16. Sabaean alphabet

Origin

The Sabaean or Sabaic alphabet is one of the south Arabian alphabets. The oldest known inscriptions in this alphabet date from about 500 BC. Its origins are not known, though one theory is that it developed from the Byblos alphabet. The Sabaean alphabet is thought to have evolved into the Ethiopic script.

Notable features

• Type of writing system: abjad with no system for vowel indication
• Direction of writing: in most inscriptions it is written from right to left, in some it is written in boustrophedon style (alternating right to left and left to right).

Used to write:

Sabaean, an extinct Semitic language once spoken in Saba, the biblical Sheba, in southern Arabia.

Sabaean alphabet

Sample text in Sabaean

Source: http://www.let.leidenuniv.nl/talengids/english/sabees.htm

Links

Information about Sabaean
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabaean_language
http://phoenicia.org/sabaeans.html
Sabaean fonts
http://www.fontspace.com/category/sabaean