Elymaic Letter Ayin

It marked one consonant within an Elymaic word.

Scholars transcribe it as ʿ and call it ayin by convention; native Elymaic letter names are unknown, so neither label establishes its exact ancient pronunciation.

The script developed from the Aramaic writing used by the Achaemenid Empire. Administrators in Elymais adapted it to write official Achaemenid Aramaic. Transitional graffiti at Tang-e Chilau may date to the first-century BCE or earlier; the main stone inscriptions are from the first through third centuries CE.

Why does 𐿯 vary across sources?

The Unicode glyph represents one normalized stone-writing style.

Elymaic had local and stylistic differences. It was written right to left without joining letters into cursive words, though neighboring strokes in inscriptions can touch or overlap. The representative form is based on Tang-e Sarvak stone inscriptions; some small copper coin legends look closer to Parthian writing.

Elymaic is related to Parthian and Mandaic scripts, and also to Characenean. Scholars disagree about whether Elymaic came before Mandaic, developed alongside it, or came later.