Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum

The Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum (abbreviated CIS ) was a project for the indexing of inscriptions in Semitic languages , covering the period from the 2nd millennium. v. Should cover until the hijra in the seventh century. Inscriptions in cuneiform were not recorded .

The project was initiated by Ernest Renan in 1867, who wanted to develop the Semitic inscriptions based on the model of the German projects Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum and Corpus Inscriptionum Graecarum . He was supported by the then member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres Jean-Jacques Barthélemy , who shortly before succeeded in deciphering the Palmyrene script. The original plan provided for five departments, whereby not a single volume of the third department was published due to the abundance of the new findings, some of which were repeated in a formulaic manner. It was planned to open up Hebrew inscriptions in it. Instead of the third section, the Répertoire d'Épigraphie sémitique (RES) was finally published in order to be able to publish new finds more quickly. The Corpus des Inscriptions et Antiquités sud-arabes (CIASA) has been published since 1970 for the indexing of South Arabic inscriptions .

Published from 1881 to 1962:

• Department 1: Phoenician, Punic and Neo-Punic inscriptions
• Department 2: Aramaic , Palmyrene and Nabataean inscriptions
• Department 4: Himyaritic and Sabaean inscriptions
• Division 5: Saracen , lihyanitische , safaitische and Thamudic inscriptions

Web links

• Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum at the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres