Bactrian language

{{Short description|Extinct Eastern Iranian language of Asia}} {{Infobox language | name = Bactrian | nativename = {{lang|xbc-Grek|Αριαο}} | pronunciation = {{IPA|[arjaː]}} | state = Bactria | image = Bactrian alphabet (block and cursive letters).jpg | image_class = skin-invert-image | imagecaption = The Bactrian alphabet (block and cursive letters, here in black). The Bactrian script was directly adapted from the Greek script (here in grey), with the addition of the letter sho ({{lang|xbc-Grek|ϸ}}).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Davary |title=Illustrations |date=1982 |page=Fig.93 |url=https://refubium.fu-berlin.de/bitstream/handle/fub188/8366/02_Illustrations.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y}}</ref> | region = Central Asia | era = 300 BC – 1000 AD | ref = linglist | nation = Kushan Empire Hephthalite Empire | familycolor = Indo-European | fam2 = Indo-Iranian | fam3 = Iranian | fam4 = Northeastern | fam5 = Sogdo-Bactrian | iso3 = xbc | glotto = bact1239 | glottorefname = Bactrian | linglist = xbc | script = Bactrian script (Greek) Manichaean script | notice = IPA }} '''Bactrian''' ({{langx|xbc-Grek|Αριαο|ariao|link=no}} {{IPA|xbc|arjaː||cat=no}}, meaning "Iranian")<ref>{{Cite web |last=Foundation |first=Encyclopaedia Iranica |title=Welcome to Encyclopaedia Iranica |url=https://iranicaonline.org/articles/iranian-identity-ii-pre-islamic-period/ |access-date=2023-07-31 |website=iranicaonline.org |language=en-US}}</ref> was an Eastern Iranian language formerly spoken in the Central Asian region of Bactria (some regions of present-day Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan)<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sims-Williams|first1=N|title=Bactrian Language|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bactrian-language|website=Encyclopaedia Iranica}}</ref> and used as the official language of the Kushan and the Hephthalite empires.

==Name== It was long thought that Avestan represented "Old Bactrian", but this notion had "rightly fallen into discredit by the end of the 19th century".<ref>{{harvnb|Gershevitch|1983|p=1250}}</ref>

Bactrian, which was written predominantly in an alphabet based on the Greek script, was known natively as {{lang|xbc-Grek|αριαο}} {{IPA|[arjaː]}} ("Arya"; an endonym common amongst Indo-Iranian peoples). It has also been known by names such as Greco-Bactrian or Kushan or Kushano-Bactrian.

Under Kushan rule, Bactria became known as ''Tukhara'' or ''Tokhara'', and later as ''Tokharistan''. When texts in two extinct and previously unknown Indo-European languages were discovered in the Tarim Basin of China, during the early 20th century, they were linked circumstantially to Tokharistan, and Bactrian was sometimes referred to as "Eteo-Tocharian" (i.e. "true" or "original" Tocharian). By the 1970s, however, it became clear that there was little evidence for such a connection. For instance, the Tarim "Tocharian" languages were "centum" languages within the Indo-European family, whereas Bactrian was an Iranian, thus "satem" language.

==Classification== Bactrian is a part of the Eastern Iranian languages and shares features with the extinct Middle Iranian languages Sogdian and Khwarezmian (Eastern) and Parthian (Western), as well as sharing affinity with the modern Eastern Iranian languages such as Pashto and the Pamir subgroup of languages like Munji and Yidgha which are part of the same branch of the Pamir languages.<ref>Henning (1960), p. 47. ''Bactrian thus "occupies an intermediary position between Pashto and Yidgha-Munji on the one hand, Sogdian, Choresmian, and Parthian on the other: it is thus in its natural and rightful place in Bactria".''</ref> Its genealogical position is unclear.<ref name="Novak">{{cite journal|first=Ľubomir|last=Novák|title=Question of (re)classification of Eastern Iranian languages|journal=Linguistica Brunensia|year=2014|pages=77–87}}</ref> According to another source, the present-day speakers of Munji, the modern Eastern Iranian language of the Munjan Valley in the Kuran wa Munjan district of the Badakhshan province in northeast Afghanistan, display the closest possible linguistic affinity with the Bactrian language.<ref>Waghmar, Burzine K. (2001) 'Bactrian History and Language: An Overview.' Journal of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute, 64. pp. 45.</ref>

==History== [[File:Rabatak inscription.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Rabatak inscription is an inscription written on a rock in the Bactrian language and the Greek script, which was found in 1993 at the site of Rabatak, near Surkh Kotal in Afghanistan. The inscription relates to the rule of the Kushan emperor Kanishka, and gives remarkable clues on the genealogy of the Kushan dynasty.]] Bactrian became the lingua franca of the Kushan Empire and the region of Bactria, replacing the Greek language. Bactrian was used by successive rulers in Bactria, until the arrival of the Umayyad Caliphate.

