Transformation and Evolution of Monograms in Islamic Civilization

Toghra (monogram) is an originally Turkish word that is also used in Arabic and Persian languages. In the ancient tradition of the Turkic rulers of Turkestan, monogram as a written sign was equivalent to signing or approving and validating a decree. Later, with the rise of the Turks in the Eastern Islamic lands to India and East Asia and the expansion of their political power in the Ottoman Empire to the Islamic Maghreb and Eastern Europe, the monogram became widespread as a part of the Muslim administrative organization and had a special system. In addition to joining the Muslim bureaucracy, which grew to the level of a diwani, monogram also found an artistic aspect, and many calligraphers and painters experimented with it and created valuable examples of art until the end of the Ottoman Empire. The present study uses the approach of historical contextology to investigate the emergence and evolution of monogram in Islamic civilization.