Kufic

Meaning

• “Kufic” refers to the city of Kufa in southern Iraq. Although this style did not necessarily originate in Kufa, the name Kufic is commonly (if mistakenly) applied to the early scripts used to write the Qur’an

Uses

• Kufic and its variants were used almost exclusively among early scripts for writing the Qur’an. Developed originally for writing on stone, this angular script was adopted for use in religious texts because of its formality

Timeline

• Developed in the 3rd or 4th century A.D.
• Used until almost the end of the 13th century
• Kufic is mostly obsolete today because it is difficult to write any text of length. It is occasionally still used for titles of manuscripts or in architectural inscriptions

Distinctive characteristics

• Angular letter shapes
• Short, broad vertical strokes and long extended horizontals
• Written on a horizontal baseline
• Some early Kufic scripts did not use vowels or dots (diacritical marks) around letters
• Colored dots were sometimes used around the letters to aid with pronunciation

Notes

• Angular letter shapes
• Short, broad vertical strokes and long extended horizontals
• Written on a horizontal baseline
• Some early Kufic scripts did not use vowels or dots (diacritical marks) around letters
• Colored dots were sometimes used around the letters to aid with pronunciation