Hatran

Hatran is a dialect of the Aramaic language. It was used from the 1st century BC till the 3rd century AD. Its inscriptions were discovered during the excavations of Hatra on the territory of today's Iraq — hence the name. It was also found in some other ancient cities of the Middle East.

The Hatran script contains 21 characters for consonants and five digits. It has neither vowels, nor punctuation marks. According to the Arabic tradition, the direction of writing goes from right to left.

Most of the Hatran inscriptions were found in Assur. They presented the deeds of gods and various names of the rulers in basic sentences. For example:

“Ashur is powerful” ܐܠܗܐ ܚܝܠܬܢܐ “Our lord has given (a son)” ܝܗܒ ܡܪܢ