Bactrian language

Bactrian
Αριαο
The Bactrian alphabet (block and cursive letters, here in black). The Bactrian script was directly adapted from the Greek script (here in grey), with the addition of the letter sho ().[1]
Pronunciation[arjaː]
Native toBactria
RegionCentral Asia
Era300 BC – 1000 AD[2]
Bactrian script (Greek)
Manichaean script
Official status
Official language in
Kushan Empire
Hephthalite Empire
Language codes
ISO 639-3xbc
xbc
Glottologbact1239
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Bactrian (Bactrian: Αριαο, romanized: ariao, [arjaː], meaning "Iranian")[3] is an extinct Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (present-day Afghanistan)[4] and used as the official language of the Kushan and the Hephthalite empires.

  1. ^ Davary (1982). Illustrations (PDF). p. Fig.93.
  2. ^ Bactrian at MultiTree on the Linguist List
  3. ^ Foundation, Encyclopaedia Iranica. "Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica". iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  4. ^ Sims-Williams, N. "Bactrian Language". Encyclopaedia Iranica.