Old Turkic Runic Alphabet

The Old Turkic Runic alphabet was widespread in Central Asia in the VIII-X centuries. It was used to write in Turkic languages. The letters are called runes for their similarity with Germanic symbols. Another name for this writing is Orkhonto-Yenisei, it was given by the places of archaeological findings (Orkhon Valley and the upper reaches of the Yenisei).

The origin of the Turkic runes has not been established. According to different theories, it could be based on the Semitic script,  Kharoshthi 10A10–10A33 , the phonetic signs of Chinese writing, generic signs of Tamga, or even Sogdian writing. As Islam was spreading, the Turkic runes were later replaced by the Arabic  Alphabet FE8E–FEF1 .