The Development of the Arabic Scripts: From the Nabatean Era to the First Islamic Century According to Dated Texts

Table of contents :
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THEARABIC SCRIPTS: From the Nabatean Era to the First Islamic Century According to Dated Texts
Table of Contents
List of Abbreviations
Short List of Texts
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
Nabatean or Syriac Origin?
The Purpose of this Study
Selection of the Material
Nabatean
Arabic
CHAPTER TWO
Description of Texts and References
Nabatean Texts
Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions
Arabic Epigraphic Texts
Arabic Papyri
CHAPTER THREE
The Development of the Individual Graphemes
The Charts
ʾAlif
Bāʾ
Tāʾ/Thāʾ
Jīm
Ḥāʾ/Khāʾ
Dāl/Dhāl
Rāʾ
Zāy
Sīn/Šīn
Ṣād/Ḍād
Ṭāʾ/Ẓāʾ
͑Ain/Ghain
Fāʾ
Qāf
Kāf
Lām
Mīm
Nūn
Hāʾ
Wāw
Yāʾ
Sāmeḵ
Lām-ʾAlif
CHAPTER FOUR
Discussion: From Nabatean to Arabic
Finding the Birth Date of Arabic Script. Monumental or Cursive Affiliation
Importance of the Nessana Texts (N21)
CHAPTER FIVE
Outlook: The Arabic Development
Homogenization
Emergence of Scripts
General Bibliography
Illustrations

Citation preview

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARABIC SCRIPTS

HARVARD SEMITIC MUSEUM

HARVARD SEMITIC STUDIES Frank Moore Cross, editor Syriac Manuscripts: A Catalogue Introduction to Classical Ethiopic Dictionary of Old South Arabic The Poet and the Historian: Essays in Literary and Historical Biblical Criticism The Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice Non-Canonical Psalms from Qumran: A Pseudepigraphic Collection The Hebrew of the Dead Sea Scrolls

Moshe H. Goshen-Gottstein Thomas O. Lambdin Joan C. Biella Richard Elliot Friedman, Editor Carol Newsom Eileen M. Schuller Elisha Qimron

An Exodus Scroll from Qumran

Judith E. Sanderson

You Shall Have No Other Gods

Jeffrey H. Tigay

Ugaritic Vocabulary in Syllabic Transcription The Scholarship of William Foxwell Albright The Akkadian of Ugarit Features of the Eschatology of N Ezra Studies in Neo-Aramaic Lingering over Words: Studies in Ancient Near Eastern Literature in Honor of William L. Moran A Grammar of the Palestinian Targum Fragments from the Cairo Genizah

John Huehnergard Gus Van Beek John Huehnergard Michael E. Stone Wolfhart Heinrichs, Editor Tzvi Abusch, John Huehnergard, Piotr Steinkeller, Editors Steven E. Fassberg

The Origins and Development of the Waw-Consecutive: Northwest Semitic Evidence from Ugaritic to Qumran

Mark S. Smith

Amurru Akkadian: A Linguistic Study, Volume I

Shlomo Izre'el

Amurru Akkadian: A Linguistic Study, Volume II

Shlomo Izre'el

The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at Emar

Daniel E. Fleming

The Development of the Arabic Scripts

Beatrice Gruendler

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARABIC SCRIPTS From the Nabatean Era to the First Islamic Century According to Dated Texts by Beatrice Gruendler

Scholars Press Atlanta, Georgia

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ARABIC SCRIPTS by

Beatrice Gruendler

© 1993 The President and Fellows of Harvard University

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Gruendler, Beatrice, 1964The development of the Arabic scripts: from the Nabatean era to the first Islamic century according to dated texts/ by Beatrice Gruendler. p. cm. - (Harvard Semitic series; no. 43) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 1-55540-710-2 1. Arabic alphabet-History. 2. Paleography, Arabic. I. Title. II. Series. PJ6123.G78 1993 492'. 711-dc20 93-9295 CIP

Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS THE PRESENT STUDY owes its inspiration to a seminar on the history of the Arabic languages taught by Prof. W. Heinrichs to w hom I owe much con structive criticism during the inceptive stages of this study. Noting the dearth in overall discussions of early Arabic paleography and the great number of articles scattered in remote publications, I have undertaken the task of assembling all published dated Arabic texts of the first century AH/c . 622-7 I 9 CE and establishing a chronological basis for the development of the Arabic alphabet. The lack of Arabic in scription s from the fifth century CE, as well as the absence of dated Qur 0 anic fragments of the first century AH, are well known problems. In additi on, the earliest Arabic texts (Jabal Ramm , Umm el-Jimal B, and Namara) have yielded conflicting readings about which the last word has yet to be spoken . At this state of research I have aimed at presenting a chronological sequence of-mostly dated-texts, which will serve as a tool for dating future texts, and as an introduction for those who wish to familiarize themselves with the material available to date. I greatly value the advice of Profs. F. M. Cross, J. Hackett, and J. Huehnergard who contributed to shaping thi s work into its present state; the assistance of D. Ford in all issues of editing ; and the unfailing patience of S. Semmel in proofreading. I would like to thank Dr. B. Kramer from the Institut flir Papyrologie, Heidelberg University, for making the Papyri SchottReinhard available to me. The following publishers have kindly pennitted me to use their illustrations or my tracings of them: the Israel Exploration Society (p. I 52 NI 5), the American Oriental Society (p . I 52 N 19, p. I 53 A I left), Prof. F. Ro senthal and the British School of Archeology in Jerusalem (p. 153 N21) , the Revue Biblique (p. 153 Al right) , E. J. Brill (p. 153 A4 , p. 157 Pl & 5, and p. 168), the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (p. 154 E3) , the University of Chicago Press (p. 155 E4) , Oxford University Press (p. 155f. E9), Prof. L. Casson and Princeton University Press (p. 158 P4), Walter de Gruyter & Co (p . 152 N20, p. 157 PS, pp. 159, and 169f.), Der Islam (pp. 157 PS, p. 169f), Biblio Verlag GmbH & Co KG (p. 158 P9) , the O sterreichische Nationalbibliothek (pp. 160, 166), the Institut fUr Papyrologie of the Universitiit Heidelberg and Carl Winter Universitiitsverlag (pp. I 61 below, 165), and the Bibliotheca A postolica Vaticana (p. 171 ). I am deeply grateful to Prof. F. M. Cross for accepting the volume for publication in the Harvard Semitic Studies series, and to Radcliffe College for sharing the printing costs. BG

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations Short List of Texts General Bibliography

Vlll

IX

3

CHAPTER ONE

Introduction Nabatean or Syriac Origin? The Purpose of this Study Selection of the Material Nabatean Arabic

I 3 3 4 4

CHAPTER TWO

Description of Texts and References Nabatean Texts Pre-Islamic Arabic Inscriptions Arabic Epigraphic Texts Arabic Papyri CHAPTER THREE The Development of the Individual Graphemes The Charts ,Alif Ba, Ta,/Tha, JTm

Ha,/Kha, Dal/Dhal Ra,

Zay S1n/S1n $ad/Dad

Ta,/Za,

cAin/Ghain

7 7 12 14 21

29 29 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 68 72

76 vii

Fa, Qaf Kaf Lam M1m Nun Ha, Waw

Ya,

Samek Lam-,Alif

80 84 88 92 96 100 104 108 112 116 118

CHAPTER FOUR Discussion: From Nabatean to Arabic Finding the Birth Date of Arabic Script. Monumental or Cursive Affiliation Importance of the Nessana Texts (N21)

128

CHAPTER FIVE Outlook: The Arabic Development Homogenization Emergence of Scripts

131 131 132

General Bibliography Illustrations

Fig. I: Versions of Muhammad in Protocols Fig. 2: Comparative Chart of Scripts of the First Islamic Century

123

127

143 151

134 141

List of Abbreviations

Ann. Isl. APEL

Ar. Pal.

