protoIndoIranian
Proto-Indo-Iranian is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. It is a hypothetical language identified through systematic similarities in phonology, morphology, and lexicon across its descendant languages, most notably the Indo-Aryan languages (such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, Gujarati) and the Iranian languages (including Avestan, Old Persian, Persian, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi).
Dating and geography: Most scholars place Proto-Indo-Iranian in the range of roughly 1800 to 1500 BCE. Its
Phonology and grammar: The reconstruction preserves a consonant system typical of Proto-Indo-European, including stops, aspirates, sibilants,
Descendants and evidence: The oldest attestations come from Avestan in the Zoroastrian scriptures and Old Persian,
Significance: Reconstructing Proto-Indo-Iranian helps explain cognate patterns across its branches and informs theories about the historical