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| Pahlavi scripts | |
|---|---|
 The wordĒrānšahr in Book Pahlavi | |
| Script type | withlogograms |
Period | c. 2nd century BC –c. 7th century AD[1] |
| Direction | Mixed[citation needed] |
| Languages | Middle Iranian languages |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Prti, 130(Inscriptional Parthian)
Phlv, 133(Book Pahlavi) |
| Unicode | |
| |
|
Pahlavi is an exclusively written form of variousMiddle Iranian languages, derived from the Aramaic script. It features Aramaic words used asheterograms (calledhuzwārišn, "archaisms").[2]
Pahlavi compositions have been found for thedialects/ethnolects ofParthia,Persis,Sogdiana,Scythia, andKhotan.[3] Independent of thevariant for which the Pahlavi system was used, the written form of that language only qualifies as Pahlavi when it is both Aramaic-derived and featureshuzwārišn.
Pahlavi is then an admixture of:[citation needed]
Pahlavi may thus be defined as a system of writing applied to (but not unique for) a specific language group, but with critical features alien to that language group. It has the characteristics of a distinct language, but is not one. It is an exclusively written system, but much Pahlavi literature remains essentially anoral literature committed to writing and so retains many of the characteristics of oral composition.
The term Pahlavi is said[4] to be derived from the Old Iranian wordParθava, meaningParthia, a region just east of theCaspian Sea, with the-i suffix denoting the language and people of that region. If this etymology is correct,Parθava presumably becamePahlav through asemivowel glidert (or in other casesrd) change tol, a common occurrence in language evolution (e.g., sāl < sard, zāl < zard, sālār < sardar and so on). The term has also been traced back[4] toAvestanpərəthu- "broad [as the earth]", also evident inSanskritpṛthvi- "earth" andparthivi "[lord] of the earth".
The earliest documented use of the Pahlavi language (dialect) dates back to reign ofArsaces I of Parthia (250 BCE) written in greek alphabet .[5] The oldest evidence of Pahlavi script is from the reign ofMithridates I (r. 171–138 BCE[6]).[7] The cellars of the treasury at Mithradatkird nearNisa, Turkmenistan revealed thousands of pottery sherds with brief records; severalostraca that are fully dated bear references to members of the immediate family of the king.[8]
Such fragments, as well as the rockinscriptions of Sasanian emperors, which are datable to the 3rd and 4th centuries, do not qualify as a significant literary corpus. Although in theory Pahlavi could have been used to render any Middle Iranian language and hence may have been in use as early as 300 BC, no manuscripts that can be dated to before the 6th century have yet been found. Thus, when used for the name of a literary genre, i.e.Middle Persian literature, the term refers to Middle Iranian, mostlyMiddle Persian, texts dated near or after the fall of theSasanian Empire and (with exceptions) extending to about 900, after which Iranian languages enter the "modern" stage.[citation needed]
The oldest surviving example of the Pahlavi literature is from fragments of the so-called "Pahlavi Psalter", a 6th- or 7th-century translation of a Syriac Psalter found atBulayïq on theSilk Road, nearTurpan in north-west China. It is in a more archaic script thanBook Pahlavi.[9]
After theMuslim conquest of Persia, the Pahlavi script was gradually replaced by theArabic script except inZoroastrian sacred literature, until the present day.[citation needed]
The replacement of the Pahlavi script by theArabic script to write Persian was done in the ninth-century by theTahirid dynasty, the governors ofGreater Khorasan.[10][11]
In the present day, "Pahlavi" is frequently identified with theprestige dialect of southwest Iran, formerly and properly calledFārsi, afterFars province. This practice can be dated to the period immediately following the Islamic conquest.[7]
The Pahlavi script is one of the two essential characteristics of the Pahlavi system (see above). Its origin and development occurred independently of the variousMiddle Iranian languages for which it was used. The Pahlavi script is derived from theAramaic script as it was used under theSasanians, with modifications to support the phonology of the Iranian languages. It is essentially a typicalabjad, where, in general, only long vowels are marked withmatres lectionis (although short /i/ and /u/ are sometimes expressed so as well), and vowel-initial words are marked with analeph. However, because of the high incidence oflogograms derived from Aramaic words, the Pahlavi script is far from always phonetic; and even when it is phonetic, it may have more than one transliterational symbol per sign, because certain originally different Aramaic letters have merged into identical graphic forms – especially in the Book Pahlavi variety. (For a review of the transliteration problems of Pahlavi, seeHenning.[12]) In addition to this, during much of its later history, Pahlavi orthography was characterized by historical or archaizing spellings. Most notably, it continued to reflect the pronunciation that preceded the widespread Iranianlenition processes, whereby postvocalic voicelessstops andaffricates had become voiced, and voiced stops had becomesemivowels. Similarly, certain words continued to be spelled with postvocalic⟨s⟩ and⟨t⟩ even after the consonants had beendebuccalized to⟨h⟩ in the living language.
