Old Persian

For the racehorse, see Old Persian (horse). For the Unicode block, see Old Persian (Unicode block).
Old Persian
𐎠𐎼𐎹 Ariya
RegionAncient Iran
EraEvolved into Middle Persian by c. 300 BCE
Old Persian cuneiform
Language codes
ISO 639-2peo
ISO 639-3peo
peo
Glottologoldp1254
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Old Persian is one of two directly attested Old Iranian languages (the other being Avestan) and is the ancestor of Middle Persian (the language of the Sasanian Empire). Like other Old Iranian languages, it was known to its native speakers as ariya (Iranian).[1][2] Old Persian is close to both Avestan and the language of the Rig Veda, the oldest form of the Sanskrit language. All three languages are highly inflected.

Old Persian appears primarily in the inscriptions, clay tablets and seals of the Achaemenid era (c. 600 BCE to 300 BCE). Examples of Old Persian have been found in what is now Iran, Romania (Gherla),[3][4][5] Armenia, Bahrain, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt,[6][7] with the most important attestation by far being the contents of the Behistun Inscription (dated to 525 BCE).

In 2007, research into the vast Persepolis Fortification Archive at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago unearthed Old Persian tablets, which suggest Old Persian was a written language in use for practical recording and not only for royal display.[8]

  1. ^ cf. Gershevitch, Ilya (1968). "Old Iranian Literature". Handbuch der Orientalistik, Literatur I. Leiden: Brill. pp. 1–31., p. 2.
  2. ^ Gnoli, Gherardo (2006). "Iranian Identity ii. Pre-Islamic Period". Encyclopædia Iranica. Vol. 13. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ... in the Old Persian version, whose language was called "Iranian" or ariya.
  3. ^ Kuhrt 2013, p. 197.
  4. ^ Frye 1984, p. 103.
  5. ^ Schmitt 2000, p. 53.
  6. ^ "Old Persian Texts". Avesta – Zoroastrian Archives.
  7. ^ Kent, R. G. (1950) "Old Persian: Grammar Texts Lexicon", p. 6. American Oriental Society.
  8. ^ "Everyday text shows that Old Persian was probably more commonly used than previously thought". University of Chicago News Office (archived). June 15, 2007. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16.