CIA II

CIS II

C. H. Becker, "Neue arabische Papyri des Aphroditofundes," Der Islam 2 (1911), 245-68. PAF C. H. Becker, "Die arabischen Papyri des Aphroditofundes," ZA 20 (1907) , 68-104. PERF J. von Karabacek et al., Papyrus Erzherzog Rainer. Fuhrer durch die Aussie/lung. Wien, 1894. PSI Papiri greci e Latini. Pubh/icazioni de/la Socieu'i lw/iana per la ricerca dei papiri greci e Latini in Egiuo , 15 vols. , Firenze, 1912-79. PSR C. H. Becker, Papyri SchollReinhard I (Vero.ffen1/ichungen aus der Heidelberger Papyrussamm/ung ./ll) , Heidelberg, 1906. Reperwire Chrono/ogique RCEA d'Epigraphie Arabe, E. Combe, J. Sauvaget and G . Wiet (eds.), Cairo, 1931-64. RES Repenoire d'Epigraphie Semitique , 8 vols ., Paris , 190068 . Stud. Sin. Xl Bih/e N.T. Apocrypha/ Books. Apocrypha Syriaca , ed . and transl. by Agnes Smith Lewis, London, 1902.

Caetani L., Anna/i de//'ls/am V (anno 23 H.), Milano 1912. A. Grohmann, Arabic Papyri in the Egyptian Library, Cairo, l 934-62, 6 vols. B. Moritz, Arabische Paliiographie, Cairo, l 905 , reprint Osnabruck , 197 l. Max van Berchem, Ma1eriaux pour un Corpus !nscrip1ionum Arabicarum 2eme panie , Syrie du Sud, vol. I: Jerusalem , ville (Memoires de /'lns1i1u1 Franqais d'Archeo/ogie Orienla/e du Caire 43, Cairo , 1922), vol. II/ 1: J erusa/em, Haram (MIFAO 44 , Cairo , 1927), vol. II I/ 1: J erusa/em (MIFAO45, Cairo 1920-25). Corpus lnscrip1ionum Semi1icarum I I: I nscrip1iones aramaicas co n1inens, Paris ,

NPAF

1902-07. CPR III, I A. Grohmann , Corpus Papyrorum Raineri Ill, Series Arabica I, pl. I: A//gemeine Einfiihrung in die arahischcn Papyri , pl. 2: Prowko//c , pl. 3: P/a1es, Vienna, 1923-24. N. Abbott, The J and read by Grohmann and Day as mudd. Cf., however, al-Fairuzabadi, al-Qiimus al-mu~it (Beirut, n. d.) IV, 391 "wa-1-mudyu bi-alif and lam of the article and their slight inclination away from each other, is a marked feature. Style. As a tall and frequent letter (appearing in both Nabatean and Arabic definite articles), the >a]if, and especially its slant, contribute considerably to shaping the image of the written text. Already in Nabatean, the decorative cross is retained for the final >a]ep. In A2 the >alif slants towards the left, both in final position and preceding lam-,alif. In the other initial situations the >a]if is straight, except in the article, where it curves away slightly from the lam at the top. In A3 the >a]if of the article is straight and parallel to lam, but before lam-,alif it slants towards the left. In A4 it slants in initial position but is straight in its final variant. In AS it is inclined throughout. A2 and A3 show the first instances of vertical >alif after NS. In epigraphic Arabic , the straight variant predominates; in the cursive script, it may be straight, curved, or slanting. P3 shows a noticeable slant; Pl only before lam-,alif, and P4 only before the lam of the article. In P6 the lam of the article slants in the opposite direction of the )alif. In Pl9 the >alif is

straight in the article, but not so in other positions. In P 13 it slants towards the right. By the time of the Qurra papyri the different styles of >alif represent a conscious choice of the secretary, influenced by the context of the surrounding letters, especially lam. In certain texts alif is straight, parallel to the lam in the article, but slants parallel to the lam of lam>aJif (PSR I, I). In other texts , only the initial >alif is curved, contrasting with a straight lam and final >aJif (P4, PI5-16: KAO II). In general, the >alif and lam of the article extend slightly away from each other towards the top, while final >a lif slants to the right parallel to final lam (PSR I, I!l). The bend of the foot is typical for the epigraphic script, but very unpredictable in the cursive, so that one text often exhibits both possibilities (Pl4, 15-16, 18, 19, 21, 22). Still there is a noticeable correlation between the verticality of >a]if without a foot on the one hand, and the slanting >alif with a bent foot on the other, with some exceptions in the protocols Pl 9-20.

