Ahom Digit Three

It means three in Ahom number writing. Use it for the value three when it appears in an Ahom number.

The original Ahom numeral system did not use the familiar base-ten place-value pattern. A zero was added for modern use, allowing decimal numbers; traditional writing could mix numeral signs with number words.

What is the history of Ahom writing?

The oldest surviving Ahom text is the Snake Pillar inscription. It dates to the reign of King Siuw Hum Miung (1497–1539). The Ahom script was used mainly to write Tai Ahom. It also appears on stone inscriptions, coins, brass plates, and manuscripts, including Buranji chronicles, divination and omen texts, and Buddhist works.

Ahom belongs to the Lik Tai family of scripts, alongside Tai Le and Khamti. A proposed route brings the script from Mau Long to Assam; similar stone inscriptions in Yunnan are part of the discussion, but that route remains uncertain.

Use of Tai Ahom declined from the late 17th century, but traditional priests continued to use the language and script in religious practice through the 19th century. A print revival began in 1920 with an Ahom-Assamese-English dictionary.