Avestan Alphabet 1.01

The Avestan language belongs to the Indo-Iranic language family and existed in two primary phases: Old Avestan during the 2nd millennium BCE and Younger Avestan throughout the first millennium BCE.

It is primarily known through its use as the liturgical language of Zoroastrian scripture, which was transmitted orally for centuries. Zoroastrian priests memorized these sacred texts and recited them by rote, ensuring their preservation without a formalized script in early periods.

The Avestan script was not developed until the 3rd or 4th century AD, well after the language had ceased to be a spoken vernacular. This script is also referred to as Din Dabireh, translating to "religious writing."

The script has its roots in the older Pahlavi script, and while many contemporary Zoroastrians now utilize the Gujarati script for reading and writing Avestan, there exists a renewed scholarly interest in reviving and studying the original Avestan script.

The Avestan alphabet comprises 37 consonants and 16 vowels and is written from right to left. This educational app offers resources for learning each letter, along with numbers, common ligatures, and punctuation. It also provides interactive quizzes to reinforce mastery of the script.