Nabatean letter

Nabataean writing is a consonant phonetic writing system developed from Aramaic writing on the territory of Nabatea in the 2nd century BC. e. and subsequently became the basis of Arabic writing .

Bilingual inscription with Nabataean (above) and Greek (below) texts in the vicinity of Petra .

Imru al-Qaisa ibn Amr , written in Nabataean letters: “ This is the tomb of Imru'l-Qaisa, the son of 'Amr, the king of the“ Arabs ”under the nickname“ Lord Assad and Mahhij. ” He subdued the Asadians, and they were defeated with their kings, and put Mahhij to flight. Then he came, pursuing them, to the gates of Nejran, the city of Shammar, and conquered Maadd, and treated generously the tribal nobility. He appointed them governors, and they became riders (federates) for the Romans. And not a single king was compared with him in his accomplishments. He then died in year 223 on the seventh day of the month of the kaslul. How happy are those who were friends with him! " ^[1]

The Nabatean script was used in the Nabatean kingdom - a state formed by the Arab tribes of the Nabataeans ( Greek βαβαταῖοι ) originally in the vicinity of Petra and existed on the territory of modern Jordan, Israel, Syria and Saudi Arabia from the III century BC. e. to 106 a year n. e., when Trajan after the death of Rabbal II attached Nabataeus to Rome, forming the province of Arabia Petraea on its territory.

A large number of Nabataean inscriptions are carved in Petra and its environs, after the fall of the Nabatean kingdom, monumental inscriptions are replaced by short inscriptions of the Nabataean cursive writing of a domestic nature, spread throughout the Sinai, especially many of them have survived in Wadi al-Mukattab (Arabic: “written valley”).

The Nabataean letter was used on the Sinai Peninsula and in Northern Arabia until the VI century, and, having penetrated into Hira, the capital of the Arabian principality of Lahmids , served as the basis for the formation of the Arabic letter.

Nabatean letter	Title	Arab letter	Syrian letter	MFA
	alef	ا / ء	ܐ
	beθ	ب	ܒ	/ b /
	gimel	ج	ܓ	/ g /
	daleθ	ﺩ	ܕ	/ d /
	he	ه	ܗ
	waw	ﻭ	ܘ	/ w /
	zajn	ﺯ	ܙ	/ z /
	heθ	ح	ܚ	/ ħ /
	tet	ﻁ	ܛ	/ t /
	jod	ي	ܝ	/ j /
	kaf	ﻛ / ك	ܟܟ	/ k /
	lamed	ل	ܠ
	mem	م	ܡܡ	/ m /
	nun	ن	ܢܢ	/ n /
	samex	س	ܣ	/ s /
	ajn	ع	ܥ	/ ʕ /
	pe	ف	ܦ
	tsade	ص	ܨ	/ ts /
	qof	ﻕ	ܩ	/ q /
	reʂ	ﺭ	ܪ	/ r /
	ʂin	س ، ش	ܫ	/ ʂ /
	taw	ﺕ	ܬ