Inscription found at Qusayr’Amra
Published on June 6th, 2012 | by Sevaan Franks
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The inscription, which previously could not be read due to accumulated dirt and previous unsuccessful cleaning attempts, is an invocation to Allah beginning with the formula “Allahumma aslih al-Walid ibn Yazîd” (“Oh God! Make al-Walîd ibn Yazîd virtuous”). This inscription was painted in white above a window in old Kufic alphabet without any diacritical dots. Sections of the three-line inscription are still being translated.
Walid Ibn Yazid, or Walid II, was an Umayyad caliph who reigned for a little over a year, from February 743 to April 744. The inscription, however, is missing the typical expressions used for Umayyad caliphs (“God’s servant,” “Prince of the Believers”), indicating that it was painted when Walid was still a prince, during the reign of Hisham bin Abd el-Malik (723–743).
Story: ArtDaily | Photo: ArtDaily
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