The Pahlavi script consisted of two widely used forms: Inscriptional Pahlavi and Book Pahlavi.[13] A third form, Psalter Pahlavi, is not widely attested.[citation needed]
Although theParthian Empire generally wrote inancient Greek, some of the coins and seals of the Arsacid period (mid-3rd-century BCE to early 3rd century CE) also include inscriptions in the Parthian language. The script of these inscriptions is called inscriptional Parthian. Numerous clay fragments from Arsacid-era Parthia proper, in particular a large collection of fragments from Nisa that date to the reign of Mithridates I (r. 171–138 BCE), are likewise inscribed in inscriptional Parthian. The bilingual and trilingual inscriptions of the 3rd-century Sasanian Empire include Parthian texts, which were then also rendered in inscriptional Parthian. The Parthian language was a Middle Iranian language of Parthia proper, a region in the north-western segment of the Iranian plateau where the Arsacids had their power base.
Inscriptional Parthian script had 22 letters for sounds and 8 letters for numerals. The letters were not joined. Inscriptional Parthian hasits own Unicode block.[citation needed]
![Relief of Artabanus IV handing the ring of power to Khwasak, satrap of Susa, from Susa, Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran, 215 CE[14]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aRelief_of_Artabanus_IV_handing_the_ring_to_Khwasak%2c_satrap_of_Susa_(215)%2c_from_Susa%2c_Iran_Bastan_Musuem%2c_Tehran.jpg)
![Inscription next to one of the petroglyphs of Kal Jangal [fa] near Birjand, [note 1] probably early Sassanian.[15]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a%25DA%25A9%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584_%25D8%25AC%25D9%2586%25DA%25AF%25D8%25A7%25D9%2584.jpg)
Inscriptional Pahlavi is the name given to a variant of the Pahlavi script as used to render the 3rd–6th-centuryMiddle Persian language inscriptions of theSasanian emperors and other notables. Genuine Middle Persian, as it appears in these inscriptions, was the Middle Iranian language of Persia proper, the region in the south-western corner of the Iranian plateau where the Sasanians had their power base.
