Elamite Cuneiform
Encyclopedia
Elamite cuneiform was a logo-syllabic script used to write the Elamite Language
.
(ca. 3000 BCE to 400 BCE) is the now extinct language spoken by Elamites, who inhabited the regions of Khuzistān and Fārs in Southern Iran
. It has long been an enigma for scholars due to the scarcity of resources for its research and the irregularities found in the language. It seems to have no relation to its neighboring Semitic
and Indo-European
languages. Scholars fiercely argue over several hypotheses about its origin, but have no definite theory.
There are three known writing systems for the Elamite language and they were written in a variety of mediums including stone, metal, and clay. The first system is Proto-Elamite
, a pictographic script that is thought to be derived from Sumerian cuneiform
. The second is Linear Elamite
, a hieroglyphic syllabary with some logogram
s. The third and most recent one is Elamite cuneiform, a syllabary adapted from Akkadian cuneiform
. Although Proto-Elamite
and Linear Elamite
still remain a mystery, Elamite cuneiform have been successfully deciphered.
Elamite cuneiform comes in two variants, the first, derived from Akkadian
, was used during the 3rd to 2nd millennia BCE, and a simplified form used during the 1st millennium BCE. The main difference between the two variants is the reduction of glyphs used in the simplified version. At any one time, there would only be around 130 cuneiform signs in use. Throughout the script’s history, only 206 different signs were used in total.
The earliest known Elamite cuneiform text is a treaty between Akkaddians and the Elamites that dates back to 2200 BCE. However, some believe it might have been in use since 2500 BCE The tablets are poorly preserved so only limited parts can be read but it is understood that the text is a treaty between the Akkad King Nāramsîn and Elamite Ruler Hita. Frequent references like “Nāramsîn’s friend is my friend, Nāramsîn’s enemy is my enemy” indicate so.
The most famous and the ones that ultimately lead to its decipherment are the Elamite scriptures found in the trilingual inscriptions of monuments commissioned by the Achaemenid Persian Kings. The inscriptions, similar to that of the Rosetta Stone
’s, were written in three different writing systems. The first was Old Persian, which was deciphered in 1802 by Georg Friedrich Grotefend
. The second, Babylonian cuneiform, was deciphered shortly after the Old Persian text. Because Elamite is unlike its neighboring Semitic Languages
, the script’s decipherment was delayed until the 1840s. Even today, lack of sources and comparative materials hinder further research of Elamite.
V
and VC values being adopted. Over time the number of syllabic glyphs is reduced while the number of logograms increases. About 40 CVC glyphs are also occasionally used, but they appear to have been used for the consonants and ignored the vocalic value. Several determinative
s are also used.
|+Elamite CV and VC syllabic glyphs
Monumental Achaemenid inscriptions, 5th c BCE
! > Ca
Ce
Ci
Cu
aC
eC
iC
style="text-align:center"
!p
b
𒉺 pa
𒁀 ba
𒁁 be
𒉿 pe ~ pi
𒁍 pu
𒀊 ap
𒅁 (𒌈) ip
style="text-align:center"
!k
g
/ka4 ka
𒆠 ke ~ ki
𒄀 ge ~ gi
𒆪 ku
𒀝 ak
𒅅 ik
style="text-align:center"
!t
d
𒆪 da
𒋼 te
𒋾 ti
𒌅 (tu4) tu
𒁺 du
𒀜 at
style="text-align:center"
!š
𒐼 (𒊮) ša
𒊺 še
𒅆 ši
𒋗 šu
𒀾 aš
!s
z (č) 𒊓 sa
𒍝 ca
𒋛 se ~ si
𒍢 ce ~ ci
𒋢 su
𒊍 as/ac
𒄑 is/ic
style="text-align:center"
!y
ya
|-style="text-align:center"
!l
𒆷 la
𒇷 le ~ li
𒇻 lu
style="text-align:center"
!m
𒈠 ma
𒈨 me
𒈪 mi
𒈬 mu
𒄠 am
style="text-align:center"
!n
𒈾 na
𒉌 ne ~ ni
𒉡 nu
𒀭 an
𒂗 en
𒅔 in
style="text-align:center"
!r
𒊏 ra
𒊑 re ~ ri
𒊒 ru
𒅕 ir
style="text-align:center"
!h
0
𒄩 ha
𒀀 a
𒂊 e
𒄭 hi
𒄿 i
𒄷 hu
𒌋, 𒌑 u
𒄴 ah
Glyphs in parentheses in the table are not common.
The script distinguished the four vowels of Akkadian and 15 consonants, /p/, /b/,/k/,/g/,/t/,/d/,/š/,/s/,/z/,/y/,/l/,/m/,/n/,/r/, and /h/. The Akkadian voiced pairs /p, b/, /k, g/, and /t, d/ may not have been distinct in Elamite. The series transcribed z may have been an affricate such as /č/ or /c/ (ts). /hV/ was not always distinguished from simple vowels, suggesting that /h/ may have been dropping out of the language. The VC glyphs are often used for a syllable coda
without any regard to the value of V, suggesting that they were in fact alphabetic C signs.