===Historical development=== Following the conquest of Bactria by Alexander the Great in 323 BC, for about two centuries Greek was the administrative language of his Hellenistic successors, that is, the Seleucid and the Greco-Bactrian kingdoms. Eastern Scythian tribes (the Saka, or Sacaraucae of Greek sources) invaded the territory around 140 BC, and at some time after 124 BC, Bactria was overrun by a confederation of tribes belonging to the Great Yuezhi and ''Tokhari''. In the 1st century AD, the Kushana, one of the Yuezhi tribes, founded the ruling dynasty of the Kushan Empire.

The Kushan Empire initially retained the Greek language for administrative purposes but soon began to use Bactrian. The Bactrian Rabatak inscription (discovered in 1993 and deciphered in 2000) records that the Kushan king Kanishka ({{Circa|127 AD}})<ref>Harry Falk (2001), "The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas." Silk Road Art and Archaeology 7: 121–36.p. 133.</ref> discarded Greek ("Ionian") as the language of administration and adopted Bactrian ("Arya language"). The Greek language accordingly vanished from official use and only Bactrian was later attested. The Greek script, however, remained and was used to write Bactrian. The territorial expansion of the Kushans helped propagate Bactrian in other parts of Central Asia and South Western Asia.

In the 3rd century, the Kushan territories west of the Indus River fell to the Sasanians, and Bactrian began to be influenced by Middle Persian. The eastern extent of the Kushan Empire in Northwestern India, was conquered by the Gupta Empire. Besides the Pahlavi script and the Brahmi script, some coinage of this period is still in the Aryo (Bactrian) script.

From the mid-4th century, Bactria and northwestern India gradually fell under the control the Hephthalite and other Huna tribes. The Hephthalite period is marked by linguistic diversity; in addition to Bactrian, Middle Persian, Indo-Aryan and Latin vocabulary is also attested. The Hephthalites ruled these regions until the 7th century, when they were overrun by the Umayyad Caliphate, after which official use of Bactrian ceased. Although Bactrian briefly survived in other usage, that also eventually ceased, and the latest known examples of the Bactrian script, found in the Tochi Valley in Pakistan, date to the end of the 9th century.<ref>{{cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia: The Development of Sedentary and Nomadic Civilizations, 700 B. C. to A, Part 250 |edition=illustrated |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9U6RlVVjpakC&pg=PA433 |access-date=27 March 2013 |year=1994 |publisher=UNESCO |isbn=9231028464 |page=433 }}</ref>

==Writing system== [[File:Sho uc lc 2.svg|thumb|upright=0.7|Bactrian was written using the Greek script, with the addition of the letter sho (majuscule: Ϸ, minuscule: ϸ) to represent the {{IPA|/ʃ/}} sound.|class=skin-invert-image]] Among Indo-Iranian languages, the use of the Greek script is unique to Bactrian. Although ambiguities remain, some of the disadvantages were overcome by using ''upsilon'' ({{lang|xbc-Grek|Υ}}, {{lang|xbc-Grek|υ}}) for {{IPA|/h/}} and by introducing an additional 25th letter sho ({{lang|xbc-Grek|Ϸ}}, {{lang|xbc-Grek|ϸ}}) to represent {{IPA|/ʃ/}}.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|encyclopedia=Concise encyclopedia of languages of the world|editor1-first=Keith|editor1-last=Brown|editor2-first=Sarah|editor2-last=Ogilvie|first=P. O.|last=Skjærvø|year=2009|title=Bactrian|page=115|place=Oxford|publisher=Elsevier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&q=Bactrian+Kaniska+letter&pg=PA115|isbn=9780080877754}}</ref> ''Xi'' ({{lang|xbc-Grek|Ξ}}, {{lang|xbc-Grek|ξ}}) and ''psi'' ({{lang|xbc-Grek|Ψ}}, {{lang|xbc-Grek|ψ}}) were not used for writing Bactrian as the ''ks'' and ''ps'' sequences did not occur in Bactrian.<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |publisher=UNESCO |year=2006 |isbn=978-9231032110 |pages=121}}</ref> They were, however, probably used to represent numbers (just as other Greek letters were). The Greek writing reproduced the Bactrian phonetics only approximately.<ref>{{Cite book |title=History of Civilizations of Central Asia |publisher=UNESCO |year=2006 |isbn=978-9231032110 |pages=121}}</ref>

