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Kufic
The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts. It developed from the Arabic alphabet in the city of Kufa, from which its name is derived. Kufic is characterized by angular, rectilinear letterforms and its horizontal orientation. There are many different versions of Kufic, such as square Kufic, floriated Kufic, knotted Kufic, and others. The artistic styling of Kufic led to its use in a non-Arabic context in Europe, as decoration on architecture, known as pseudo-Kufic. History Origin of the Kufic script Calligraphers in the early Islamic period used a variety of methods to transcribe Quran manuscripts. Arabic calligraphy became one of the most important branches of Islamic Art. Calligraphers came out with the new style of writing called Kufic. Kufic is the oldest calligraphic f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Islamic Calligraphy
Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of penmanship and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the Arabic script#Additional letters used in other languages, alphabets derived from it. It is a highly stylized and structured form of handwriting that follows artistic conventions and is often used for List of Islamic texts, Islamic religious texts, Islamic architecture, architecture, and Islamic decoration, decoration. It includes Arabic calligraphy, Arabic, Persian calligraphy, Persian, Ottoman Turkish alphabet, Ottoman, and Urdu script, Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). ''Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture'', It is known in Arabic language, Arabic as (), literally meaning "line", "design", or "construction". The development of Islamic calligraphy is strongly tied to the Qur'an, as chapters and verses from the Qur'an are a common and almost universal text upon which Islamic calligraphy is based. Although artistic depictions of people ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Banna'i
In Iranian architecture, banna'i (, "builder's technique" in Persian) is an architectural decorative art in which glazed tiles are alternated with plain bricks to create geometric patterns over the surface of a wall or to spell out sacred names or pious phrases. This technique originated in Syria and Iraq in the 8th century, and matured in the Seljuq and Timurid era, as it spread to Iran, Anatolia and Central Asia. If the brickwork design is in relief then it is referred to as hazarbaf (, compound of ''hazar'' "thousand" and ''baf'' "weavings", referring to the woven appearance of the bricks). History The earliest surviving example of decorative brick work with colored bricks is found in the city gate of Raqqa (c. 772). The earliest known example of ''hazārbāf'' is found in the Ukhaydir Palace near Baghdad, built around 762. The technique appeared in Iran and central Asia more than a century later but with more sophisticated designs. The tomb of the Samanid ruler Ismā ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic Alphabet
The Arabic alphabet, or the Arabic abjad, is the Arabic script as specifically codified for writing the Arabic language. It is a unicase, unicameral script written from right-to-left in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters, of which most have contextual letterforms. Unlike the modern Latin alphabet, the script has no concept of letter case. The Arabic alphabet is an abjad, with only consonants required to be written (though the long vowels – ''ā ī ū'' – are also written, with letters used for consonants); due to its optional use of diacritics to notate vowels, it is considered an impure abjad. Letters The basic Arabic alphabet contains 28 letter (alphabet), letters. Forms using the Arabic script to write other languages added and removed letters: for example ⟨پ⟩ is often used to represent in adaptations of the Arabic script. Unlike Archaic Greek alphabets, Greek-derived alphabets, Arabic has no distinct letter case, upper and lower case letterforms. Many le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kufa
Kufa ( ), also spelled Kufah, is a city in Iraq, about south of Baghdad, and northeast of Najaf. It is located on the banks of the Euphrates, Euphrates River. The estimated population in 2003 was 110,000. Along with Samarra, Karbala, Kadhimiya and Najaf, Kufa is one of five Iraqi cities that are of great importance to Shia Islam, Shi'ite Muslims. The city was founded in 638 Common Era, CE (17 Hijra (Islam), Hijrah) during the reign of the second Rashidun Caliph, Umar ibn Al-Khattab, and it was the final capital of the last Rashidun Caliphate, Rashidun Caliph, Ali ibn Abi Talib. Kufa was also the founding capital of the Abbasid Caliphate. During the Islamic Golden Age it was home to the grammarians of Kufa. Kufic, Kufic script is named for the city. The Palestinian keffiyeh, also known as kufiya and worn by Arab men, was Cultural appropriation, appropriated from Kufa, and is worn today to convey Cultural diversity, diverse political sentiments. Due to heightened global