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Arabic Calligraphic Tradition

Type Object Region West Asia Time c. 650

The Arabic calligraphic tradition is a visual art system formed by writing the Quran, poetry, and administrative documents in Arabic script, encompas…

Timeline

  1. c. 650–900Kufa · KufaIn Kufa and elsewhere in Iraq, an angular Kufic script was developed for copying the Quran, becoming the classic paradigm of early Islamic calligraphy and spreading throughout the empire with its expansion.
  2. c. 900–1100Baghdad · BaghdadMore legible scripts such as Naskh and Thuluth gradually replaced Kufic for everyday copying in Baghdad and Cairo; a system of calligraphy masters took shape, and script norms and decorative patterns grew increasingly refined.
  3. 1141–1150Isfahan · IsfahanIn madrasas of Isfahan, Damascus, and elsewhere, calligraphy was taught alongside Quranic recitation; waqf-funded scriptoria continuously produced richly decorated Qurans, and the calligraphic tradition was deeply embedded in Islamic education and social ritual.

Sources