Language

Avestan

Iranian Languages

Avestan is the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism. It belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family and was originally spoken during the Avestan period, roughly 1500 to 400 BCE, in eastern Greater Iran. The language survives in two main forms, Old Avestan and Young Avestan, preserved as the sacred books of the Parsis, the ensemble of which is called the Avesta. After Avestan died out as a spoken language, its texts were transmitted orally for centuries before being committed to writing in the Sasanian period using a specially developed alphabet.

Facts

ISO 639-3 Code

ave 1

Status

Liturgical / Learned Use Only 2

Attested From (Year)

from 1500 BCE 1

Wikipedia 'Avestan': the Avestan period is dated c. 1500 to c. 400 BCE, with Old Avestan originally spoken from about 1500 BCE; checked 2026-09-27.

Region

Eastern Greater Iran 1

Classification

Language Kind

Extinct 1

Official Status

No Official Status 1

Connections

In Family

Iranian

Source Avestan (Wikipedia)

Written In

Avestan Alphabet

The Avestan alphabet is a writing system developed during Iran's Sasanian era (226-651 CE) specifically to render the Avestan language, the liturgical language of Zoroastrianism, so its texts could finally be committed to writing after centuries of oral transmission.

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