Old Persian Number One

𐏑 is the Old Persian numeral for one. It adds one to other signs, so 𐏒𐏒𐏑 reads as five. The notation appears on royal monuments and in an administrative clay account from Persepolis.

Text symbol

What 𐏑 means

It adds one to the other signs' values. 𐏒𐏒𐏑 is five: two two one. For modern decimal numbers, use 1; 𐏑 belongs to a separate historical system.

Why was Old Persian numeral writing created?

For royal inscriptions and administration. The script was devised around 525 BCE for Darius I’s royal monuments; its oldest surviving inscription is at Behistun (520–518 BCE). A Persepolis clay-account tablet (509–494 BCE) records 604, probably a volume measure for dry goods. Use ended after Alexander’s conquest in the 330s BCE.

Part of the collection

𒀭

Cuneiform Symbols

Who writes 𐏑

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Don't confuse it with

𐎂

Ugaritic Letter Gamla

Ugaritic letter gamla, a different cuneiform alphabet letter. Both are wedge-shaped, so they can look alike at small sizes; Old Persian One is a numeral.

Questions people ask

Why does 𐏑 show as a box on some devices?

Not every system ships a font for the Old Persian block. Where none is installed, the character shows as an empty box; adding a font such as Noto fixes it. The character itself is still correct and copies correctly.