Diacritics. The meaning of the points on two of the >al ifs in A4 is unsolved, as they serve different functions (accusative ending and article). Bellamy interprets one of them as a pointed ba,. Pl shows a point at the upper right of >aJif in Jashab, and El I shows a point below >alif in the word Jin. Since other diacritical signs occur in these two texts, it is possible to assume here an early occurrence of the hamza sign as denoted in later Qur,an codices by a (red) dot over, on, or below the baseline for Jii., Ji, and Ju.

Left Right & Left Right No Connection Connection Connection Connection

El

L. I l}/ LL l )(

E2

ES

EIO

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ll

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ij

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E13 E14

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N20 N21

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38

Style. In Arabic, the final bii° tends to be extended horizontally (E9, P7, 9, 14, 16). The horizontal end of the letter can be raised slightly above the baseline (PIS, 16), taking the middle or top of the ba 0 -spike as its beginning . The ba 0 -spike itself sometimes slants to the right (El8, P14, 16). All three features (horizontal extension, elevation above the line, and slant) are displayed already in N8. The flexible handling of the script, sometimes remaining above the line or crossing it with a connecting loop, is a conscious stylistic choice, typical of the elegant cursive hand, and is found more pronounced, at a later stage, in flamboyant Kufic script. Diacritics. The first pointing of ba 0 occurs on an initial in E2 58 and in all positions in E4, P4 and 5. The final variant is pointed once below the spike (E4), and otherwise below the middle of the extended line (e.g., P4 ). An oval point created by the cut nib of the qalam (reed pen) appears fairly frequently throughout Pl4-16 and P23. E9 has only one case of a short stroke. All the later diacritics appear only in initial or medial forms.

S8n1e pointing is not verified, as it does not appear in the tracing of Yogiie, Melanges, and no photograph was taken.

Left Right & Left Right No Connection Connection Connection Connection

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E19

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u,ft Right & Left Right No Connection Connection Connection Connection

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EIS

ca n adopt the ea rlier form of gimel (cf. gimel in N 13, 19) as initial. In epi graphic Arabic both fonn s a re retained as purel y graphic vari a nts. The more archaic form , with the cross bar joint in the middle of the baseline, appears in ES , 9, and IO. In medial position it is crossed by the baseline. Steep angles appear in E 1-5 e.g. The steep angle is also kept throu ghout the Arabic cursive as initial. 71 When hii , /kha> is in medi al pos ition, the connected manner of writing creates a desc e nding flat zigzag (j1m/ ha , /kha>: PI4-l6 ; ha , /kha ) P! 3, 19, 22). 7 1For the protocol versions, see under ·'style."

Tran sition al stages , with the previous letter connecting to the middle of the oblique bar, can be seen in El 1 (j1m/ha,/kha,), E20, and E21 (j1m). The final form lengthens (P4, E9), bending downwards (jim/ha, /kha>: Pl5-16; ha, /kha>: P6, 9, 14, 22) in a generous curve (ha , /kha >: PIO , 14 ) or a straight line (hii,/kha >: Pl6, 22) . The three-quarter curve of later Naskhl is already present in E8.

Connection . In Nabatean the two vertical bars are connected at the bottom. After the emergence of the perpendicular form (Nl 6), the left bar is reinterpreted as a connecting line (N20), and later-after a slight clockwise turn-as a ba seline. The oblique bar reaching below the baseline is useless for connection to the left, so that the baseline crosses it when the letter assumes the medial variant. In cursive Arabic the zig zag shape comes in conflict with the baseline principle, placing the previous letter higher than it. In Pl this problem is still avoided by choosing as medial the epigraphic vari ant that interrupts the writing flow . In P14-16 , however, when the baseline is already treated with some freedom, the previou s letter is rai sed to two-thirds of the line's he ight. Thi s is e specially obviou s when two adjacent jlm/ha> /kh a, 's are stacked above each other.

