
simply be the result of a writing error.
ḥḍr: the term ḥḍr is also attested in KRS 169, where it
can be understood in two ways. First, one could take it as
an infinitive, acting as an adverb of circumstance in con-
struct with the three constellations mlḥ f ḏ{k}{r} f ʾmt thus,
‘and the sky withheld [the rain] while camping near per-
manent water in Aquarius, then Aries and then Libra’ or it
could also refer to the sun’s position, ‘the sky withheld
[the rain] during the [the sun’s] presence in Aquarius,
Aries and Libra’.
Thus, in these contexts, the three zodiacal constellations
would signal the end of each of the three seasons men-
tioned in the Safaitic inscriptions (Table 5).
Another inscription attests a sequence of mlḥ and ḏkr,
which also nicely fits our understanding of the time
periods which they reference.
RWQ 326
l ʾnʿm bn ḥmṭn bn ʾs¹d bn mtʿ bn s¹md bn ẖlf bn ʾs¹ḥm
bn ʿzz bn hrb bn hṯlt bn h:
gg bn nʿmʾl bn ʿm bn ybʾs¹ w ʿlf
mlḥ f ḏkr nbṭ f yʾs¹ m s¹my. . .
By ʾnʿm son of Ḥmṭn son of ʾs¹d son of Mtʿ son of
S¹md son of Hlf son of ʾs¹ḥm son of ʿzz son of Hrb son of
Hṯlt son of Ḥgg son of Nʿmʾl son of ʿm son of Ybʾs¹ and
he fed [his animals] on dry fodder in Nabataea in Aquarius
[the winter] then Aries [the season of later rains] and so he
despaired on account of the sky [i.e. the weather]. . .
Commentary
ʿlf: the verb ʿlf should be connected with Classical
Arabic ʿalafa ‘he fed (the beasts) on fodder’. While the
object is absent here, it is attested in other inscriptions,
for example, LP 722 ʿlf h- mʿzy s¹nt bʾs¹ ‘he fed the
goats on dry fodder in the year of misery’. The need to
feed animals on dry fodder during the rainy seasons of
s²ty and dṯʾ suggests a drought, and explains why the
author expresses despair, yʾs¹, on account of the
weather, m s¹my.
nbṭ: locative nouns in Safaitic are often unmarked, and
so nbṭ can be construed as ‘in Nabataea’, and probably
refers to an area under Nabataean control. It is less likely,
although possible, that the author was describing the Na-
bataeans feeding their animals on dry fodder.
m s¹my: one would expect the article h- or ʾ- to precede
s¹my in this construction. The elision of the article’s onset
in this position is unlikely, and so its omission is probably
a writing error.
3.1. Inscriptions containing ḏkr, mlḥ, ʾmt
independently
Now that we have established the identity of these three
terms, let us turn our attention to their occurrences follow-
ing b- and ks¹ʾ / rʾy:
ḏkr:
KRS 1267
l khl bn ẖl bn ʾml w tẓr my b- ḏkr
By Khl son of Hl son of ʾml and he awaited rain when
the sun was in Aries [April, the end of dṯʾ]
Commentary
my: while my is clear on the photograph and fits the
context well, it should also be noted that the expression tẓr
mny ‘he awaited fate’, the exact sense of which is not
clear, is common and that the author in this case may have
simply forgotten to carve the n. It is also possible that
s¹my was also intended, but this word is usually preceded
Table 4. The identification of ʾmt, ḏkr, mlḥ.
Latin English Greek Aramaic Babylonian Safaitic
Aries Ram Κqιός ארכד Agrarian worker agru ḏkr ‘ram’
Libra Scales Ζυcός אינזומ The Scales zib�an�ıtu ʾmt ‘measure’
Aquarius Water-bearer Ὑdqοvόος אלוד the great one rammanu mlḥ ‘salt- bearer’
Table 5. The constellations and the seasons.
Seasons Safaitic Rwala Time period
the winter s²ty mlḥ as:
-s:
feri early October–early January
a�s-�sta early January–mid-February
the season of
the later rains
dṯʾ ḏkr as-sm�ak mid-February–mid-April
the dry season qyẓ ʾmt as:
-s:
eyfi mid-April–early June
al-Q�eẓ early June–early October
220
A. AL-JALLAD
by the article h- or ʾ- and would, at any rate, have had the
same meaning as my in this context, namely, to await the
rains.
KRS 2851
l g{d}d bn —m—m bn ʿbd w rʿy h- nẖl b- ṯlg b- {k}s¹ʾ
ḏkr
By {Gdd} son of {—m—m} son of ʿbd and he pastured
in this valley on snow during the {full moon} of Aries
(mid-October)
Commentary
The editor interpreted the last word as {m}s¹ʾ, but the
first letter looks more like a poorly formed k. The full
moon occupies Aries around mid-October, which is rather
early for snowfall, but then again it may be this very fact
that motivated the author to mention it in an inscription.
C 4973
l ʿmd bn ms¹k bn ʿmd bn mlk w wld h- mʿz {w} rʿy -h
bql b- ḏkr
By ʿmd son of Ms¹k son of ʿmd son of Mlk and he
helped the goats to give birth {and} pastured them on
spring herbage when the sun was in Aries.
mlḥ:
C 523
l ʾlh bn bʾẖh bn trb w wrd h- nmrt b- ks¹ʾ mlḥ
By ʾlh son of Bʾhh son of Trb and he came to water at
Nam�arah during the full moon of Aquarius.
Commentary
The full moon sits in Aquarius when the sun rises in
Leo, in the summer.
C 3230
{l} ( ) ʿm bn ḥy w rʿy {h-} ʾbl b- rʾy mlḥ ʿl- [h-] nẖl w
wgm ( ) [ʿ][l-] ʿm {-h} —
By ʿm son of Ḥy and he pastured the camels during the
rising of Aquarius over (?) [the] valley; and he grieved
[for] {his} grandfather
Commentary
The inscription does not contain enough information to
determine whether rʾy refers to acronical or heliacal rising.
The phrase ʿl [h-] nhl could also be taken as ‘against/bor-
dering the valley’.
WH 479
l s¹{w}r bn ẓhln w wrd b- mlḥ hm w brkt f flt:
rḍw
By {S¹wr} son of Ẓhln and he went to water at Hm and
Brkt during Aquarius (mid-January–mid-February) so,
may Rḍw deliver
Commentary
The fact that the author went to permanent water in the
middle of the winter may suggest the presence of a
drought. This seems to be suggested by the fact that he
went to two places to water, perhaps indicating that the
water supply was diminished.
brkt: Macdonald (1992b: 37–38) convincingly identi-
fied this as the name of an area in the seasonal migrations
of the nomads.
ʾmt:
KRS 896
l ys¹lm bn grmʾl bn qḥs² w wgd s¹fr s:
ʿd f ngʿ w wrd h-
nmrt b- ʾmt ʾẖrt
By Ys¹lm son of Grmʾl son of Qḥs² and he found the
inscription of S¹ʿd, so he grieved in pain and went to water
at Nam�arah when the sun was in Libra [the dry season]
thereafter
Commentary
ngʿ: this verb is used frequently in grieving formulae
and reflects the N-stem of the root √wgʿ ‘to be in pain’.
