How was Old Persian written?

Old Persian was written using a cuneiform script. This system, primarily utilized for monumental inscriptions by the Achaemenid kings between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, consisted of approximately 40 distinct signs.12

While the script is often described as a syllabary, its relatively small number of signs led early scholars to debate whether it functioned more like an alphabet. The writing was characterized by the use of a diagonal wedge to serve as a word-divider, which assisted in the segmentation of written sequences. The specific origins of this Old Persian cuneiform system remain a subject of academic dispute.21