History of Ottoman Calligraphy

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History of Ottoman Calligraphy

Introduction

A Brief History of Ottoman Calligraphy

When, in the tenth century, the Turks migrated to the West from their

original home in the steppes of northwest China, they came into contact in

Turkestan, Afghanistan and Iran with the religion and culture of the

Islamic world. The mass conversion to Islamic, which resulted from this

migration, was accompanied by the abandonment of the old Uyghur

alphabet they had formerly employed and the adoption of the Arabic

script they were to use for nearly a thousand years until the introduction

of the new Turkish alphabet in 1928. But the inherently artistic nature of

the Turks inspired them with deep love for the Arabic script, which theythemselves greatly improved by the introduction of a number of changes

in form.

It was the Ottoman Turks who produced and perfected several varieties of

this type of script. All the various branches of the art of calligraphy, an art

greatly loved and respected by the Ottoman Turks, flourished particularly

in the city of Istanbul, the administrative centre of the Ottoman State, and

it was in Istanbul that the finest and most mature works were produced.

The earliest texts written in the Arabic script date back to some fifty yearsbefore the Hegira, i.e. to about 568 A.D. The forms of the letters to be

found in this script clearly derive from the ancient Syrian script and are

reminiscent of the forms in the Nabati script employed by the earlier

inhabitants of Syria and Mesopotamia in the northern section of the Arab

peninsula.

MoreThe type of Arabic script in use at the time of the first emergence

of Islam was a slightly modified form of the old Syrian script and became

known as Kufic on account of its first being taught and used in the city of

Kufa in Iraq. Literate members of the Kureys tribe, to which the Prophet

Muhammad belonged, included the future Caliphs Omer, Osman and All.

After the revelation of the Quran, scribes copied it down in kufic script on

leather or on a kind of parchment made from the leaves of the date palm.

This type of script was later followed by other types of script known as

Thuluth and Naskhi. Kufic script was transformed into Thuluth and Naskhi

by Mehmed bin Mansur, one of the Abbasid caliphs, and by lbni Mukle,

who had served Mutasam as vizier. lbni Mukle had taken lessons from

Ahval, a pupil of Ishak bin Hammad, and achieved fame at the

beginning of the fourth century of the Hegira. He died in 328 H. (910A.D.). After his death, Ali bin Hilal, who became famous under the name of


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lbni Bevvab, improved the scripts invented by lbni Mukle and gave them

greater regularity of form, and at the same time developed the scripts

known as Reyhani and Muhaqqaq. The Taliq script used in writing Persian

texts is said to have been developed from Kufic script and elements of the

Pehlevi script used in Iran by a calligrapher of the name of Hoca EbulAI.Nevertheless, it was Jamaluddin Yaqut-Musta'sami, a slave of Elmusta,

sam the last Abbasid Caliph in Baghdad, who raised the script to the

highest level of perfection. The calligrapher achieved fame in the first half

of the seventh century of Hegira and died in 698 H. (1280 A.D.). He was

the first calligrapher to give an oblique cut to the point of the reed pen

used in calligraphy. He was also the finest writer of the time in Muhakkak

script. He had a number of pupils, including Abdullah Ergun, Nasireddin

Mutatabbip, Mubarek Sah Kutup, Yusuf of Khorasan, Mir Haydar, Ahmed

Suhraverdi and Abdullah Sayref, each one of whom was a calligrapher of

very great remown.

One of the finest pieces of calligraphy of the Fatih period can be seen in

the inscription panel in Jeli Thuluth script on the outer face of the Bab-i

Humayun, the first gate leading into Topkapi Saray on the side facing

Ayasofya, is the work of Ali Sofi, one of the most celebrated calligraphers

of the reign of Mehmed the Conqueror and son and pupil of Yahya Sofi, a

student of Abdullah Sayrefi.

Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, Istanbul, now the capital ofan Empire that had arisen after the decline of the Seljuk States and the

Anatolian Emirates, became the center of a highly developed art of

calligraphy. Sheikh Hamdullah (1436-1520 A.D.), a calligrapher

encouraged and protected by Sultan Bayezid II, succeeded in creating a

new style and character in Thuluth, Naskhi and Muhakkak from a close

examination of the writings of Yakut and other members of this school,

and left specimens of calligraphy that were to constitute models for the

calligraphers that succeeded him.

Sheikh Hamdullah was a native of Amasya. He had taken lessons in

Thuluth and Naskhi from Hayreddin of Maras, a member of the Yakut

school of calligraphy. The beauty of his script attracted the attention of

sehzade (Prince) Beyazid, who was at that time governor of Amasya. The

sehzade asked him to give lessons in calligraphy to his sons, and this

subsequently resulted in a very close friend ship between the two men.

After Bayezid became Sultan he invited the calligrapher to Istanbul to

write the inscriptions in the mosque he was building and which was to

bear his name.


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Sheikh Hamdullahs arrival in Istanbul was destined to give rise to a new

school of calligraphy. The Sultan gave the Sheikh his own collection of

calligraphy; including all the examples he possessed of the works of

Yakut, and asked him if he could produce a new, individual calligraphic

script. After a careful examination of the six different types of calligraphicscript used by Yakut, Sheikh Hamdullah succeeded in creating a quite

original type of his own.

