epigrafika

Shebl Ebaid
Al-Araby Emara
College of Arts and Humanities, Jazan University (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

A MONUMENTAL INSCRIPTION ON THE FENCES

OF TBILISI – AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL
AND HISTORICAL STUDY

Introduction
The Arabs named Georgia “The Korg “country, they also named Tbilisi as Tfilici.
In some historical resources, It was named as the house of pleasure “Dar al-Surour”.1
Al-Istakhry stated that it was a city whose land was both fertile and green. It was
also remarkable for its higher forts. Its old castles represent a clear evidence of this
hypothesis.
Al-Idrissy said that the city was surrounded by two walls of mud and it also had
five gates as it is stated by Al-Tabari.
The study deals with one of the remaining inscriptions on the outer wall of the city:
the inscription is made on a port sand stone with drilling relief. It consists of three line
executed in a simple Kufic, and ends with the date of constructing the fence of the city.
This study aims to focus on the monumental inscription in terms of script type and
form of letters carried out, as well as content, and how it relates to political conditions
in that period, in addition to a comparative study between this inscription and another
contemporary monumental inscription of the same period.
– The inscription includes the limits of the fort and its belongings, and the name
of the hewer and the masonry in the same time.

Historical Background
During the Arab period, Tbilisi (al-Tefelis) grew into a center of trade between
the  Islamic world and northern Europe. Beyond that, it functioned as a key Arab outpost
and a buffer province facing the Byzantine and Khazar dominions. Over time, Tbilisi
became largely Muslim.2

304
 A Monumental Inscription On The Fences Of Tbilisi ...

Around 112 H. / 730 A.D., two factors led to a change in Umayyad policy towards
Georgia. First, in that year, the Khazars managed to invade Northwestern Iran and went
all the way to  Mosul  before being defeated. The tributary buffer states of the Caucasus
had not been able to prevent that invasion.3
The  Abbasid Caliphate weakened after the Abbasid civil war in the 195 H./810
A.D., and caliph power was challenged by secessionist tendencies among peripheral rul-
ers, including those of Tbilisi.4 At the same time, the emirate became a target of the
resurgent Georgian Bagrationi dynasty who were expanding their territory from Tao-Klar-
jeti across Georgian lands.5 The Emirate of Tbilisi grew in relative strength under Ishaq
ibn Isma’il  (218-239 H./833-853A.D.), who was powerful enough to quell the energies
of the Georgian princes and to contend
Tbilisi was a largewith
citythe Abbasid
with a strongauthority
double wallin pierced
the region. He
by five
withheld his annual payment of tribute to Baghdad, and declared his independence
gates. It lay on both banks of the Kura River (Kura) The ,7 from
the Caliph.6 houses were primarily built, to the surprise of contemporary
Tbilisi was a large cityArab
withtravelers,
a strongof double
pine woodwallin pierced
the first half of the
by five ninthIt lay on
gates.
8
century.
both banks of the Kura River (Kura) The houses were primarily built, to the surprise
,7

of contemporary Arab travelers,

THE TEXTof pineOFwood in the first half:( FIG.
THE INSCRIPTION of the1) ninth century.8

