All subsequent alphabets around the world have either descended from this first Semitic alphabet , or have been inspired by one of its descendants ( i.e. `` stimulus diffusion '' ) , with the possible exception of the Meroitic alphabet , a 3rd-century BCE adaptation of hieroglyphs in Nubia to the south of Egypt - though even here many scholars suspect the influence of the first alphabet .
Over the next 500 years it spread north , and all subsequent alphabets around the world have either descended from it , or been inspired by one of its descendants , with the possible exception of the Meroitic alphabet , a 3rd century BCE adaptation of hieroglyphs in Nubia to the south of Egypt .