Document Type : Original Article
Author
Department of Architecture, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch, Mashhad, Iran.
Abstract
Due to lack of Dated Qurans and manuscripts from the first centuries of Hijri, our information about the artists and styles common in each region of the Islamic world is very limited. It has caused some of the current assumptions and claims to be incorrect. One of the famous copied Qur`an from the early 5th century AH is Mushaf al-Hāḑina; A Qur'an that was produced by Ali bin Ahmad al-Warrāq in 410 AH/ 1019 AD for Fatimah Hāḑina, the nanny of Moʿiz bin Bādīs in Kairouan, based on a note at the beginning of the manuscript. An endowment at the beginning of the manuscript tells about its dedication to the Great Mosque of Kairouan. More than 1300 leaves has been survived from the Qur`an and it seems to have had about 3200 leaves and was prepared in sixty volumes. This copy is famous among calligraphy historians due to its large size and especially its special script. The mentioned note leaves no doubt about the production of this manuscript in Kairouan, therefore, historians have called the style of its script Qirawānī. Nevertheless, geometry of the script and the design of the letters, has no resemblance to other common styles in the Western world of Islam. Most of the Qura`ns of Maghreb, which are known as Western Kufic, are written in a round and delicate pen, while the oblique angles and strokes, as well as the striking distinction between the strengths and weaknesses of the letters in are more common in Eastern Kufic scripts, especially The script of Ghaznavid Imperial Qura`ns. The vertical angle of some vocalization signs of the Qur`an as well as the proportions of its pages are very similar to Ghaznavid Qurans. In addition, the motifs of the illumination can be traced back in Eastern kufic Qurans such as the Quran copied by Ahmad bin Yāsīn al-Isfahani, dated 383 AH in Isfahan. In addition, there are variations in the handwriting and vocalization of the Quran, which indicates the collaboration of several artists in its preparation. As a result, according to these evidences, it seems that this manuscript was produced by several Iranian artists with the cooperation of at least one Moroccan artist, under the supervision of Ali bin Ahmad al-Waraq in Kairouan. It seems that the religious clashes between the Ismaʿilism and the Abbasid caliphs in the fourth century of Hijri in Iran, on the one hand, and the support of the Fatimid caliphs and early Zīrīds from the Ismaʿilism, caused the migration of some Iranian artists, believing in Ismaʿilism, to the Maghreb.
Keywords
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