This derivation is supported by the fact that the verb wgʿ
itself is used in the same grieving context; compare, for
example, WH 946 w wgʿ ʿl _gyrʾl with WH 960 w ngʿ ʿl
_gyrʾl, both ‘and he grieved in pain for _Gyrʾl’.
ʾẖrt: this term is attested only once more in the Safaitic cor-
pus, in KRS 1444 where it clearly means ‘offspring’. Such a
meaning seems impossible here. I would suggest that it is an
adverb of time, meaning ‘thereafter’ related to the basic sense
of the root √ʾhr ‘last, after, following’ (Lane 31–32).
AbaNS 1117
l s¹lm bn s:
bḥ w s:
yr b- ʾmt f h rḍw _gnmt
By S¹lm son of S:
bḥ and he returned to permanent water
when the sun was in Libra so, O Rḍw, let there be booty
KRS 1770
l ʾḏnt bn ʾs¹ bn kmd bn ʾs¹ w wrd f nyt {b-} ʾmt{n} f rwḥ
h b<ʿ>ls¹mn
By ʾḏnt son of ʾs¹ son of Kmd son of ʾs¹ and he went to
water then migrated with the tribe while the sun was in
Libra, so let there be relief, O Bʿls¹mn
Commentary
nyt: this is the infinitive of nwy ‘to migrate (with the
tribe)’, which is used here in an infinitive chain construc-
tion (see Al-Jallad, forthcoming: §9.4.1), where only the
first verb of a sequence of related actions is finite.
ʾmt{n}: the n of this inscription is slightly higher than
the rest of the letters and is connected to the following f,
which may indicate that it was unintentional. If it was
intentional, then it would reflect a rare occurrence of nuna-
tion in Safaitic; another possible example is attested in
KRS 1551, mḥltn ‘dearth of pasture’.
C 4903
l knt bn zʿq s¹+<<t>>+{n}{t} ms¹ʿ {ʾ}s¹y h- rḥbt b- ʾmt
h- dṯʾ
221
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
By Knt son of Zʿq in the year. . . this Rḥbt during the
Libra of the season of the later rains
Commentary
This text must refer to the acronical rising of Libra,
which occurs in April, that is, the Libra of the spring. The
interpretation of the ms¹ʿ ʾs¹y is unclear. The Arabic dictio-
naries know ms¹ʿ as one of the names of the North Wind
but no definition of ʾs¹y √ʾsw/y or √ʾws is suitable for this
context. I have therefore left it untranslated.
3.2. The other zodiacal constellations that follow rʾy
and ks¹ʾ
There are six other terms preceded by rʾy and ks¹ʾ and it
stands to reason that these too refer to periods of time indi-
cated by the heliacal rising and the position of the sun and
moon with respect to a given zodiacal constellation.
ḏl = Pisces
The term ḏl does not correspond to the fish of the Greek
or West Semitic zodiac, but is a better match for the Baby-
lonian name zibb�atu ‘tails’, as encountered in the MUL.
APIN (Rogers 1998: 27). The Safaitic ḏl is cognate with
CAr ḏaylun, which means ‘tail’, or more generally, ‘the
latter, hinder, or last part of anything’ (Lane 990c). Only
one inscription known to me contains this term:
LP 712
l tʾm bn s¹ʿd bn ḏr w wrd b- rʾy ḏl {y}s²rb
By Tʾm son of S¹ʿd son of Ḏr and he came to water dur-
ing the rising of Pisces to drink
Commentary
The prefix conjugation in result clauses is usually intro-
duced by w or l. Its absence in the orthography in this
inscription suggests the writing of two identical letters at
word boundaries as if they were one and, further, the loss
of final short vowels, thus: */bereʾ�ayḏaylleya�srab/.
yʾmr = Capricorn
This term is cognate with CAr yaʾm�urun which is
defined by the lexicographers as ‘a kind of mountain-
goat’ or ‘a certain wild beast’, ‘a beast resembling a
goat, having a single branching horn in the middle of
its head’ and ‘a certain beast of the sea’ (Lane 99a).
The uncertainty with which the dictionaries treat this
word may attest to its antiquity, and perhaps to the fact
that it referred to a mythical creature rather than an
actual animal. Indeed, that its definition encompasses
both a goat and a sea creature corresponds nicely with
the Babylonian goat-fish hybrid.
HaNSB 197
l hnʾ bn wrd bn s²hyt bn ʾs¹ w ʾs²rq m- ḥrn b- ʾbl -h s²ʿr
b- rʾy yʾm{r} f h bʿls¹mn _gyrt w s¹lm w ʿwr m ʿwr
By Hnʾ son of Wrd son of S²hyt son of ʾs¹ and he
migrated to the desert from the Ḥrn with his camels to
spring herbage during the heliacal rising of Capricorn
[early-mid February], so, O Bʿls¹mn, let there be abun-
dance and security, and blind whosoever would efface [the
inscription]
Commentary
The acronical rising of Capricorn takes place in July,
making it an unlikely period to find herbage in the desert.
C 4276
l s¹ẖr bn ʾws¹ʾl bn s¹ẖr w ẖlt:
mn ẖyl b- rʾy {y}ʾmr f rgʿ
hʾs¹ m- rql s¹nt s¹rt hʾs:
f rqln m- ẖl (—)
Commentary
C reads the second y as {h}, but given the context, this
is probably the result of a copy error or damage on the
rock. Even with this restoration, the exact sense of the
inscription remains elusive as it contains several hapax le-
gomena and is unformulaic. I am unable to offer a satisfac-
tory interpretation at this time.
RWQ 290
l gld bn— h bn s¹gʿw w wrd ʾdyt h- bly b- ks¹ʾ yʾmr
By Gld son of — son of S¹gʿw and he went to water in
the valleys of the camel-graves when the full moon was in
Capricorn
Commentary
Interestingly, in his commentary on this inscription,
al-R�us�an identified ks¹ʾ as a month name, but took the
first y of yʾmr as part of the word, ks¹ʾy, which he
equated with ʾayl�ul. He then left the final three letters,
ʾmr, unexplained.
ʾdyt h- bly: ʾdyt probably renders */ʾawdeyat/, the plural
of wadi ‘valley’. The second term bly is found in a few Sa-
faitic inscriptions (e.g. WH 163, 165), and refers to a par-
ticular form of a grave where the dead man’s camel was
hamstrung and left to die either beside the grave or in a pit
next to it, possibly to provide a suitable mount in the after-
life (Macdonald 1994: 762). A Nabataean burial inscrip-
tion makes reference to a blwʾ, which Hayajneh (2006)
connected with Safaitic bly and indeed Classical Arabic
baliyyah.