===Records=== [[File:Alchono legend with coin.jpg|thumb|The word {{lang|xbc-Grek|αλχοννο}} ({{transliteration|xbc|alkhonno}}) in cursive Bactrian script, on a coin of the Alchon Huns ruler Khingila, 5th century AD.<ref name="Alchono">30pxKhingila with the word "{{Transliteration|xbc|Alchono}}" in the Bactrian script ({{lang|xbc-Grek|αλχονο}}) and the Tamgha symbol on his coins [https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=114833 CNG Coins].</ref><ref name=AA346>{{cite book |last1=Alemany |first1=Agustí |title=Sources on the Alans: A Critical Compilation |date=2000 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=9004114424 |page=346 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8bZ4c5oZpNAC&pg=PA346 |language=en}}</ref><ref>[https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=90023 CNG Coins]</ref>]] The Bactrian language is known from inscriptions, coins, seals, manuscripts, and other documents.

Sites at which Bactrian language inscriptions have been found are (in north–south order) Afrasiyab in Uzbekistan; Kara-Tepe, Airtam, Delbarjin, Balkh, Kunduz, Baglan, Ratabak/Surkh Kotal, Oruzgan, Kabul, Dasht-e Navur, Ghazni, Jagatu in Afghanistan; and Islamabad, Shatial Bridge and Tochi Valley in Pakistan. {{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} Of eight known manuscript fragments in Greco-Bactrian script, one is from Lou-lan and seven from Toyoq, where they were discovered by the second and third Turpan expeditions under Albert von Le Coq. One of these may be a Buddhist text. One other manuscript, in Manichaean script, was found at Qočo by Mary Boyce in 1958.

Over 150 legal documents, accounts, letters and Buddhist texts have surfaced since the 1990s,<ref name="NSW" /> the largest collection of which is the Khalili Collection of Aramaic Documents.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Gholami|first=Saloumeh|date=2013|title=Review of Bactrian Documents from Northern Afghanistan. III: Plates. Studies in the Khalili Collection, Vol. 3. CIIr. Pt. 2, Inscriptions of the Seleucid and Parthian Periods and of Eastern Iran and Central Asia. Vol. 4, Bactrian|url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/43307651|journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society|volume=23|issue=1|pages=136–138|jstor=43307651|issn=1356-1863}}</ref> These have greatly increased the detail in which Bactrian is currently known.<ref name="NSW">{{Cite journal|last=Sims-Williams|first=Nicholas|author-link=Nicholas Sims-Williams|date=March 2002|title=New Documents in Ancient Bactrian Reveal Afghanistan's Past|url=https://www.iias.asia/sites/default/files/nwl_article/2019-11/IIAS_NL27_1213.pdf|journal=IIAS Newsletter|publisher=International Institute for Asian Studies|issue=27|pages=12–13}}</ref>

==Phonology== [[File:Surkh Kotal inscription, 2nd century CE.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|The Surkh Kotal inscription (SK4) is the first known substantial document written in Bactrian, an Iranian language. It uses the Greek script. It was written at the time of the Kushan ruler Huvishka, 2nd century CE. Kabul Museum.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nakamura |first1=Hajime |title=Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes |date=1987 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publ. |isbn=978-81-208-0272-8 |page=141, note 2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w0A7y4TCeVQC&pg=PA141 |language=en}}</ref>]] The phonology of Bactrian is not known with certainty, owing to the limitations of the native scripts, and also its status as an extinct language.

===Consonants=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |+ Consonants of Bactrian |- !colspan="2" rowspan="2"| Type !rowspan="2"| Labial !rowspan="2"| Dental or alveolar !rowspan="2"| Palatal or postalveolar !colspan="2"| Velar !rowspan="2"| Glottal |- ! plain ! labialized |- !rowspan="2"| Stops ! Voiceless | {{IPA link|p}} | {{IPA link|t}} | | {{IPA link|k}} | | |- ! Voiced | {{IPA link|b}}(?) | {{IPA link|d}} | | {{IPA link|ɡ}} | | |- !rowspan="2"| Affricates ! Voiceless | | {{IPA link|t͡s}} | | | | |- ! Voiced | | {{IPA link|d͡z}} | | | | |- !rowspan="2"| Fricatives ! Voiceless | {{IPA link|f}} | {{IPA link|θ}}(?); {{IPA link|s}} | {{IPA link|ʃ}} | {{IPA link|x}} | {{IPA link|xʷ}} | {{IPA link|h}} |- ! Voiced | {{IPA link|v}} | {{IPA link|ð}}(?); {{IPA link|z}} | {{IPA link|ʒ}}(?) | {{IPA link|ɣ}} | | |- !colspan="2"| Nasals | {{IPA link|m}} | {{IPA link|n}} | | | | |- !colspan="2"| Approximants | | {{IPA link|l}} | {{IPA link|j}} | | {{IPA link|w}} | |- !colspan="2"| Rhotic | | {{IPA link|r}} | | | | |}