Left Connection

No Right Right & Left Connection Connection Connection

NI

1n

N2

N, Y"\

N3

r\

N4

H r1

NS N6

N7 NS N9

NIO

Ji Ji

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Ni3 Nl4

NIS Nl6

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Left Connection

Al

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A2

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A3 A4 AS

No Right Right & Left Connection Connection Connection

~~

50 Alig11me11t. In early Nabatean he! is a fulllength letter. In Arabic it descends to the low range, half-above and half-below the baseline in the epigraphic form, and above it in the cursive. In final position , both styles develop a deep length that frequently cuts into the line below it. (ha'/kha': P9, 14). In the protocols , the letter often occupies the full height of the line (PIO). In these texts, the stretched zigzag of the medial (ha 0 /kha 0 : PIO, 11 , 20) accentuates the height differe nce even morecf. e.g., the height difference between the two mim's in Muhammad. Style . The oblique bar varies between a straight epigraphic form and a slightly curved cursive form. Its width contrasts with the thinner connecting lines. The very archaic ha'/kha' in P23 imitates the earlier epigraphic style (E9- I 0), as does the short medial spike in the protocols (PIO, 22)_72 The hook in the initial (Pl) is exaggerated to form a rounded initial (PIO) and a closed drop shape (P20), which is preserved in the Ruq ca of presentday handwriting . The second initial in th e chart of PI Oa 73 with (reproduced) dal is probably an ad hoc ha)-dal ligature in which the descending connecting line does not touch the oblique ha'-bar. It then traces the movement of the pen to the higher starting point of dal on the paper instead of interrupting the line, thus creating an ha'-like loop. 74 The reverse bar in Pl2b (medial variant) is a unique case.

72 The left medial in P2 I is simply an initial, 1ouched by the preceding ra ' of ar-rahim. 731n ' aluul at end of line three (PI 0). 74see foomote under dal.

Diacritics. The diacritical marking of kha' serves a double function. The first is to graphically distinguish anew the phoneme bit had merged with he1 in Aramaic, and was therefore not represented in the alphabet, but had been retained in Arabic. The second function is to keep it separate from the new homograph jim, which received a point below . The diacritical distinction of kha' is expressed by a point at the upper end of the oblique stroke or above the center of the letter, but is fairly seldom (only E9, Pl, Pl6)notably less freque nt than jim.

Left Connection

El

r>-__::...,> .....:,..

E2

E3

No Connection

J .-t:

7

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P3

. .>.

+

P4

~'::lo(,

P5

P6

E7

P7

E9 EIO

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El3 El4 El5 EI6

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P9

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58 Style. The curve of ra, offers an ideal place for the varying breadth of the cut nib (P 14-16). In some cases its head is drawn as a loop , resembling a waw (Pl3, 17 , 23), instead of retracing the same line as a spike. The high juncture of the connecting line in the tiraz E6 is caused by the split-stitch technique, creating a continuous line with rounded corners like a pen, even thou gh its· script is epigraphic. In some instances, the epigraphic ra, is squashed into a steep angle (El2, 22) si mil ar to the later cursive dal/dhal (as in P23). But it remains distinct from the contemporary hooked epigraphic dal/dhal. The shortening of the tail in the later cursive announces the simple Kiific script, while the flamboyant ra, in ES anticipates the floreated Kuftc. Diacritics . According to the tracing by Healey, Nl6 shows a dot on one occurrence of res in the name Haritha (1.2).

