HALL OF MANUSCRIPTS
Manuscripts are one of the most important archaeological documents that
reach us from the past. At the dawn of Islam, the Arabs used to write on
al-Likhaf ( fragments of flat stone or of plaster ), shoulder-blades
parchment or the papyri which they imported from Egypt. The Arabs, did
not delay in manufacturing paper which they gradually perfected until
the technique was taken from Syria to Europe daring the Crusades.
The Arabs have proved themselves masters of calligraphy. They used at
first the cursive hand-writing. It was simple script combining
flexibility and stiffness. Then, the writing began to give way to
geometrical rules and was then transformed into the Khufi ( Kufic),
which owes its name to the town of al Kufah.
The different kinds of handwritings were associated with the thickness
of the pen. Therefore, the pen of the Tumar (piece of parchment ) was
invented, its thickness was 24 hair of a horse. This
was followed by a style rather cursive and the pen of thuluth
began to mean the new form of writing. Its thickness was 8 hair.
Ibn-Muqlah, the Visor of al-Muqtadir and al-Qahir, in the 4th century
A.H. = 10th A.D., practiced this style. This type of writing was
suitable for copying and quick writing. The Kufic, however, remained in
use in the official matters: coins, title of books, texts of houses,
cenotaphs and tombs... etc. Elaborate designs of flowers, scrolls were
added to the Kufic and it began to be known as
the flowery Kufic, the leafy Kufic and the Kufic with branches.
the Thuluth writing flourished in the 6 A.H. = 12 A.D. and replaced the
Kufic on the buildings, but the Kufic remained in use for the very
important epigraphs and they made it more involved in the 7 A.H. = 13
A.D. The Thuluth was perfect and predominant in
the Mamluk period. It reached a high degree of perfection in the Ottoman
Period. Particular rules and principles were laid down for this writing
.
Of the other types of writings that appeared in the Ottoman Period are:
the "Dewani" and its variants, the Persian writing and the Ruq’ah ( a
kind of cursive writing).
In addition to the shape of writing, it is useful to point out that the
calligraphists also used punctuations and other marks which were used to
indicate a slight pause of break between the verses of the Koran. These
marks were in color and in gold. The calligraphists also took much pain
in drawing lines on the pages before writing and they made elegant
golden frame for each page. The illumination of
the first two pages, the titles of the books or the Koranic chapters
were usually exquisite.
The calligraphists also used to compete among themselves in perfecting
and improving the writing to the extent that the Arabic manuscripts
turned out to be of great value not only or the subject matter, but also
for the preciousness of paper. the beauty of handwriting and the
perfection of binding. A number of crafts and craftsmen relating to the
publishing of manuscripts came to existence. These craftsmen are : the
book-binder, the calligrapher, the illuminater and the painter.
After the advent of Islam, the Arabs not only studied the rules and laws
of religion, but also they got themselves acquainted with the culture of
the other nations and adapted them to their own peculiar needs and ways
of thinking. They learnt most of the foreign languages to know the
original works. Since the time of al-Ma’mun, the Moslem Arabs have been
able to occupy a high status. They created an original culture
by which they maintained the heritage of the ancients, and in
turn, transmitted this culture to the other nations. In actual fact, the
credit for the European Renaissance goes back to the Arabs. History
knows no other nation that contributed so much to
human knowledge in quantity, quality, preciseness and depth as the
Moslem-Arabs, despite the fact that most of the Arabic manuscripts have
been lost.
The National Museum of Damascus houses an appreciable quantity of
manuscripts that go back to all periods from the
first year of al-Hijrah down to the Ottoman Period. These manuscripts
deal with various topics :The Holly Koran, invocations, theology,
philosophy, literature, linguistics, medicine, anatomy, pharmacy,
botany, geography and astronomy.
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