INSCRIPTIONS. 652 INSCRIPTIONS. of these petty kings to Tiglnth-pileser III. of Assyria, their suzerain. At Palmyra many in- scriptions in the local alphabet have l>ecn found, for the most part mortuary, and dating from the first three centuries of our era. t)f especial in- terest is a long bilingual, in Greek and Pal- myrene, of a.d. 137, containing the customs, duties and tolls, which are recorded to obviate the frequent disputes between the caravans and the custom-house ollicials. Among the late in- scriptions, especial interest attaches to a bi- lingual, Syriac and t'hinese, in Western China, relating to the work of Nestorian missionaries in the region, about 781 A.o. The North-Semitic inscriptions are best discussed, and the impor- tant texts collected and illustrated in facsimile, in Lidzbarski, Hamlbuck dcr Nord-iimilischen Epigraphilc (Weimar. 1898), which also contains a verj' complete bibliography. The inscriptions are collected in the still ineimiplete Corpus In- SCI ipt ion urn Scmiticnnim (Paris, 1S8I scq.), prepared under the direction of the French Acadimic dcs Inscriptions et Belles-Lett res. The Xoulh-Ucmitic group of inscriptions, though but little known until comparatively re- cent times, have furnished valuable information in regard to the early history of Arabia, and their study lias developed into a most important branch of Semitic research. This group may be provisionally divided into four sections: The Safaitic, the Li^janian, the Kouth-.iruhian, and the Abyssinian. (1) The Safaitic inscriptions, found in the neighborhood of Es-Safa, south of Damascus, arc chiefly epitaphs and contain little more than the names and genealogies of the de- ceased whose memory they preserve. Apparently they do not antedate the first century of the Christian era. Consult: Halfvj-, K.ssiii sur les inscriptions du Safa (Paris, 1882); 1-ittmann, Zur Entzifferung der Safii-lnschriften (Leipzig, 1001). (2) Lijijanian is the name given to a class of inscriptions found in recent times at El-Oela, in Northern Hejaz, because the King of liihjan (an Arabian tribal name) is mentioned in them as the ruler of the district in which they occtir. They are not numerous, and the mutilated condition in which most of them have been found renders their interpretation extremely diflicult. Their date is somewhat doubtful, bvit they seem to be contemporary willi the rule of the Ptolemies in Egjpt. Consult: D. II. lliiUer, Epiftrnphixche Dcnktniiler aiis Arnhien (Vienna, 1889) ; Ndldeke, Die Setnitischcn Sprachen (Leip- zig. 1899). Far more important than the two classes just mentioned are (.S) the ,^oulh-Arahian inscriptions, found principally in the .southwest- ern corner of the -Arabian peninsula. These in- scriptions, which are very numerous, refer chietly to the dedication of buildings or the presentation of various objects to the gods, and they throw much light upon the religion of the ancient Arabians. They contain, moreover, many val- uable historical and geographical allusions, and enable us to reconstruct at least an otitline of the history of the country for a period which, until recent years, has been involved in complete obscurity. The South- Arabian inscriptions ex- hibit several dialects, each possessing marked grammatical peculiarities. The oldest inscrip- tions are composed in the dialect of the }tin<Tnns, whose kings ruled over a large part of Arabia at least as early as the fourteenth century B.C., their influence extending as far north as the bor- ders of Palestine. About the eighth century B.C. their dominion passed into the hands of the Sabw- ans. In these two dialects the great mass of the SouthAraliian inscriptions are composed. The dialects of KatabAn and Hadramaut, in the extreme southern part of Arabia, are represented by a few inscriptions. Both these dialects seem to have been more closely related to Mina'an than to Saba-an. Of the large number of South-.-rabian inscriptions collected by various explorers — notably by the Austrian scholar Eduard tllaser — a very considerable portion yet awaits publica- tion. Consult; Weber, .Irtihicn ror dcm Islnin (l^ipzig, 1902); id., Stiulicn zur Siidarabischcn .lltertumskunde (BorWn. I'.lOl) ; Winckler, J/i/.t/ii, Mcluhha, Ma-in (lierlin, 181IS) ; (Jlaser, Skizze der (Icschiehtc und (Icogrtiphiv Arabicns (Ber- lin, 1889-90) : Hommel," Siidarabisclie Chreslo- tnathie (Munich, 1893), contains a very comi)lete bibliography of the subject, down to the date of publication. See also Mi.n.kan.s ; .Sab.ka.ns. (4) The .Ibj/ssinian inscriptions, founil at the ancient capital Axum, arc few in number and belong to a late ])eriod. The earliest date from about 350 a.d., and are written in the Sabaan modification of the South-Semitic alphabet. In inscriptions of a later date (about 500 a.d.) the Ethiopic system of writing, as used in the manu- scripts, is found fully developed. Consult: Bent, The fiacrcd City of the Ethiopians (London, 1893) : D. H. MuUer. Epigraphische Dcnhmdhr au» Abessynien (Vienna. 1894); Olaser, Die .Ibcssynicr in Arabicn und Afrika (Munich, 1895). See also Ethiopia. In recent years considerable attention has been paid to the study of the Ilittite monuments, V'hich are found throughout Asia Minor as far west as Smyrna, though they occur most abun- dantly around the Bay of Iskanderun. in Cappa- doeia, in Cilicia. and in Northern .Syria. In IS!i9 a long Hittite inscription was found at Balnlon, whither it had been conveyed as a trophy. The Hittite inscriptions employ a species of hiero- glyphic writing, the individual characters repre- .senting parts of the human body, animals, birds and other objects. In the older inscriptions the hieroglyphs are cut in relief, while in those of later date they are incised. Many attempts have licen made to decipher these inscriptions, but. so far, with slight success. Professor .Tensen of Marburg has at least made a lieginning, and his identifications of ideographs and sign groujis for various countries seem to rest upon solid grounds. He believes that the language belongs to the .Ar- menian branch of the Aryan family, but the known facts are too scanty to warrant a definite conclusion upon this subject at present. Con- sult: Messerschmidt, Die Hcttitcr (Leipzig, 1902) ; Corpus InscriptioHUiii Hettiticarum (Ber- lin. 1900-02); .Jensen, Hrtlitrr und .rmrnicr (Strasshurg, 1898) ; Koldewey, Die hrltitixche In.<iehrift grfundcn in der Kiininiburg ton Baby- lon (Leipzig, 1900). See also Hittites. The Old Persian inscriptions are exclusively regal. The longest and most typical one is that at Behistun (q.v.). which recounts the life and deeds of Darius I. The shorter inscriptions of the same king, .ts well as of his successors. Xerxes I., and .Artaxerxes I., IT., and III., are more occa- sional in subject. They are in the main dedi- c.Ttory t.iblets, set up at Susa. Persepolis. Elvand, Naqsi-Rustem. and Suez. Like the Behistun inscription, these minor texts express a deep and
