Ruwafa inscriptions

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The Rūwafa inscriptions are five ancient stones from the 2nd century found at the isolated Ruwāfa temple in the Hisma desert of northwestern Arabia, about 200 km northwest of Hegra. They are carved in both Greek and Nabataean and are dated to 165–169 AD. The inscriptions are labeled I to V.

Two of the inscriptions say the temple was built by the natio or šrkt of Thamud in honor of the Roman emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The Thamud were a known Arabian tribe in this region from at least the 8th century BCE. At the time, northwestern Arabia was part of Arabia Petraea, a Roman frontier province conquered in 106 AD. The inscriptions’ southern location on the edge of the province is notable and has led some to call it the “last place” where Roman imperial loyalty was inscribed. This suggests Rome paid attention to distant corners of its empire and perhaps recruited locals into the army.

Today the inscriptions are in the National Museum of Saudi Arabia, except for Inscription V, which is lost. The most up-to-date reading comes from Michael MacDonald’s 2015 edition.

A brief look at the inscriptions:
- Inscription I (Greek): Praises the emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Verus. Nabataean lines state that the Thamud natio built the temple for the god and that the worship will endure forever, possibly with encouragement and at their request.
- Inscription II (Greek): Speaks of victory and the temple’s completion and sanctuary consecration by the Thamud natio, mentioning Claudius Modestus as proconsul.
- Inscription III (Greek): States that the Thamūd tribe of Rbtw built this sanctuary.
- Inscription IV (Nabataean): Describes the temple as made by Šʿdt, the priest of ʾlhʾ, from Rbtw, with encouragement from their lord and the governor.
- Inscription V: Too damaged to read coherently, and its current location is unknown.

Dating notes: Lucius Verus died in 169, which sets an upper date of 169. The reference to Claudius Modestus as proconsul gives a lower date around 165, placing the inscriptions firmly in the 165–169 window.

Discovery and study: Alois Musil discovered the site in 1910 and named it Ruwafa. Early travelers made molds, but many copies were lost. St John Philby revisited the site in 1951, though his copies did not survive. Ruth Stiehl photographed the inscriptions in 1966, and Józef Milik produced the first solid scholarly edition in 1969 from photographs and surviving material.

The inscriptions identify the people as the Thamud (Θάμουδηνôν εθνος or šrkt tmwdw) and describe a military group drawn from the Thamud. Michael MacDonald has suggested that εθνος and šrkt here reflect the Latin word natio, referring to a unit or group drawn from Thamud.