Safaitic script
E749939
Safaitic script is an ancient North Arabian alphabet used by nomadic tribes in the southern Syrian and northern Arabian deserts during the first centuries BCE–CE, primarily for rock and graffiti inscriptions.
All labels observed (1)
| Label | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Safaitic script canonical | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
North Arabian script
ⓘ
ancient script ⓘ |
| addedToUnicodeVersion | Unicode 7.0 ⓘ |
| characterType | consonants only ⓘ |
| culturalContext | pre-Islamic Arabia ⓘ |
| deciphermentStatus | largely deciphered ⓘ |
| discoveredIn | as-Safa volcanic field NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| documentedBy | epigraphists ⓘ |
| hasVowelNotation | no systematic vowel notation ⓘ |
| influenced | study of early Arabic language ⓘ |
| inscriptionLanguage | Old Arabic ⓘ |
| inscriptionMedium |
basalt rocks
ⓘ
sandstone rocks ⓘ |
| inscriptionType |
commemorative inscriptions
ⓘ
curses ⓘ genealogical records ⓘ personal graffiti ⓘ prayers ⓘ |
| namedAfter | as-Safa region NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| numberOfSigns | approximately 28 letters ⓘ |
| region |
Hauran region
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Jabal al-Druze NERFINISHED ⓘ Syro-Arabian desert NERFINISHED ⓘ northern Jordan NERFINISHED ⓘ northern Saudi Arabia ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Dadanitic script
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Hismaic script NERFINISHED ⓘ Proto-Arabic writing NERFINISHED ⓘ Thamudic scripts NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scriptFamily | Ancient North Arabian NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| scriptUsage |
informal writing
ⓘ
non-monumental inscriptions ⓘ |
| timePeriod |
1st century BCE
ⓘ
1st century CE ⓘ early Roman period ⓘ late Hellenistic period ⓘ |
| unicodeBlock | Safaitic NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| unicodeRange | U+10D40–U+10D7F ⓘ |
| usedBy | nomadic tribes ⓘ |
| usedFor |
graffiti inscriptions
ⓘ
rock inscriptions ⓘ |
| usedIn |
northern Arabian desert
ⓘ
southern Syrian desert NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| writingDirection |
boustrophedon
ⓘ
left-to-right ⓘ right-to-left ⓘ varied direction ⓘ |
| writingSystemOf | Old Arabic dialects ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.