South Arabian alphabet

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History of the Alphabet
Wadi el-Hol 19th c. BC Proto-Canaanite 14th c. BC Ugaritic 13th c. BC Phoenician 11th c. BC Paleo-Hebrew 9th c. BC Samaritan 6th c. BC Aramaic 9th c. BC Hebrew 3rd c. BC Middle-Persian 224 Avestan 3th c. Brahmi 3rd c. BC Nagari 12th c. Thai 13th c. Syriac 2nd c. BC Arabic 4th c. Greek 8th c. BC Glagolitic 862 Cyrillic 10th c. Old Italic 8th c. BC Latin 7th c. BC Runes 2nd c. South Arabian 9th c. BC Ethiopic 3rd-4th c.
Meroitic 3rd c. BC
Armenian 405
Georgian 5th c.
Orkhon 6th c.
Ogham 6th c.
Hangul 1446
Cree 1840

The South Arabian alphabet branched from the Proto-Sinaitic alphabet in ca. the 13th century BC. It was used in the Sabaean and Minaean kingdoms. 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, when it was displaced by the Arabic alphabet. The alphabet spread to Ethiopia where it evolved into the Amharic and Ge'ez alphabets.

External links

• http://www.crystalinks.com/arabian.html
• http://www.omniglot.com/writing/southarabian.htm

See also: South Arabian alphabet, 13th century BC, 500 BC, 7th century, 8th century BC, Afro-Asiatic languages, Alphabet