Jabal Usays Inscription: A Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscription From 528 CE

Islamic Awareness

© Islamic Awareness, All Rights Reserved.

First Composed: 16th March 2005

Last Modified: 17th March 2005

submit to reddit

Assalamu ʿalaykum wa rahamatullahi wa barakatuhu:

The Jabal Usays Inscription: This is the only pre-Islamic Arabic inscription with historical content.

Date

528 CE.

Script

Arabic.

Comments

This is the only pre-Islamic Arabic inscription with historical content. It was found during German excavations in Jabal Usays, on the Syrian border, 105 km southeast of Damascus. It is dated 423 after Bosra, i.e., 423 plus 105 or 528 CE.

Location

Jabal Usays, Syria.

Bookmark and Share


References

[1] A. Grohmann, Arabische Paläographie II: Das Schriftwesen. Die Lapidarschrift, 1971, Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften Philosophisch - Historische Klasse: Denkschriften 94/2. Hermann Böhlaus Nachf.: Wein, pp. 15-16.

[2] Muhammad Abu al-Faraj al-‘Ushsh, "Kitabat ‘Arabiyya Ghayr Manshura Fi Jabal Usays", Al-Abhath, 1964, Volume 17, p. 302.

[3] B. Gruendler, The Development Of The Arabic Scripts: From The Nabatean Era To The First Islamic Century According To The Dated Texts, 1993, Harvard Semitic Series No. 43, Scholars Press: Atlanta (GA), p. 14.

The images above are reproduced from the stated sources under the provisions of the copyright law. This allows for the reproduction of portions of copyrighted material for non-commercial, educational purposes.

With the exception for those images which have passed into the public domain, the use of these images for commercial purposes is expressly prohibited without the consent of the copyright holder.

Back To The Arabic & Islamic Inscriptions