Hieratic (Greek
hieratika; literally "priestly") is a
cursive writing system used in the provenance of the
pharaohs in
Egypt and
Nubia. It developed alongside
cursive hieroglyphs, to which it is separate yet intimately related. It was primarily written in ink with a reed brush on
papyrus, allowing scribes to write quickly without resorting to the time-consuming hieroglyphs.