A Brief Introduction to the Arabic Alphabet
Its Origins and Various Forms
Published on 5. March 2012
116 pages
978-0-86356-881-7 (ISBN)
Description
The Arabic alphabet has a rich history, one that is closely linked with the development of culture and society in the Middle East. In this comprehensive introduction the authors trace the origins of the Arabic alphabet back to Aramaic, which also gave rise to the Hebrew and Greek alphabets. Using detailed illustrations the authors investigate early Arabic papyri and early Islamic inscriptions as well as classical Arabic scripts. John F. Healey and G. Rex Smith bring the story up to the present day by examining the practice of calligraphy, printing and computing in Arabic.
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03/2009
Saqi Books
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Persons
John F. Healey is Professor of Semitic Studies at the University of Manchester. His works include The Early Alphabet (London, 1990), The Nabataean Tomb Inscriptions of Mada'in Salih (Oxford, 1993) and The Religion of the Nabataeans (Leiden, 2001). G. Rex Smith is a professor emeritus of the University of Manchester. He is an Arabist, historian, and scholar of the medieval history of Yemen. His works include A Medieval Administrative and Fiscal Treatise from the Yemen (Oxford, 2006) and A Traveller in Thirteenth Century Arabia (London, 2008).
Content
Introduction: I The Alphabet before Islam II The Origin of the Arabic Alphabet III The Earliest Arabic Scripts - Pre- and Early Islamic Inscriptions IV The Arabic Papyri V The Classical Arabic Scripts - Kufic and naskh VI The Arabic Scripts beyond the Arabic Heartlands - North Africa, Iran and Turkey VII Arabic Writing Today Acknowledgements/List of Illustrations Bibliography/Further Reading
