Maghrebi script or Maghribi script (Arabic: الخط المغربي) refers to a loosely related family of Arabic scripts that developed in the Maghreb (North Africa), al-Andalus (Iberia), and Bilad as-Sudan (the West African Sahel). Maghrebi script is directly derived from the Kufic script,[1][2][3] and is traditionally written with a pointed tip (القلم المدبَّب), producing a line of even thickness.[4]
The script is characterized by rounded letter forms, extended horizontal features, and final open curves below the baseline.[5] It also differs from Mashreqi scripts in the notation of the letters faa' (Maghrebi: ڢ ; Mashreqi: ف) and qoph (Maghrebi: ڧ ; Mashreqi: ق).[6]
For centuries, Maghrebi script was used to write Arabic manuscripts and record Andalusi and Moroccan literature, whether in Classical Arabic, Maghrebi Arabic, or Amazigh languages.[7]
Arabic script first came to the Maghreb with the Islamic conquests (643–709).[8] The conquerors, led by Uqba ibn Nafi, used both Hijazi and Kufic scripts, as demonstrated in coins minted in 711 under Musa ibn Nusayr.[9] Maghrebi script is a direct descendant of the old Kufic script that predated Ibn Muqla's al-khat al-mansub (الخَط المَنْسُوب proportioned line) standardization reforms, which affected Mashreqi scripts.[4] The Arabic script in its Iraqi Kufic form spread from centers such as Fes, Cordoba, and Qairawan throughout the region along with Islam, as the Quran was studied and transcribed.[4][9] Qayrawani Kufic script developed in al-Qayrawan from the Iraqi Kufic script.[9]
Early on, there were two schools of Maghrebi script: the African script (الخط الإفريقي, al-khaṭṭ al-ʾifrīqiyy) and the Andalusi script (الخط الأندلسي, al-khaṭṭ al-ʾandalusiyy).[9] The African script evolved in Ifriqiya (Tunisia) from Iraqi Kufic by way of the Kufic of Qairawan.[9] The Andalusi script evolved in Iberia from the Damascene Kufic script with the establishment of the second Umayyad state, which would become the Caliphate of Córdoba.[9] The Andalusi script was particular for its rounded letters, as attested to in Al-Maqdisi's geography book The Best Divisions in the Knowledge of the Regions.[9] The African script had spread throughout the Maghreb before the spread of the Andalusi script.[9] One of the most famous early users of the Arabic script was Salih ibn Tarif, the leader of the Barghawata Confederacy and the author of a religious text known as the Quran of Salih.[9][10]
In al-Maghreb al-Aqsa (المغرب الأڧصى, 'the Far West', Morocco), the script developed independently from the Kufic of the Maghrawa and Bani Ifran under the Idrisid dynasty (788–974);[9] it gained Mashreqi features under the Imam Idris I, who came from Arabia.[9] The script under the Idrisids was basic and unembellished; it was influenced by Iraqi Kufic, which was used on the Idrisid dirham.[9]
Under the Almoravid dynasty, the Andalusi script spread throughout the Maghreb, reaching Qairawan; the Jerīd region, however, kept the African script.[9] A version of Kufic with florid features developed at this time.[11] The University of al-Qarawiyyin, the Almoravid Qubba, and the Almoravid Minbar bear examples of Almoravid Kufic.[12][13]
The Kufic script of the Almoravid dinar was imitated in a maravedí issued by Alfonso VIII of Castile.[14][15]
The minbar of the al-Qarawiyyin Mosque, created in 1144, was the "last major testament of Almoravid patronage," and features what is now called Maghrebi thuluth, an interpretation of Eastern thuluth and diwani traditions.[16]
Under the Almohad dynasty, Arabic calligraphy continued to flourish and a variety of distinct styles developed.[9] The Almohad caliphs, many of whom were themselves interested in Arabic script, sponsored professional calligraphers, inviting Andalusi scribes and calligraphers to settle in Marrakesh, Fes, Ceuta, and Rabat.[9][16] The Almohad caliph Abu Hafs Umar al-Murtada established the first public manuscript transcription center at the madrasa of his mosque in Marrakesh (now the Ben Youssef Madrasa).[9][17]
The Maghrebi thuluth script was appropriated and adopted as an official "dynastic brand" used in different media, from manuscripts to coinage to fabrics.[16] The Almohads also illuminated certain words or phrases for emphasis with gold leaf and lapis lazuli.[16]
For centuries, the Maghrebi script was used to write Arabic manuscripts that were traded throughout the Maghreb.[18] According to Muhammad al-Manuni , there were 104 paper mills in Fes under the reign of Yusuf Ibn Tashfin in the 11th century, and 400 under the reign of Sultan Yaqub al-Mansur in the 12th century.[19]
In the Emirate of Granada under the Nasrid dynasty, and particularly under Yusuf I and Muhammad V, Arabic epigraphy further developed.[20] Kufic inscriptions developed extended vertical strokes forming ribbon-like decorative knots.[20] Kufic script also had "an enormous influence on the decorative and graphic aspects of Christian art."[20]
In Iberia, the Arabic script was used to write Romance languages such as Mozarabic, Portuguese, Spanish or Ladino.[23] This writing system was referred to as Aljamiado, from ʿajamiyah (عجمية).[24]
