YM 1200

YM 1200 is one of the pre-Islamic Arabian inscriptions discovered in South Arabia, now housed within the National Museum of Yemen. This inscription is composed in the Sabaic language and dates back to the 5th century CE. It is also a monumental inscription. YM 1200 was first translated by Iwona Gajda in the year 1998.

Content

The inscription is eight lines long, and it reads:
An English-language transliteration, first edited and interpreted by Iwona Gajda, reads:

Dating

Christian J. Robin dates the inscription to the late 5th century CE, between the years 480–485 CE.

Interpretation and significance

The inscription is considered a monumental inscription and details the construction projects of the king Marthad'ilan Yu'nim which involve religious structures. The text describes the king as ordering the construction of a synagogue as well as the reparation of a monotheistic place of worship. Al Jazeera Press writer, Muammar Al Sharjabi, identifies this monotheistic place of worship as a church, but at the same time also interpreted the name of the king as Marthad'ilan Yanuf instead of Marthad'ilan Yu'nim. According to him, this inscription does show that the kings before Dhu Nuwas were tolerant of other religions in their realm.