Knowra Kharosthi Kharosthi Kharosthi is an ancient script used chiefly in Gandhara and neighboring regions of northwestern South Asia. Written from right to left, it was adapted from Aramaic and is distinct from Brahmi.
Aramaic alphabet : An abjad used for several languages across the ancient Near East, written from right to left. Kharosthi adapted letter forms from this script during Achaemenid rule in the region.
Achaemenid Empire : An ancient Persian empire that ruled a vast territory from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE. Its administration introduced Aramaic writing traditions into northwestern South Asia.
Shahbazgarhi edicts : Rock edicts of Ashoka carved in Kharosthi at Shahbazgarhi in present-day Pakistan. They are a major early monument showing Kharosthi in imperial public communication.
Brahmi : An ancient South Asian script that gave rise to most modern writing systems of the region. Unlike Kharosthi, Brahmi was not derived from Aramaic and was generally written left to right.
Abugida : A writing system in which consonant letters carry an inherent vowel, modified by vowel signs. Kharosthi uses consonant signs with vowel values, alongside features inherited from Aramaic.
Gandhara : An ancient region centered on the Peshawar Valley, spanning parts of present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. This region was Kharosthi’s principal cultural and documentary home.
Mansehra edicts : Ashokan rock edicts at Mansehra, Pakistan, inscribed in Kharosthi. Their inscriptions provide another early, dated setting for the script.
Greek alphabet : An alphabet developed in ancient Greece and used to write Greek and other languages. Greek appears beside Kharosthi on some coins, offering a contrasting script tradition.
Right-to-left script : A writing system whose lines are conventionally written from right to left. This writing direction is one of Kharosthi’s most visible practical features.
Aramaic language : A Semitic language widely used across the ancient Near East, including as an imperial administrative language. Aramaic supplied the model from which Kharosthi’s letter forms developed.
Show all 20