Inscriptional Parthian Alphabet Table
| Letter | Unicode name | Phones (Parthian) | Translit |
|---|---|---|---|
| ๐ญ | Letter Aleph | a, aː | ˀ / A |
| ๐ญ | Letter Beth | b, w | b |
| ๐ญ | Letter Gimel | ɡ, ɣ | g |
| ๐ญ | Letter Daleth | d, ð | d |
| ๐ญ | Letter He | – | H |
| ๐ญ | Letter Waw | w, o(ː), u(ː) | w |
| ๐ญ | Letter Zayin | z, ʒ | z |
| ๐ญ | Letter Heth | h, x | h / Ḫ |
| ๐ญ | Letter Teth | – | Ṭ |
| ๐ญ | Letter Yodh | j, e(ː), i(ː) | y |
| ๐ญ | Letter Kaph | k, g | k |
| ๐ญ | Letter Lamedh | l | l |
| ๐ญ | Letter Mem | m | m |
| ๐ญ | Letter Nun | n | n |
| ๐ญ | Letter Samekh | s | s |
| ๐ญ | Letter Ayin | – | O |
| ๐ญ | Letter Pe | p, b | p |
| ๐ญ | Letter Sadhe | t͡ʃ | ṣ |
| ๐ญ | Letter Qoph | – | Q |
| ๐ญ | Letter Resh | r | r |
| ๐ญ | Letter Shin | ʃ, ʒ | š |
| ๐ญ | Letter Taw | t, d | t |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 1 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 2 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 3 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 4 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 10 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 20 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 100 |
| ๐ญ | Number | number | non-positional numeral 1000 |
Inscriptional Parthian is the script of the Arsacid East: cut on coins, scratched on clay, and finally carved beside Middle Persian on Sasanian monuments. Wikipedia dates its written life from the 2nd century CE to the 5th, noting that under the early Sasanian empire it “was mostly used for official texts” - the Parthian language kept its administrative seat even after the Arsacid dynasty fell.
Its monuments are the shared stage of the Pahlavi family: Shapur I’s trilingual showpiece at Ka’ba-ye Zartosht carries a Parthian version, and the Paikuli tower inscription of Narseh (293 CE) - the same stone that anchors the Inscriptional Pahlavi chart here - runs the two Iranian official languages together. Everyday writing survives in bulk: most Parthian text we have is on clay fragments, with the Nippur ostracon as the classic find.
The table below lists all 30 named codepoints of Unicode block U+10B40 - the 22 letters in Unicode order (Aramaic names, right to left), then the eight non-positional numerals; two codepoints are unassigned. Phones are given for Parthian as tabulated on Wikipedia, with the transliteration letter beside them.
How to use
- Read the letters column right to left in actual text, but read this chart left to right: each row is one glyph with its Aramaic-derived name, its Parthian phone values, and the transliteration letter. Five rows are the story: Waw, Ayin, Resh, Mem and Qoph are all separate shapes here - check the Inscriptional Pahlavi chart and you will find two of them merged into compound-named glyphs.
- Treat the dash rows honestly: He, Teth, Ayin and Qoph carry no independent phone value on Wikipedia’s table - in the Aramaic borrowing pattern they serve mostly inside huzwārišn-style logograms, the read-as-Persian Aramaic words, rather than spelling Parthian sounds directly.
- Use the numeral rows like the Pahlavi ones: additive, non-positional signs from 1 to 1000. On coins, the date is the usual numeral you meet - regnal-era counts spelled with the 10/20/100/1000 signs.
Frequently asked questions
What is Inscriptional Parthian, in one line?
The official script of the Parthian language: Wikipedia describes it as used from the 2nd to the 5th century CE, from the Parthian Empire into the early Sasanian one, with the majority of surviving text on clay fragments and its grandest inscriptions carved under the early Sasanians.
Why does it appear on Sasanian monuments if it is a Parthian script?
Because the early Sasanian chancellery was bilingual: Shapur I’s Ka’ba-ye Zartosht inscription includes a Parthian version, and the Paikuli tower of Narseh (293 CE) - a landmark of the Inscriptional Pahlavi chart on this site - still ran Parthian alongside Middle Persian as an official language.
Where did everyday Parthian writing live?
On clay: Wikipedia says the majority of found text is clay fragments - the Nippur ostracon is the type specimen. The script also stamped every Parthian royal coin: from Mithridates V on, the king’s full name and title appeared on drahms, growing “increasingly stylized” over the centuries.
How is it different from Inscriptional Pahlavi?
Most visibly in the letter count: 22 versus 19. Parthian keeps Waw, Ayin, Resh, Mem and Qoph as five distinct letters; Pahlavi merges them into glyphs Unicode names WAW-AYIN-RESH and MEM-QOPH. Both are right-to-left, word-spaced abjads with eight numerals - siblings, not twins.
What single artifacts should I picture?
Three: a Parthian drahm with [m]trdt MLKA around the rim; the bronze Hercules from Seleucia dated 151 CE, cast with Greek and Parthian inscriptions side by side (Iraq Museum, Baghdad); and the 215 CE Susa relief where Artabanus IV hands the ring of power to the satrap Khwasak (Iran Bastan Museum, Tehran).