Milestone Of Deir Al-Qalt From The Time Of ‘Abd al-Malik, 65-86 AH / 685-705 CE

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First Composed: 6th December 2005

Last Modified: 6th December 2005

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Assalamu ʿalaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:

(a)

(b)

(c)

Figure (a) original inscription, (b) its trace and (c) its contents.

[] encloses letters supplied to fill a lacuna

Date

65-86 AH / 685-705 CE.

Marble milestone found at the cloister of Khozaiba near Deir al-Qalt on the Jerusalem-Damascus road, 107 miles from Jerusalem. It has six remaining lines, as the top and the right hand side have broken off.

Size Of The Slab

31 cm. x 39 cm.

Script

Kufic.

Contents

The translation of the inscription is:

  1. [construction of the milestones]. Servant of
  2. [God ʿAbd] al-Malik, Commander of
  3. [the faithful], may mercy
  4. [of God be on him]. From Damascus till this
  5. milestone, (there are) 107(?) miles

Location

Museum Çinili Köşk, Istanbul.

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References

[1] M. van Berchem, Matériaux Pour Un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, 1920, Tome 2 / 3, Mémoires publiés par les membres de l'Institut Français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale: Le Caire, Plate II:3.

[2] M. van Berchem, Matériaux Pour Un Corpus Inscriptionum Arabicarum, 1922, Tome 2 / 1, Jérusalem "Ville", Mémoires publiés par les membres de l'Institut Français d'archéologie orientale du Caire, Imprimerie de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale: Le Caire, No. 3, p. 19 and p. 21. The inscription was also reproduced by Adolf Grohmann in Arabische Paläographie II: Das Schriftwesen. Die Lapidarschrift, 1971, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Philosophisch - Historische Klasse: Denkschriften 94/2. Hermann Böhlaus Nachf.: Wein, p. 83.

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