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Jawi Script

Type Object Region Southeast Asia Time 1200

Jawi is a script using Arabic letters to write Malay and other Southeast Asian languages, formed around the 13th century at the meeting of the Malay …

Timeline

  1. 1200–1260Ports along the Strait of Malacca · Malay PeninsulaAs Islamic merchants and scholars entered Malay port city-states, the Arabic script began to be used to record spoken Malay, laying the writing foundation for the later Jawi script.
  2. c. 1261–1270Islamized city-states of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula · Malay worldIn the mid-to-late 13th century, Malay written traditions gradually adopted a localized Arabic-letter spelling system; precursors of Jawi appear in religious sermons, contracts, and early documents.
  3. c. 1300–1500Sultanate of Malacca and surrounding seas · MalaysiaAfter the rise of Malacca, Jawi spread through trade and proselytizing networks to Muslim communities in Borneo, northern Java, and the southern Philippines, becoming the core vehicle of regional Islamic written culture.

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