PALMYRENIAN ALPHABET

Semitic script used in Palmyra, a city on the trade routes between Syria and Mesopotamia, from the 3rd to the 2nd century BC until shortly after the conquest of the city by the Romans in AD 272. Developed from the Aramaic alphabet, Palmyric had 22 letters and was written from right to left. It occurred in two forms: a rounded, cursive form derived from Aramaic about 250 BC and a decorative monumental script developed from the cursive form in the 1st century BC. Palmyrenian inscriptions have been found in Palmyra, Palestine, and Egypt and elsewhere in North Africa and from as far afield as the Black Sea coast, Hungary, Italy, and England. The earliest surviving Palmyrenian inscription dates from 44 BC; the last dates from AD 274.