Script - Manichaean

Manichaean is a historical script value that encodes the writing system used for the Manichaean religion, primarily during the third to tenth centuries CE in regions spanning Persia, Central Asia, and along the Silk Road. It is a cursive, right-to-left script derived from Aramaic, with influences from Syriac and Pahlavi, and it was used to write Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, and Uyghur texts. The character repertoire includes letters, punctuation, and a unique set of numerals, as well as abbreviations specific to Manichaean liturgical and doctrinal documents. Its encoding preserves the distinct paleographic features that differentiate it from other Aramaic-derived scripts, such as Estrangela or Nestorian, allowing scholars to digitally store, search, and analyze surviving fragments of Manichaean literature with accuracy.