Paleo-Arabic

Paleo-Arabic (or Palaeo-Arabic, previously called pre-Islamic Arabic or Old Arabic) is a pre-Islamic script used to write Arabic. Used between the fifth and seventh centuries, it evolved out of the Nabataeo-Arabic script, and was superseded by the standardized Arabic that developed in the Islamic era. The word "Paleo-Arabic" was first coined by Christian Robin using the French expression "paléo-arabe".

Paleo-Arabic was first documented in inscriptions in Syria and Jordan, but has since been found in Western Arabia (the Hejaz), where over fifty Paleo-Arabic inscriptions have now been found, and in South Arabia. The only god mentioned in these inscriptions is Allah. These inscriptions are always Christian when more detailed religious information is available, a finding that is considered informative for understanding the religious history of late pre-Islamic Arabia.

Paleo-Arabic inscriptions are publicly uploaded to the DiCoNab database.

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