The Power of Curves: the Rise of Maghribi ṯuluṯ (Fifth–Sixth/Eleventh–Twelfth Centuries)

Abstract

Abstract This article examines the origin and spread of Maghribi ṯuluṯ, a distinctive epigraphic style employed on buildings and inscribed artefacts in Northwest Africa and al-Andalus, from the late fifth/eleventh century onwards. The rise of Maghribi ṯuluṯ is part of a wider phenomenon that saw curvilinear scripts adopted in contexts and media previously dominated by angular “Kufic” scripts throughout the Islamic world, from Ghazna to Marrakesh. However, the circumstances of this epigraphic revolution differed from region to region, as did the techniques and stylistic features of the new curvilinear inscriptions. The development of Maghribi ṯuluṯ was the result of influences coming from the Eastern Mediterranean, assimilated and transformed in different ways within the cultural and artisanal milieux of Norman Sicily, Khurasanid Tunis, and the Almoravid Empire further west. This article considers the possible channels through which Maghribi ṯuluṯ spread across these regions – with an emphasis on chancery documents and practices – and how the Almohads ultimately transformed this script into a dynastic “brand” with ideological undertones.