Much of the conflation of Ce and Ci, and also eC and iC, is inherited from Akkadian (pe-pi-bi, ke-ki, ge-gi, se-si, ze-zi, le-li, re-ri, and ḫe-ḫi—that is, only ne-ni are distinguished in Akkadian but not Elamite; of the VC syllables, only eš-iš-uš). In addition, 𒄴 is aḫ, eḫ, iḫ, uḫ in Akkadian, and so effectively is a coda consonant even there.
except for a few unusual features. For example, the primary function of CVC glyphs was to indicate the two consonants rather than the syllable. Thus certain words used the glyphs for “tir” and “tar” interchangeably and the vowel was ignored. Occasionally, the vowel is acknowledged such that “tir” will be used in the context “ti-rV”. Thus “ti-ra” might be written with the glyphs for “tir” and “a” or “ti” and “ra”.
Elamite cuneiform allows for a lot of freedom when constructing syllables. For example, CVC syllables are sometimes represented by using a CV and VC glyph. The vowel in the second glyph is irrelevant so “sa-ad” and “sa-ud” are equivalent. Additionally, “VCV” syllables are represented by combining “V” and “CV” glyphs or “VC” and “CV” glyphs that have a common consonant. Thus “ap-pa” and “a-pa” are equivalent.
Elamite language
Elamite is an extinct language spoken by the ancient Elamites. Elamite was the primary language in present day Iran from 2800–550 BCE. The last written records in Elamite appear about the time of the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great....
.
History and Decipherment
The Elamite LanguageElamite language
Elamite is an extinct language spoken by the ancient Elamites. Elamite was the primary language in present day Iran from 2800–550 BCE. The last written records in Elamite appear about the time of the conquest of the Persian Empire by Alexander the Great....
(ca. 3000 BCE to 400 BCE) is the now extinct language spoken by Elamites, who inhabited the regions of Khuzistān and Fārs in Southern Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It has long been an enigma for scholars due to the scarcity of resources for its research and the irregularities found in the language. It seems to have no relation to its neighboring Semitic
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
and Indo-European
Indo-European
Indo-European may refer to:* Indo-European languages** Aryan race, a 19th century and early 20th century term for those peoples who are the native speakers of Indo-European languages...
languages. Scholars fiercely argue over several hypotheses about its origin, but have no definite theory.
There are three known writing systems for the Elamite language and they were written in a variety of mediums including stone, metal, and clay. The first system is Proto-Elamite
Proto-Elamite
The Proto-Elamite period is the time of ca. 3200 BC to 2700 BC when Susa, the later capital of the Elamites, began to receive influence from the cultures of the Iranian plateau. In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period...
, a pictographic script that is thought to be derived from Sumerian cuneiform
Cuneiform
Cuneiform can refer to:*Cuneiform script, an ancient writing system originating in Mesopotamia in the 4th millennium BC*Cuneiform , three bones in the human foot*Cuneiform Records, a music record label...
. The second is Linear Elamite
Linear Elamite
Linear Elamite is a Bronze Age writing system used in Elam, known from a few monumental inscriptions only. It was used contemporarily with Elamite Cuneiform and likely records the Elamite language....
, a hieroglyphic syllabary with some logogram
Logogram
A logogram, or logograph, is a grapheme which represents a word or a morpheme . This stands in contrast to phonograms, which represent phonemes or combinations of phonemes, and determinatives, which mark semantic categories.Logograms are often commonly known also as "ideograms"...
s. The third and most recent one is Elamite cuneiform, a syllabary adapted from Akkadian cuneiform
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
. Although Proto-Elamite
Proto-Elamite
The Proto-Elamite period is the time of ca. 3200 BC to 2700 BC when Susa, the later capital of the Elamites, began to receive influence from the cultures of the Iranian plateau. In archaeological terms this corresponds to the late Banesh period...
and Linear Elamite
Linear Elamite
Linear Elamite is a Bronze Age writing system used in Elam, known from a few monumental inscriptions only. It was used contemporarily with Elamite Cuneiform and likely records the Elamite language....
still remain a mystery, Elamite cuneiform have been successfully deciphered.
Elamite cuneiform comes in two variants, the first, derived from Akkadian
Akkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
, was used during the 3rd to 2nd millennia BCE, and a simplified form used during the 1st millennium BCE. The main difference between the two variants is the reduction of glyphs used in the simplified version. At any one time, there would only be around 130 cuneiform signs in use. Throughout the script’s history, only 206 different signs were used in total.
The earliest known Elamite cuneiform text is a treaty between Akkaddians and the Elamites that dates back to 2200 BCE. However, some believe it might have been in use since 2500 BCE The tablets are poorly preserved so only limited parts can be read but it is understood that the text is a treaty between the Akkad King Nāramsîn and Elamite Ruler Hita. Frequent references like “Nāramsîn’s friend is my friend, Nāramsîn’s enemy is my enemy” indicate so.
