After the fall of the Fatimid Caliphate
After the Ayyubids took control of Cairo, their rule witnessed a development in the use of Arabic calligraphy, especially the Thuluth script, which became sometimes known as “Ayyubid script.”
This script held a prominent place in decorating religious and educational buildings.
It was used on the doors of major schools, mosques, and Quranic institutions. One of its main characteristics is that it combined beauty and precision, making it ideal for use in these important buildings.
The decline of the Kufic script and the emergence of rounded scripts in Ayyubid architecture.
During the same period, the Kufic script, which had previously been the most widely used in architectural decorations, began to lose its prominence in favor of rounded scripts. These rounded scripts were increasingly used in decorating Ayyubid buildings and palaces, reflecting a shift in artistic and decorative taste.
With the rise of the Mamluks to power
The Mamluks revived the Kufic script as a major decorative element in architectural arts. This script was widely used to decorate mosques, schools, and khanqahs, reflecting the grandeur and precision of Mamluk architecture. Additionally, the Mamluks developed the Thuluth and two-thirds scripts and used them to record official documents and registers, which was a clear inspiration from the system used during the Abbasid period. The use of these scripts extended to decorating mosques and prominent Mamluk monuments, with the Sultan Hassan Mosque being one of the most magnificent examples of integrating these scripts into architectural and decorative art, reflecting the evolution of writing and decoration styles during that period.
The evolution of Arabic calligraphy between the Ayyubids and the Mamluks.
This shift in the use of Arabic scripts between the Ayyubids and the Mamluks forms an important part of the development and history of Arabic calligraphy, blending artistic beauty with functional precision. It reflected the diverse historical periods and their various cultural influences.