Waves of migration from Iberia throughout the history of al-Andalus impacted writing styles in North Africa. Ibn Khaldun noted that the Andalusi script further developed under the Marinid dynasty (1244–1465), when Fes received Andalusi refugees.[9] In addition to Fes, the script flourished in cities such as Ceuta, Taza, Meknes, Salé, and Marrakesh, although the script experienced a regression in rural areas far from the centers of power.[9] The Fesi script spread throughout much of the Islamic west. Octave Houdas gives the exception of the region around Algiers, which was more influenced by the African script of Tunisia.[9] Muhammad al-Manuni noted that Maghrebi script essentially reached its final form during the Marinid period, as it became independent of the Andalusi script.[9] There were three forms of Maghrebi script in use: one in urban centers such as those previously mentioned, one in rural areas used to write in both Arabic and Amazigh, and one that preserved Andalusi features.[9] Maghrebi script was also divided into different varieties: Kufic, mabsūt, mujawhar, Maghrebi thuluth, and musnad (z'mami).[9]
The reforms in the Saadi period (1549–1659) affected manuscript culture and calligraphy.[9] The Saadis founded centers for learning calligraphy, including the madrasa of the Mouassine Mosque, which was directed by a dedicated calligrapher as was the custom in the Mashreq.[9] Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur himself was proficient in Maghrebi thuluth, and even invented a secret script for his private correspondences.[9] Decorative scripts flourished under the Saadi dynasty and were used in architecture, manuscripts, and coinage.[9]
Maghrebi script was supported by the 17th-century Alawite sultans Al-Rashid and Ismail.[9] Under the reign of Sultan Muhammad III, the script devolved into an unrefined, illegible badawi script (الخط البدوي) associated with rural areas.[25][18] Under Sultan Suleiman, the script improved in urban areas and particularly in the capital Meknes.[9] Meanwhile, Rabat and Salé preserved some features of Andalusi script, and some rural areas such as Dukāla, Beni Zied, and al-Akhmas excelled in the Maghrebi script.[9]
The script quality then regressed again, which led Ahmed ibn Qassim ar-Rifā'ī ar-Ribātī to start a script reform and standardization movement as Ibn Muqla and Ibn al-Bawwab had done in the Mashriq.[9] He authored Stringing the Pearls of the Thread (نظم لآلئ السمط في حسن تقويم بديع الخط), a book in the form of an urjuza on the rules of Maghrebi script.[9][26]
Muhammad Bin Al-Qasim al-Qundusi, active in Fes from 1828–1861, innovated a unique style known as al-Khatt al-Qundusi (الخط القندوسي).[20]
After Muhammad at-Tayib ar-Rudanilithographic printing press to Morocco in 1864, the mujawher variety of the Maghrebi script became the standard for printing body text, although other varieties were also used.[27][9]
introduced the first ArabicThe French Protectorate in Morocco represented a crisis for Maghrebi script, as Latin script became dominant in education and public life, and the Moroccan Nationalist Movement fought to preserve Maghrebi script in response.[9] In 1949, Muhammad bin al-Hussein as-Sūsī and Antonio García Jaén published Ta'līm al-Khatt al-Maghrebi (تعليم الخط المغربي) a series of five booklets teaching Maghrebi script printed in Spain.[28][29][30]
Additionally, books from the Mashreq printed in naskh scripts were imported for use in schools and universities, and handwriting began to be taught with mashreqi letter forms.[31]
In the period after independence, there were a number of initiatives to modernize Arabic script to suit the typewriter, prominent among which was that of the Moroccan linguist Ahmed al-Akhdar al-Ghazal of the Institute for Studies and Research on Arabization: Standard Arabic Script (الحرف العربي المعياري).[31]
In 2007, Muḥammad al-Maghrāwī and Omar Afaالخط المغربي: تاريخ وواقع وآفاق).[32][33] The following year, the Muhammad VI Prize for the Art of Maghrebi Script, organized by the Moroccan Ministry of Islamic Affairs , was announced.[34][35]
cowrote Maghrebi Script: History, Present, and Horizons (In early 2020, the President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, garnered significant media attention for his handwritten official letters in the Maghrebi script.[36][37]
In the book al-Khat al-Maghrebi, five main subscripts of Maghrebi script are identified:[38]
In addition, Muhammad Bin Al-Qasim al-Qundusi, a 19th-century Sufi calligrapher based in Fes, developed a flamboyant style now known as Qandusi (قندوسي) script.[43]
Among the publications of Octave Houdasorientalist, dealing with the subject of Maghrebi script, there are Essai sur l'Ecriture Maghrebine (1886)[2] and Recueil de Lettres Arabes Manuscrites (1891).[44] In 1886, he identified 4 main subscripts within the Maghrebi script family:[45][46]
, a 19th-century FrenchVarious West African Arabic scripts, also called Sudani scripts (in reference to Bilad as-Sudan), also fall under the category of Maghrebi scripts, including:
One of the prominent ways Maghrebi scripts differ from scripts of the Arabic-speaking East is the dotting of the letters faa' (ف) and qoph (ق). In eastern tradition, the faa' is represented by a circle with a dot above, while in Maghrebi scripts the dot goes below the circle (ڢ).[6] In eastern scripts, the qoph is represented by a circle with two dots above it, whereas the Maghrebi qoph is a circle with just one dot above (ڧ), similar to the eastern faa'.[6] In fact, concerns over the preservation of Maghrebi writing traditions played a part in the reservations of the Moroccan ulama's against importing the printing press.[49]
Additionally, Nico van den Boogert notes that in Maghrebi script:
Additionally, Maghrebi scripts differ from Mashreqi scripts in that Maghrebi scripts are traditionally written with a pointed tip instead of a chisel tip. As a result, Maghrebi scripts typically have less contrast in line thickness than Mashreqi scripts, which have wider horizontal strokes and thinner vertical strokes.
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