THE TEXT OF THE INSCRIPTION: (FIG. 1) it is made of port sand stone, it

A monumental inscription,
consists
A monumental inscription, it isof made
three lines executed
of port sand in a simple
stone, Kufic, the
it consists of three
threelines
lines
executed in a simple Kufic,read
theasthree
follows:
lines read as follows:
( ‫ – و ) ﻗﺼﺮﻩ ؟ ( و ) ﺣﺼﻨﻪ ؟ ( وﺣﺎﻣﻴﺘﻪ و آﻮرﻩ و ) ﺣﺪهﺎ ؟‬1
‫ ؟ وآﺘﺒﻪ ﺳﻼم ﺑﻦ ) ﺣﻴﺎن ؟ ( ﺷﻬﺮ‬... ‫ – ﻋـ‬2
‫ ـ ﺷﻌﺒﺎن ﺳﻨﺔ ﺳﺒﻊ ) وﺳﺒﻌﻴﻦ ؟ ( وﻣــــــــﺎﻳﻪ‬3
Transliteration of the text:
transliteration of the text:
1 – Wa (qasrahu ?) Wa (Hisnahu ?) wa hamuathu wa kiwarhu wa (hadeha?)
2 – a……? wa katabhu Wa ( Hisnahu
1- Salaam ? ) wa hamuathu
bin (Hauan?) shahr wa kiwarhu wa ( hadeha? )
3 – Sha،aban sanat sab
2-aa……?
،
(wa sab
wa ain)
،
wa Salaam
katabhu mayh. bin ( Hauan?) shahr
Translation of the Text:
3- Shaʻ aban sanat sabʻ a ( wa sabʻ ain ) wa mayh.
1 – And (his palace?), (his fortress), his garrison, his locality and its borders
translation of the text:
2 – It was written by Salaam bin (Hauan?) month
3 – Sha،aban, year one1- hundred
And (his and
palace?), (his seven.
seventy fortress), his garrison, his locality and
its borders
Comment about the Inscriptions. Regarding
2- It was written by SalaamForm
bin ( Hauan?) month
Kufic script played an important and effective role in the decoration of many build-
9
3- Sha�aban, year one hundred and seventy seven.
ings and applied arts in eastern world in general, because it was suitable for the decora-
tive purposes especially in COMMENT
the heads ofABOUT THE INSCRIPTIONS:
Arabic letters which were flexible in decoration,
thus this script was matching any surface.
REGARDING FORM:
This Arabic script usedKufic
for script
many9 played
monumental inscriptions
an important on therole
and effective early of Islamic
in the
period in Caspian Sea, Central
decoration of many buildings and applied arts in eastern world the
Asia and Iran. Among this monumental inscription,

3 ‫اﻟﺼﻔﺤﺔ‬
305
 This Arabic script used for many monumental inscriptions on
the early of Islamic period in Caspian Sea, Central Asia and
Iran. Among this monumental inscription, the subject study
Shebl Ebaid inscription is engraved in relief in sample Kufic, one of the most
commonly used script for a monumental inscription on the early
of Islamicinperiod.
subject study inscription is engraved relief in sample Kufic, one of the most commonly
used script for a monumentalThe inscription
importanton the inscription
of this early of Islamic period.by the fact of
is determined
The important of this inscription is determined
being the oldest monumental by the fact
inscription of entire
in the beingeastern
the oldest
monumental inscription in theworld
entire– toeastern
our knowledge our Sha�aban
world – –todated knowledge177 H. / 793
– dated A.D.
Sha ،
aban
177 H./793 A.D. So it is previous of the Darband monumental inscription, dated
So it is previous of the 195
Darband monumental
H. / 821A.D., it madeinscription, dated with
from stone plaque 195 five
H./821A.D.,
lines of it
sample Kufic engraved too, and reads;
made from stone plaque with five lines of sample Kufic engraved too, and reads;
‫ – ﺑﺴﻢ اﷲ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ اﻟﺮﺣﻴﻢ‬1
........................ - 2
‫ – ﻣﺤﻤـــﺪ ؟‬3
.................... ‫ ـ‬4
. ‫ ـ ﻓﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ﺧﻤﺲ وﺗﺴﻌﻴﻦ وﻣﺎﺋﺔ‬5
Translation of the Text:
translation of the text:
In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
………………. In the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful.
Muhammad ? ……………….
………………….
Mu�ammad ?
In the year one hundred and ninety five.10
………………….
Regarding this inscription, we are in a difficult situation, we through the program
of auto Cade an attempt was In made
the yeartoone hundred
show and ninety
discreet five.10 letters (Fig. 2).
and unclear
After the identification of the inscription, we compared it with another contemporary 4 ‫اﻟﺼﻔﺤﺔ‬
one to make sure of the rate from the second century H./8th A.D.
This inscription is located in bab Al-Safa in Haram at Mecca, and it is attributed
to the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi amir al-mu‘minin (158-169 H./774-785A.D.), dated 167
H./783A.D (Fig. 3)
while comparing between the letter shapes in the inscription under study and the
one of bab Al-Safa, we note that there is a great similarity between the ends of the
uppermost stroke in vertical letters like alif and lām, there are also similarities between
some ending letters in two inscriptions words, as Sha،aban, wa sab،ain in our inscrip-
tion, and words Yaktin , stein in the eleventh and fifteenth lines of the inscription of
bab Al-Safa (Fig. 4).
As a result of the pervious comparison, we can say that the distorted parts con-
taining the date of the inscription on the fences of Tbilisi are dated from the second
century H./8th A.D.

