The History and Evolution of Persian Calligraphy

Persian calligraphy, the art of elegant handwriting, has its roots in the adaptation of the Arabic script after the Islamic conquest of Iran in the 9th century. Over centuries, two main categories emerged: "round" scripts (the Six Pens invented by Ibn Muqla in the 10th century, including Naskh, Muhaqqaq, Thuluth, Tauqi, Rihan, and Riqa) used for the Quran and prose, and "suspended" scripts (Ta'liq, Nasta'liq, and Shekasteh Nasta'liq) developed specifically for Persian poetry and general writing. Ta'liq, meaning "suspended," emerged around the 10th century for official documents, with disputed origins possibly influenced by pre-Islamic Pahlavi and Avestan scripts. Nasta'liq, the dominant style today, was developed in the 14th century; two theories credit Mir Ali Tabrizi as its inventor or as the perfector of a gradual evolution in Shiraz linked to the rise of romantic poetry. Shekasteh Nasta'liq ("broken" Nasta'liq) arose in the 17th–18th centuries, attributed to Morteza Qoli Khan Shamlu and Shafia Heravi, perfected by Abdul-Majid Taliqani, prioritizing aesthetics over legibility. On October 13, 1950, the Society of Iranian Calligraphers was founded to train calligraphers, and its anniversary is now Iran's National Calligraphy Day. Calligraphy remains vital in modern and contemporary Iranian art.