Mir Ali Tabrizi ( fa, ) was a distinguished Iranian

calligrapher Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

of the 14th century, to whom the invention of Nas-Taliq calligraphy style is attributed.

Early life

He lived in the 14th century. Historians have not been able to unveil details of Mir Ali's life yet. It is known that he lived in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...

and was a poet as well as an adept calligrapher (see

Dehkhoda dictionary The ''Dehkhoda Dictionary'' ( fa, لغت‌نامهٔ دهخدا) is the largest comprehensive Persian encyclopedic dictionary ever published, comprising 200 volumes. It is published by the Tehran University Press (UTP) under the supervision of ...

Nas-Taliq calligraphy

He is known as father of Nas-Taliq, the most popular style of

Persian calligraphy Persian calligraphy or Iranian calligraphy ( fa, ), is the calligraphy of the Persian language. It is one of the most revered arts throughout the history of Iran. History History of Nasta'liq After the introduction of Islam in the 7th cent ...

. He was thus titled "Qodwat al-Kottab" (literally 'the chief of the scribes'). He invented this beautiful calligraphy style by means of combining two older styles together (Naskh and Taliq). Nas-Taliq is a light and elegant cursive script as other types of

Islamic calligraphy Islamic calligraphy is the artistic practice of handwriting and calligraphy, in the languages which use Arabic alphabet or the alphabets derived from it. It includes Arabic, Persian, Ottoman, and Urdu calligraphy.Chapman, Caroline (2012). ...

. In contrast to other Islamic scripts, the Nas-Taliq has characters that appear to swing from the upper right to the lower left of each word as if suspended by an imaginary line. It featured elongated horizontal strokes and exaggerated rounded forms with no serifs. The diacritical marks were casually placed, and the lines were flowing rather than straight. There is a popular myth that Mir Ali

Jafar Tabrizi Jaʿfar b. ʿAlī Tabrizi (also known as Farīd al-Dīn and Qeblat al-Kottāb) was a renowned master in calligraphy as well as a poet and scribe in the 15th century. He was noted for being competent in Nastaʿlīq as well as other six classical sc ...

, another well-known Persian calligrapher, was Mir Ali's pupil. Later, Jafar's students followed Mir Ali's style in

Herat Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safē ...

, where his scripts were frequently copied and highly praised.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tabrizi, Mir Ali 14th-century calligraphers 14th-century Iranian people Muslim artists Calligraphers from Tabriz Calligraphers of the medieval Islamic world