Virgo = h-ngm
Scholars have always assumed that if ngm had an astro-
nomical referent, it would be identical to CAr na�gam, the
Pleiades. Its appearance simply with the preposition b-
suggests, however, that it refers to one of the twelve zodia-
cal constellations. Again here we find a better connection
with the Babylonian rather than the Greek and the Qumr�an
Aramaic zodiacs. The Babylonian sign depicted the god-
dess Shala holding a sheaf of corn. While the Greek
222
A. AL-JALLAD
zodiac focused on the image of the Shala, the virgin, the
ear of corn became the symbol of this constellation in the
eastern zodiacs, �sebelt�a in Syriac, h�o�sag in Pahlavi and
indeed kany�a in Sanskrit (Laffitte 2003: 115). The Safaitic
sides with the latter group. I would connect ngm with CAr
root √n�gm, which refers to ‘the emergence’ or ‘appear-
ance’ t:
alaʿa/ẓahara, of—among other things—a ‘plant’, ‘a
canine tooth’, ‘a horn’ or ‘a planet’ (Lisan s.v.). As such,
h-ngm may be a nominal form referring to that which the
seed-produce put forth, similar indeed to the root √s¹nbl,
which gives: sanbala z-zarʿu ‘The seed-produce put forth
its sunbul [ears]’ as well as a nominal form sunbul (Lane
1440b). Classical Arabic na�gm (Lane 3028c) refers to the
‘sprouts from the roots [of a tree or shrub]’ or to triticum
repens, couch or dog grass. If I am correct in identifying
this term with Virgo, then the original sense of this root
must have been wider. The reason why the name of this
constellation sometimes occurs with the definite article is
at present unclear.
HaNSB 218
l ḍhd bn nr bn ḥrb bn ḍhd bn kṯbt bn ḥmyn w wgm ʿl-
s¹lm w ʿl- _gyr w ʿl- ʾʿdg w ʿl- ʿwḏn w ʿl- bʿl w ʿl- ḥny w ʿl-
s¹ny f wny w ngs² h- ʾbl m- ḥrn mn ṯlg b- rʾy ngm
By Ḍhd son of Nr son of Ḥrb son of Ḍhd son of Kṯbt
son of Ḥmyn and he grieved for S¹lm and for _Gyr and for
ʿwḏn and for Bʿl and for Ḥny and of Sny and so became
weak; and he drove the camels from the Ḥawr�an on
account of snowfall during the rising of Virgo
Commentary
The heliacal rising of Virgo takes place in early Octo-
ber, which seems a little early for snowfall, although
note the snowfall in October in KRS 2851. Virgo’s ac-
ronical rising occurs in late February, when snow would
also be rare, but still possible. As with KRS 2851, the
explicit mentioning of snow may indicate that it was a
remarkable event at the time of year to which the
inscription refers.
CSA 2.1
l hmlk bn ʾlh bn s¹ny bn hmlk bn ḥrb w rʿy mdbr {f} s:
yr
b- h- ngm f h lt s¹lm
By Hmlk son of ʾlh son of S¹ny son of Hmlk son of Ḥrb
and he pastured in the desert, {then} he returned to perma-
nent water while the sun was in Virgo, so, O Lt, may he be
secure
WH 3053
l dʾy bn ns²l w rḥḍ b- h- ngm l- yḥg
By Dʾy son of Ns²l and he washed while the sun was in
Virgo in order to perform a pilgrimage
ʾʾly = Taurus
The term ʾʾly is clearly an elative formation, ʾafʿal,
derived from the root √ʾly; this corresponds to CAr �alan,
which is an adjective applied to ‘a ram with large but-
tocks’ (Lane 87c). This, in and of itself, is not a convinc-
ing rendition of the ‘bull’ or the ‘bull of heaven’, but
Safaitic ʾʾly is also cognate with the Akkadian name of this
constellation, alu, which refers to the bull as a mythologi-
cal being (CAD 377). The final y along with the two glot-
tal stops clearly indicate that the Safaitic term was not a
direct borrowing from Akkadian, but perhaps reflects a
calque or translation.
KRS 1706
l ys¹lm bn ʿwḏn bn mlk w ʿyd h- ḍʾn b- ḥrn b- rʾy ʾʾly f h
bʿls¹mn w h ḏs²r w lt w s²ʿhqm fs:
yt w ʿwr ḏ yʿwr
By Yslm son of ʿwḏn son of Mlk and he placed the
sheep in an enclosure in the Ḥawr�an during the rising of
Taurus so, O Bʿls¹mn and Ḏs²r and Lt and S²ʿhqm, let
there be deliverance and blind him who would efface
Commentary
ʿyd: I would take this as a D-stem of the root √ʿwd, the
basic sense of which is ‘to circle, enclose, encompass,
etc.’ (Leslau 1987: 77a). The Safaitic D-stem could refer to
the ‘encircling’ of the sheep, in other words, putting them
into an enclosure.
C 974
l ḥny bn qs¹m bn ḥn{y} bn lʿṯm bn zʾkt bn ʾs¹lm bn mbdy
bn kwnt w mtʿ l- ẖlqt b- h- mʿzyn b- r{ʾ}y ʾʾly f rʿy h- bq{r}
w ẖr{s:
} s²nʾ f h lt s¹{l}m
By Ḥny son of Qs¹m son of Ḥn{y} son of Lʿṯm son of
Zʾkt son of ʾs¹lm son of Mbdy son of Kwnt and it (a pla-
net?) shown brightly for a period in Orion during the ris-
ing of Taurus, then he pastured the cattle and watched out
for enemies so, O Lt, may he be secure
Commentary
This inscription, which is difficult to interpret, seems to
be describing the behaviour of a planet with respect to
Orion during the rising of Taurus. The translation of mtʿ l-
hlqt b- h- mʿzyn is very tentative.
mtʿ: if we consider the phrase mataʿa n-nah�aru ‘the day
became advanced, the sun being held high’ (Lane 3016c)
with the sense the verb takes when applied to wine,
mataʿa n-nab�ıḏu ‘the wine’s red colour was intense’, it
would seem that the verb’s basic sense has to do with
brightness or intensity of colour. Indeed, brightness was a
notable feature of the planets and stars for the Babylonians
(Reiner 1981: 18). The verb mataʿa must refer to an
understood body, perhaps one of the planets. Venus, for
example, will pass through Orion during the heliacal rising
of Taurus.
223
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
ẖlqt: the term ẖlqt must be understood temporally here
rather than spatially, thus ‘a period’ rather than ‘a portion’.
A parallel is attested in C 2820: w brḥ ẖlqt s²ty h- dr ‘and
he departed this place for the period of winter’.
b- h- mʿzyn: most understand mʿzyn as a variant plural
form of mʿz ‘goat’, the normal plural of which is mʿzy. It is
better to understand the final -n as an adjectival suffix,
*�an, which would render the term analogous with CAr
maʿʿ�azun ‘a possessor, or master of, miʿzan [or goats]’
(Lane 2724c), and thus a suitable match for the Babylo-
nian Orion, ‘the loyal shepherd of Heaven’.
Gemini = gml
At first glance, this would seem to be the equivalent
of Babylonian gamlu, the crook (Auriga). Since gml also
follows the preposition b-, it is more likely that the term
refers to a constellation on the ecliptic. It is tempting to
view gml as a borrowing from Latin GEMINI. The confu-
sion of n and l is unexpected, but not without parallel,
especially in loanwords. But the penetration of a Latin
term into the Arabian zodiac is problematic. The other
zodiac names reflect etymological equivalents to the
Babylonian or Greek and it is therefore unclear why
speakers would bring over a Latin term for this constel-
lation alone. Moreover, the use of Latin was highly
restricted in the Near East. While one occasionally finds
a Safaitic-Greek bilingual inscription, no Latin texts
have been produced by the inhabitants of the desert.
The connection of root √gml with ‘twins’ can be made
on etymological grounds by appealing to CAr �gumlatun,
�gumul, which can refer to ‘any aggregate unseparated’
(Lane 460b–c). While this might not be a direct transla-
tion of the Babylonian, it does capture the basic sense of
two conjoined parts. On the other hand, the constellation
itself looks remarkably like a camel (Fig. 1). It has two
vertical lines which fork at the bottom, resembling legs,
and a crossbar three quarters of the way up with one end
extending further past the right parallel line than the end
crossing the left. This resembles a neck on the right side
and a tail on the left. Finally, the two lines draw closer
above the crossbar resembling a hump. Safaitic gml may
in fact refer to a camel and reflect a local innovation on
account of the constellation’s resemblance to a culturally
significant animal.16
SIJ 827
l ẓʿn bn mlk bn qms:
t bn ʾd bn s¹hwt w s:
yr m- mdbr
b-rʾy gml
By Ẓʿn son of Mlk son of Qmṣt son of ʾd son of S¹hwt
and he returned to permanent water from the desert during
the heliacal rising of Gemini [early July]
KRS 1560
l grf bn ʾws¹ w rʿy bql b- gml
By Grf son of ʾws and he pastured herbage when the
sun was in Gemini
LP 435
l grmʾl bn ḏʾb bn kn w ws¹q -h h- s¹l b- rʾy gml s¹nt
ws¹q ʾl qdm ʾl hrm f h lt s¹lm
By Grmʾl son of Ḏʾb son of Kn and the torrent drove
him away during the acronical rising of Gemini [mid-
December] the year the people of Qdm struggled with the
people of Hrm so, O Lt, may he be secure
Commentary
The phrase ws¹q h- s¹l was understood by Littmann
and others to mean ‘the torrent drove him away’. If this
is correct, then rʾy would signal the acronical rather than
heliacal rising of Gemini. Musil recorded an expression
among the Rwala ilya t:
alaʿat as-sheyl l�a t�amen as-seyl
‘when Canopus rises, trust not the Creek’.17 Since
Gemini also rises in mid-December, its appearance on
the evening horizon in the winter could have been
equivalent to the sighting of Canopus by the Rwala, and
Fig. 1.
Gemini.
16 This reimagining can be compared to the representation of
Sagittarius as a teapot in North America today. 17 See Macdonald (1992b: 2) for references and discussion.
224
A. AL-JALLAD
signalled the beginning of the period in which torrents
become a threat.
LP 436
l ʿḏ bn s¹wr bn nqm w ws¹q -h h- s¹l b- rʾy gml f h lt
s¹lm l- ḏ s¹ʾr
By ʿḏ son of S¹wr son of Nqm and the torrent drove
him away during the acronical rising of Gemini so, O Lt,
let there be security to him who would leave (this inscrip-
tion) untouched
ʿqbt = Scorpio
The Safaitic ʿqbt is very close to the expected ʿqrb(t),
scorpion. The unexpected deletion of the r may point
towards taboo deformation, which is a common phenome-
non with dangerous animals. This hypothesis is impossible
to prove, however, since no inscriptions containing a
reference to the actual insect have been discovered. The
appearance of the name ʿqrb does not constitute counter-
evidence for this thesis since, as Macdonald has correctly
stated before, ‘the literal meaning [of a name] can seldom
have had much relevance to either the givers or receivers
of a name at the time it was bestowed, and once it was
attached to an individual it ceased to mean anything in
context except that particular person’ (1999: 254). Scorpio
originally encompassed the constellation of Libra, the stars
of which made up its claws; an awareness of this identifi-
cation persisted until Greek times (Rogers 1998: 25).
A single inscription seems to attest to an awareness of
a greater Libra-Scorpio among the inhabitants of the
Ḥarrah: MU 89 b- ks¹ʾ ʾmt ʿqbt ‘during the full moon of
Libra-Scorpio’.
ʿqbt is the most frequently attested constellation in
the Safaitic corpus, suggesting that its appearance and
disappearance in the sky had some cultural significance
for the authors of these inscriptions. If this is true, then
it may also have contributed to its phonological defor-
mation. Unlike the other constellations, ʿqbt occurs with
rʾy and ks¹ʾ in all but one case, which makes sense
given that the sun spends only seven days in Scorpio
proper.18
C 1895
l s²ʿ bn nẓmt b[n] ʿgz w wrd h- nmrt b- ks¹ʾ ʿqbt f hy
ʾ{y} [l]t19 rwḥ
By S²ʿ son of Nẓmt son of ʿgz and he came to water at
Nam�arah during the full moon of Scorpio [early May] so,
{O} [Lt], let there be relief
C 1927
l ʾʾs¹d bn mḥlm bn rbʾl bn ʾnʿm w ḥḍr h- dr w tẓr h-
s¹my b- r{ʾ}y ʿqbt f h bʿls¹mn rwḥ w ʿwr w wqd l- ḏ yʿwr
h- s¹fr
By ʾʾs¹d son of Mḥlm son of Rbʾl son of ʾnʿm and he
camped here at permanent water and awaited the rains dur-ing the heliacal rising of Scorpio [mid-December], so, O Bʿls1mn, let there be relief; and blindness and scorching heat be upon him who would efface this writing
C 3818
l {ʾ}flt:
bn {g}rm{ʾ}l bn flt:
w ṯlg b- h- dr b- {r}{ʾ}y ʿqbt
By {Flt:
} son of {Grmʾl} son of Flt:
and it snowed here
during the heliacal rising of Scorpio [mid-December]
KRS 1719
l mrʿ bn ʿbd bn ʿḏ bn s²rb w kmʾ b- rʾy ʿqbt b
By Mrʿ son of ʿbd son of ʿḏ son of s²rb and he gathered
truffles during the acronical rising of Scorpio [mid-May]
b. . .
Commentary
Truffles abound in the season of the later rains, from
February to April, but they can continue to grow as late as
June. Perhaps it was this especially long season that com-
pelled the author to mention it in an inscription. The final
b could indicate that the inscription is incomplete.
KRS 2489
l m _gyr bn s:
rm bn nʿmy bn wqr w tẓr ʾ- s¹my b- ʿqbt
By M _gyr son of Ṣrm son of Nʿmy son of Wqr and he
awaited the rains when the sun was in Scorpio
KRS 1551
l ʾs¹ẖr bn ẖdmt bn trml bn s¹ry bn s¹lm w ʾlmn b- ʿqbt f
h lh rwḥ w mḥltn l- ḏ yʿwr h- s¹fr
By ʾs¹ẖr son of Hdmt son of Trml son of S¹ry son of
S¹lm and Mars is in Scorpio so, O Lh, let there be relief;
and a dearth of pasture to him who would efface this
writing
Commentary
ʾlmn: the editor left this word unexplained. Its syntax
would suggest that it is a verb, but the root √lmn does not
exist, and a derivation from the root √ʾlm would leave the
18 The term ʿqbt also occurs independently in curse formulae,
where it should be understood as a noun meaning ‘punishment’
(Lane 2099a). While the two terms are identical in consonantal
garb, they most likely had different vocalizations. Van den
Branden (1960) devised a rather different interpretation of ʿqbt,
but this was based on the misreading of rʾy ʿqbt as rhy ʿqbt,
and so there is no need for a lengthy discussion of his interpre-
tations.
19 The copy clearly shows ʾ{y}{b}t, but such a deity is unknown
from elsewhere. I have, therefore, amended the third letter to
[l], which gives us the well-known divine name Lt. The voca-
tive particle ʾy has been previously attested, e.g. KRS 1526.
