<P> Alphabetical order was first used in the 1st millennium BCE by Northwest Semitic scribes using the Abjad system . The first effective use of alphabetical order as a cataloging device among scholars may have been in ancient Alexandria . In the 1st century BCE , Roman writer Varro compiled alphabetic lists of authors and titles . In the 2nd century CE , Sextus Pompeius Festus wrote an encyclopedic epitome of the works of Verrius Flaccus , De verborum significatu , with entries in alphabetic order . In the 3rd century CE , Harpocration wrote a Homeric lexicon alphabetized by all letters . In the 10th century , the author of the Suda used alphabetic order with phonetic variations . In the 14th century , the author of the Fons memorabilium universi used a classification , but used alphabetical order within some of the books . </P>
<P> Alphabetical order was first used in the 1st millennium BCE by Northwest Semitic scribes using the Abjad system . The first effective use of alphabetical order as a cataloging device among scholars may have been in ancient Alexandria . In the 1st century BCE , Roman writer Varro compiled alphabetic lists of authors and titles . In the 2nd century CE , Sextus Pompeius Festus wrote an encyclopedic epitome of the works of Verrius Flaccus , De verborum significatu , with entries in alphabetic order . In the 3rd century CE , Harpocration wrote a Homeric lexicon alphabetized by all letters . In the 10th century , the author of the Suda used alphabetic order with phonetic variations . In the 14th century , the author of the Fons memorabilium universi used a classification , but used alphabetical order within some of the books . </P>
who decided on the order of the alphabet
who decided on the order of the alphabet
Northwest Semitic scribes
Northwest Semitic scribes