View source for Nabataean script

{{Short description|Script used by the Nabataeans from the second century BC onwards}}
{{Infobox Writing system
 |name=Nabataean script
 |type=[[Abjad]]
 |sample= <div style="background-color: white !important; color: black !important;">[[Image:Nabat_alaph.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_bat.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_gamal.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_dalat.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_ha.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_waw.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_zayin.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_hha.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_tta.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_yat.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_kaf.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_lamad.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_mayim.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_nun.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_sa.png|15px]] [[Image:Nabat_hamza.png|15px]]</div>
 |languages= [[Nabataean Aramaic]]<br />[[Nabataean Arabic]]
 |time=2nd century BC to 4th century AD
 |fam1= [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]]<ref>Himelfarb, Elizabeth J. "First Alphabet Found in Egypt", Archaeology 53, Issue 1 (Jan./Feb. 2000): 21.</ref> 
 |fam2=[[Proto-Sinaitic script]]
 |fam3=[[Phoenician alphabet]]
 |fam4=[[Aramaic alphabet]]
 |children=[[Arabic script]]
 |iso15924=Nbat
 |unicode=[https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U10880.pdf U+10880–U+108AF]<br />
[https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10473-n3969-nabataean.pdf Final&nbsp;Accepted&nbsp;Script&nbsp;Proposal]
 |note=none
 }}
{{Alphabet}}
[[File:Umm al-Jimal al-Awwal commons.jpg|thumb|Nabataean Arabic inscription from [[Umm el-Jimal|Umm al-Jimal]] in northern Jordan.]]
The '''Nabataean script''' is an [[abjad]] ([[consonant]]al alphabet) that was used to write [[Nabataean Aramaic]] and [[Nabataean Arabic]] from the second century BC onwards.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2010/10473-n3969-nabataean.pdf | title=N3969: Proposal for encoding the Nabataean script in the SMP of the UCS | first1=Michael | last1=Everson | publisher=Working Group Document, ISO/IEC JTC1/SC2/WG2 | date=2010-12-09}}</ref><ref name="omniglot">[http://www.omniglot.com/writing/nabataean.htm Omniglot].</ref> Important inscriptions are found in [[Petra]] (in [[Jordan]]), the [[Sinai Peninsula]] (now part of [[Egypt]]), [[Bosra]] and [[Namara inscription|Namara]] (in [[Syria]]), and other [[Nabataeans#Archeological sites|archaeological sites]] including [[Avdat|Abdah]] (in [[Israel]]) and [[Mada'in Saleh|Mada'in Saleh (Hegra)]] (in [[Saudi Arabia]]).

Nabataean is only known through inscriptions and, more recently, a small number of papyri.<ref name=Healey>{{cite journal | last=Healey | first=John F. | title=On Stone and Papyrus: reflections on Nabataean epigraphy | journal=Palestine Exploration Quarterly | publisher=Informa UK Limited | volume=143 | issue=3 | year=2011 | issn=0031-0328 | doi=10.1179/003103211x13092562976054 | pages=163–165| s2cid=162206051 |quote=Sinai, for example, is a major source of Nabataean inscriptions: the corpus of M. E. Stone contains 3,851 Nabataean items! But most were written by individuals who had no connection with Nabataea itself during the period of the Nabataean kingdom or its immediate aftermath and they may not normally have spoken Aramaic. The texts have generally been thought to have been written long after Nabataea as such disappeared.}}</ref> It was first deciphered in 1840 by [[Eduard Friedrich Ferdinand Beer]].<ref name=Healey/> 6,000 – 7,000 Nabataean inscriptions have been published, of which more than 95% are extremely short inscriptions or [[graffiti]], and the vast majority are undated, post-Nabataean or from outside the core Nabataean territory.<ref name=Healey/> A majority of inscriptions considered Nabataean were found in Sinai,<ref name=Healey/> and another 4,000 – 7,000 such Sinaitic inscriptions remain unpublished.<ref name="Larison 2019">{{cite book | last=Larison | first=Kristine M. | chapter=“Prolific Writing”: Retracing a Desert Palimpsest in the South Sinai | publisher=De Gruyter | date=2020 | doi=10.1515/9783110618549-005 | pages=77–92 |editor=A. Hoffmann | title=Exodus: Border Crossings in Jewish, Christian and Islamic Texts and Images | series=Judaism, Christianity, and Islam – Tension, Transmission, Transformation | isbn=978-3-11-061854-9 | s2cid=214051677 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eLztDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA86}}</ref> Prior to the publication of Nabataean papyri, the only substantial corpus of detailed Nabataean text were the 38 funerary inscriptions from [[Hegra (Mada'in Salih)|Mada'in Salih (Hegra)]], discovered and published by [[Charles Montagu Doughty]], [[:fr:Charles Huber (explorateur)|Charles Huber]], [[Philippe Berger]] and [[Julius Euting]] in 1884-85.<ref name=Healey/><ref>
* Charles Doughty [publ. with E. Renan], [https://archive.org/details/documentspigra00douguoft/ Documents épigraphiques recueillis dans le Nord de l'Arabie], Paris, Impr. nat. 1884 
* Philippe Berger, [https://www.persee.fr/doc/crai_0065-0536_1884_num_28_3_69020 Nouvelles inscriptions nabatéénes de Medain Salih], Extrait des Comptes rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et BellesLettres (Séance du 29. Aout 1884). Paris 1884
* {{cite book | last=Euting | first=J. | title=Nabatäische Inschriften aus Arabien | publisher=G. Reimer | issue=v. 39; v. 584 | year=1885 | isbn=978-3-11-108878-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=egc5AQAAMAAJ | language=de | ref=none}}</ref>
[[File:Coin of Aretas IV and Shaqilath.jpg|alt=Coin of Aretas IV and Shaqilath|thumb|
[[Nabataean Kingdom]], [[Aretas IV]] and [[Shaqilath]], 9 b. C. – 40 a. D., AE18.
On the reverse, an example of Nabataean script: names of Aretas IV (1st line) and Shaqilath (2nd and 3rd line).<ref>Yaʻaḳov Meshorer, "Nabataean coins", Ahva Co-op Press, 1975; 114.</ref><ref>https://en.numista.com/catalogue/pieces69784.html Numista</ref>]]

