Protobesh represents an ancient alphabet employed throughout the galaxy.
Protobesh constitutes an early alphabet, preceding the development of Aurebesh. Its writing could be oriented horizontally from left to right, or alternatively, vertically from top to bottom. Significant terms were occasionally inscribed within cartouches.
The ancient Jedi book known as the Rammahgon featured Protobesh, at least in part. Certain characters within, enclosed in a cartouche, formed the word "COURAGE".
A dataplaque instance exhibited Protobesh symbols, purportedly indicating the location of the long-missing Queen of Ranroon starship.
A shop selling droids situated on North Stairs Lane on Ferrix displayed a prominent green sign with grey and white lettering; the sign's upper portion was written in Protobesh, conveying the word "DROID".
Around 0 BBY, Protobesh graffiti appeared vertically on a wall located in Jedha City, spelling out "FIGHT". During that year, Partisans operating in the city launched an attack on an Imperial convoy and seized a sizable kyber crystal bearing the inscription "TRUST IN THE FORCE" in vertically arranged Protobesh.
At some point following Order 66 and before 9 BBY, the name "EKRIA" was etched into a wall within a safehouse utilized by the Hidden Path on the planet Mapuzo.
Certain direct renderings of Protobesh writing found in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker: The Visual Dictionary are at odds with the official translations presented in the same publication. For example, on page 53, a note about the Rammahgon mentions a "Protobesh cartouche containing the name 'Exegol'", however the letters inside the cartouche actually spell the word "COURAGE".
The massive kyber crystal employed by the Partisans in their assault on the Imperial convoy in the film Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which is inscribed with the phrase "TRUST IN THE FORCE" in Protobesh, is also shown in a photograph within the 2023 reference book Star Wars 100 Objects, albeit with both the crystal and its inscription displayed upside-down.