This document features a chancery script written in rotulus format. The script is curvilinear and proportioned. Bowls are rounded and letter shapes are consistent. Madd (horizontal stroke extension) is frequent. Abusive ligatures are present throughout. Baselines are gently bowed. Interlinear spacing is generous. A large space at the head of the document (ṭurra) carries the name of the office, the name of an official (illegible), and an ʿalāma. The calligraphy of the ʿalāma is made up of a series of interwoven letters which unite to give the impression of a square-shaped seal.

These features — curvilinear and proportioned script, rounded bowls, consistent letter shapes, frequent madd, abusive ligatures, curved baselines, generous interlinear spacing, and large rotulus format with ṭurra — conform to the graphic conventions of the Abbasid/Buyid chancery of Baghdad. The style of the ʿalāma, in contrast, recalls the Seljuk-derived convention of the ṭughrā.

Further Reading

• Shawe-Taylor, Edward. 2026. “Abbasid Continuities and Seljuk Innovations: Persian State Documents in the Bamiyan and Firuzkuh Papers.” In State Documents from the Medieval Islamicate World, edited by Nadia Vidro, Arezou Azad, and Marina Rustow. Edinburgh University Press, forthcoming.

Glossary

Abusive ligature — the joining of canonically non-connecting letters (e.g. alif) to a succeeding letter; a feature of both cursive and chancery scripts

ʿAlāma — a pious motto used as a signature by officials to authenticate state documents; usually placed at the head of a document

Baseline — the line on which letters sit

Bowl — the rounded closed or semi-closed curve of a letter which descends below the baseline, as in wāw, qāf, nūn, and sīn

Curvilinear — a script characterised by long, rounded, flowing strokes, most evident in the loops of letters such as fā or ʿayn, and in the bowls of letters such as yāʾ or nūn; distinct from cursive

Interlinear spacing — the space between lines of text

Madd — horizontal extension of letter strokes, used to fill space or as a decorative and calligraphic feature; also referred to as mashq in some traditions

Proportioned script — a script in which letterforms are executed according to consistent geometric ratios, typically based on the height of the alif and the diameter of a circle; associated with formal calligraphic training

Rotulus — a document in the form of a long vertical scroll

Ṭughrā — an elaborate calligraphic royal monogram used as a signature on state documents, developed by the Seljuks and continued by later dynasties including the Ottomans

Ṭurra — the large blank space left at the head of a document, below the title of the issuing office; a deliberate layout convention of the chancery style