Ancient Aramaic

Ancient Aramaic

This basalt stele bears an Aramaic inscription. Aramaic is direct ancestor to modern Arabic: Aramaic evolved into Nabatean, which evolved into Kufic, into modern Arabic. For examples of Kufic, I have included a tapestry fragment and a Quran folic utilizing Kufic script. Although this artifact predates Islam by well over a millennia, it represents the path towards many of the most defining elements of Islam--script-writing, calligraphy, and scholarship among other things. Even the subject of the larger stele--a praying priest--is a reminder of Islam's connection to the past as it is a continuation of the religious and mythological history of this world and this region.

An Introduction to Arabic Calligraphy by Ghani Alani

Seventh Century BCE/-Fourteenth century AH

Aramaic