The Formal and Functional Evolution of Illumination in Three Qurans Attributed to Ibn Bawab, Yaqut Mustasami, and Yaqut Styles

With the advent of the Islamic religion, the Qur'an penetrated among Muslims, and following the popularity of calligraphy and writing the Qur'an, illumination was placed next to calligraphy. After the spread of Islam from the Arabian Peninsula to other places, including Iran, some ornament and emblems were added to the Qur'an for the correct reading and recitation of the Qur'an by non-Arabic speakers. These ornaments have roots in Sassanid art and only its practical aspect was considered by the illumination artists. In the first centuries of the Islamic period in Iran, book layouts, especially holy books, such as the Holy Qur'an, had very simple illumination and ornament. The first decorations were used to separate the Surahs from each other and emblems for the Verse separator, and then ornament was used to separate other parts of the Qur'an, such as emblems of five verses (Khums), ten verses (Ushr), Hizb emblems and prostrate verses. Ibn-Bawab and Yaqut-Mustasami are two great and influential scribes in the art of calligraphy in the Islamic world and Iran, and even Yaqut's style of calligraphy continued for many years after her death. Abul Hasan Aladdin Ali bin Hilal was born in the fourth century AH. His father was the porter and curtain keeper of Al Boyeh. And on this occasion, he was called Ibn al-Satari and Ibn Bawab. In the year 413 AH during the dominion of Al-Qadir Bellah, he died at an old age. Ibn Bawab was one of the students of Ibn Muqalla who, by following the rules of his master, was able to add beauty and elegance to the balance and geometric harmony of Ibn Muqalla's letters. Another calligrapher is Yaqut Mustasimi, who was in the service of Mustasim Abbasi, who was the last of the Abbasid dominions and was probably born in Abyssinia. He followed Ibn Bawab's calligraphy and style of writing and became like him in writing. But in shaving pen, he changed the method of masters and invented a new method of shaving pen. Yaqut first trained with Abdul Momen and then with Sheikh Habib. Yakut had a long life and according to some sources, his life had exceeded one hundred years. Due to her poor eyesight, she used to write with glasses. He died at the beginning of Sultan Ghazan Khan's reign in 698 A.H. in the city of Baghdad and her grave is located next to the grave of Ahmad Hanbal. Muslim artists created emblems inside the text and on the margins of the pages for the correct recitation of the Qur'an, which made the Qur'an easier and better to recite and understand. Among the illumination emblems of the Verse separator and verses, emblems of Khums, Ushr, and Jouze (Part of the Qur'an) can be mentioned. The opening pages are the gateway to the Qur'an, which artists tried to implement in the best way throughout the ages. There was illumination in the preopening pages, opening pages, emblems, the head of the surah, and closing pages in most of the Qurans, which were also functional in addition to beauty. The color, pattern, and form of the Qur'anic illumination changed over time. These form and appearance changes were caused by the culture and art of the society of the era in which the artist lived. By surveying the illuminations of Ibn Bawab's Qur'an, the features and characteristics of the Seljuk school's Qur'an ornaments can be obtained, and also by studying the Yaqut’s Qur'an and the Yaqut’s style, one can get the stylistic features of calligraphy the Qur'an in the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods. It seems that Qur'anic illuminations have changed in appearance and form in different periods. This research aims to explain the characteristics of form, pattern, and color in the illumination and emblems at the end of the verses in three samples of Ibn Bawab's Qur'an from the Seljuq period, the Yaqut Mustasimi from the Ilkhani period and the Yaqut’s style from the Timurid period. It answers these questions, what ornaments are used for the opening pages, surahs, and emblems of the inner and marginal pages of the Qur'an of Ibn Bawab of the Seljuq period and Yaqut Mustasimi of the Ilkhani period and the Yaqut’s style of the Timurid period? What is the color in the illuminations of the three Qur'ans of Ibn Bawab and Yaqut Mustasimi's and the Yaqut’s style? What are the differences between the charts and motifs used in these three versions? The general aim of the research is to find out the practical and ornament characteristics of the illuminations and emblems in the three versions of the Qur'an of Ibn Bawab and Yaqut and the Yaqut’s style In this research, the necessary information has been collected by descriptive and comparative method and by studying library sources, scientific articles, as well as referring to the website of various museums and obtaining information from them and internet sources. A volume of the Qur'an belonging to the Seljuq period with complete illumination of the opening pages, chapters (head of Sureh), emblems of the end of the verses, etc., and a complete version of the Qur'an with the ornaments of the Ilkhanid period and a Version of the Qur'an from the Timurid period with the same characteristics and the characteristics have been selected and studied. The results show that the Qur'anic illuminating has always been changing and evolving in the preopening pages, opening pages, and emblems in the Seljuk, Ilkhani, and Timurid Qur'ans. In Ibn Bawab's Qur'an in the Seljuq period, there are ornaments and illuminations on the preopening pages and the opening page of the Qur'an, and Surah Al-Fatihah-ul-Kitab and Surah Al-Baqarah are performed on the same page. Tabulation in this version is only on the first page and in the emblems of Khums (five verses) and Ushr (ten verses) on the side margins, the beginnings of these two surahs, and the Other of the head of Sureh in the inner pages of the Qur'an do not have tabulations. The head of the Sourah emblem is present in all heads of Sourahs and it is executed in various forms inspired by the lotus flower. Gilded Khums and Ushr emblems can be seen between the verses. The important point in the emblems of the Verse separator is that three small azure circles are used. Geometric motifs and knotting in the inner margins and the Table lines of geometric motifs are also seen in this version. Golden, brown, and ochre colors are seen more than azure blue. In general, in Ibn Bawab's Qur'an, the opening pages are shown inside the table, all the heads of Surahs have the emblem of surahs with great variety. The form of these emblems is mostly scroll-arabesque motifs and the inner pages do not have tabulation. While in the ornaments of the Qur'an of the Yaqut Mustasimi of the Ilkhanid period, the diversity of the form of the side emblems of the Qur'an has been reduced. The preopening pages are ornamented with two similar pages with the outline of the geometry of motifs, which are decorated with motifs of flowers and leaves inside each of the knots. Gold and black colors are used more than blue-azure in the coloring of the illuminations of the preopening pages, opening pages, and emblems. The pages and the head of the surah on the inside pages do not have illuminations, Sharafeh (Medallion Radiuses), or tabulation. Khums and Usher emblems can be seen on all internal pages. In the Qur'an, the Yaqut’s style of the Timurid period, two conjugate geometric illuminations have been worked on the preopening pages. The central citron and medallion, as a symbol of the sun and the presence of light and sun, is performed before the beginning of the Qur'anic verses. The bright yellow color of the sun is reminiscent of verse 35 of Noor’s Surah "God is the light of ..." in the preopening pages. Sharafeh (Medallion Radiuses) was present in the preopening pages and it was placed in an orderly and simple manner as rays of light in the outer margin of the illuminations. In the head of the surahs of the Qur'an, the Yaqut’s style emblem of the head of the surahs is not seen.
The headers of the surahs on the opening pages are fully colored and richly detailed within the tabulations. However, for the headers of the surahs in the remainder of the manuscript, while they are placed within tabulations, they do not feature any background color. Overall, the ornaments and illuminations in the Yaqut style version exhibit cooler tones compared to the Qur'an versions of Ibn Buwab and those from the Ilkhanid era. Although the transformation in the style of illuminations and Qur'anic ornaments can be observed from the Seljuq to the Ilkhanid and Timurid periods and into later eras, the fundamental concept and function of these ornaments have remained consistent.