Early Alphabetic Scripts

Nabataean Hatran Syriac Appeared in c. 1st AD in North Syria & Upper Euphrates. Is the language of the Syrian Christians whose centre was in Edessa

Upper Tigris (Harta is an oasis between the Euphrates and the Tigris) Jewish (square Hebrew)

Developed by the Nabataean Arabs immigrated into the land of Edom and established their centre at Petra.

Greek

Latin

Samaritan

Arabic

Jewish

Syriac Palmyrene

Latin

Archaic Greek existed in different local variations, but around the 4th c. BC, Ionian was adopted universally and became the classical Greek script.

Probably evolved from Etruscan, it became the script of Western civilization

600 500 400 300

Samaritan manuscript

Old Hebrew alphabet

200

Hatran

Arabic Developed from the Nabataean starting from the 6th c. AD

Mandaic

Jewish Developed from Aramaic by Jews around the 2nd c. BC to write Hebrew language.

Elymaic

Syriac manuscript, 11th c. AD

Ethiopian

Early Alphabetic Scripts

Greek

100

0 100

Mandaic, 5th-6th c.AD

200

Palmyrene North Syria & Upper Euphrates

Mandaic

Aramaic, Nabataean & Arabic alphabets

Developed by the Mandaeans on the IraqIran border.

Samaritan

Hebrew (Old Hebrew)

Evolved from the Old Hebrew.

Appeared in Judah & Israel around c. 10th BC. It was replaced by Aramaic after the Babylonian Exile and it ceased to be used at all by the 1st c. AD.

Proto-Sinaitic inscription, Sinai Pennisula 1700 BC.

Proto-Sinaitic, Phoenician & Greek alphabets

300 400 500 600

Elymaic

700

Evolved from Aramaic and adopted by the Elymais

800

Archaic Greek

Phoenician

Ethiopian manuscript

Aramaic Originated in ancient Syria (Aram), it became the lingua franca of the Ancient Near East by the Assyrian Empire & later the Achaemenid Persian Empire.

South-Arabic

Evolved from the Old South Arabic script which was introduced by the South Arabians into nearby Africa across the Bab ElMandeb straits.

The South Arabian alphabet was used primarily in the the area of the ancient kingdoms of Saba, Ma'in, Qataban, Ausan and Hadramauth. This type of writing was not limited to South Arabia only, some inscriptions were discovered in Babylonia.

Based on “Early History of the Alphabet” by Joseph Naveh, 2005. Alphabets from www.ancientscripts.com

Proto-Arabic Proto-Arabic is the intermediate stage between ProtoCanaanite and SouthArabic. It is thought to have diverged from the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet as early as 1300 BC.

Proto-Canaanite

South-Arabic alphabet

Ethiopian

Phoenician A "consonantal alphabet", a direct descendent of the ProtoSinaitic script.

The Alphabet was introduced to Greece by the Phoenicians between 1100800BC. The Greeks introduced vowel signs to improve the West Semitic consonantal system.

Proto-Canaanite (Proto-Sinaitic) A descendant script from the Egyptian hieroglyphs and the first consonantal alphabet. Developed by West-Semitic population in Egypt. Early inscriptions were found in Sinai & Upper Egypt.

900

1000

1100 1200 1300

1400 1500

1600 1700 Summary & Design by: Rafik Nassif http://my-e-biblio.blogspot.com/