A New Mamluk Inscription from the Jordanian Badia

Abstract

The Jordanian Badia is replete with many inscriptions from different periods and languages, notably Safaitic and Arabic Islamic ones. This study includes one of these inscriptions from the Mamluk period that was found in the area of al-Ladaym, nearly 60 kms from al-Safawi town. This inscription is remarkable in that it consists of two texts written by the same person eighteen years apart. In the first text he recorded the day, month and year: 748 AH (7 October 1357 AD). Eighteen years later he wrote the second part of the inscription, recording the year 766 AH (1364-1365 AD) and his tribal affiliation to the Zubayd branch of al-Masa‘id tribe, along with verses of poetry about asceticism and death. At the end he supplicated for God to forgive him, his parents and all the Muslims in general.