The Status of Calligraphy and Calligraphers in Timurid Era Society

During the history of Iran after Islam, the 9th /13th century, coinciding with the Timurids reign in this land, can be considered as the thriving age of various branches of art such as painting, architecture, illumination, book ornament, and music. Similarly, the prevalence and development of scripts such as nasta‘līq and ta‘līq in calligraphy, besides flourishing this art, caused it to establish an enduring homogeneity with the Iranian culture.Various useful functions of calligraphers and their respectful status in society during Timurid era drove the lower class strata towards learning this art within the institutions engaged in teaching calligraphy. Writing fatḥnāmas (dispatches announcing victory) and manāshīr-i shāhāna (Royal mandates) and the impact of their art on the Timurids’ international relations can be pointed out as among the political functions of these strata, who rendered such services as secretaries and notaries. Teaching calligraphy, technical and ethical training of novices, promotion of art-loving culture, production of cultural products, and inculcation of religious values, particularly in the context of Shi’ism are among their cultural functions. Furthermore, calligraphers as members of a social guild within art workshops fulfilled people’s orders including writing epitaphs, contracts, sijillāt (registers, official records), and composing letters. This art used to be taught in such institutions as libraries, schools, art schools, high schools, chanceries (dār al-inshās), and writing schools (maktabs). The present research tries to explicate the functions and status of calligraphy and calligraphers, as well as the important institutions and centers for this art such as Tabriz, Shiraz, and Heart, using the descriptive and analytical methods and relying on manuscript documents and library sources.