File:YingpanKharoshthi.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
Kharoṣṭhī
Sign in to saveAlso known as Kharosthi script, Kharoshthi, Kharosthi, Khar
Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient Indic script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of the north-western Indian subcontinent, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. Primarily used by the people of Gandhara in various parts of South Asia and Central Asia, Kharosthi remained in use until it died out in its homeland around the 5th century CE. It was also in use in Bactria, the Kushan Empire, Sogdia, and along the Silk Road. There is some evidence it may have survived until the 7th century in Khotan and Niya, both cities in Tarim Basin.
Key facts
- Writing system.name
- Kharosthi
- Writing system.type
- Abugida
- Writing system.native_name
- 𐨑𐨪𐨆𐨮𐨿𐨛𐨁𐨌
- Writing system.sample
- File:YingpanKharoshthi.jpg
- Writing system.fam1
- Egyptian hieroglyphs
- Writing system.fam2
- Proto-Sinaitic script
- Writing system.fam3
- Phoenician alphabet
- Writing system.time
- 4th century BCE – 3rd century CE
- Writing system.iso15924
- Khar
- Writing system.unicode
- U+10A00–U+10A5F
- Writing system.fam4
- Aramaic alphabet
via Wikipedia infobox
~14 min read
Encyclopedic overview
14 sectionsContents
- History
- Alphabet
- Consonants
- Vowels and syllables
- Additional marks
- Punctuation
- Numerals
- Unicode
- Gallery
- See also
- Further reading
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Kharosthi script (), also known as the Gandhari script (), was an ancient Indic script originally developed in the Gandhara Region of the north-western Indian subcontinent, between the 5th and 3rd century BCE. Primarily used by the people of Gandhara in various parts of South Asia and Central Asia, Kharosthi remained in use until it died out in its homeland around the 5th century CE. It was also in use in Bactria, the Kushan Empire, Sogdia, and along the Silk Road. There is some evidence it may have survived until the 7th century in Khotan and Niya, both cities in Tarim Basin.
==History== thumb|Routes of ancient scripts of the subcontinent traveling to other parts of Asia (Kharosthi shown in blue) The name Kharosthi may derive from the Hebrew , a Semitic word for writing, or from Old Iranian , which means "royal writing". The script was earlier also known as Indo-Bactrian script, Kabul script and Arian-Pali.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kharoṣṭhī” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.