[[File:Ebodalo (Bactrian cursive and Greek standard).jpg|thumb|upright|The Hephthalites used the Bactrian script (top). Here, their endonym {{lang|xbc-Grek|ηβοδαλο}} ({{Transliteration|xbc|ēbodalo}}), "Hephthalites".|class=skin-invert-image]] A major difficulty in determining Bactrian phonology is that affricates and voiced stops were not consistently distinguished from the corresponding fricatives in the Greek script. * Proto-Iranian *b, *d, *g have generally become spirants, as in most other Eastern Iranian languages. A distinctive feature of Bactrian, shared within the Iranian languages with Munji, Yidgha and Pashto, is the development of Proto-Iranian *d > *ð further to {{IPA|/l/}}, which may have been areal in nature.<ref name="Novak"/> Original *d remains only in a few consonant clusters, e.g. *bandaka > {{lang|xbc-Grek|βανδαγο}} 'servant', *dugdā > {{lang|xbc-Grek|λογδο}} 'daughter'. The clusters {{IPA|/lr/}} and {{IPA|/rl/}} appear in earlier Bactrian, but revert to {{IPA|/dr/}}, {{IPA|/rd/}} later, e.g. *drauga > {{lang|xbc-Grek|λρωγο}} (4th to 5th century) > {{lang|xbc-Grek|δδρωρο}} (7th to 8th century) 'lie, falsehood'.{{sfn|Gholami|2010|pp=18–19}} * Proto-Iranian *p, *t, *č, *k have become voiced between vowels, and after a nasal consonant or *r. ** Inside a word, the digraphs {{lang|xbc-Grek|ββ}}, {{lang|xbc-Grek|δδ}} for original voiceless *p, *t can be found, which probably represent {{IPA|[b]}}, {{IPA|[d]}}. The former is attested only in a single word, {{lang|xbc-Grek|αββο}} 'water'. Manichaean Bactrian appears to only have had {{IPA|/v/}} in native vocabulary. According to Gholami, instances of single {{lang|xbc-Grek|δ}} may indicate a fricative pronunciation, {{IPA|[ð]}}.{{sfn|Gholami|2010|p=10}} ** {{lang|xbc-Grek|γ}} appears to stand for both the stop {{IPA|[ɡ]}} and the fricative {{IPA|[ɣ]}}, but it is unclear if a contrast existed, and which instances are which. Evidence from the Manichaean script suggests that {{lang|xbc-Grek|γ}} from *k may have been {{IPA|/ɡ/}} and {{lang|xbc-Grek|γ}} from *g may have been {{IPA|/ɣ/}}. According to Greek orthographic practices, {{lang|xbc-Grek|γγ}} represents {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}}.{{sfn|Gholami|2010|pp=11–12}} * {{lang|xbc-Grek|σ}} may continue both Proto-Iranian *c > *s and *č, and the Manichaean script confirms that it represents two phonemes, likely {{IPA|/s/}} and {{IPA|/ts/}}.{{sfn|Gholami|2010|p=12}} * {{lang|xbc-Grek|ζ}} may continue similarly on one hand Proto-Iranian *dz > *z, and on the other *ǰ and *č, and it represents at least {{IPA|/z/}} and {{IPA|/dz/}}. This distinction is again confirmed by the Manichaean script. Also a third counterpart of {{lang|xbc-Grek|ζ}} is found in Manichaean Bactrian, possibly representing {{IPA|/ʒ/}}.

