Inscriptional Pahlavi is the earliest attested form of
Pahlavi scripts, and is evident in clay fragments that have been dated to the reign of
Mithridates I (''r.'' 171–138 BC). Other early evidence includes the Pahlavi inscriptions of
Arsacid era coins and rock inscriptions of
Sassanid
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the History of Iran, last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th cen ...
kings and other notables such as
Kartir
Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd-century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...
.
Letters
Inscriptional Pahlavi used 19 non-joining letters:
[.]
Numbers
Inscriptional Pahlavi had its own
numerals:
Numbers are written right-to-left. Numbers without corresponding numerals are additive. For example, 24 is written as (20 + 4).
Unicode
Inscriptional Pahlavi script was added to the
Unicode
Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology standard for the consistent encoding, representation, and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems. The standard, ...
Standard in October, 2009 with the release of version 5.2.
The Unicode block for Inscriptional Pahlavi is U+10B60–U+10B7F:
Gallery
Image:Taq-e Bostan - Pahlavi writing.jpg, Inscriptional Pahlavi text from Shapur III
Shapur III ( pal, 𐭱𐭧𐭯𐭥𐭧𐭥𐭩 ), was the Sasanian King of Kings () of Iran from 383 to 388. He was the son of Shapur II () and succeeded his uncle Ardashir II ().
His reign was largely uneventful; to the west, the dispute ove ...
at Taq-e Bostan
Taq-e Bostan ( fa, طاق بستان, ) is a site with a series of large rock reliefs from the era of the Sassanid Empire of Persia (Iran), carved around the 4th century CE.
This example of Persian Sassanid art is located 5 km from the ...
, 4th century
File:Naqshe Rajab Darafsh Ordibehesht 93 (1).jpg, Kartir
Kartir (also spelled Karder, Karter and Kerdir; Middle Persian: 𐭪𐭫𐭲𐭩𐭫 ''Kardīr'') was a powerful and influential Zoroastrian priest during the reigns of four Sasanian kings in the 3rd-century. His name is cited in the inscriptions ...
's inscription at Naqsh-e Rajab
File:Gold-Münze Ardaschir I Sassaniden.jpg, Coin of Ardashir I (r. 224–42) with Inscriptional Pahlavi writings
File:MIK - Sassaniden Pahlavi-Monogramm.jpg, Sasanian relief with Inscriptional Pahlavi monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series ...
ʾpr, which stands for ''abzūn farr'', meaning "May his '' farr'' increase!"
References
{{list of writing systems
Abjad writing systems
Iranian inscriptions
Middle Persian
Obsolete writing systems
Persian scripts