Origin from 100
The Sogdian alphabet was the script used for Sogdian, a Middle Iranian language spoken in Sogdia in Central Asia. Descended, like Syriac, from the Aramaic alphabet, it was a cursive abjad used throughout Central Asia, from the edge of Iran in the west to China in the east, from about the second century to the twelfth or thirteenth century AD. Its cursive Uyghur form developed into the Old Uyghur alphabet, whose own descendant, the traditional Mongolian alphabet, still preserves the vertical column writing this lineage introduced.
Facts
In Use Since (Year)Circa; sources give the script's use as running from about 100 to about 1200 AD. Directionality (class) Classification
Script StatusClassified 'extinct' per this entity's own cited source and standard scholarly consensus on the script's current use; checked 2026-09-27. Connections
Ancestor Of
Source Old Turkic script (Wikipedia)
Sharpened from the prior associated-stance edge to Aramaic Alphabet now that the direct intermediate, Sogdian Script, exists.
Source Wikipedia: Sogdian Alphabet
Descends From
Source Wikipedia: Sogdian Alphabet
Is Of Script Type
Script Of
Source Old Uyghur language (Wikipedia)
Source Sogdian language (Wikipedia)
In the Other Atlases
Originated In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Sogdian Alphabet
WikipediaQuote
the Sogdian writing system can be described as an abjad
Ancestor Of: Old Uyghur Alphabet, Article text
The "Uyghur" cursive script eventually developed into the Old Uyghur alphabet, which was used to write the Old Uyghur language.
View the Source 2. SIL Global: ScriptSource: Sogdian
SIL GlobalDirectionQuote, Direction
It was written from right to left using seventeen letters
Sogdian language (Wikipedia)
Script Of: Sogdian, Infobox: scriptQuote, Script Of: Sogdian, Infobox: script
Sogdian alphabet Syriac alphabet Manichaean alphabet
Old Uyghur language (Wikipedia)
Script Of: Old Uyghur, Infobox: scriptQuote, Script Of: Old Uyghur, Infobox: script
Old Turkic script, Old Uyghur alphabet, Manichaean script, Sogdian alphabet, Syriac alphabet, Brahmi script
Old Turkic script (Wikipedia)
Ancestor Of: Old Turkic Script, OriginsQuote, Ancestor Of: Old Turkic Script, Origins
The text is most likely derived from Aramaic via the Sogdian alphabet and Syriac alphabet.
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