Abu Simbel 1

ABU SIMBEL = dlḥms

 

We know about 10-12 Phoenicians by name in the town of Abu Simbel in the middle of Ancient Egypt. Based on the survey of Maganini.

 

CIS I 111:

K’yt ‘bdptḥ bn ygr’šmn – dl’ – ’ḥm

This is here Abdptaḥ son of Yagir-ešmun – dl’ --  ’ḥm

 

Abdptaḥ = servant of Ptaḥ (Benz 174, Krahmalkov p.357).

 

Yagir-ešmun must be a misspelling. We know however Yagid-ešmun = Ešmun make him/me/you fortunate. (Benz 127, Krahmalkov p.205).

 

We know the father and the son, but further information can not be detected, because the inscription has too many damages in the end. The names are of interest, because they are carrying names of the gods: Phoenician Ešmun and Egyptian Ptaḥ. The father seems to be complete Phoenician, but the son is holding an Egyptian god in his name.

 

CIS I 112a

‘bdskn bn ptyḥw ’š ‘l (d)lḥms

Abdsakun son of PTyehaw who sailed upstream to Abu Simbel.

 

Abdsakun = servant of Sakun (Benz 162, Krahmalkov p.356)

 

PTyeḥaw must be: Ptḥyḥw = Ptaḥ-yeḥaw = Ptaḥ grant long live (Benz 177, Krahmalkov p.410)

 

We know, that Abdsakun sailed up to Abu Simbel. Maybe his father Ptaḥ-yeḥaw lived somewhere else. That could be Memphis or Saqqara, where a lot of other Phoenicians lived.

The father uses the Egyptian Ptaḥ in his name, but the son has a complete Phoenician name.

Abu Simbel = dlḥms. Here is the d in the inscription lacking.

 

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