Meroitic was an extinct language of uncertain linguistic affiliation formerly spoken in Meroë, in present-day Sudan, during the Meroitic period, attested from about 300 BC and becoming extinct around 400 AD. It was the language of the Kingdom of Kush and was written in two forms of the Meroitic script, Meroitic Cursive for general record-keeping and Meroitic Hieroglyphic for royal and religious documents. The language remains poorly understood because of the scarcity of bilingual texts, and no consensus links it conclusively to any other language family.
Facts
Partially Attested
Attested From (Year)Approximate; the source gives ca. 300 BC as the start of the Meroitic period. Attested To (Year)Approximate; the source gives ca. 350 AD as the end of the Meroitic period. ISO 639-3 Code RegionLower Nubia to Khartoum area, Sudan 1 Classification
Language Kind Official Status Connections
Written In
The Meroitic script consists of two alphasyllabic scripts, Meroitic Cursive and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, both developed specifically to write the Meroitic language, the language of the Kingdom of Kush centered at Meroe.
In the Other Atlases
Found In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is found.
Sources
1. Meroitic language (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section, official status
is an extinct language of uncertain linguistic affiliation
Infobox: iso3
xmr
Infobox: extinct
by 4th century AD
Location and period of attestation
The Meroitic period began ca. 300 BC and ended ca. 350 AD.
Location and period of attestation, end
The Meroitic period began ca. 300 BC and ended ca. 350 AD.
Infobox, Region
Southern part of Upper Egypt around Aswan (Lower Nubia) to the Khartoum area of Sudan (Upper Nubia)
Lead section
The Meroitic language () is an extinct language of uncertain linguistic affiliation formerly spoken in Meroë (in present-day Sudan) during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BC) and became extinct about 400 AD.
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