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Resources > Articles > Arabic Script Types
| The
Kufic Script |
| Kufic
script, a heavy monumental Arabic script suited to stone carving,
appears in the earliest surviving Koran manuscripts. In these,
the diacritical marks over the letters are sometimes painted in red,
and the gold decorations between suras contrast handsomely with the
heavy black script. In the Seljuk period, a more cursive flowing
script, Naskhi, developed. The two styles were often used for
contrast in architecture and decorative contexts. |
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| The
Naskh Script |
| Naskh,
which means "copying," was developed in the 10th century,
and refined into a fine art form in Turkey in the 16th century. Since
then it became generally accepted for writing the Quran. Naskh is
legible and clear and was adapted as the preferred style for typesetting
and printing. It is a small script whose lines are thin and letter
shapes are round. |
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| The
Thuluth Script |
| Thuluth
was the medieval Islamic style of handwritten alphabet. Thuluth (Arabic:
"one-third") is written on the principle that one-third
of each letter slopes. It is a large and elegant, cursive script,
used in medieval times on mosque decorations. It took on some of the
functions of the early Kufic script; it was used to write surah headings,
religious inscriptions, and princely titles and epigraphs. It was
also used for many of the large copies of the Koran produced from
the 13th century. |
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| The
Ta'liq / Nasta'liq / Farsi Scripts |
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Ta'liq
is a cursive style of lettering developed in Iran in the 10th century.
It is thought to have been the creation of Hasan ibn Husain Ali
of Fars, but, because Khawaja Abdul Mali Buk made such vast improvements,
the invention is often attributed to him. The rounded forms and
exaggerated horizontal strokes that characterize the Ta'liq letters
were derived primarily from the Riqa' script. The ornateness and
sloping quality of the written line had roots in the Towqi script
of Ibn Muqla (died 940). Designed specifically to meet the
needs of the Persian language, Ta'liq was used widely for royal
as well as daily correspondence until the 14th century, when it
was replaced by Nasta'liq.
Nasta'liq
was the predominant style of Persian calligraphy during the 15th
and 16th centuries. The inventor was Mir 'Ali of Tabriz, the most
famous calligrapher of the Timurid period (1402-1502). A cursive
script, Nasta'liq was a combination of the Naskh and Ta'liq styles,
featuring elongated horizontal strokes and exaggerated rounded forms.
The diacritical marks were casually placed, and the lines were flowing
rather than straight. Nasta'liq was frequently incorporated into
the paintings of the early Safavid period (16th century) and is
traditionally considered to be the most elegant of the Persian scripts.
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| The
Riq'a Script |
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Riq'a,
the simpler style of everyday writing is very economical and easy
to write. It is popular for writing both Turkish and Arabic.
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| The
Diwani Script |
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The
Diwani script is a cursive style of Arabic calligraphy developed
during the reign of the early Ottoman Turks (16th-early 17th century).
It was invented by Housam Roumi and reached its height of popularity
under Süleyman I theMagnificent (1520-66). As decorative as it was
communicative, Diwani was distinguished by the complexity of the
line within the letter and the close juxtaposition of the letters
within the word.
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A variation of the Diwani, the Diwani Al Jali, is characterized by
its abundance of diactical and ornamental marks.
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Source: Kamel El Baba, Rouh Al-Khatt Al-Arabi
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