Regarding Content
According to the remained part from the inscription on the fences of Tbilisi, we
can see that it contains three lines, the first line is:
And (his palace?), his fortress, his garrison, his locality and its borders

306
 A Monumental Inscription On The Fences Of Tbilisi ...

The first word in this line may be and (his palace?) referring to Governor’s palace
in Arabic sources (Dar Al-emara) meaning residence of rule, while the second word
his fortress. Al-Istakhry said: The old castle of Tbilisi was representing a conclusive
evidence of this hypothesis. And the meaning of the garrison, the Muslim soldiers liv-
ing in the fort.
The fourth word in this line his locality (Korah): purely Persian name called on one
part of Astan, in a later stage Arabs borrowed this name (Korah), and became Astan
and Korah have one meaning.
In Arabic (Korah) is an area including a number of villages, and every village has
been named after a town or a river.11
Its borders concerned the fences of Tbilisi, Al-Idrissy said that the city was sur-
rounded by two walls of mud,12 and it also had five gates as stated by Al-Tabari.13
The Carver’s name:
The second line contain the name of writer, unfortunately the last name is not clear,
maybe we can read, Salaam bin (Hauan?).
As for the nationality of the person, he is Arabic by nationality, it is clear through
the name; it is noticeable that we have not found a biography for this writer.
The date of the inscription:
The date is there at the end of the second line and also all along the third line. It
was stated as follows: Sha’aban, the year seven ………and one hundred.
Trying to read the date and thinking of the obscure decimal digit, it became certain
that the digit is (seventy) with relevance to the empty space left in between the other
digits. In addition, some letters such as “‫“ ”ع‬e” that often comes medially in this form
and the letter “ ‫“ ”ن‬n” that comes finally in this form. At the very beginning we thought
that the missing decimal digit may be forty, but by tracing the historical events that
took place in that era, we found out that the Korgs had seized Tbilisi. As a result, we
gave up such perception.14
The date 177 H. was in the reign of Harun al-Rashid (170-193 H. / 786-808A.D.).
During that era, Tbilisi had witnessed a lot of stability and security. That was a natural
outcome of the good treatment of its governors for both Muslim and Christian Tbilisi
people. Such stability lasted up till 180 H./796 A.D., and that paved the way for the
renewal of Tbilisi fences in 177 H.15

Footnotes
1. The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Edt.by C.E.Bosworth,E. Van donzel, B. Lewis and
Ch. Pellat, new edition, Vol. V (Leiden, 1984), p. 993.
2. Ezaat, Y., The history of Kukaz, Trans. Galeb, A. H. (Cairo, 1933), pp. 23-24.
3. Ibn Khayyat, Abu ،Amr Khalifa ibn Khayyat, Tarik khalifa ibn Khayyat,Tahkek;
Alemari, A,d. (Baurot 1397 H.), Vol. 1, p. 341.

