Mashq is one of the oldest
calligraphic
Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an exp ...
forms of the
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
script. At the time of the emergence of
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, this type of writing was likely already in use in various parts of the
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world.
Geographically, the ...
. It is first attested during the reign of caliph Umar, making it one of the earliest forms of Arabic script, along with
Hijazi and
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 was used in most texts produced during the first and second centuries
after the Hijra.
Etymology
In Arabic, مَشَقَ ''mashaqa'' means "to stretch out"
and the name مَشْق ''mashq'' references the fact that the letters د ,ص ,ط ,ك, and ى (as well as their dotted counterparts) are written stretched out. Mashq calligraphy is also notable for the shortened intervals between words.
The Arabic term for this script spread as a
loanword
A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
throughout the Muslim world as the Arabic writing system spread. For example, mashq is known as ''meşk'' in Turkish and is practiced by present-day calligraphers.
See also
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Ancient North Arabian script
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Ancient South Arabian script
The Ancient South Arabian script (Old South Arabian: ; modern ) branched from the Proto-Sinaitic script in about the late 2nd millennium BCE, and remained in use through the late sixth century CE. It is an abjad, a writing system where only con ...
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Hijazi script
Hijazi script () is the collective name for several early Arabic scripts that developed in the Hejaz (the northwest of the Arabian Peninsula), a region that includes the cities of Mecca and Medina. This type of script was already in use at the ti ...
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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 ...
*
Muhaqqaq
Muhaqqaq is one of the main six types of Islamic calligraphy, calligraphic script in Arabic.John F. A. Sawyer, J. M. Y. Simpson, R. E. Asher (eds.), ''Concise Encyclopedia of Language and Religion'', Elsevier, New York 2001, , p. 253. The Arabic la ...
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Naskh
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Persian calligraphy
Persian calligraphy or Iranian calligraphy () is the calligraphy of the Persian language. It is one of the most revered arts throughout the history of Iran.
History
After the introduction of Islam in the 7th century, Persians adapted the Arabi ...
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Rayhan
Reyhan or Rayḥānī () is one of the six canonical scripts of Perso-Arabic calligraphy. The word Reyhan means basil in Arabic and Persian. Reyhan is considered a finer variant of Muhaqqaq script, likened to flowers and leaves of basil.
Rayḥ ...
*
Tawqi
''Tawqi‘'' () is a calligraphic variety of the Arabic script. It is a modified and smaller version of the ''thuluth'' script. Both scripts were developed by Ibn Muqlah. The ''tawqi‘'' script was further refined by Ibn al-Bawwab.
It was mos ...
*
Thuluth
''Thuluth'' (, ' or , '; , ''Sols''; Turkish: ''Sülüs'', from ' "one-third") is an Arabic script variety of Islamic calligraphy. The straight angular forms of Kufic were replaced in the new script by curved and oblique lines. In ''Thuluth'', ...
References
External links
Mashq SampleCalligrapher:Mehmed Şevki Efendi
dated to 107 AH / 725 CE, now in the
Egyptian National Library
Arabic calligraphy
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