==History==
[[File:Niebuhr1774abd1 Sinai inscriptions 2.jpg|thumb|Sinaitic (Nabataean) inscriptions published in 1774 by [[Carsten Niebuhr]]]]
The alphabet is descended from the [[Aramaic alphabet]].  In turn, a cursive form of Nabataean developed into the [[Arabic alphabet]] from the 4th century,<ref name="omniglot" /> which is why Nabataean's letterforms are intermediate between the more northerly Semitic scripts (such as the Aramaic-derived [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]]) and those of Arabic.

[[File:Nabataean alphabet tablet - 2018430.jpg|thumb|Inscription in the Nabataean script.]]

===Comparison with related scripts===
As compared to other Aramaic-derived scripts, Nabataean developed more loops and [[Typographic ligature|ligature]]s, likely to increase speed of writing. The ligatures seem to have not been standardized and varied across places and time. There were no spaces between words. Numerals in Nabataean script were built from characters of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 20, and 100.
{| class="wikitable" id="letters_chart"
!<small>Name</small>
!<small>Phoenician</small>
!<small>[[Phoneme]]</small>
![[Aramaic alphabet|<small>Aramaic</small>]]
!<small>Nabataean</small>
![[Syriac alphabet|<small>Syriac</small>]]
![[Hebrew alphabet|<small>Hebrew</small>]]
![[Arabic alphabet|<small>Arabic</small>]]
!<small>Phoneme</small>
|-
|[[Aleph|ʾālep]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤀}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|ʾ {{IPAblink|ʔ}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡀}}
|[[File:01_aleph.svg|82x82px]]
|ܐ
|א
|[[Aleph|ﺍ]]
|ʾ {{IPAblink|ʔ}}
|-
|[[Bet (letter)|bēt]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤁}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|b {{IPAblink|b}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡁}}
|[[File:02_bet.svg|74x74px]]
|ܒ
|ב
|[[Bet (letter)|ﺏ]]
|b {{IPAblink|b}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Taw|tāw]]
| rowspan="2" |<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤕}}}}}}</sub></sub>
| rowspan="2" |t {{IPAblink|t}}
| rowspan="2" |{{script|Armi|𐡕}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:22_ta.svg|64x64px]]
| rowspan="2" |ܬ
| rowspan="2" |ת
|[[Taw|ت]]
|t {{IPAblink|t}}
|-
|[[Ṯāʾ|ث]]
|ṯ {{IPAblink|θ}}
|-
|[[Gimel|gīml]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤂}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|g {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡂}}
|[[File:03_gimel.svg|33x33px]]
|ܓ
|ג
|[[Gimel|ﺝ]]
|j {{IPAblink|d͡ʒ}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Heth|ḥēt]]
| rowspan="2" |<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤇}}}}}}</sub></sub>
| rowspan="2" |ḥ {{IPAblink|ħ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{script|Armi|𐡇}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:08_ha.svg|66x66px]]
| rowspan="2" |ܚ
| rowspan="2" |ח
|[[Heth|ح]]
|ḥ {{IPAblink|ħ}}
|-
|[[Ḫāʾ|خ]]
|ḵ {{IPAblink|x}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Dalet|dālet]]
| rowspan="2" |<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤃}}}}}}</sub></sub>
| rowspan="2" |d {{IPAblink|d}}
| rowspan="2" |{{script|Armi|𐡃}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:04_dal.svg|30x30px]]
| rowspan="2" |ܕ
| rowspan="2" |ד
|[[Dalet|د]]
|d {{IPAblink|d}}
|-
|[[Ḏāl|ذ]]
|ḏ {{IPAblink|ð}}
|-
|[[Resh|rēs, reš]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤓}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|r {{IPAblink|r}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡓}}
|[[File:20_ra.svg|30x30px]]
|ܪ
|ר
|[[Resh|ﺭ]]
|r {{IPAblink|r}}
|-
|[[zayin]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤆}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|z {{IPAblink|z}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡆}}
|[[File:07_zayn.svg|30x30px]]
|ܙ
|ז
|[[Zayin|ﺯ]]
|z {{IPAblink|z}}
|-
|[[Samekh|śāmek]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤎}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|ś {{IPAblink|s}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡎}}
|[[File:15_sin.svg|30x30px]]
|ܣ
|ס
| [[Shin (letter)|س]]
| s {{IPAblink|s}}
|-
|[[Shin (letter)|šīn]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤔}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|š {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡔}}
