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Early New Persian in Syriac script: Two texts from Turfan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 September 2011

Nicholas Sims-Williams
Nicholas Sims-Williams*
Affiliation:
School of Oriental and African Studies
*
ns5@soas.ac.uk
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Abstract

The German Turfan collection includes fragments of two Early New Persian manuscripts in Syriac script, a bilingual (Syriac and New Persian) Psalter and a pharmacological handbook containing prescriptions similar to those in the Syriac Book of Medicines published by E. A. W. Budge. Both texts make use of certain non-Syriac characters, some of which were also used for writing Sogdian while others may have been created especially for writing Persian in Syriac script. The Syriac text of the Psalter fragments is that of the Peshitta; the translation is particularly valuable for the vocalization of the Persian words. In addition to many unusual and interesting words, the pharmacological fragments attest the rare Syriac numeral symbols derived from those of ancient Aramaic. The present article contains a transliteration and translation of all these texts together with a glossary and full philological discussion.

Keywords

Early New Persian languageSyriac scriptGerman Turfan collectionSyriac PsalterSyriac pharmacologySyriac numeral symbols
Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , October 2011 , pp. 353 - 374
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 2011

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