The most famous and the ones that ultimately lead to its decipherment are the Elamite scriptures found in the trilingual inscriptions of monuments commissioned by the Achaemenid Persian Kings. The inscriptions, similar to that of the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
’s, were written in three different writing systems. The first was Old Persian, which was deciphered in 1802 by Georg Friedrich Grotefend
Georg Friedrich Grotefend
Georg Friedrich Grotefend was a German epigraphist.-Life:He was born at Hann. Münden and died in Hanover. He was educated partly in his native town, partly at Ilfeld, where he remained till 1795, when he entered the university of Göttingen, and there became the friend of Heyne, Tychsen and Heeren...
. The second, Babylonian cuneiform, was deciphered shortly after the Old Persian text. Because Elamite is unlike its neighboring Semitic Languages
Semitic languages
The Semitic languages are a group of related languages whose living representatives are spoken by more than 270 million people across much of the Middle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa...
, the script’s decipherment was delayed until the 1840s. Even today, lack of sources and comparative materials hinder further research of Elamite.
Inventory
Elamite radically reduced the number of cuneiform glyphs. From the entire history of the script, only 206 glyphs are used; at any one time, the number was fairly constant at about 130. In the earliest tablets the script is almost entirely syllabic, with almost all common Old Akkadian syllabic glyphs with CConsonant
In articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
V
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
and VC values being adopted. Over time the number of syllabic glyphs is reduced while the number of logograms increases. About 40 CVC glyphs are also occasionally used, but they appear to have been used for the consonants and ignored the vocalic value. Several determinative
Determinative
A determinative, also known as a taxogram or semagram, is an ideogram used to mark semantic categories of words in logographic scripts which helps to disambiguate interpretation. They have no direct counterpart in spoken language, though they may derive historically from glyphs for real words, and...
s are also used.
Monumental Achaemenid inscriptions, 5th c BCE
! >
!p
b
𒁀 ba
𒁁 be
!k
g
𒄀 ge ~ gi
!t
d
𒆪 da
𒁺 du
!š
!s
z (č)
𒍝 ca
𒍢 ce ~ ci
!y
!l
!m
!n
!r
!h
0
𒀀 a
𒂊 e
𒄿 i
𒌋, 𒌑 u
Glyphs in parentheses in the table are not common.
The script distinguished the four vowels of Akkadian and 15 consonants, /p/, /b/,/k/,/g/,/t/,/d/,/š/,/s/,/z/,/y/,/l/,/m/,/n/,/r/, and /h/. The Akkadian voiced pairs /p, b/, /k, g/, and /t, d/ may not have been distinct in Elamite. The series transcribed z may have been an affricate such as /č/ or /c/ (ts). /hV/ was not always distinguished from simple vowels, suggesting that /h/ may have been dropping out of the language. The VC glyphs are often used for a syllable coda
Syllable coda
In phonology, a syllable coda comprises the consonant sounds of a syllable that follow the nucleus, which is usually a vowel. The combination of a nucleus and a coda is called a rime. Some syllables consist only of a nucleus with no coda...
without any regard to the value of V, suggesting that they were in fact alphabetic C signs.
Much of the conflation of Ce and Ci, and also eC and iC, is inherited from Akkadian (pe-pi-bi, ke-ki, ge-gi, se-si, ze-zi, le-li, re-ri, and ḫe-ḫi—that is, only ne-ni are distinguished in Akkadian but not Elamite; of the VC syllables, only eš-iš-uš). In addition, 𒄴 is aḫ, eḫ, iḫ, uḫ in Akkadian, and so effectively is a coda consonant even there.
Syntax
Elamite cuneiform is similar to that of Akkadian cuneiformAkkadian language
Akkadian is an extinct Semitic language that was spoken in ancient Mesopotamia. The earliest attested Semitic language, it used the cuneiform writing system derived ultimately from ancient Sumerian, an unrelated language isolate...
except for a few unusual features. For example, the primary function of CVC glyphs was to indicate the two consonants rather than the syllable. Thus certain words used the glyphs for “tir” and “tar” interchangeably and the vowel was ignored. Occasionally, the vowel is acknowledged such that “tir” will be used in the context “ti-rV”. Thus “ti-ra” might be written with the glyphs for “tir” and “a” or “ti” and “ra”.
Elamite cuneiform allows for a lot of freedom when constructing syllables. For example, CVC syllables are sometimes represented by using a CV and VC glyph. The vowel in the second glyph is irrelevant so “sa-ad” and “sa-ud” are equivalent. Additionally, “VCV” syllables are represented by combining “V” and “CV” glyphs or “VC” and “CV” glyphs that have a common consonant. Thus “ap-pa” and “a-pa” are equivalent.