The ancient South Arabian alphabet (also known as musnad) branched from the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet in ca. the 13th century BC. It was used for writing the Old South Arabic dialects of the Sabaean, Qatabanian, Hadrami, Minaean, Himyarite, and other ancient Yemeni kingdoms on the southern Arabian Peninsula. Early forms dating to the 8th century BC are found in Babylonia. Its mature form was reached around 500 BC, and its use continued until the 7th century AD, when it was displaced by the Arabic alphabet. In the 8th century BCE the alphabet spread to Ethiopia, where it evolved later into the Ge'ez alphabet, the basis of the modern Amharic, Tigrinya and Tigre alphabet. A cursive Zabur script was used by the ancient Yemenis to write everyday documents in addition to the monumental Musnad letters displayed below. Drawing of the 16 and 12 characters Wadi el-Hol inscriptions The Proto-Canaanite (also Proto-Sinaitic) alphabet is identified as the prototype of the Semitic alphabets that, mostly via the successful Phoenician alphabet became the ancestor of most scripts in use today. ... The Phoenician alphabet dates from around 1400 BC and is related to the Proto-Canaanite alphabet. ... The Aramaic alphabet is an abjad alphabet designed for writing the Aramaic language. ... BrāhmÄ« refers to the pre-modern members of the Brahmic family of scripts. ... The Brahmic family is a family of abugidas used in South Asia, Tibet and Southeast Asia. ... Om Mani Padme Hum, the primary mantra of Tibetan Buddhism written in the Tibetan script, on a rock outside the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. ... This article or section uses Khmer characters which may be rendered as boxes or other nonsensical symbols. ... Javanese script is the script that Javanese is originally written in (not to be confused with Javascript, which is a programming language). ... This article is mainly about Hebrew letters. ... 11th century book in Syriac Serto. ... The Avestan alphabet was created in the 3rd century AD for writing the hymns of Zarathustra (a. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing in the Arabic language. ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. ... Younger Futhark inscription on the Vaksala Runestone The Runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes, formerly used to write Germanic languages, mainly in Scandinavia and the British Isles, but before Christianization also on the European Continent. ... 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Babylonia, named for its capital city, Babylon, was an ancient state in the south part of Mesopotamia (in modern Iraq), combining the territories of Sumer and Akkad. ... Centuries: 7th century BC - 6th century BC - 5th century BC Decades: 550s BC - 540s BC - 530s BC - 520s BC - 510s BC - 500s BC - 490s BC - 480s BC - 470s BC - 460s BC - 450s BC Events and Trends 509 BC - Foundation of the Roman Republic 508 BC - Office of pontifex maximus created... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... The Arabic alphabet is the script used for writing in the Arabic language. ... The Geez language (or Giiz language) is an ancient language that developed in the Ethiopian Highlands of the Horn of Africa as the language of the peasantry. ... Amharic (አማርኛ ’amarəñña) is a Semitic language spoken in North Central Ethiopia. ... Tigrigna (or ትግሪኛ) is a Semitic language spoken in Eritrea, where it is the official language, and in parts of Ethiopia and Israel. ... Tigre may mean: Tiger in Spanish language. ... The Zabur (Arabic زبور), equated by some scholars with Psalms, is, according to Islam, one of the holy books revealed by Allah prior to the Quran (the others being the Tawrat and Injil). ... The South Arabian alphabet branched from the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet in ca. ...

Sign inventory

sign	transliteration
	h
	l
	ḥ
	m
	q
	w
	ś
	r
	b
	t
	s
	k
	n
	ḫ
	š
	f
	ʾ
	ʿ
	ḍ
	g
	d
	ġ
	ṭ
	z
	ḏ
	y
	ṯ
	ṣ
	ẓ

Image File history File links Himjar_ha. ... Image File history File links Himjar_lam. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ha2. ... Image File history File links Himjar_mim. ... Image File history File links Himjar_qaf. ... Image File history File links Himjar_wa. ... Image File history File links Himjar_sin. ... Åšat is a letter of the Geez abugida, descended from South Arabian . ... Image File history File links Himjar_ra. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ba. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ta2. ... Image File history File links Himjar_za. ... Image File history File links Himjar_kaf. ... Image File history File links Himjar_nun. ... Image File history File links Himjar_kha. ... Image File history File links Himjar_shin. ... Image File history File links Himjar_fa. ... Image File history File links Himjar_alif. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ajin. ... Image File history File links Himjar_za2. ... () is one of the six letters the Arabic alphabet added to the twenty-two inherited from the Phoenician alphabet (the others being , , , , ). It represents a pharyngealized voiced alveolar plosive (IPA ). In name and shape, it is a variant of . ... Image File history File links Himjar_djim. ... Image File history File links Himjar_dal. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ghajn. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ta1. ... Image File history File links Himjar_tha. ... Image File history File links Himjar_dhal. ... Image File history File links Himjar_ja. ... Image File history File links Himjar_sad. ... Image File history File links Himjar_dad. ... () is one of the six letters the Arabic alphabet added to the twenty-two inherited from the Phoenician alphabet (the others being , , , , ). It represents a = pharyngealized voiced dental or alveolar fricative (IPA or ). In name and shape, it is a variant of . ...

External links

• http://www.ancientscripts.com/s_arabian.html
• http://www.mnh.si.edu/epigraphy/e_pre-islamic/musnad-al-janubi.htm
• http://www.crystalinks.com/arabian.html
• http://www.omniglot.com/writing/southarabian.htm