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Semitic and Afroasiatic Tongues: the Rise and Fall

From the first pictographs to the spread of Arabic, the documentary traces how Afroasiatic languages were recorded, transformed, and eventually superseded over three millennia.

Chapters

• 0:07 From Pictographs to Alphabets
• 1:17 Semitic Scripts in the Bronze Age
• 3:02 Divergence and Regional Scripts
• 4:47 Islamic Unification and Legacy

On-screen text

• 0:07 From Pictographs to Alphabets
• 0:23 Narmer Palette shows earliest Egyptian hieroglyphs Historical record · Narmer Palette, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (c. 3200 BCE)
• 0:41 Proto‑Sinaitic marks on Sinai quarry walls Historical record · Proto‑Sinaitic inscriptions, Sinai quarry, Museum of Antiquities, Jerusalem (c. 1850–1550 BCE)
• 1:08 Akkadian cuneiform tablets from Sargon II Historical record · Royal archives of Sargon II, British Museum (c. 720 BCE)
• 1:17 Semitic Scripts in the Bronze Age
• 1:24 Semitic Scripts in the Bronze Age
• 1:41 Ugaritic alphabetic cuneiform tablets Historical record · Ugaritic tablets, Ras Shamra, Louvre (c. 1400–1200 BCE)
• 1:59 Amarna letters: diplomatic Akkadian Historical record · Amarna letters, Amarna, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (c. 1350 BCE)
• 2:17 Phoenician alphabet on Ahiram sarcophagus Historical record · Ahiram sarcophagus inscription, Byblos, National Museum of Beirut (c. 1000 BCE)
• 2:35 Aramaic ostracon from Tayma Historical record · Aramaic ostracon, Tayma, British Museum (6th century BCE)
• 2:53 Dead Sea Scrolls: Hebrew texts Historical record · Dead Sea Scrolls, Qumran caves, Israel Museum (c. 250 BCE–50 CE)
• 3:02 Divergence and Regional Scripts
• 3:09 Divergence and Regional Scripts
• 3:26 Ezana Stone: first Geʽez inscription Historical record · Ezana Stone, Axum, National Museum of Ethiopia (c. 350 CE)
• 3:44 Meroitic inscriptions on temple walls Historical record · Meroitic inscriptions, Meroë, National Museum of Sudan (c. 300 BCE–400 CE)
• 4:02 Tifinagh rock art in the Sahara Historical record · Tifinagh rock inscription, Tifinagh (Sahara), Musée du quai Branly, Paris (3rd century CE)
• 4:20 Early Coptic papyrus with Greek‑Demotic letters Historical record · Early Coptic papyrus, Coptic Museum, Cairo (3rd century CE)
• 4:38 Sabaean inscription from Marib Historical record · Sabaean inscription, Marib, National Museum of Yemen (2nd century BCE)
• 4:47 Islamic Unification and Legacy
• 5:03 Arabic inscription on Dome of the Rock Historical record · Arabic inscription on the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (691 CE), Islamic Museum, Jerusalem
• 5:21 Old Nubian script on Faras Cathedral wall Historical record · Old Nubian inscription, Faras Cathedral wall, British Museum (8th century CE)

Sources

Historical record: Narmer Palette, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (c. 3200 BCE) · Proto‑Sinaitic inscriptions, Sinai quarry, Museum of Antiquities, Jerusalem (c. 1850–1550 BCE) · Ebla tablets, Tell Mardikh, National Museum of Aleppo (c. 2500 BCE) · Royal archives of Sargon II, British Museum (c. 720 BCE) · Ugaritic tablets, Ras Shamra, Louvre (c. 1400–1200 BCE) · Amarna letters, Amarna, Egyptian Museum, Cairo (c. 1350 BCE) · Ahiram sarcophagus inscription, Byblos, National Museum of Beirut (c. 1000 BCE) · Aramaic ostracon, Tayma, British Museum (6th century BCE) · Dead Sea Scrolls, Qumran caves, Israel Museum (c. 250 BCE–50 CE) · Ezana Stone, Axum, National Museum of Ethiopia (c. 350 CE) · Meroitic inscriptions, Meroë, National Museum of Sudan (c. 300 BCE–400 CE) · Tifinagh rock inscription, Tifinagh (Sahara), Musée du quai Branly, Paris (3rd century CE) · Early Coptic papyrus, Coptic Museum, Cairo (3rd century CE) · Sabaean inscription, Marib, National Museum of Yemen (2nd century BCE) · Arabic inscription on the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem (691 CE), Islamic Museum, Jerusalem · Old Nubian inscription, Faras Cathedral wall, British Museum (8th century CE)

Sound: synthesized ambient (wind, drone, water) (CC0 — made by SoapBox). Made in 71 s of CPU.