Letter Y
‘Ammān governorate
Qabr Nimr ibn Ghublān (commonly known as Nimr ibn ‘Adwān) at Shafā Badrān Islamic Cemetery
JADIS no. 231 6031
MEGA no. 6593, tomb 31606
Coordinates: 32°02'07.5"N 35°54'35.3"E
32.035417, 35.909806
Plan: The tombs of Nimr ibn Ghublān bin ‘Adwān and his wife Wādha are arranged parallel to each other in EW orientation, Nimr to the left, Wādha to the right. Both tombs are surrounded by upright massive ancient blocks in circular arrangement.
Measurements: unknown.
Exterior: unknown.
Interior: unknown.
Building Materials: reused grey massive stone blocks of considerable sizes coming from a monumental Roman building (fig. 433.4-5). This is located on a flat hill only few meters to the N of the tombs and was identified by C. T. Conder (1889, 279) as a temple.
Construction details: Stone circle.
Preservation: intact and still visited by family members and venerators of the famous Bedouin poet.
Inscription(s): The pointed headstone of Nimr (at the W end of his tomb) preserves an Arabic inscription in eight lines in relief. Apart from the date H 1238 in the first line, the inscription is difficult to read. It has been first published by Spoer-Haddad (1923, 189-190), but the last line has been illegible already at that time. They offer a German translation by Consul Frauenberger who had read it in 1893. It is known in local tradition, however, that Nimr asked prior to his death to write the following verses on his tomb (information by NAt); reading according Spoer-Haddad 1923:
Translation (NAt): On the tomb stone: “1238 H.”
“The death will take you from where you live / and transfers you to another sphere (of existence) / the worm of the tomb will graze your eyes / (but) you cannot expel the worms from you / neither can you expel living people from your home land.”
Date(s): H 1238 / AD 1823/24, the year of the death of Nimr in his age of 78. He was born as a member of the Beni ‘Adwān tribe (Musil 1908, 111-112; von Oppenheim 1943, 214) in 1745 and his fame as a Bedouin poet reached already during his life time even far-off Europe, cf. the vain attempt by U. J. Seetzen to meet him during his visit to the area in 1806. His lyric works have been recorded and published by Spoer 1912; Spoer - Haddad 1923; 1927; 1932-1934; 1946. The impressive historic trees (fig. 435.6) in the vicinity, sometimes falsely identified as “oaks” by travelers (cf. Conder 1889, 279), belong to the species of the terebinth (buṭm; Pistacia Atlantica) and have been planted between the 10th and 12th centuries AD (Nueimat – Alkilani 2002). Their decay was caused by lightning strikes during heavy thunderstorms.
Traveler Reports: “This is the tomb of Nimr Adwan, the grandfather of Goblan. This is well built, has an inscription upon it in Arabic...” (Merill 1881); “A fine group of oaks (sic!) occurs beside the building” (Conder 1889); “At the entrance of the ruins is a large clump of some of the finest terebinth-trees that ever I came across. In their immediate neighborhood is a large Arab cemetery, the most prominent tomb of which is that of Nimr ibn Gobelân, a sheikh of the ‘Adwân, whose death, according to the inscription on the headstone, took place A.H. 1238, i.e., some sixty and odd years ago. His memory is still held in awe among the Bedawin, and we noticed many ploughs and other farm implements lying near the tomb, deposited here in sanctuary. One of the ‘Adwan, our host of the previous night, who accompanied us a short distance on the journey, informed me that this spot is known under the name of A‘deyl, and is considered distinct from Yajuz.” (Schumacher 1889).
Bibliography: Merill 1881, 275; Conder 1889, 279; Schumacher 1889 (reprint 2010) 304-305; Spoer-Haddad 1923, 189-190; Nueimat - Alkilani 2002, 14-17.