225
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
final n unexplained. Instead, I would suggest a connection
with Akk dLumnu, which refers to Mars (Reiner 1981:
13). The initial alif may reflect a compound ʾel-lumnu, a
phonological reproduction of the determinative, an elative
formation or even the definite article ʾ-. The term appears
once more where it can be equally interpreted as Mars:
KRS 1374 w tẓr h- s¹[m]y w ʾlmn ‘and he awaited the
{rains} and Mars’.
mḥltn: dearth of pasture is a common component of
curse formulae, but in most cases it appears simply as mḥlt,
without the final -n. The present mḥltn could reflect an idi-
omatic use of the dual or a rare attestation of nunation.
3.3. The remaining zodiacal constellations
The other constellations must be identified on an etymo-
logical basis as they do not occur following either rʾy or
ks¹ʾ and, as such, their identification remains tentative.
Cancer = s¹rṭn
Cancer is attested in three variant forms. C 3531 attests
a short form s¹rt:
, while LP 1190 terminates in a t, s¹rt:
t. C
1156 contains s¹{r}t:
{n}, but it is unclear if the restoration
of the second letter as an r is correct. Since all of the West
Semitic names of this constellation contain an n, it seems
best to restore the name of this constellation as s¹rt:
n, and
to explain the variant forms individually.
C 3531
l ʿmd bn mlk bn ʿmd bn ms¹k bn [ʿ]md bn mlk — h- bqr
b- s¹rt:
f h lt s¹lm
By ʿmd son of Mlk son of ʿmd son of Ms¹k son of
{ʿmd} son of Mlk — the cattle when the sun was in
Cancer so, O Lt, may he be secure
Commentary
Assuming that the absence of the final n on the copy
was not the result of a copy error, then it could have been
assimilated to the following letter. Word boundary assimi-
lation in a similar context is attested in KRS 2340: w ndm
ʿl ʾb -h w ʿl ʾdwd -h ʾrbʿt r _gm[n] mny ‘and he was devas-
tated on account of his father and his four paternal uncles
who were taken to the grave by fate’, where the passive
participle r _gm has a plural antecedent, and so should be
restored as r _gm[n], with the assimilation of the final n to
the following m.
LP 1190
l ʾnʿm bn ʾs¹{d} bn ʾnʿm s¹nt ḥdr ʾl s¹rt:
[n]
By ʾnʿm son of {ʾs¹d} son of ʾnʿm the year he camped
at permanent water until the sun was in Cancer
Commentary
s¹rt:
[n]: while the final t is clear on the copy, the copyist
may have mistaken a stray line through the n as part of the
letter. I would therefore suggest the following emendation:
s¹rt:
[n].
ʾl: the preposition ʾl can mean ‘until’ in Safaitic, similar
to CAr ḥatt�a (see Al-Jallad, forthcoming: §5).
There are two other possible attestations of s¹rt:
n, but
both their readings and context within the inscriptions
make their identification uncertain, and other explanations
exist. Both occur following the phrase dṯʾ hwrd; the first
term is clearly the verb ‘to spend the season of the later
rains’ while the second is open to interpretation.
C 1187
l ʿqrb bn m{d}{ʿ} bn s²m[t] [b][n] ẖ{l}ʾl w ḥll h- [d][r]
w d{ṯ}ʾ hw[r]d b- s¹lt:
By ʿqrb son of {Mdʿ} son of S²mt {son of} Hlʾl and he
camped here and spent the season of the later rains hw[r]d
b- s¹lt:
C 1156
l ẖlʾl [b][n] s²mt bn bn{t} bn ẖlʾl bn bnt w wgm ʿl- ʿb
{d} {w} {ʿ}l- ʾnʿm w ʿl- ʿbṯn w ʿl- ml{k} w ʿl- ʿd w ʿl- ḥb
{w} dṯʾ h{w} r( )d b- s¹{r}t:
{n}
By Hlʾl [son of] S²mt son of {Bnt} son of Hlʾl son of
Bnt and he mourned for ʿbd and for ʾnʿm and for ʿbṯn and
for Mlk and for ʿd and for Ḥb and he spent the season of
the later rains h{w} r( )d b- s¹{r}t:
{n}
If s¹{r}t:
{n} and s¹lt:
have the same referent, then it
seems likely that it was the constellation Cancer, which
would mean that s¹lt:
should be read as s¹{r}t:
[n]. It is pos-
sible to see in the l of s¹lt:
a malformed r, and one would
then only have to assume that the copyist overlooked the
final n, which is understandable considering that its shape
is a small line or dot. As is clear from other inscriptions,
the term h-wrd can refer to a toponym, for example, C
744 rʿy {h}wrd ‘he pastured Hwrd’. The ensuing chrono-
logical mismatch between Cancer—which the sun occu-
pies in late June and early July—and dṯʾ, however,
should motivate us to reinterpret hwrd in its present con-
text. I would suggest reparsing the clause as dṯʾ -h w rd
b- s¹rt:
n. In C 1187, the h would reflect a pronominal
clitic referring back to h- dr ‘this place’, thus ‘he camped
in this place, and spent the season of the latter rains at it’.
The absence of any antecedent for this pronoun in C
1156 could simply mean that its referent was understood,
that is, the location of the inscription. The next sentence,
w rd b- s¹rt:
n translates as ‘and he returned when the sun
was in Cancer’. The verb rd is simply the suffix conjuga-
tion of the root √rdd, ‘to return’. This reinterpretation fits
well our understanding of the year. The author seems to
have spent the season of the later rains in an area that,
while well watered in the spring, would have become dry
226
A. AL-JALLAD
in the summer months, and so would explain his depar-
ture in late June.
If, however, one insists on maintaining a single interpre-
tation of the phrase dṯʾ h- wrd in all of the Safaitic inscrip-
tions, then perhaps the term following b- in both
inscriptions should be equated with the term s¹lt:
n, the
exact meaning of which is unclear (see C 66, 1952, 2802;
LP 424, 540, 1013). The basic sense has to do with ‘gov-
erning’ and ‘authority’, and so perhaps in this context it
refers to an area or district visibly under Roman rule.
Finally, since the r in these cases is not hooked, it is also
possible to read the word as s¹bt:
, that is, the month corre-
sponding to February–March. This, however, would not
explain the final {n} in C 1156.
Leo = h- ʾs¹d
Only a single inscription contains a possible reference
to Leo. The reasons for this are at present unclear.
C 28
l drʾl bn mty bn rgḍ bn hḏr w byt ẖyt:
f tẓr h- ʾs¹d f h ʾlt
s¹lm
By Drʾl son of Mty son of Rgḍ son of Ḥḍr and he spent
the night while travelling, then he awaited Leo, so O ʾlt,
may he be secure
Commentary
tẓr: this verb is the Gt-stem of the root √nẓr ‘to guard’
and is generally translated as ‘to await’ (cf. CAr intaẓara).