307
Shebl Ebaid

4. Rayfield, D., The literature of Georgia a history, Routledge (New York, 2013),
p. 46.
5. Al-Ya‘akoubi, Ahmad ibn Abi Ya‘akoub ibn J‘afar:Tarikh al- Ya‘akoubi (Burot
1407 H.), Vol. 2. p. 464.
6. Ibn-Taghribirdi, Jamal al-din Yusuf: Al-Nujum Al-Zahira fi Muluk Misr wa’l-
Qahira, comment: Muhammad Husain Shams Al-Dein, First published, 1992,
Vol. 2, p. 219.
7. Strange G. L., The lands of the Eastern Caliphate: Mesopotamia, Persia and
Central Asia from the Moslem conquest to the time of Timur, Cambridge Uni-
versity press, 1905, p. 178.
8. Al-Tabari, Abi J‘afar Muhammad Ibn Jarir, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’ l-Muluk, Lugh-
dunum Batavorum, Leiden, 1879, Vol. 5, p. 316.
9. Kufic script: named after the city of Kufa, where it was developed. It con-
sists largely of straight lines and angles, and it was the style in which the
very early copies of the Qur’an were written. With the only variation being
a slanting script; Ali O., Essa A., Studies in Islamic civilization: The Muslim
contribution to the Renaissance, The international institute of Islamic though,
London, 2010, p. 204.
10. Blair S., The monumental inscriptions from Islamic Iran and Transoxiana, Brill,
1992, p.17.
11. Al-Hamawi, Yāqūt ibn ‘Abd Allāh; Mu‘jam al-boldan, Dar Sader, Burot, 1977,
Vol. 1, pp. 36-37.
12. Al-Idrisi, Abo‘Abd Allāh Muhammad ibn Muhammad; Nuzhat al- mushtaq fi
ikhtiraq al-afaq, Burot, 1989, Vol. 6, p. 116.
13. Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’ l- Muluk, p.316.
14. Silogava V., Shengelia K., History of Georgia from the ancient times through
the Rose revolution,Caucasus university publishing house, Tbilisi, 2007, p. 60.
15. Al-Tabari, Tarikh al-Rusul wa’ l- Muluk,Dar Al-Turas, Burot, 1387 H., Vol. 8,
p. 7.

308
A Monumental Inscription On The Fences Of Tbilisi ...

309
Shebl Ebaid

Sebl ebadi, al-arabi emara

monumenturi warwera Tbilisis galavanze –

arqeologiuri da istoriuli kvleva
reziume

statiaSi ganxilulia Tbilisis galavnze SemorCenili erT-erTi war-

wera. es samstriqoniani warwera amokveTilia karibWis qvaze, Sesrulebu-
lia martivi qufuri kaligrafiiT da mTavrdeba qalaqis galavnis mSen-
eblobis TariRis aRniSvniT.
gamokvlevaSi yuradReba eTmoba am monumenturi warweris Seswavlas,
damwerlobis tipisa da asoTa moxazulobis safuZvelze, agreTve, warw-
eris Sinaarss da imas, Tu rogor ukavSirdeba es ukanaskneli im perio-
dis politikur situacias. mocemulia zemoaRniSnuli warwerisa da imave
periodis sxva monumenturi warweris SedarebiTi analizi.
warwera Seicavs informacias cixe-simagris sazRvrebisa da sakuTre-
bis, qvismTlelisa da kalatozebis Sesaxeb.
warwera mniSvneloba ganisazRvreba imiT, rom is aris uZvelesi arab-
uli monumenturi warwera mTels aRmosavleTSi. Cveni azriT, is TariRd-
eba hijris 177 wliT (Cv.w.aR-iT 793 w.). Sha،aban Sesabamisad, es warwera
ufro adrindelia, vidre darubandis/derbendis monumenturi warwera,
romelic TariRdeba hijris 195 wliT (Cv.w.aR.-iT 821 w.) da Sesrulebu-
lia xuT rigad, martivi qufuri kaligrafiiT qvis filaze.

310