Topkapi Palace contains a calligraphic album by Sheikh Hamdullah with

examples of Thuluth, Naskhi, Muhakkak, Rika, Tevki and Divani scripts,

together with a very beautifully written copy of the Quran.

As the founder of a new school of sixteenth century calligraphy the Sheikh

had every right to the title of Kibletl Kuttab (paragon of scribes), which

he was generally given. This school succeeded in perfecting the Naskhiscript in copying books, thus making possible the production of the

thousands of exquisite manuscript books contained in our libraries and

museums.

In the same period another great master of calligraphy, Ahmed Karahisari

(1468-1556), introduced a completely original calligraphic style, thus

opening a new era in the art of calligraphy. Karahisari, a pupil of Esadullah

Kirmani and very much influenced by the work of Yahya Sofi, continued

the tradition of the Yakut school, which was later continued by Karahisarisson Hasan Celebi, another very great calligrapher.

Karahisari was recognized in his own time as a calligrapher of outstanding

merit, and two very beautifully illuminated copies of the Quran, one large

and the other of medium size, are now preserved in Topkapi Saray. The

larger copy of the Quran is written in Muhakkak, Thuluth, Naskhi and

Reyhani, and each page is decorated with four koltuks. This Quran is a

masterpiece of calligraphy, decorative illumination and binding.

The superb inscriptions in the mosques of Sleymaniye in Istanbul and

Selimiye in Edirne, built at the height of Ottoman power and

magnificence, are the work of these masters. But this school proved to be

short-lived and came to an end with the inscriptions by Demirci Kulu Yusuf

in the mosque of Kilic All Pasha in Istanbul.

The school of Sheikh Hamdullah, on the contrary, was to continue its

development right up to the present day, the greatest and most famous

Turkish calligraphers being products of this school. The script developed

by these calligraphers was of such beauty and perfection as to give rise to

the following saying, which is tube found quoted throughout the Islamic


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world and is undoubtedly an accurate reflection of the truth: The Quran

was revealed in Mecca, read in Egypt and written in Istanbul.

The following are some of the most celebrated calligraphers trained in the

Sheikh Hamdullah tradition: Sheikh Hamdullahs son Mustafa Dede, his

son-in-law Skrullah Halite, his grandson Dervish Mehmed Said, another

grandson Mehmed Dede, Abdullah Kirimi, Hasan Uskdari, Halid Erzurumi,

Mehmed Beigradi, Dervish All Eski, small Zhdi, Hseyin Habli, and

Mustafa Kutahi.

A very important place in the history of Turkish calligraphy is occupied by

another member of this school, the great calligrapher Hafiz Osman, who

gave Naskhi script its finest form and was rightly known as Seyhi-Sani or

the second Sheikh. He died in 1110 H. (1698 A.D.) after having trained a

number of very great masters of calligraphy, the most famous of thesebeing Seyyid Abdullah of Yedikule. Another two great calligraphers

belonging to the same school are small bin All of Agakapi and the court

tutor Mehmed Rasim Efendi of Egrikapi who gave lessons in calligraphy to

the Sultans Mustafa II and Ahmed III.

In the second half of the twelfth century of the Hegira (eighteenth century

AD.) and throughout the thirteenth century there were a number of

brilliant calligraphers who achieved particular tame for their use of

Thuluth, Jell Thuluth, Naskhi and Taliq. The most outstanding of thesewere Katipzade Mehmed Refi Rodosi Ibrahim, Ebubekir Rasid of Konya,

Saray Hocasi Yusuf, Sekerzade Mehmed Effendi, Yahya Fahreddin,

Gebecizade Mehmed Vasfi, small Zhdi yeni, his brother Mustafa Rakim,

Mahmud Celaleddin, Kazasker Mustafa Izzet, Mehmed sefik, Muhsinzade

Abdullah, Abdullah Zhdi, Vahdeti, Esad Yesari, Yesarizade Mustafa Izzet,

Yahya Hilmi, and Mehmed Sevki. Cf these, Mustafa Rakim was absolutely

unsurpassed in his command of Thuluth and Jell Thuluth. The perfection

he attained in these scripts are illustrated by the Jell Thuluth frieze

inscription in the Nusretiye Mosque at Tophane and the inscription overthe door of the same mosque, the inscriptions on the on the tomb and

fountain of Naksidil Valde Sultan in the vicinity of Fatih Mosque, and by

the inscriptions carved on tombstones in various Istanbul cemeteries. It

was also Rakim who gave the tughra of the Ottoman Sultans its definitive

form, so that although the actual name of the Sultan might change the

form of the tughra remained constant.

Taliq was a type of script invented in Iran and which always remained

very closely associated with that country. It began to be used in Turkey in

the second half of the eleventh century of the Hegira (sixteenth century

AD.) following the arrival in Istanbul of Dervish Abdi of Bukhara, one of the


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pupils of mad-i Hasani, the great Iranian master of TaIiq. Dervish Abdi

introduced a smaller and finer version of Taliq known as Nestaliq, and his

influence led to a great increase in the number of calligraphers who

developed an interest in TaIiq and, consequently, in the number of works

produced in this script. When he died in 1057 H. (1647 AD.) he left behindhim many calligraphers who had taken lessons from him.