It is used primarily with meteorological phenomena
h- s¹my ‘the rains’ and mny ‘fate’. The literal meaning of
ʾs¹d ‘lion’ would make little sense in this context. In
Sabaic, ʾs¹d can mean ‘warriors’ or ‘soldiers’ (Beeston
et al. 1982: 7), but there is no evidence for such a meaning
in the Safaitic inscriptions. The attested term for a troop is
ms¹rt, and warriors seem to be called ṯbr or qtl.
h- ʾs¹d: the context in which Leo is mentioned seems to
suggest that the author was awaiting its rise on the hori-
zon, even though rʾy is not explicitly mentioned (cf. Mars
in KRS 1374). If this is correct, then the inscription was
probably composed in August.
Sagittarius = rmy or ṯbr, or both?
The identification of Sagittarius is complicated by the
various names associated with this constellation. The
MUL.APIN refers to it as Pabilsag, a relatively minor
Sumerian god. An alternative Babylonian tradition
identified the constellation as Nedu, the ‘soldier’, but it is
unclear if he possessed a bow and arrow. The image of this
constellation with the Greeks was that of a satyr archer,
and it was not until classical times that the familiar
centaur archer became associated with this sign (Rogers
1998: 26–27).
Two candidates for Sagittarius are found in the inscrip-
tions. The first is ṯbr, which I have suggested was the term
for soldier, perhaps a verbal adjective ṯabb�ar from the
sense ‘to drive away, expel’ (Lane 330c).20 This would be
a suitable match for Babylonian Nedu.21
There are a couple of inscriptions in which the term ṯbr
is better taken as a period of time rather than literally as
‘soldier’.
C 1758l ʿm bn (ḥ)r bn ʿm bn ḥ{n} ḏ- ʾl bʿr ( ) w wgm ʿl- ʾs²yʿ -h
ḏ ns¹l b- ṯbr
By ʿm son of Ḥr son of ʿm son of Ḥn of the lineage of
Bʿr and he grieved for his companions who went away
when the sun was in Sagittarius
Commentary
ns¹l: the n-stem of √s¹ll, cf. CAr ‘it (a thing) became
pulled forth, drawn out gently; he slipped away, or stole
away’ (Lane 1396a).
C 4443
w wgm ʿl- ʾm -h w ʿl- dd -h w ʿl- ẖl -h w ʿl- ʿm w ʿl-
ʾnʿm qtl -h (ʾ)l s:
bḥ f wlh ʿl- bn ẖl -h t( )rḥ w rʿy h- ḍʾn w
rḥḍ b- ṯbr w ẖl h- s²[n]ʾ f h lt s¹lm w wgd ʾṯr ʾẖ -h f ndm
And he grieved for his mother and for his paternal uncle
and for his maternal uncle and for ʾnʿm whom the people
of Ṣbḥ have killed, so he was distraught over his cousin,
who died; and he pastured the sheep, and washed during
Sagittarius, and then struck down the enemy, so O, Lt, let
there be security; and he found the inscription of his
brother, so he was devastated
Commentary
The phrase rḥḍ b- ṯbr parallels rḥḍ b- h- ngm found in
WH 3053 and may indicate a special type of bathing or
cleansing carried out at certain times of the year.
ẖl h- s²[n]ʾ: I connect hl with CAr halla ‘to perforate’
or ‘pierce through’; the phrase ẖallah�u bir-rumḥi means
20 For example: NST 3 l s²ʿ bn khl w wgm ʿl- s²gʾ ʾẖ -h rgm mny
w ʾty nẓr h- ṯbrn mn- ʾl sbḥ s¹nt ḥrb -hm ʾl ʿwḏ b- wʿl w gnmt l-
21
:ḏ dʿy w ʿwr ds²r ḏ ẖ bl. ‘By S2ʿ son of Khl and he grieved for his brother, taken to the grave by fate; and the warriors from the people of Ṣbḥ came to guard the year the people of ʿwḏ waged war against them during/at wʿl so may he who would read aloud have booty and may Ds²r blind him who would scratch out’. For the interpretation of the verb dʿy, see Al-Jal-lad,forthcoming:Glossary.A probably unrelated ṯ�abir is attested as the name of an agricul-tural marker star which appeared between 10 and 22 May 1079, falling under the season of Ṣayf ‘spring’ (Piamenta 1990–1991, I: 55). I thank Professor J. Lentin for this reference.
227
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
‘he pierced him with the spear and transfixed his heart’
(Lane 778a). It is unclear if this sentence bears any rela-
tionship with the previous one, that is, whether washing
was connected with going into battle.
A single inscription containing a prayer to Bʿls¹mn, the
rain-god, attests a possible epithet of Sagittarius: h- rmy,
possibly */har-ramm�ay/ ‘archer’.
HN 62
l ḥmlg bn s¹hm bn qdm w ʾty h- rmy b- ḥqb -h f h
bʿls¹mn rwḥ
By Ḥmlg son of S¹hm son of Qdm and Sagittarius has
come with his quiver so, O Bʿls¹mn, let there be relief
Commentary
This inscription may preserve an expression among
the ancient inhabitants of the Ḥarrah concerning the
coming of the rains. If ʾty h- rmy signifies the heliacal
rising of Sagittarius, then this would take place at the
end of December, when rain or snow would have been
common.
ḥqb -h: Safaitic ḥqb should be connected with CAr
ḥaq�ıbatun ‘a bag or receptacle’ (Lane 610c), which in this
context signifies a quiver.
3.4. Other celestial bodies
The present study has focused on the constellations that lie
on the ecliptic, but other constellations and perhaps even
the names of planets and individual stars could await dis-
covery in the corpus. I have already suggested the identifi-
cation of mʿzyn as Orion and of ʾlmn as Mars. One
striking absence is the Pleiades. Known as zappu in the
MUL.APIN and an-na�gamu in CAr, the constellation does
not seem to be found in the patterns discussed above.
Since ngm has been identified as Virgo, the Pleiades must
have gone by another name. Aramaic knows this constel-
lation by the name k�ım�a. This term for the Pleiades is
attested as early as 2400 BCE in the form k�a-ma-t�u (Laf-
fitte 2003: 112). The reflex of this name in the Safaitic
inscriptions seems to be km. The absence of the final t sug-
gests that the name was drawn from Aramaic or some
other Northwest Semitic language in which the feminine
ending was realised as a vowel.
C 2572
l khl bn ḥml bn ns²bt bn ktm w ẖrs:
h- km f hy lt s¹lm
By Khl son of Ḥml son of Ns²bt son of Ktm and he
watched for the Pleiades, so, O Lt, may he be secure
Commentary
The heliacal rising of the Pleiades occurs in spring in
the northern hemisphere, and so the author may have been
awaiting the arrival of dṯʾ.
4. Conclusions
The Arabian zodiac as identified in this paper sits
somewhere between the Greek and West Semitic zodi-
acs and the Babylonian (Tables 6–8). Unlike the South
Arabian and Arabic constellations mentioned in the Isla-
mic sources, the names attested in the Safaitic inscrip-
tions are not direct ports from the Aramaic. Instead,
they seem to reflect a common heritage with the Baby-
lonian, which may be the result of the long historical
Table 6. The Arabian zodiac in context.
