Tabari Style: A Reflection on Northern Iranian Quran Transcription in the Middle Ages

Document Type : Original Article

Author
Iran, Mashhad, Islamic Azad University OF Mashhad, Architecture group,
Abstract
The Eastern Kufi is a development of early Kufi that spread from the 10th to 13th century A.D. in the Eastern part of the Islamic world. Eastern Kufi should be considered as a general term for various styles and sometimes completely different from the transcription of the Quran, which although in terms of geometry and shape of the letters originated from the original Kufi, due to the passage of time and influenced by local tastes. The study of codicologists and calligraphers have always been focused on some important artworks in this style. A careful study of the works shows that some Eastern Kufic styles can be attributed to specific geographical areas; such as North of Iran: Tabaristan and Gilan. The oldest dated manuscript in Tabari style is a Quran by Ali Mokhlesi Tabari, dated 964 A.D. and the last artwork is a Quran by Masoud Ibn Isa Maghari Deylami dated 1249 A.D. Attributing this style to the North of Iran is because of transcribers’ names from Roudbar, Mojaver, Deylam and Tabaristan. This style was a small-size script with unique features in letters transcription like ف, ق, and و. Other features are the relatively short height vertical letters and its strong horizontal connections, with little variation in pen thickness. Also verses sections in Tabari Qurans are usually mentioned with four dots and the illuminations and decorations are slight and brief.

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