Origin from 400
An alphabet, unusually precise among ancient Middle Eastern scripts for its full and explicit marking of every vowel, devised around the fourth or fifth century CE specifically to record the Avesta, the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, in the otherwise-unwritten Avestan language. It was built by expanding the consonant-only Pahlavi (Book Pahlavi) script with a large set of new vowel letters, reportedly to fix the correct pronunciation of liturgical recitation, which earlier Pahlavi spelling left ambiguous. Despite its abjad ancestry, its systematic vowel notation makes it function more like a true alphabet in practice, and it remains in limited liturgical use among Zoroastrian communities.
Facts
Directionality In Use Since (Year) Classification
Script StatusHistorical or Liturgical Use Only 1 Connections
Descends From
Source Wikipedia: Avestan Alphabet
Script Of
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.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Avestan Alphabet
Script status, Avestan Alphabet entity page
Despite its abjad ancestry, its systematic vowel notation makes it function more like a true alphabet in practice, and it remains in limited liturgical use among Zoroastrian communities.
- Descends From: Pahlavi Scripts
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