Kilamuwa Stela

The Kilamuwa Stele is a 9th-century BC stele of King Kilamuwa, from

The Kilamuwa Stele was discovered during the 1888-1902 German

It is currently located in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.

Contents
Description of the stele
Translation
References
Bibliography
External links The Kilamuwa Stela of King Kilamuwa

Description of the stele

King Kilamuwa is shown standing on the upper left and addressing four Assyrian gods with his right arm and finger, where he
imitates his Assyrian lords in a gesture called "Ubanu tarrashu" which designates "you are my god". His left hand is draped at his
left side holding a wilted lotus flower, a symbol of a king's death.[8] He is dressed in king's regalia with hat, and his figure stands
at the beginning of the first nine lines of the text.

Translation
The translation of the stele:

"I am Kilamuwa, the son of King Haya'. King Gabar reigned over Ya'diya but achieved
nothing.
Then came Bamah, and he achieved nothing.
My own father, Haya', did nothing with his reign.
My brother, Sha'il, also did nothing.
It was I, Kilamuwa...who managed to do what none of my ancestors had.
My father's kingdom was beset by powerful, predatory kings, all holding out their hands,
demanding to be fed.
But I raged amongst them like a fire, burning their beards and consuming their
outstretched hands.
Only the Danunian kings overmastered me; I had to call on the King of Assyria to assist
me...
I, Kilamuwa, the son of Haya', ascended my father's throne.
 Under their previous kings, the [people] had howled like dogs.
But I was a father, a mother and a brother to them.
I gave gold, silver and cattle to men who had never so much as seen the face of a sheep
before.
Those who had never even seen linen all their lives I clothed in byssus-cloth from head to
foot.
I took the [people] by the hand and in their souls they looked to me just as the orphan
looks to his mother."

"Whoever of my sons comes after me and interferes with this inscription, may he be
dishonoured among the people...
And if anyone should damage this inscription,
Let Gabar's god Ba'al-Samad destroy his head,
And let Bamah's god Ba'al Hamon destroy his head..."
Together with Reχub-ʾEl, the Lord of the Palace.[9]

The actual text of the inscription in Hebrew font:

(‫ ואנך כלמו בר תמ)ת‬.‫ וכן אח שאל ובל פעל‬.‫ וכן אב חיא ובל פעל‬.‫ כן במח ובל פעל‬.‫ מלך גבר על יאדי ובל פעל‬.‫אנך כלמו בר חיא‬
‫ וכת ביד מלכם כם אש אכלת זקן וכם אש‬.‫ כן בת אבי במתכת מלכם אדרים וכל שלח יד להלחם‬.‫מאש פעלת בל פעל הלפני)ה(ם‬
‫ אנך כלמו בר חיא ישבת על כסא אבי לפן המלכם‬.‫ ועלמת יתן בש וגבר בסות‬.‫ ושכר אנך עלי מלך אשר‬,‫ ואדר עלי מלך דננים‬.‫אכלמ יד‬
‫ ומיבל חז פן אלף שתי‬.‫ שתי בעל עדר‬,‫ ומי בל חז פן ש‬.‫ ולמי כת אח‬,‫ ולמי כת אם‬,‫ ואנך למי כת אב‬.‫הלפנים יתלנן משכבימ כם כלבים‬
.‫ והמת שת נבש כם נבש יתם באם‬,‫ ואנך תמכת משכבם ליד‬.‫ ובימי כסי בצ‬,‫ ומי בל חז כתן למנערי‬.‫ ובעל חרצ‬,‫ ובעל כסף‬,‫בעל בקר‬
‫ ישחת ראש בעל‬,‫ ומי ישחת הספר ז‬.‫ ובעררם אל יכבד למשכבם‬,‫ משכבם אל יכבד לבעררם‬,‫ומי בבני אש ישב תחתן ויזק בספר ז‬
‫ ורכבעל בעל בת‬,‫ וישחת ראש בעל חמנ אש לבמח‬,‫צמד אש לגבר‬.[10]

References
1. Kerrigan, The Ancients in Their Own Words, King Kilamuwa, p. 154-155.
2. Felix von Luschan et al, Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli. vol. 1: Einleitung und Inschriften, Spemann, 1893
3. Felix von Luschan and Carl Humann and Robert Koldewey, Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli. vol. 2:
Ausgrabungsbericht und Architektur, Spemann, 1898
4. Felix von Luschan, Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli. vol. 3: Thorsculpturen, Georg Reimer, 1902
5. Felix von Luschan and Gustav Jacoby, Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli. vol. 4: Georg Reimer, 1911
6. Felix von Luschan and Walter Andrae, Ausgrabungen in Sendschirli. vol. 5: Die Kleinfunde von Sendschirli,
Walter de Gruyter, 1943
7. The Kilamuwa Relief: Ethnicity, class and power in Iron Age North Syria (https://www.academia.edu/1130938/The
_Kilamuwa_Relief_Ethnicity_class_and_power_in_Iron_Age_North_Syria), quote: "The inscription is in the
Phoenician language, while the letters themselves are in an Aramaic script. This stands in sharp contrast to most
inscriptions in the North Syrian region at this time, which were in Luwian or, more rarely, in Aramaic."
8. Kerrigan, p. 154.
9. Kerrigan, p. 155.
10. Tony Habboub (11 January 2010). "King Kilamuwa Phoenician inscription; Phoenician "Lingua Franca" of Levant,
part 1" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4j0YolWmFjU). YouTube. Retrieved 17 July 2018.

Bibliography
Kerrigan, 2009. The Ancients in Their Own Words, Michael Kerrigan, Fall River Press, Amber Books Ltd, c 2009.
(hardcover. ISBN 978-1-4351-0724-3)
External links
Photo of stele-(close-up of king and insignias) (http://www.fenici.unibo.it/garbini/Iscrizione%20di%20Kilamuwa.ht
m); (translated from Italian) (http://babelfish.yahoo.com/translate_url?doit=done&tt=url&intl=1&fr=bf-home&trurl=
https%3A%2F%2F2.zoppoz.workers.dev%3A443%2Fhttp%2Fwww.fenici.unibo.it%2Fgarbini%2FIscrizione%2520di%2520Kilamuwa.htm&lp=it_en&btnTrUrl=
Translate)
Photo and write-up (https://plus.google.com/109437328687980999173/posts/LUdfiA4ADF8)

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