Elymaic letter shin

It is the Elymaic consonant transliterated š, like the “sh” sound in “ship.” “Shin” is the scholarly name used for the letter, following the naming tradition for Aramaic letters.

Elymaic developed from the Aramaic script used by the Achaemenid Persian administration. Local officials adapted it to write standard Aramaic. Transitional examples from Tang-e Chilau may reach the 1st century BCE or earlier; the clearest surviving stone inscriptions date from the 1st–3rd centuries CE.

Elymaic also appears on coins, though some coins from Elymais instead use Greek or Parthian script. It is closely related to Parthian, Mandaic, and Characenean writing, from another ancient kingdom called Characene. Scholars disagree whether Elymaic came before Mandaic, came from it, or branched alongside it.