Antiquity of
the
Cuneatic and
Himyari
characters.
Common
origin of the
Shemitic
tongues.
instance; in the latter direction, Jasasin ’Ibn Amru, the Him-
yarite, conducted an expedition into Africa, as far as the valley
of Sand, and even further, when the advanced body under his
generals, perished. To commemorate this event, Jasasin
ordered a metal statue to be placed on a stone, with an inscription
in the Himyari character.1 The affinity of the Devana-
gari Sanscrit to the Himyari, as well as the existence of an
inscription at Samarcand, have been already noticed. The
characters on the Bactrian coins, also appear to have a striking
resemblance to those in question. And it is still more extraordinary
that almost at the very antipodes of Samarcand, characters
have been found, whose similarity bespeaks a common
origin.2 So far as success has attended the efforts of the learned
in deciphering them, the Himyaritic inscriptions are of very
remote antiquity, and possibly it may be found that the inscriptions
in question, are more ancient than the Assyrian letters of
Pliny ;3 consequently, that they were in use previously to the
Cuneatic letters. In this case, the language connected with
the former may have been the parent of many tongues belonging
to the various races, which are, as it were, so many recognised
branches spreading from the parent stem, and showing in
almost every instance an affinity to the root itself.
The most numerous are the simple or monosyllabic branches,
which prevail throughout the north-eastern parts of Asia and
the greatest part of America and Africa.
The second are, for the most part, dissyllabic, combining at
the same time some grammatical construction; and to these
belong the Persian, the Grecian, the Latin, and the Teutonic
tongues, &c.
The third, or trisyllabic roots, appertain to the race now
more particularly under consideration, namely, the Shemitic
family, to which belong the Sanscrit, Chaldee, Arabic, Syriac,
Phoenician,4 Canaanitish,4 Pehlavi, the Ethiopic of Habashi, or
1 Schultens, p. 25, according to Hamza.
a Mr. Waldeck’s new work on Yacuta. 8 Lib. V I I ., pp. 236, 238.t
* Both of these languages are derived from Babylonia.—Dissertation on
the Newly-discovered Babylonian Inscription, by Joseph Hager, D.D.,
Abyssinia, with the Cufic; and especially the mixed language
and square character of the children of Heber. The last
appears to have been the result of an intercourse between the
Shemites and Cushites of Syria and Palestine, after the arrival
of Abraham.
This patriarch no doubt preserved his own language whilst Derivation of
he remained in Babylonia, as well as subsequently in Haran; from Chaldee
but that a change took place after his departure from the latter and Arabl°-
city, is almost capable of demonstration. We find Laban,
during the journey in pursuit of his relatives, used the pure
Chaldee, “ Jegar Sahadutha,” for the heap of stones which
had been raised; whilst Jacob calls it by the Hebrew word
Galeed.1 It may be inferred from the former circumstance,,
that the Chaldee was the language of Abraham up to the time
of his departure, and that the change took place in Canaan.
This, it is supposed, occurred in consequence of mixing Chaldee
with the existing language of the country, and also with that of
Hagar, who was a Cushite. In this way, therefore, the Chaldee
Arabic dialect, together with its cognates, Syriac, Samaritan,
Phoenician, Ethiopic, &c., is presumed to have been derived
from the ancient Arabic of the Canaanites, &c., which was
spoken by Abraham and his family with a Chaldean pronunciation
: moreover, there is no doubt that the present Hebrew
characters are of Chaldee origin.2
At the period more particularly alluded to, namely, between Epoch of the
the departure of Jacob, or rather the trial of Job, 1801 B.C., zalon in™'’"
and that of the supposed time of the death of the latter, be-Arabia-
tween 1651 and 1640 B.C., the principal provinces of Arabia
appear to have been in their most advanced state of civilization;
this was probably derived from two races of people, namely,
from the followers of Kahtan, who settled in Yemen, &c„ and
at a subsequent period from those of Abraham and Lot. The
written character of each branch has been preserved; and that
still in use, namely the Hebrew, seems to have been connected
with the older and more remote or Himyaritic branch, which is
now almost extinct.
Or Galgnedh.—Gen., chap. X X X I., v. 47, 4 8 ; Jennings’ Jewish
Antiq., vol. I I ,, p. 331. ! Explanation by Mr. Rassam.