Nevertheless, it was in the twelfth century of the Hegira (eighteenth

century AD.) that Taliq achieved its ultimate perfection. A large number

of great calligraphers in Taliq script emerged at this period, one of them

being Katipzade Mehmed Refi, who had been a pupil of Kazasker

Abdulbaki Arif Effendi and Durmuszade Ahmed Efendi. Mebmed Refi was

undoubtedly one of the most outstanding masters of TaIiq script at this

period.

Other important masters who played a part in the development of Taliq

script were calligraphers like Sheikh-uI Islam Veliyyuddin Effendi and

Mehmed Dedezade, who made their name through their use of this type of

writing. The development of TaIiq reached its highest peak of

achievement in the work of Mehmed Esad Yesari, who received his icazet

from Dedezade Mehmet Effendi in 1167 H. (1753 A.D.). Mehmed Esad

Yesari was paralyzed down one side of his body and could write only with

his left hand.

Ottoman Taliq differed in several respects from Iranian Taliq, and one isimmediately struck by the difference in the formation of certain letters as

well as in the general appearance of the script as a whole. The various

slight modifications made first by Katipzade Mehmed Refi and then by

Yesari resulted in this creation of what could well be described as a clearly

distinctive Ottoman TaIiq script.

Mehmed Esad Yesaris son Mustafa Izzet Effendi followed in his fathers

footsteps as a master of TaIiq script. A number of inscriptions by both

father and son are to be found carved in stone above the entrance doorsof a number of mosques, tombs, medreses, imarets, fountains and schools

in Istanbul.

The Turkish Taliq developed by these two calligraphers, which differs

slightly from Iranian TaIiq, served as a model for the Turkish calligraphers

who succeeded them and a large number of very fine works were

produced in line with the principles they themselves had laid down. The

greatest of the calligraphers in this tradition was Sami Effendi, who was

succeeded by Kemal Batanay and by his own pupils Necmeddin Effendi

and Hulusi Effendi. Sami Effendi was also a master of Jeli Thuluth and

produced some very fine compositions in this type of script.


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As for Thuluth and Naskhi scripts, the style and character developed by

the great master of calligraphy Mustafa Rakim was carried on with great

meticulousness by Mehmed sevki Effendi, who was succeeded in the same

tradition by his own pupil Fehmi Effendi, as well as by Bakkal Ahmet Arif

Effendi of Filibe and Aziz Effendi.

The style developed by Mustafa Rakim was continued right up to the

middle of the twentieth century by Mehmed Nazif, a pupil of the great

calligrapher in Jell Thuluth, Sami Effendi, Mehmed Nazifs pupil Hamid

Aytac Bey, the tughrakesh small Hakki Bey, the then Reis-l Hattatin

Ahmed Kamil Akdik and his pupil Mustafa Halim Ozyazici.

Other great masters of Turkish calligraphy in the Naskhi script include

Hasan Riza Effendi, who made very beautiful copies of verses, murakkas

and Qurans in the style developed by Kazasker Izzet Effendi, his pupilOmer Vasfi Effendi and Kazasker Mustafa Izzets pupil Mehmed Arif Effendi

of Carsamba.

At the present day the tradition of Turkish calligraphy is being carried on

by Hasan lelebi, a pupil of Hamid Aytac, the greatest master of recent

times, who died in 1982, Mahmud Onc, a pupil of the Besiktas

calligrapher Nun Korman, Bekir Pekten, a pupil of Mustafa Halim, and All

Alparsian, a pupil of Necmeddin Okyay.

Great admiration has been aroused both at home and abroad by thevaried and highly original compositions created in a contemporary

adaptation of Kufic and Jeli Divani scripts by Professor Emin Barin, who

took lessons in calligraphy from the Reis-ul Hattat in Haci Ahmet, the

greatest calligrapher of recent times.

We may sum up by saying that Turkish calligraphy has shown a

continuous development in strict conformity with tradition, without any

deterioration in its essential character, that various original types of script

have been invented, such as Divani, Siyakat, Tevki and Rika (these will be

treated in detail in the section of the book dealing with types of script),

and that a large number of works were produced over the years, each one

surpassing those preceding it in beauty and maturity.

A very important role in the ordered and regular development of Turkish

calligraphy was undoubtely played by the encouragement and protection

given by the State, the Sultans and the Palace, and by the opportunies

offered by the arts of architecture and decoration. In every period the

Enderun School in the Ottoman Saray, in which future administrators of

the State were trained and educated, had teachers of calligraphy on itsstaff, and several the Sultans took lessons from these. The great respect


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in which these teachers were held is illustrated by the story describing

how Sultan Bayezid II, a pupil of the great master of calligraphy Sheikh

Hamdullah, stood holding the inkstand while the master wrote. The

Sultans Ahmet I, Mahmud II, who was a pupil of the calligrapher Mustafa

Rakim, and Abdulmecit were all skilled calligraphers.

Documents

History of Ottoman Calligraphy