Syriac

Used since the 1st century AD to write an Aramaic dialect. The principal language of early Christian theological texts (like the Hymns of Ephrem), it developed three distinct scripts: Estrangela, Serto, and East Syriac (Nestorian). As the liturgical language of Nestorian Christianity spread via the Silk Road to India and China, the famous "Nestorian Stele" in Tang dynasty Chang'an (Xi'an) is inscribed in Syriac characters.