Latin English Greek
Aramaic
(Qumran)
South
Arabian Classical Arabic Sumero-Akkadian Arabian
Aries Ram Κqιός ארכד nyny al-ḥamal the Hireling lu.hun.ga
(hun, lu, lu) agru
ḏkr ‘ram’
Taurus Bull Τaῦqος ארות ṯwrn al-ṯawr Bull of An gu4.an.na
(mul.mul) alu/is le
ʾʾly ‘bull’
Gemini Twins Dίdυlοι אימואת al-gawz�aʾ/al-s:
�urah the Great Twins ma�s.tab.
ba.gal.gal m�a�su/t�uʾ�am�u rabutu
gml ‘twins?’/‘camel’
Cancer Crab Κaqj~ımος הנטרס s2rt:
n al-sarat:
�an the Crab al.lul (alla) alluttu s1rt:
n ‘crab’
Leo Lion Λέxm הירא al-ʾasad the Lion ur.gu.la (a, ur.a) urgulu/n�e�su h- ʾs1d ‘lion’
Virgo Maiden Πaqhέmος הלותב s1bltn al-sunbulah the Furrow ab.s�ın (absin) absinnu/�ser’u h- ngm ‘seed-produce’
Libra Scales Ζυcός אינזומ al-m�ız�an/al-zub�an�a the Scales zib�an�ıtu (r�ın) ʾmt ‘scale’
Scorpio Scorpion Σjοqpιός אברקע al-ʿaqrab the Scorpion g�ır.tab zuqaq�ıpu ʿqbt ‘scorpion’
Sagittarius Archer Τοξόsgς אתשק ḥẓyn al-qaws Pabilsag Pa.bil.sag (pa) divine name h- rmy/ṯbr ? ‘archer’/‘soldier’
Capricorn Goat-horned Αἰcόjeqxς אידג al-gad�ı the Goat-Fish suḫur.ma�s
(ma�s) suḫurm�a�su
yʾmr ‘sea-goat’
Aquarius Water-bearer Ὑdqοvόος אלוד al-dal�u the Great One gu.la (gu) s:
inundu/
kuurku/rammanu
mlḥ ‘salt vessel’,
‘salt worker’?
Pisces The fishes Ἰvhύeς אינונ ʾs3rn al-ḥ�ut/al-ri�s�aʾ the Tails (the field) kun.me�s
(zib.me�s, iku) zibb�atu/
zibb�at sin�un�utu
ḏl ‘tail(s)’
228
A. AL-JALLAD
interaction between the peoples of the Ḥawr�an and the
deserts of North Arabia with Mesopotamian civilisation.
Part II of this paper will deal with the historical
implications of this finding.
AcknowledgementI would like to thank my friend M.C.A. Macdonald for his very
helpful comments and corrections on an earlier draft of this paper
and Dr. Markus Schmalzl (ALMA Regional Centre || Allegro) for his
kind help with astronomical matters. I also owe thanks to Prof.
J�erome Lentin, Prof. Andrzej Zaborski, Dr. Maarten Kossmann, and
Dr. Marijn van Putten for their comments on an earlier draft of this
paper. All errors remain my own.
Sigla
AbaNS Safaitic inscriptions in Ababneh 2005.
C Safaitic inscriptions in Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum.
Pars V. Paris, 1950–1951.
CSA Safaitic inscriptions in Clark 1984–85.
HALOT Koehler et al. 1994–1996; 1995–2000.
HaNSB Safaitic inscriptions in Ḥar�aḥi�sah 2010.
KRS Safaitic inscriptions recorded by G.M.H. King on the Basalt
Desert Rescue Survey and published on http://krcfm.orient.
ox.ac.uk/fmi/iwp/cgi?-db=AALC_BDRS&-loadframes
Lane Lane 1863–93.
Lisan Ibn Manẓ�ur [n.d.].
LP Safaitic inscriptions in Littmann 1943.
MUL.APIN Hunger & Pingree 1989.
NST Safaitic inscriptions in Harding 1951.
RWQ Safaitic inscriptions in al-R�us�an 2005.
SIJ Safaitic inscriptions in Winnett 1957.
WH Safaitic inscriptions in Winnett & Harding 1978.
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Table 7. Parazodiacal constellations.
Constellation Safaitic Comparative evidence
Orion h- mʿzyn cf. Akkadian MULSIPA.ZI.AN.NA ‘loyal
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The Pleiades h- km cf. Aramaic k�ım�a; PNWS *kimatu,
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Table 8. Planets.
Planet Safaitic Comparative evidence
Mars ʾlmn cf. Akkadian dLumnu ‘evil one’
229
ANCIENTARABIAN ZODIAC
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230
A. AL-JALLAD
Addendum to A. Al-Jallad, An Ancient Arabian Zodiac, Part I (AAE 25 214-
30).
(10/28/2014, published on https://leidenuniv.academia.edu/AhmadAlJallad)
a. More notes on Ks¹ʾ
b. More attestations of h- ʾs¹d
c. Another attestation of the Pleiades kmt
d. The Safaitic year
a. More notes on ks¹ʾ
In my article, An Ancient Arabian Zodiac: The Constellations in the Safaitic Inscriptions, part I (AAE 25: 214-230, (2014)), I considered the term ks¹ʾ to mean ‘full moon’. This meaning was supported by cognates in Hebrew and Aramaic (p. 216), and by the time periods to which
the inscriptions referred. For example, we seem to have two inscriptions which likely date
to the same remarkable event, but using different references. Thus:
HaNSB 218: w ngs² h- ʾbl m- ḥrn mn ṯlg b- rʾy ngm
‘and he drove the camels from the Ḥawrān on account of snowfall during the
heliacal rising of Virgo (~ mid-Oct)’
KRS 2851: w rʿy h- nẖl b- ṯlg b- {k}s¹ʾ ḏkr
‘and he pastured in the valley on snow during the full moon of Aries (~ mid-
late Oct)
It is also possible to interpret ks¹ʾ as the ‘latter part’ or ‘end’ of the constellation’s journey
across the celestial dome before it sets on the western horizon at sunrise, putting the
meaning within the semantic range of the Arabic root ksʾ (Lane 2608c). In other words, ks¹ʾcould refer to the cosmic setting of the asterism. This event would occur approximately
half a year after its rising, overlapping roughly with the period in which the full moon
would have occupied the same constellation. Our understanding of the chronology of these
inscriptions would, therefore, remain unchanged. The interpretation of the term as
‘cosmic setting’ would form a nice pair, rʾy ‘rising’ and ks¹ʾ ‘setting’. However, in support of
the original meaning ‘full moon’, one can point towards a single attestation of what seems
to be a parallel zodiac tradition in AAUI 229, in which the author states w rʿy h- ʾnẖl b- qmr h-
ʾns¹y. Since the pasturing formula does not usually indicate associates or friends, it is
probably best to take the term following b- as a time period. In this case, b- qmr h- ʾns¹y ‘the
moon of ʾns¹y’ ‘Virgo’ would correspond to b- ks¹ʾ ngm. The term ʾns¹y could be connected
with CAr ʾanīsah, with perhaps a hypocoristic ending, meaning ‘young woman’, ‘maiden’. Thus, the translation would be: ‘and he pastured in the valleys during the (full) moon of
Virgo’. As it stands, it seems impossible to choose between the two translations with
absolute certainty.
All published texts containing ks¹ʾ
C 523
l ʾlh bn bʾẖh bn trb w wrd h- nmrt b- ks¹ʾ mlḥ
By ʾlh son of bʾẖh son of Trb and he went to water at Namārah during the full moon/cosmic
setting of Aquarius (end of July).
