Old Persian

E25383

Indo-European language Indo-Iranian language Iranian language ancient language

Old Persian is an ancient Iranian language used in the Achaemenid Empire, primarily known from royal inscriptions such as those of Darius the Great.

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Indo-European language → Indo-Iranian language → Iranian language → ancient language →
ancestorOf	New Persian (Modern Persian) →
associatedRuler	Artaxerxes I → Darius I → Xerxes I →
branchOf	Southwestern Iranian languages →
closelyRelatedTo	Avestan → Middle Persian →
developedInto	Middle Persian → Parthian (indirectly via Iranian continuum) →
era	Achaemenid period →
extinctInCentury	4th century BCE →
hasCaseSystem	yes →
hasGrammaticalGender	yes →
hasGrammaticalNumber	plural → singular →
hasTense	aorist → perfect → present →
ISO639-2Code	peo →
ISO639-3Code	peo →
languageFamily	Indo-European languages → Indo-Iranian languages → Iranian languages →
mainSource	royal inscriptions →
notableInscription	Behistun Inscription → Naqsh-e Rustam inscriptions → Persepolis inscriptions →
primaryFunction	royal monumental inscriptions →
scriptInventedUnder	Darius I →
scriptType	semi-alphabetic cuneiform script →
secondaryFunction	administrative and commemorative texts →
spokenIn	Achaemenid Empire →
standardFormOf	language of Achaemenid royal chancery →
status	extinct →
subclassOf	Southwestern Iranian language →
timePeriod	4th century BCE → 5th century BCE → 6th century BCE →
usedBy	Achaemenid kings → royal administration of the Achaemenid Empire →
writingDirection	left-to-right →
writingMaterial	rock reliefs → stone inscriptions →
writingSystem	Old Persian cuneiform →

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Cambyses I → Cambyses II → Cassandane → Cyrus the Great → Darius III ("Old Persian (court language)") →	language
Atossa → Bardiya → Pasargadae → Roxane →	languageOfName
Iranian peoples → Persians →	historicalLanguage
Persian language →	developedFrom
Gate of All Nations →	hasInscriptionLanguage
Ancient Near East collection →	hasLanguageOfInscriptions
Southwestern Iranian languages ("Old Persian language") →	hasMajorLanguage
Indo-Iranian languages →	includesClassicalLanguage
Aramaic ("Middle Persian") →	influenced
Parysatis II →	languageContext
Royal Road →	languageOfEmpire
Shahanshah of Persia →	languageOfOrigin
King of Anshan →	languageOfWorkOrName
Cyrus the Great →	languageSpoken
Atossa →	nativeLanguage
Achaemenid Empire →	officialLanguage
Elamite →	usedAlongside
Achaemenid Empire ("Old Persian cuneiform") →	writingSystem