The status of {{lang|xbc-Grek|θ}} is unclear; it only appears in the word {{lang|xbc-Grek|ιθαο}} 'thus, also', which may be a loanword from another Iranian language. In most positions Proto-Iranian *θ becomes {{IPA|/h/}} (written {{lang|xbc-Grek|υ}}), or is lost, e.g. *puθra- > {{lang|xbc-Grek|πουρο}} 'son'.{{sfn|Gholami|2010|p=13}} The cluster *θw, however, appears to become {{IPA|/lf/}}, e.g. *wikāθwan > {{lang|xbc-Grek|οιγαλφο}} 'witness'.{{sfn|Gholami|2010|p=25}}

{{lang|xbc-Grek|ϸ}} continues, in addition to Proto-Iranian *š, also Proto-Iranian *s in the clusters *sr, *str, *rst. In several cases, however, Proto-Iranian *š becomes {{IPA|/h/}} or is lost; the distribution is unclear. E.g. *snušā > {{lang|xbc-Grek|ασνωυο}} 'daughter-in-law', *aštā > {{lang|xbc-Grek|αταο}} 'eight', *xšāθriya > {{lang|xbc-Grek|χαρο}} 'ruler', *pašman- > {{lang|xbc-Grek|παμανο}} 'wool'.

===Vowels=== {| |+ '''Vowels of Bactrian''' |- | {| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" |- !rowspan="2"| Type !! colspan="3"| Short |- ! Front !! Central !! Back |- ! Close | {{IPA link|i}} || || {{IPA link|u}} |- ! Mid | {{IPA link|e}} ||{{IPA link|ə}} ||{{IPA link|o}}? |- ! Open |colspan="3" align="center"| {{IPA link|a}} |} | {|class="wikitable" |- !rowspan="2"| Type !! colspan="2"| Long |- ! Front !! Back |- ! Close | {{IPA link|iː}} || {{IPA link|uː}} |- ! Mid | {{IPA link|eː}} || {{IPA link|oː}} |- ! Open |colspan="2" align="center"| {{IPA link|aː}} |} |}

[[File:HunCoinDerivedFromSassanianDesign5thCE.JPG|thumb|Silver drachm of Alchon Huns ruler Khingila. Bactrian script legend: {{lang|xbc-Grek|χιγγιλο αλχοννο}} {{transliteration|xbc|khingilo alkhonno}}, with Alchon tamgha symbol 15px|class=skin-invert.<ref>This coin is in the collection of the British Museum. For equivalent coin, see [https://www.cngcoins.com/Coin.aspx?CoinID=156854 CNG Coins]</ref>]]

The Greek script does not consistently represent vowel length. Fewer vowel contrasts yet are found in the Manichaean script, but short {{IPA|/a/}} and long {{IPA|/aː/}} are distinguished in it, suggesting that Bactrian generally retains the Proto-Iranian vowel length contrast.

It is not clear if {{lang|xbc-Grek|ο}} might represent short {{IPA|[o]}} in addition to {{IPA|[u]}}, and if any contrast existed. Short {{IPA|[o]}} may have occurred at least as a reflex of *a followed by a lost *u in the next syllable, e.g. *madu > {{lang|xbc-Grek|μολο}} 'wine', *pasu > {{lang|xbc-Grek|ποσο}} 'sheep'. Short {{IPA|[e]}} is also rare. By contrast, long {{IPA|/eː/}}, {{IPA|/oː/}} are well established as reflexes of Proto-Iranian diphthongs and certain vowel-semivowel sequences: {{lang|xbc-Grek|η}} < *ai, *aya, *iya; {{lang|xbc-Grek|ω}} < *au, *awa.

An epenthetic vowel {{IPA|[ə]}} (written {{lang|xbc-Grek|α}}) is inserted before word-initial consonant clusters.

Original word-final vowels and word-initial vowels in open syllables were generally lost. A word-final {{lang|xbc-Grek|ο}} is normally written, but this was probably silent, and it is appended even after retained word-final vowels: e.g. *aštā > {{lang|xbc-Grek|αταο}} 'eight', likely pronounced {{IPA|/ataː/}}.

The Proto-Iranian syllabic rhotic *r̥ is lost in Bactrian, and is reflected as {{lang|xbc-Grek|ορ}} adjacent to labial consonants, {{lang|xbc-Grek|ιρ}} elsewhere; this agrees with the development in the western Iranian languages Parthian and Middle Persian.

