Old Persian

E25383

Old Persian is an ancient Iranian language used in the Achaemenid Empire, primarily known from royal inscriptions such as those of Darius the Great.

All labels observed (9)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Indo-European language
Indo-Iranian language
Iranian language
ancient language
ancestorOf New Persian (Modern Persian)
linked to: Persian language
associatedRuler Artaxerxes I
Darius I
linked to: Darius I of Persia

Xerxes I
branchOf Southwestern Iranian languages
closelyRelatedTo Avestan
linked to: Avestan language

Middle Persian
developedInto Middle Persian
Parthian (indirectly via Iranian continuum)
era Achaemenid period
linked to: Achaemenid Empire
extinctInCentury 4th century BCE
hasCaseSystem yes
hasGrammaticalGender yes
hasGrammaticalNumber plural
singular
hasTense aorist
perfect
present
ISO639-2Code peo
ISO639-3Code peo
languageFamily Indo-European languages
Indo-Iranian languages
Iranian languages
mainSource royal inscriptions
notableInscription Behistun Inscription
Naqsh-e Rustam inscriptions
Persepolis inscriptions
primaryFunction royal monumental inscriptions
scriptInventedUnder Darius I
linked to: Darius I of Persia
scriptType semi-alphabetic cuneiform script
secondaryFunction administrative and commemorative texts
spokenIn Achaemenid Empire
standardFormOf language of Achaemenid royal chancery
status extinct
subclassOf Southwestern Iranian language
timePeriod 4th century BCE
5th century BCE
6th century BCE
usedBy Achaemenid kings
royal administration of the Achaemenid Empire
writingDirection left-to-right
writingMaterial rock reliefs
stone inscriptions
writingSystem Old Persian cuneiform

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (82)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Persian language developedFrom Old Persian
Cyrus the Great languageSpoken Old Persian
Achaemenid Empire officialLanguage Old Persian
Achaemenid Empire writingSystem Old Persian cuneiform
linked to: Old Persian
Aramaic influenced Middle Persian
linked to: Old Persian
Persians historicalLanguage Old Persian
Southwestern Iranian languages hasMajorLanguage Old Persian language
linked to: Old Persian
Iranian peoples historicalLanguage Old Persian
Pasargadae languageOfName Old Persian
Roxane languageOfName Old Persian
Cyrus the Great language Old Persian
subject linked to: King of Persia
Cambyses I language Old Persian
Bardiya languageOfName Old Persian
Cassandane language Old Persian
Cambyses II language Old Persian
Parysatis II languageContext Old Persian
Atossa nativeLanguage Old Persian
Atossa languageOfName Old Persian
Elamite usedAlongside Old Persian
Royal Road languageOfEmpire Old Persian
Darius III language Old Persian (court language)
linked to: Old Persian
Xerxes I language Old Persian
Artaxerxes II language Old Persian
Old Persian cuneiform writingSystemFor Old Persian language
linked to: Old Persian
Avestan language closelyRelatedTo Old Persian
Middle Persian follows Old Persian
subject linked to: Middle Persian language
Middle Persian developedFrom Old Persian
subject linked to: Middle Persian language
Pars languageOf Old Persian
Old Iranian languages hasPart Old Persian
Persis language Old Persian
Proto-Iranian language ancestorOf Old Persian language
linked to: Old Persian
Parsa languageOfName Old Persian
Achaemenid kings languageUsed Old Persian
Unicode 4.1 addsScript Old Persian
Unicode 4.1 addsBlock Old Persian
Ancient Near East majorLanguages Old Persian
Dārayavauš language Old Persian
Hystaspes language Old Persian
Rhodogune languageOfName Old Persian