Language

Old Persian

𐎠𐎼𐎡𐎹

Indo-European (Iranian) · Old Persian cuneiform · Updated July 2026

The language of the Achaemenid royal inscriptions, written in a simplified, semi-alphabetic cuneiform script developed under Darius I. Old Persian is attested almost exclusively in monumental royal contexts; for administrative purposes the Achaemenids used Aramaic.

Civilizations named in this language

Cities named in this language

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Geographic features named in this language

Cite this page

Rajagopal, Shriram. "Old Persian." Onomastikon: A Digital Atlas of Ancient Names. Last modified July 24, 2026. https://onomastikon.org/languages/old-persian.

@misc{onomastikon-old-persian,
  author = {Rajagopal, Shriram},
  title = {Old Persian},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://onomastikon.org/languages/old-persian}},
  note = {Onomastikon: A Digital Atlas of Ancient Names}
}

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