Inscriptional Pahlavi script had 19 characters, which were not joined.[16]
.jpg)
![One side of the Nasrabad fire altar [fa] dedicated to Shapur I for his 243/4 victory over the Romans[17]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aAbnun_fire_pot_-_Aspez_%2526_Wahnam.jpg)
.jpg)
![A bulla (seal) of Wahrām, an Ērān-spāhbed. It mentions either Husraw I (r. 531–579) or II (591–626)[18]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aBulla%2c_Spahbed_of_Nemroz%2c_General_of_the_Southern_Quarter%2c_Sassanian%2c_6th_century_CE%2c_from_Iraq._The_Sulaymaniyah_Museum.jpg)
Psalter Pahlavi derives its name from the so-called "Pahlavi Psalter", a 6th- or 7th-century translation of aSyriac book of psalms. This text, which was found at Bulayiq nearTurpan in northwest China, is the earliest evidence of literary composition in Pahlavi, dating to the 6th or 7th century AD.[19] The extant manuscript dates no earlier than the mid-6th century since the translation reflects liturgical additions to the Syriac original byMar Aba I, who wasPatriarch of the Church of the Eastc. 540–552.[20] Its use is peculiar to Christians inIran, given its use in a fragmentary manuscript of the Psalms of David.[21]
The script of the psalms has altogether 18 graphemes, 5 more than Book Pahlavi and one less than Inscriptional Pahlavi. As in Book Pahlavi, letters are connected to each other. The only other surviving source of Psalter Pahlavi is the inscriptions on a bronze processional cross found atHerat, in present-day Afghanistan. Due to the dearth of comparable material, some words and phrases in both sources remain undeciphered.[citation needed]
Of the 18 characters, 9 connect in all four traditional abjad positions, while 9 connect only on their right or are isolated. Numbers are built from units of 1, 2, 3, 4, 10, 20, and 100. The numbers 10 and 20 join on both sides, but the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4 only join on the right, and if they are followed by an additional digit, they lose their tail, which is visually evident in their isolated forms. There are 12 encoded punctuation characters, and many are similar to those found in Syriac. The section marks are written in half-red and half-black, and several documents have entire sections in both black and red, as a means of distinction.[citation needed]
Book Pahlavi is a smoother script in which letters are joined to each other and often form complicatedligatures. Book Pahlavi was the most common form of the script, with only 13graphemes representing 24sounds. The formal coalescence of originally different letters caused ambiguity, and the letters became even less distinct when they formed part of a ligature.[16] In its later forms, attempts were made to improve the consonantary and reduce ambiguity throughdiacritic marks.
Book Pahlavi continued to be in common use until about AD 900. After that date, Pahlavi was preserved only by the Zoroastrian clergy.[citation needed]
![Tracing of a mid-6th century Sasanian inscription, Darband fortress. It is a cursive (top-to bottom, left-to-right) script close to that of Book Pahlavi[note 2]](/image.pl?url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2f%2fupload.wikimedia.org%2fwikipedia%2fcommons%2fthumb%2f3%2f33%2fAmargar_of_Adurbadagan.png%2f120px-Amargar_of_Adurbadagan.png&f=jpg&w=240)
![New Persian tomb inscription of Khurdād in Constantinople[24]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aTomb_inscription_of_Khurdad_in_Constantinople_(after_Mikhail_N._Bogoliubov%2c_%2527%25D0%259F%25D0%25B5%25D1%2585%25D0%25BB%25D0%25B5%25D0%25B2%25D0%25B8%25D0%25B9%25D1%2581%25D0%25BA%25D0%25B0%25D1%258F_%25D0%25BD%25D0%25B0%25D0%25B4%25D0%25BF%25D0%25B8%25D1%2581%25D1%258C%25CA%25BC%2c_p._93).jpg)
![A tomb tower in Lajim, dated 1022/23, with its upper Middle Persian inscription in a script derived from Book Pahlavi[25]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a%25DA%25A9%25D8%25AA%25DB%258C%25D8%25A8%25D9%2587_%25D9%2587%25D8%25A7%25DB%258C_%25D9%2581%25D9%2588%25D9%2582%25D8%25A7%25D9%2586%25DB%258C_%25D8%25A8%25D8%25B1%25D8%25AC_%25D9%2584%25D8%25A7%25D8%25AC%25DB%258C%25D9%2585.jpg)
In both Inscriptional and Book Pahlavi, many common words, including even pronouns, particles, numerals, and auxiliaries, were spelled according to theirAramaic equivalents, which were used as logograms. For example, the word for "dog" was written as⟨KLBʾ⟩ (Aramaickalbā) but pronouncedsag; and the word for "bread" would be written as Aramaic⟨LḤMʾ⟩ (laḥmā) but understood as the sign for Iraniannān.[26] These words were known ashuzwārišn. Such a logogram could also be followed by letters expressing parts of the Persian word phonetically, e.g.⟨ʾB-tr⟩ forpidar "father". The grammatical endings were usually written phonetically. A logogram did not necessarily originate from the lexical form of the word in Aramaic, it could also come from adeclined orconjugated Aramaic form. For example,tō "you" (singular) was spelt⟨LK⟩ (Aramaic "to you", including the prepositionl-). A word could be written phonetically even when a logogram for it existed (pidar could be⟨ʼB-tr⟩or⟨pytr⟩), but logograms were nevertheless used very frequently in texts.
