The Status of Calligraphy and Calligraphers in Timurid Era Society
Journal Title: تاریخ و فرهنگ - Year 2010, Vol 42, Issue 84
Abstract
During the history of Iran after Islam, the 9th /13th century, coinciding with the Timurids reign in this land, can be considered as the thriving age of various branches of art such as painting, architecture, illumination, book ornament, and music. Similarly, the prevalence and development of scripts such as nasta‘līq and ta‘līq in calligraphy, besides flourishing this art, caused it to establish an enduring homogeneity with the Iranian culture. Various useful functions of calligraphers and their respectful status in society during Timurid era drove the lower class strata towards learning this art within the institutions engaged in teaching calligraphy. Writing fatḥnāmas (dispatches announcing victory) and manāshīr-i shāhāna (Royal mandates) and the impact of their art on the Timurids’ international relations can be pointed out as among the political functions of these strata, who rendered such services as secretaries and notaries. Teaching calligraphy, technical and ethical training of novices, promotion of art-loving culture, production of cultural products, and inculcation of religious values, particularly in the context of Shi’ism are among their cultural functions. Furthermore, calligraphers as members of a social guild within art workshops fulfilled people’s orders including writing epitaphs, contracts, sijillāt (registers, official records), and composing letters. This art used to be taught in such institutions as libraries, schools, art schools, high schools, chanceries (dār al-inshās), and writing schools (maktabs). The present research tries to explicate the functions and status of calligraphy and calligraphers, as well as the important institutions and centers for this art such as Tabriz, Shiraz, and Heart, using the descriptive and analytical methods and relying on manuscript documents and library sources.
Authors and Affiliations
VaḥīD ‘ĀBidīNpūR JoshaqāNī, FraydūN AllāHyāRī, Ma‘ṣūMa Samā’ī Dastjirdī
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP191182
- DOI 10.22067/history.v0i0.11752
- Views 121
- Downloads 0
Reasons for the continuity of the Dabuyid rule in Tabaristan
The Dabuyids is a local dynasty who managed to dominate over an area known as Padashwargar for more than a century. They came to power when on the one hand the Sassanid Empire was on the decline, and on the other hand th...
Analyzing Observational Data and Planetary Analyzing Observational Data and Planetary Parameters of Muḥyī al-Dīn al-Maghribī in Maragha Observatory (Case Study of Structural Parameters of Saturn’s Orbit)
Muḥyī al-Dīn Maghribī is among the few astronomers of the middle ages whose astronomical system is entirely based on new measures of planetary parameters and whose measurement of the observational data and calculation pr...
The Differences and Similarities of the Uprisings of the Khawārij in Sistan and Iraq in the Umayyad Period
As one of the influential groups in the incidents of the early centuries AH, Khawārij appeared for the first time during the Caliphate of Imam ‘Alī (A.S.) and in the process of the Battle of Ṣaffain as an independent cul...
Rawzah al- Shuhada: from Spurious narratives to creating impression
Rawzah al- Shuhada, by Mulla Husayn Wa‘iz-i- kashifi (d. 910 A.H), is one of the most influential books on Karbala tragedy in recent centuries. Nevertheless, it has been criticized by the shi‘a scholars for spreading Spu...
Takfirism in the Course of History; its Roots and Remedies
The article presented here deals with the issue of takfīr (accusing others of apostasy), which is an intellectual complexity in the world of Islam. In this respect, a survey of the historical roots of takfīr as a phenome...