|[[File:21_shin.svg|30x30px]]
|ܫ
|ש
|[[Shin (letter)|ش]]
|š {{IPAblink|ʃ}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Tsade|ṣādē]]
| rowspan="2" |<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤑}}}}}}</sub></sub>
| rowspan="2" |ṣ {{IPAblink|sˤ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{script|Armi|𐡑}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:18_sad.svg|54x54px]]
| rowspan="2" |ܨ
| rowspan="2" |צץ
|[[Tsade|ص]]
|ṣ {{IPAblink|sˤ}}
|-
|[[Ḍād|ض]]
|ḍ {{IPAblink|dˤ}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Teth|ṭēt]]
| rowspan="2" |<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤈}}}}}}</sub></sub>
| rowspan="2" |ṭ {{IPAblink|tˤ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{script|Armi|𐡈}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:09_taa.svg|30x30px]]
| rowspan="2" |ܛ
| rowspan="2" |ט
|[[Teth|ط]]
|ṭ {{IPAblink|tˤ}}
|-
|[[Ẓāʾ|ظ]]
|ẓ {{IPAblink|ðˤ}}
|-
| rowspan="2" |[[Ayin|ʿayin]]
| rowspan="2" |<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤏}}}}}}</sub></sub>
| rowspan="2" |ʿ {{IPAblink|ʕ}}
| rowspan="2" |{{script|Armi|𐡏}}
| rowspan="2" |[[File:16_ein.svg|30x30px]]
| rowspan="2" |ܥ
| rowspan="2" |ע
|[[Ayin|ع]] [[Hamza|ء]]
|ʿ {{IPAblink|ʕ}}
|-
|[[Ghain|غ]]
|ḡ {{IPAblink|ɣ}}
|-
|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|pē]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤐}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|p {{IPAblink|p}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡐}}
|[[File:17_fa.svg|67x67px]]
|ܦ
|פף
|[[Pe (Semitic letter)|ف]]
|f {{IPAblink|f}}
|-
|[[Qoph|qōp]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤒}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|q {{IPAblink|q}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡒}}
|[[File:19_qaf.svg|30x30px]]
|ܩ
|ק
|[[Qoph|ﻕ]]
|q {{IPAblink|q}}
|-
|[[Kaph|kāp]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤊}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|k {{IPAblink|k}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡊}}
|[[File:11_kaf.svg|57x57px]]
|ܟ
|כך
|[[Kaph|ﻙ]]
|k {{IPAblink|k}}
|-
|[[Lamedh|lāmed]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤋}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|l {{IPAblink|l}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡋}}
|[[File:12_lam.svg|43x43px]]
|ܠ
|ל
|[[Lamedh|ﻝ]]
|l {{IPAblink|l}}
|-
|[[Mem|mēm]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤌}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|m {{IPAblink|m}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡌}}
|[[File:13_meem.svg|51x51px]]
|ܡ
|מם
|[[Mem|ﻡ]]
|m {{IPAblink|m}}
|-
|[[Nun (letter)|nūn]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤍}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|n {{IPAblink|n}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡍}}
|[[File:14_noon.svg|42x42px]]
|ܢ
|נן
|[[Nun (letter)|ﻥ]]
|n {{IPAblink|n}}
|-
|[[He (letter)|he]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤄}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|h {{IPAblink|h}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡄}}
|[[File:05_ha.svg|54x54px]]
|ܗ
|ה
|[[He (letter)|ه]]
|h {{IPAblink|h}}
|-
|[[Waw (letter)|wāw]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤅}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|w {{IPAblink|w}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡅}}
|[[File:06_waw.svg|49x49px]]
|ܘ
|ו
|[[Waw (letter)|ﻭ]]
|w {{IPAblink|w}}
|-
|[[Yodh|yod]]
|<sub><sub>{{huge|{{lang|phn|{{script|Phnx|𐤉}}}}}}</sub></sub>
|y {{IPAblink|j}}
|{{script|Armi|𐡉}}
|[[File:10_yaa.svg|71x71px]]
|ܝ
|י 
|[[Yodh|ي]]
|y {{IPAblink|j}}
|}
* The correspondence between the letters is based on phoneme proximity, since for example Arabic ḍād {{angbr|[[ض]]}} corresponds to Aramaic ʿayn {{angbr|[[𐡏]]}} not to Aramaic ṣādē {{angbr|[[𐡑]]}}.{{Citation needed|date=May 2025|reason=How does Arabic ḍād ض correspond to Aramaic ʿayn 𐡏 rather than ṣādē 𐡑?}}
* The table is based on the Hijāʾī order of the Arabic alphabet.
* Aramaic is not derived from Syriac but it is a sister script that is still used by many [[Syriac Christianity|churches]] across the Middle East, and it shares with Arabic its [[cursive]] style.
* See [[Aramaic alphabet#Letters|Aramaic alphabet §&nbsp;Letters]] for a more detailed comparison of letterforms.