Manyhuzwārišn are listed in the lexiconFrahang ī Pahlavīg. The practice of using these logograms appears to have originated from the use of Aramaic in thechancelleries of theAchaemenid Empire.[27] Partly similar phenomena are found in the use ofSumerograms and Akkadograms inancient Mesopotamia and theHittite empire, and in the adaptation ofChinese writing toJapanese.
As pointed out above, the convergence in the form of many of the characters of Book Pahlavi causes a high degree of ambiguity in most Pahlavi writing, and it needs to be resolved by the context. Some mergers are restricted to particular groups of words or individual spellings. Further ambiguity is added by the fact that even outside of ligatures, the boundaries between letters are not clear, and many letters look identical to combinations of other letters. As an example, one may take the fact that the name of God,Ohrmazd, could equally be read (and, byParsis, often was read)Anhoma. Historically speaking, it was spelt⟨ʼwhrmzd⟩, a fairly straightforward spelling for anabjad. However,⟨w⟩ had coalesced with⟨n⟩;⟨r⟩ had coalesced, in the spelling of certain words, with both⟨n⟩ and⟨w⟩; and⟨z⟩ had been reduced, in the spelling of certain words, to a form whose combination with⟨d⟩ was indistinguishable from a⟨ʼ⟩, which in turn had coalesced with⟨h⟩. This meant that the same orthographic form that stood for⟨ʼwhrmzd⟩ could also be interpreted as⟨ʼnhwmh⟩ (among many other possible readings). The logograms could also pose problems. For this reason, important religious texts were sometimes transcribed into the phonetically unambiguousAvestan alphabet. This latter system is calledPazand.
From a formal historical and linguistic point of view, the Pahlavi script does not have a one-to-one correspondence with any Middle Iranian language: none was written in Pahlavi exclusively, and inversely, the Pahlavi script was used for more than one language. Still, the vast majority of surviving Pahlavi texts are in Middle Persian, hence the occasional use of the term "Pahlavi" to refer to that language.[citation needed]
Following the overthrow of theSeleucids, theParthianArsacids—who considered themselves the legitimate heirs of theAchaemenids—adopted the manner, customs, and government of the Persian court of two centuries previously. Among the many practices so adopted was the use of theAramaic language ("Imperial Aramaic") that together withAramaic script served as the language of the chancellery. By the end of the Arsacid era, the written Aramaic words had come to be understood aslogograms, as explained above.
The use of Pahlavi gained popularity following its adoption as the language/script of the commentaries (Zand) on theAvesta.[4][28] Propagated by the priesthood, who were not only considered to be transmitters of all knowledge but were also instrumental in government, the use of Pahlavi eventually reached all corners of the Parthian Arsacid empire.
Arsacid Pahlavi is also called Parthian Pahlavi (or just Parthian), Chaldeo-Pahlavi, or Northwest Pahlavi, the latter reflecting its apparent development from a dialect that was almost identical to that of the Medes.[3]
Following the defeat of the Parthian Arsacids by the Persian Sasanians (Sassanids), the latter inherited the empire and its institutions, and with it the use of the Aramaic-derived language and script. Like the Parthians before him,Ardašēr, the founder of the Sasanian empire, projected himself as a successor to the regnal traditions of the first, in particular those ofArtaxerxes II, whose throne name the new emperor adopted.[citation needed]
From a linguistic point of view, there was probably only a little disruption. Since the Sasanians had inherited the bureaucracy, in the beginning, the affairs of government continued as before, with the use of dictionaries such as theFrahang ī Pahlavīg assisting the transition. More importantly, being both Western MiddleIranian languages, Parthian was closely related to the dialect of the southwest (which was more properly calledPārsīg,[7] that is, the language ofPārsā, Persia proper).