consumer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides its religious significance, it is widely regarded as the finest work in Arabic literature, and has significantly influenced the Arabic, Arabic language. It is the object of a modern field of academic research known as Quranic studies. Muslims believe the Quran was orally revealed by God to the final Islamic Prophets and messengers in Islam, prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad through the Angel#Islam, angel Gabriel#Islam, Gabriel incrementally over a period of some 23 years, beginning on the Night of Power, Laylat al-Qadr, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as Muhammad's most important Islamic view of miracles, miracle, a proof of his prophet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Quran
The Blue Quran (Arabic: الْمُصْحَف الْأَزْرَق, romanized: ''al- Muṣḥaf al-′Azraq'') is an early Quranic manuscript written in Kufic script. The dating, location of origin, and patron of the Blue Quran are unknown and have been the subject of academic debate, though it is generally accepted that the manuscript was produced in the late 9th to mid-10th century in either Kairouan, Tunisia or Cordoba in Umayyad Spain. The manuscript is among the most famous works of Islamic calligraphy, notable for its gold lettering on a rare indigo-colored parchment. Form The Blue Quran was written in Kufic script, characterized by sharp angles and the absence of vowel markings. Each page contains 15 lines, which is untraditional for the period. It was common for Qurans to have thick margins, few lines, and large spaces between words, much like the Amajur Quran, which contained three lines per horizontal page. More common features of the Blue Quran include the perceptible ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pseudo-Kufic
Pseudo-Kufic, or Kufesque, also sometimes pseudo-Arabic, is a style of decoration used during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance,Encyclopaedia BritannicaBeautiful Gibberish: Fake Arabic in Medieval and Renaissance Art/ref> consisting of imitations of the Arabic script, especially Kufic, made in a non-Arabic context: "Imitations of Arabic in European art are often described as pseudo-Kufic, borrowing the term for an Arabic script that emphasizes straight and angular strokes, and is most commonly used in Islamic architectural decoration".Mack, p.51 Pseudo-Kufic appears especially often in Renaissance art in depictions of people from the Holy Land, particularly the Virgin Mary. It is an example of Islamic influences on Western art. Early examples Some of the first imitations of the Kufic script go back to the 8th century when the English King Offa (r. 757–796) produced gold coins imitating Islamic dinars. These coins were copies of an Abbasid dinar struck in 774 by Caliph Al-Man ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hafsids Bougie Algeria 1249 1276 Ornemental Kufic
The Hafsid dynasty ( ) was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Berber descentC. Magbaily Fyle, ''Introduction to the History of African Civilization: Precolonial Africa'', (University Press of America, 1999), 84. that ruled Ifriqiya (modern day Tunisia, western Libya, and eastern Algeria) from 1229 to 1574. The dynasty was founded by Abu Zakariya Yahya, who was initially appointed governor of the region by the Almohad caliph before declaring his independence. Under the reigns of Abu Zakariya and his successor, al-Mustansir (), the Hafsids consolidated and expanded their power, with Tunis as their capital. After al-Mustansir's death, internal conflicts resulted in a division between an eastern branch of the dynasty ruling from Tunis and a western branch ruling from Béjaïa and Consantine. A reunification took place under Abu Yahya Abu Bakr II (), but his death was followed by another crisis during which the Marinids, based in present-day Morocco, invaded briefly. Eventually, unity was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Flag Of Iran
The national flag of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran, also known as the ''Tricolour Flag of Iran'' (), is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring the Pan-Iranian colors comprising equal horizontal bands of green, white and red with the emblem of Iran, national emblem (''Allah'') in red centred on the white band and the ''takbir'' written 11 times each in the Kufic script in white, at the bottom of the green and the top of the red band. After the Iranian Revolution of 1979, the present-day flag was adopted on 29 July 1980. Many Iranian diaspora, Iranian exiles opposed to the Iranian government use the Iranian monarchy tricolour flag with the Lion and Sun at the center, or the Interim Government of Iran, tricolour without additional emblems. Flag description Colour symbolism The Iranian flag, which was later designed under Darius I, symbolised this unity and victory (green above white and red) as the flag of the people of Iran. Colour scheme Construction Physical requirem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