==Corpora of inscriptions in Nabataean script==
* [[Julius Euting]], ''Nabatäische Inschriften aus Arabien'', Berlin, 1885 ([https://www.archive.org/details/nabatischein00eutiuoft online]; plates available [[:Commons:Category:Euting Nabataean inscriptions from Hegra, Al-Ula|here]]).
* {{cite book | last=Euting | first=Julius|authorlink=Julius Euting | title=Sinaïtische Inschriften | publisher=G. Reimer | year=1891 | isbn=978-3-11-108880-8 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EVAywwEACAAJ | language=de | ref=none}}
*[[Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum]], 1902 [https://books.google.com/books?id=1pD-djco3_YC&pg=PA304 Pars 2, Tomus 1, Fasc 3]: Inscriptiones Aramaicae
*[[Michael E. Stone]], 1992. Rock Inscriptions and Graffiti Project: Catalogue of Inscriptions
* {{cite book | last=Roche | first=Marie-Jeanne | title=Inscriptions nabatéennes datées de la fin du IIe siècle avant notre ère au milieu du IVe siècle | publication-place=Leuven | date=2019 | isbn=978-90-429-3882-3 | oclc=1229107538 | language=fr|ref=none}}

<gallery>
File:Nabataean inscriptions in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum in Petra.jpg|[[Petra]] inscriptions as of 1902
File:Nabataean inscriptions in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum in the Sinai Peninsula.jpg|[[Sinai Peninsula]] inscriptions as of 1902
File:Nabataean inscriptions in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum in Wadi Mukattab.jpg|[[Wadi Mukattab]] inscriptions as of 1902
</gallery>

==Unicode==
{{See also|Nabataean (Unicode block)}}
The Nabataean alphabet (U+10880–U+108AF) was added to the [[Unicode]] Standard in June 2014 with the release of version 7.0.

{{Unicode chart Nabataean}}

==See also==
* [[Ancient North Arabian|Ancient North Arabian script]]
* [[Ancient South Arabian script]]
* [[Nabataean Aramaic]]
* [[Nabataean Arabic]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://www.pathsofjordan.net/some-facts-about-the-nabataeans/the-nabataean-script-a-bridge-between-the-aramaic-and-the-arabic-alphabets The Nabataean script: a bridge between the Aramaic and Arabic alphabets.]

{{Northwest Semitic abjad}}
{{list of writing systems|Abjads}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nabataean script}}
[[Category:Abjad writing systems]]
[[Category:Nabataea]]
[[Category:Semitic writing systems]]
[[Category:Obsolete writing systems]]
[[Category:Right-to-left writing systems]]
[[Category:Nabataean script| ]]
[[Category:Arabic alphabets]]