Ī (Indic)

Ancient scripts
Bangla and Tibetan scripts
	Note: Korean Hangul is an alphabet, not an Indic abugida, but; appears to ultimately have some derivation from 'Phags-pa.
Sharada-based scripts
Nagaris and other Gupta-based scripts
Kawi scripts
Tai and Khmer scripts
Other Grantha-based scripts
Other Brahmic scripts
Phonemic representation:	/iː/
IAST transliteration:	ī Ī
ISCII code point:	A7 (167)

Ī is a vowel of Indic abugidas. In modern Indic scripts, Ii is derived from the early "Ashoka" Brahmi letter . As an Indic vowel, Ī comes in two normally distinct forms: 1) as an independent letter, and 2) as a vowel sign for modifying a base consonant. Bare consonants without a modifying vowel sign have the inherent "A" vowel.

Āryabhaṭa numeration

Aryabhata used Devanagari letters for numbers, very similar to the Greek numerals, even after the invention of Indian numerals. The ई sign ी was used to modify a consonant's value ×10², but the vowel letter did not have an inherent value by itself.[1]

Historic Ī

There are three different general early historic scripts - Brahmi and its variants, Kharoṣṭhī, and Tocharian, the so-called slanting Brahmi. Ī as found in standard Brahmi, was a simple geometric shape, with variations toward more flowing forms by the Gujarat . Like all Brahmic scripts, Tocharian Ī has an accompanying vowel mark for modifying a base consonant. In Kharoṣṭhī, the only independent vowel letter is for the inherent A. All other independent vowels, including Ī are indicated with vowel marks added to the letter A.

Brahmi Ii

The Brahmi letter Ī , is probably derived from the altered Aramaic Ayin , and is thus related to the modern Latin O and Greek Omicron.[2] Several identifiable styles of writing the Brahmi Ī can be found, most associated with a specific set of inscriptions from an artifact or diverse records from an historic period.[3] As the earliest and most geometric style of Brahmi, the letters found on the Edicts of Ashoka and other records from around that time are normally the reference form for Brahmi letters, with vowel marks not attested until later forms of Brahmi back-formed to match the geometric writing style.

Brahmi Ī historic forms
Ashoka (3rd-1st c. BCE)	Girnar (~150 BCE)	Kushana (~150-250 CE)	Gujarat (~250 CE)	Gupta (~350 CE)
	No sample	No sample		No sample

Tocharian Ī

The Tocharian letter is derived from the Brahmi . Unlike some of the consonants, Tocharian vowels do not have a Fremdzeichen form.

Tocharian consonants with Ī vowel mark
Kī	Khī	Gī	Ghī	Cī	Chī	Jī	Jhī	Nyī	Ṭī	Ṭhī	Ḍī	Ḍhī	Ṇī

Tī	Thī	Dī	Dhī	Nī	Pī	Phī	Bī	Bhī	Mī	Yī	Rī	Lī	Vī

Śī	Ṣī	Sī	Hī

Kharoṣṭhī Ī

The Kharoṣṭhī letter Ī is indicated with the I vowel mark plus the vowel length mark . As an independent vowel, Ī is indicated by adding the vowel marks to the independent vowel letter A .

Devanagari Ī

Bengali Ī

Javanese Ī

References

Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.
Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838

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[Ifrah-1] Ifrah, Georges (2000). The Universal History of Numbers. From Prehistory to the Invention of the Computer. New York: John Wiley & Sons. pp. 447–450. ISBN 0-471-39340-1.

[Buhler-2] Bühler, Georg. "On the Origin of the Indian Brahmi Alphabet". archive.org. Karl J. Trübner. Retrieved 10 June 2020.

[3] Evolutionary chart, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 7, 1838