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
Zu (cuneiform) Zu (cuneiform) Cuneiform zu, (also sú, ṣú, and sumerogram ZU (capital letter majuscule)), is an uncommon-use sign in the 1350s BC Amarna letters, the "Epic of Gilgamesh", and other cuneiform texts. Alphabetically, it could conceivably be used for letters "z", "s", "ṣ", or "u"; however in the Amarna letters it is used mostly for "personal names" or "geographical names". In the "Epic of Gilgamesh", sumerogram "ZU", is used to spell the name of god Ninazu, (a name of god Tammuz, two times, Chapter XII, 28, 47). In the "Epic", "ZU" is also used as a logogram, "ZU.AB", for Akkadian language