Cuneiform times of Parthian Empire (250 BC – AD 226). The last known cuneiform inscription, an astronomical text, was written in 75 AD. The complexity of the system prompted the development of a number of simplified versions of the script. Old Persian was written in a subset of simplified cuneiform characters known today as Old Persian cuneiform. It formed a semi-alphabetic syllabary, using far fewer wedge strokes than Assyrian used, together with a handful of logograms for frequently occurring words like "god" and "king". Ugaritic was written using the Ugaritic alphabet, a standard Semitic style alphabet (an "abjad") written using the
Diš (cuneiform) the "large-angled-stroke", type 2; (the long stroke of the sign is slightly, or majorly, foreshortened. In the Amarna letters, often down to 50 % of the "full stroke".). The high quality photo of EA 364, line 8, shows the length about 3/4 of a full stroke-length. The "ana", ("diš") sign usage in the "Epic of Gilgamesh" is as follows: "ana"-(151 times); "diš"-(6); "tiš"-(6); and 1-(87 times). Diš (cuneiform) The cuneiform sign has many uses in cuneiform texts. In the Amarna letters it is commonly used to denote "Male individuals". (Women are denoted by sal (cuneiform), . ) The sign is