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
Ri (cuneiform) Ri (cuneiform) [[File:B142ellst.png|437px|left|thumb|Cuneiform sign for ri, re, dal, tal, ṭal, and as [[sumerogram]] RI, (sign uses from the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]").]] [[File:Amarna letter mp3h8878.jpg|thumb|right|315px|[[Amarna letter EA 365]]-("Reverse"), [[Biridiya]] to Pharaoh, ""Furnishing [[Corvée]] Workers"", with usage of cuneiform re in the spelling of "erēsu", "to cultivate" ([[te (cuneiform)|te]]-[[ir (cuneiform)|er]]-ri-šu-[[na (cuneiform)|na]]), 3rd character, 6th line from top (line 365:20). <br>(high resolution, expandible photo)]] The [[cuneiform]] Ri sign, or Re, is found in both the 14th-century BC [[Amarna letters]] and the "[[Epic of Gilgamesh]]"; it is in the top 25 most used cuneiform signs (Buccellati, 1979) for "ri", or "re", but has other