Meroitic language

Meroitic
Kushite
Meroitic inscription (1st century BC), Egyptian Museum of Berlin
Native toKingdom of Kush
RegionSouthern part of Upper Egypt around Aswan (Lower Nubia) to the Khartoum area of Sudan (Upper Nubia)
EraPossibly attested as early as 12th Dynasty Egypt (ca. 2000–ca. 1800 BC) and fully extinct no later than the 4th century AD[1]
Meroitic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3xmr
xmr
Glottologmero1237

The Meroitic language (/mɛrˈɪtɪk/) was a language of uncertain linguistic affiliation spoken in Meroë (in present-day Sudan) during the Meroitic period (attested from 300 BC) and became extinct about 400 AD. It was written in two forms of the Meroitic alphabet: Meroitic Cursive, which was written with a stylus and was used for general record-keeping; and Meroitic Hieroglyphic, which was carved in stone or used for royal or religious documents. It is poorly understood, owing to the scarcity of bilingual texts.

  1. ^ "Meroitic". Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 1 May 2024. 200 BC - 4th century AD.

Developed by StudentB