Arsacid Pahlavi did not die out with the Arsacids. It is represented in some bilingual inscriptions alongside the Sasanian Pahlavi; by the parchment manuscripts of Auroman; and by certainManichaean texts fromTurpan. Furthermore, the archaic orthography of Sasanian Pahlavi continued to reflect, in many respects, pronunciations that had been used in Arsacid times (in Parthia as well as Fars) and not its contemporary pronunciation.[citation needed]
Sasanian Pahlavi is also called Sassanid Pahlavi, Persian Pahlavi, or Southwest Pahlavi.[citation needed]
It is between 1787 and 1791 thatAntoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy deciphered the Pahlavi inscriptions of theSassanid kings.[29][30]
Following the Islamic conquest of the Sassanids, the termPahlavi came to refer to the (written) "language" of the southwest (i.e., Pārsi). How this came to pass remains unclear, but it has been assumed[7] that this was simply because it was the dialect that the conquerors would have been most familiar with.
As the language and script of religious and semi-religious commentaries, Pahlavi remained in use long after that language had been superseded (in general use) by Modern Persian and Arabic script had been adopted as the means to render it. As late as the 17th century, Zoroastrian priests in Iran admonished their Indian co-religionists to learn it.[31]
Post-conquest Pahlavi (or just Pahlavi) is also calledZoroastrian Pahlavi orZoroastrian Middle Persian.[citation needed]
Tables showing the letters and their names or pronunciations are available online.[32]
Inscriptional Pahlavi and Inscriptional Parthian were added to theUnicode Standard in October 2009 with the release of version 5.2. Psalter Pahlavi was added in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0. There have been three main proposals for encoding Book Pahlavi,[33][34][35] but as of October 2024 it remains unsupported by Unicode.[36]
The Unicode block for Inscriptional Pahlavi is U+10B60–U+10B7F:
| Inscriptional Pahlavi[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+10B6x | 𐭠 | 𐭡 | 𐭢 | 𐭣 | 𐭤 | 𐭥 | 𐭦 | 𐭧 | 𐭨 | 𐭩 | 𐭪 | 𐭫 | 𐭬 | 𐭭 | 𐭮 | 𐭯 |
| U+10B7x | 𐭰 | 𐭱 | 𐭲 | 𐭸 | 𐭹 | 𐭺 | 𐭻 | 𐭼 | 𐭽 | 𐭾 | 𐭿 | |||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
The Unicode block for Inscriptional Parthian is U+10B40–U+10B5F:
| Inscriptional Parthian[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+10B4x | 𐭀 | 𐭁 | 𐭂 | 𐭃 | 𐭄 | 𐭅 | 𐭆 | 𐭇 | 𐭈 | 𐭉 | 𐭊 | 𐭋 | 𐭌 | 𐭍 | 𐭎 | 𐭏 |
| U+10B5x | 𐭐 | 𐭑 | 𐭒 | 𐭓 | 𐭔 | 𐭕 | 𐭘 | 𐭙 | 𐭚 | 𐭛 | 𐭜 | 𐭝 | 𐭞 | 𐭟 | ||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
The Unicode block for Psalter Pahlavi is U+10B80–U+10BAF:
| Psalter Pahlavi[1][2] Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF) | ||||||||||||||||
| 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | |
| U+10B8x | 𐮀 | 𐮁 | 𐮂 | 𐮃 | 𐮄 | 𐮅 | 𐮆 | 𐮇 | 𐮈 | 𐮉 | 𐮊 | 𐮋 | 𐮌 | 𐮍 | 𐮎 | 𐮏 |
| U+10B9x | 𐮐 | 𐮑 | 𐮙 | 𐮚 | 𐮛 | 𐮜 | ||||||||||
| U+10BAx | 𐮩 | 𐮪 | 𐮫 | 𐮬 | 𐮭 | 𐮮 | 𐮯 | |||||||||
| Notes | ||||||||||||||||
