Brahmi

The most commonly used script in the
inscriptions of the emperor Ashoka (r.
269–232 B.C.E.), the greatest figure in the
Maurya dynasty. Ashoka’s empire
encompassed all of the subcontinent
except the deepest parts of southern
India and went west into modern
Afghanistan. Brahmi script was used in
all regions of the Mauryan empire
except in the northwest, where the
Kharoshthi script was used. Ashoka’s
rock edicts and pillar edicts are the earliest significant Indian written documents and give invaluable information
about contemporary social, political,
and religious life. Brahmi is the ancestor
of the modern Indian scripts, including
Devanagari. It is also the ultimate
source for all indigenous southeast
Asian alphabets, which developed from
trade with southern India in the early
medieval period. Over the course
of time, Brahmi was replaced by
later scripts, was forgotten, and
became unreadable. Although Ashoka’s
inscriptions ensured that Europeans
were aware of Brahmi, their content was
a mystery until 1837, when James
Prinsep deciphered the Brahmi
alphabet by working backward from
later, known scripts.