Armenia's alphabet was created around 405 AD and still has 39 letters

world cultures & travelWikipediac. 405 AD · Armenia

Armenia's alphabet was created around 405 AD and still has 39 letters

the gist

The Armenian alphabet was devised around 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and church leader, specifically to write the Armenian language. It began with 36 letters, and two more were added in the 13th century. A 1920s spelling reform counted the ligature ev as a letter too, bringing the total to 39. The script is written left to right, like English. Its word for alphabet, aybuben, takes its name from the first two letters, ayb and ben, the same way English uses 'alphabet' from alpha and beta. The script is still in everyday use today, a living link to Armenia's written history.

how it works

Each letter stands for a single sound, so a reader can sound out any word once the letters are learned. Mashtots built the script to capture sounds in Armenian that other scripts could not represent well. Adding letters later, or treating a ligature as a letter, let the system grow with the language.

so what

Few alphabets were designed on purpose by one person for one language, and this one has lasted for more than 1,600 years. It shows how writing systems can become a core part of national identity, carrying a language through centuries of change.

the bigger pattern

Many national scripts were created or reformed in the same way, often tied to religion and identity. Cyrillic, for example, was developed in the 9th century and later adapted for many languages across Eurasia.

fun fact

The Armenian word for alphabet, aybuben, is named after the first two letters of the alphabet itself.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

historyWikipediaclassic1336–1565 · Karnataka, India

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