===Orthography=== [[File:Kushan script.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|Variations of the Greek alphabet (narrow columns) in the Kushan script (wide columns).|class=skin-invert-image]] {| class="wikitable" |+ Letter correspondence ! Greek Letter !! IPA !! Greek Letter !! IPA !! Greek Letter !! IPA |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|α}} || {{IPA|a}}, {{IPA|aː}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|η}} ||{{IPA|eː}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ρ}} ||{{IPA|r}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|α}}/{{lang|xbc-Grek|ο}} ||{{IPA|ə}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|θ}} ||{{IPA|θ}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|σ}} ||{{IPA|s}}, {{IPA|t͡s}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|β}} ||{{IPA|v}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ι}} ||{{IPA|i}}, {{IPA|j}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|τ}} ||{{IPA|t}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|β}}/{{lang|xbc-Grek|ββ}} || {{IPA|b}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|κ}} ||{{IPA|k}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|υ}} ||{{IPA|h}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|γ}} ||{{IPA|ɣ}}, {{IPA|ɡ}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|λ}} ||{{IPA|l}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|φ}} ||{{IPA|f}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|δ}} ||{{IPA|ð}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|μ}} ||{{IPA|m}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|χ}} ||{{IPA|x}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|δ}}/{{lang|xbc-Grek|δδ}} ||{{IPA|d}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ν}} ||{{IPA|n}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|χο}} ||{{IPA|xʷ}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ε}} ||{{IPA|e}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ο}} ||{{IPA|o}}, {{IPA|u}}, {{IPA|w}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ω}} ||{{IPA|oː}} |- |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ζ}} ||{{IPA|z}}, {{IPA|ʒ}}, {{IPA|d͡z}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|π}} ||{{IPA|p}} |{{lang|xbc-Grek|ϸ}} ||{{IPA|ʃ}} |}

==Examples== <gallery>

File:Surkh Kotal inscription in Bactrian, National Museum of Afghanistan.jpg|Surkh Kotal inscription in Bactrian, National Museum of Afghanistan </gallery>

==See also== * Kidarites

==Notes== {{Reflist}}

==References== *{{EB1911|wstitle=Tochi Valley}} * {{Cite book |last=Falk |first=Harry |title=Silk Road Art and Archaeology |volume=VII |pages=121–136 |chapter=The yuga of Sphujiddhvaja and the era of the Kuṣâṇas |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/2097759/The_yuga_of_Sphujiddhvaja_and_the_Era_of_the_Kusanas}} * {{Cite book |last=Gershevitch |first=Ilya |title=Cambridge History of Iran |publisher=Cambridge UP |year=1983 |isbn=0-511-46773-7 |editor-last=Yarshater |editor-first=Ehsan |volume=3 |location=Cambridge |pages=1250–1258 |chapter=Bactrian Literature |issue=2}} * {{Cite thesis |last=Gholami |first=Saloumeh |title=Selected Features of Bactrian Grammar |degree=PhD |publisher=University of Göttingen |doi=10.53846/goediss-1495 |doi-access=free |year=2010 |hdl=11858/00-1735-0000-000D-EF94-2 |s2cid=247020656|hdl-access=free }} * {{Cite journal |last=Henning |first=W. B. |year=1960 |title=The Bactrian Inscription |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London |volume=23 |issue=1 |pages=47–55}} * {{Cite encyclopedia |year=1989a |entry=Bactrian Language |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Iranica |publisher=Routledge & Kegan Paul |location=New York |last=Sims-Williams |first=Nicholas |volume=3 |pages=344–349 |entry-url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/bactrian-language}} * {{Cite book |last=Sims-Williams |first=Nicholas |title=Compendium Linguarum Iranicarum |publisher=Reichert |year=1989b |editor-last=Schmitt |editor-first=Rüdiger |location=Wiesbaden |pages=230–235 |chapter=Bactrian}} * {{Cite web |last=Sims-Williams |first=Nicholas |year=1997 |title=New Findings in Ancient Afghanistan: the Bactrian documents discovered from the Northern Hindu-Kush |url=http://www.gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~hkum/bactrian.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610192252/http://www.gengo.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~hkum/bactrian.html |archive-date=2007-06-10 |series=[lecture transcript] |publisher=Department of Linguistics, University of Tokyo |location=Tokyo}}

==External links== *[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Bactrian-language Bactrian language] at the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' *[https://www.invisible-east.org/corpus/ Cursive Bactrian] at the Invisible East Digital Corpus (Invisible East is a program of the ''University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education'').  {{Iranian languages}} {{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bactrian Language}} Category:Bactrian language Category:Extinct languages of Asia Category:Languages attested from the 3rd century BC Category:Languages extinct in the 9th century Category:Languages of Afghanistan Category:Languages of Tajikistan Category:Linguistic history of Pakistan Category:Eastern Iranian languages