Kilamuwa Stela Information
The Kilamuwa Stela is a 9th century BC stele of King Kilamuwa, from the Kingdom of Sam'al. He claims to have succeeded where his ancestors had failed, in providing for his kingdom.[1]
The Kilamuwa Stele was discovered by German archaeologist at the end of the nineteenth century and is located in the Vorderasiatisches Museum Berlin.
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Description of the stele
The stele is a 16-line text in Phoenician. King Kilamuwa is shown standing on the upper left and addressing four god-insignias-(Canaanite gods) with his right arm and finger. His left hand is draped at his left side holding a wilted lotus flower, a symbol of a king's death.[2] 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-(Sam'al) 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.[3]
References
- ^ Kerrigan, The Ancients in Their Own Words, King Kilamuwa, p. 154-155.
- ^ Kerrigan, p. 154.
- ^ Kerrigan, p. 155.
- 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
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