Bactrian script (adapted Greek alphabet) and the Rabatak inscription
Escritura bactriana (alfabeto griego adaptado) y la inscripción de Rabatak
- Date
- c. 127 · confidence medium
- Place
- Rabatak, Baghlan, Afghanistan
- Credited to
- Kushan Empire (reign of Kanishka I)
- Field
- Knowledge & symbols
What it is
An adaptation of the Greek alphabet, with a new letter (sho) for the sh sound, to write the Bactrian language. Kanishka replaced Greek with Bactrian in his administration, as a stone inscription found in 1993 recounts.
The dating of Kanishka's reign is one of the most debated in ancient Asian history: 127 and 78 AD are proposed as its start. This entry follows the most widespread chronology (c. 127) with a wide margin.
What it led to
- the official language of the Kushan Empire and the Hephthalites
- Tokharistan documents revealing administration in Kushan and later times
- the Rabatak inscription (deciphered by Nicholas Sims-Williams and Joe Cribb) as a source for Kushan history