SESP.S 9
l mḥlm bn ʿbd bn mʿz bn ms²ʿr bn s¹ʿd bn wtr bn mlk w wrd b- ks¹ʾ ḏkr f h bʿls¹m{n} rwḥ w ẖrṣ h- rm f h
lt s¹lm w h- ẖṭṭ
By Mḥlm son of ʿbd son of Mʿz son of Ms²ʿr son of S¹ʿd son of Wtr son of Mlk and he went to water during the full moon/cosmic setting of Aries (mid-late October) so, O Bʿls¹mn, let there be ease and he kept watch for the Romans, so, O Lt, may he be secure, and this writing
too.
KRS 2851
l g{d}d bn —m—m bn ʿbd w rʿy h- nẖl b- ṯlg b- {k}s¹ʾ ḏkr
By {Gdd} son of {—m—m} son of ʿbd and he pastured in this valley on snow during the {full
moon/cosmic setting of} of Aries (mid-late October).
C 1895
l s²ʿ bn nẓmt b[n] ʿgz w wrd h- nmrt b- ks¹ʾ ʿqbt f hy {ʾ}{l}t rwḥ
By S²ʿ son of Nẓmt son of ʿgz and he went to water at Namārah during the full moon/cosmic
setting of scorpio (early May) so, O ʾlt, let there be relief.
KRS 1881
l ʿqdt bn ʿbd w rʿy h- nẖl nwy w wrd b- ks¹ʾ {s¹}{n}n ʿ{q}bt h- ʾḍyt h- ʿqbt h- ẖṭṭ
By ʿqdt son of ʿbd and he pastured in the valley while migrating and went to the watering
hole during the full moon of s¹nn (thorns? claws?) of Scorpio (May)...
Mu 75
l gd bn wʿy bn bny bn ns²ʿʾl bn s¹ʿd bn s²nʾ bn ḥrb bn bʾs¹h bn bʿr w wgm ʿl- wrd w rʿy h- bql b- ks¹ʾ ʾmt ʿqbt f h lt w rḍy s¹lm m- [[]] + s² + nʾ w ʿwr l- ḏ yʿwr h- s¹fr
By Gd son of Wʿy son of Bny son of Ns²ʿʾl son of S¹ʿd son of S²nʾ son of Ḥrb son of Bʾs¹h son of Bʿr and he grieved for Wrd and pastured on fresh herbage during the full moon/cosmic rising of Libra-Scorpio (May?) so, O Lt and Rḍy, may he be secure against enemies but may
he who would efface this writing go blind.
C 4454
l ḥml bn ns²bt w ṣbb b- ks¹ʾ {g}ml
By Ḥml son of Ns²bt and he poured water during the full moon/cosmic setting of Gemini
(early December).
RWQ 290
l gld bn ...hn bn s¹gʿ w wrd ʾdyt h bly b- ks¹ʾ yʾmr
By Gld son of …hn son of S¹gʿ and he went to water in the valleys of the Baliyyah during the
cosmic setting of Capricorn (early June).
b. More attestations of ʾs¹d = Leo
At the time of writing the article, I was only aware of one astronomical occurrence of ʾs¹d. A
few more have come to light; interestingly, both of these seem to anthropomorphize the
constellation, pointing perhaps towards a kind of mythology connected with the zodiac.
ASWS 124
l qṣy bn qʿṣn bn ʾḥlm bn rwḥ w ʾs¹lf h- rwy m h- ḥm f ẖz h- ʾs¹d f h s²ʿhqm fṣyt l -h
By Qṣy son of Qʿṣn son of ʾḥlm son of Rwḥ and the sweet water was brought to an end from
the heat, for Leo was hostile so, O S²ʿhqm, may he be delivered.
RSIS 80
l ʿqrb bn ʿbd bn nʿmn bn kn w mr b- ḍf f ʿdy h- ʾs¹d f ẖbl rbʿt f h lt brkt ʾẖk ḏ-
By ʿqrb son of ʿbd son of Nʿmn son of Kn and he passed by Ḍf; and Leo transgressed, and so
he ruined the spring, so, O Lt, bless ʾẖk ḏ …
c. Another attestation of the Pleiades, kmt
Another possible attestation of the Pleiades was found in an unpublished inscription from
Jebel Qurma, recording during the Leiden University survey of 2012. It reads:
l gbl bn ʾmyw rʿy h- kmt nwy
By Gbl son of ʾmy and he pastured at/during Pleiades while migrating
The description seems abbreviated and must refer to either the rising or setting of the
asterism. Unlike the single previously known attestation (Al-Jallad 2014:228), the feminine t
is indicated in this form.
d. The Safaitic Year
The relationship between the zodiac and the seasons is as follows (from Al-Jallad 2015, §24.8)
Season Latin Arabian Date of the sign Astronomical date (in
antiquity)
dṯʾ = Season of the
later rains
Pisces ḏl
‘tail(s)’ Mid-February – mid March
Mid February – early
April
38 days
Aries ḏkr
‘ram’ mid-March – mid- April
Early April – Late April
25 days
qyẓ =
Sum
mer
ṣyf = early
summer
Taurus ʾʾly
‘bull’ mid-April – mid- May
late April – late May
37 days
Gemini gml
‘twins?’ or ‘camel’ mid-May – mid- June
late May – late June
31 days
Cancer s¹rṭ[n] ?
‘crab’ mid-June – mid- July late June – early July
20 days
brḥt = late
summer
Leo h- ʾs¹d
‘lion’ mid-July – mid- August
early July – mid August
37 days
Virgo h- ngm
‘seed-produce’ mid-August – mid-
September
mid August – late
September
45 days
Libra ʾmt
‘scale’ mid-September – mid-
October
late September – late
October
23 days
s²ty = Winter Scorpio ʿqbt
‘scorpion’ mid-October – mid-
November
late october – late
october
7 days
Ophiucus Late October to mid-
November
18 days
Sagittarius h- rmy and/or ṯbr ?
‘archer’/’soldier’ mid-November to mid-
December
mid-november to mid-
december
32 days
Capricorn yʾmr ‘sea-goat’
mid- December – mid
January
mid-december – mid
January
28 days
Aquarius mlḥ
’salt vessel’ or ’salt worker’
mid- January – mid
February
Mid-January – mid
February
24 days
Sigla
ASWS Awad, M. 1999. Dirāsat nuqūš ṣafawiyyah min ǧanūb wādī sārah al-bādiyah al-
ʾurdunniyyah aš-šimāliyyah. Masters Thesis. Irbid, Institute of Archaeology and
Anthropology, Yarmouk University.
C Ryckmans, J. (ed.) 1950-1. Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum Pars V. Paris:
Imprimerie Nationale.
KRS Safaitic inscriptions recorded by G.M.H. King on the Basalt Desert Rescue
Survey.
Mu Inscriptions recorded on the SESP surveys 1996–2003 (to appear on OCIANA).
RSIS Schirin, R. 2013. Nueu safaitische Inschriften aus Süd-Syrien (SSHB 16). Aachen:
Shaker Verlag.
RWQ Al-Rousan, M. 2005. Nuqūš ṣafawiyyah min wādī qaṣṣāb bi-l-ʾurdunn. PhD
dissertation. Ar-Riyāḍ, Ǧāmiʿat al-Malik Saʿūd, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
SESP Inscriptions recorded on the SESP surveys 1996–2003 (to appear on OCIANA).
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