Right Right & Left Left Connection Connection Connection

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El

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E2 E3

No Right Right & Left Left Connecti on Connection Connection Connection

No Connection

) )

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Pl

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL GRAPHEMES

Ziiy

is provided by its hook. The epigraphic texts show no instance of diacritics.84

Shape. This rather rare letter appears as a short vertical stroke in NI and 2, then it grows to the full height of the line in classical Nabatean (NIO) . In two of three final occurrences it is connected by its shaft. The assimilation of zay with ra) can be posited in the middle of the fourth century CE, when the forms of final zay (N19) and final ra) (N20) have become alike. Two common featuresthe lack of connection to the left and the connection to the right by the middle of the shaft-certainly favoured this process . The difference of ra) and zay in Al , pointed out by Grimme, may be of no consequence as the reading of zay in the name al-Muztalamatu is questionable and has been previously interpreted as part of a sin .83 If Grimme's deciphering is correct, it confirms the early dating of this inscription to the first half of the fourth century, i.e., prior to the merger of ra) and zay. At the Arabic stage the assimilation has been concluded, as is proven by the necessity of distinguishing zay by a diacritic (Pl). During the Arabic stage, zay develops jointly with ra). Style. The larger regarded either as archaism-none of the ra) in the same text stretched shape.

zay in P17 may be sloppiness or an numerous variants of comes close to this

Diacritics. In the cursive, zay is distinguished by a diacritical dot above in Pl, P4, and 16. The distinction from pointed dhal 83see Grimme.

84 Kessler cites Grohmann mentioning a pointed zay in E4, although the dam inscription contains no zay at all, and the graffiti a mile west of Ta, if, in which the name Yazid appears, are unm arked (" -"-·

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIVIDUAL GRAPHEMES

Liim Shape. A final fom1 is distinguished by a reverting bend from the straight non-final form 121 as early as in N2 . This bend is rounded to a curve in N3. After NI 0, this large reverting curve is replaced by a vertical with curved foot , partially anticipated in the cursive (N8). A second straight final form (N4, 7) is attached at its foot and traced from the bottom to the top. N 15, 16, and 19 contain later examples of this final variant. Yet the first final fom1 (with curved foot and attached shaft) prevails in the later texts (N 16-20). The tail assumes a curve or bend (N20), which we find again in the pre-Islamic text A4. Only the Arabic script introduces the slant (A4 to the left) and the full lower curve (EI, P2). The epigraphic Arabic develops a straight vertical lam, occupying the full height of the line, and a rectangular bend, slightly beneath the baseline. In some instances, it even rests entirely on the line (E9d left). 122 In the Arabic cursive, the stem shows a greater flexibility , slanting (Pl 5) ors-shaped at times. The final variant rests on the line at first (Pl), but lengthens below it (P9, 14-16, I 9), most pronounced in P14 and 22, where the lower curve of lam matches or exceeds the size of its shaft above the line. The horizontal extension of lam curling downward in P23 123 is 121 The long initial curved lam in N4 defies the rule. 122For p 13 and 23 see under style. I 231n ,arsi/ i/ayya bi-kiswa1in. Grohniann's reading ' arsi/-hu, assuming an open ha', cannot be substantiated by a similar ha' in this text (which contains numerous regular var:iants). The graphically acceptable retroflex ha' would re quire a female addressee, but the rest of the text is formulated in the

unusual for the cursive, but it matches the proportions of an epigraphic (E9d left). Co1111ectio11. In Nabatean, lames! is connected on the left at its foot and on the right at its foot (N4, 7) or shaft (N6 , 8). In non-final connections, lameg_ is extremely versatile, attachable at every level of the line, often added as a third element to an existing connection (PI0 124 ). This can be seen again in the Arabic ligatures of lam (El I 125), where it rests on top of the next letter, elevated from the baseline. It can also share a line with an adjacent letter (Nl9, 126 A3 127 ) . To this belongs the haplography with ,alif in PI0. 128 At the stage of N 15, all non-final variants are connected at their feet and placed on the baseline, perfectly like the later Arabic script.

second person plural. Another final lam with horizontal tail is shown in ~AO II (I 8), in the name Basil. 124E.g., lam in (3). 125uim-ta'-ha' in /i-tahkuma and lam-ya'-jim in /ayajma' annakum. 126Ha'-lam in ha/aka (5) with the lower parallel of ha' shared by lam as a right connection. 127uim-kaf in a/-ma/ik (2) with the lower stem of lam shared by the curve of ki\f. 128Final lam is s hared as a whole by the 'alif of next word in ~$:b

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE INDIV!DUAL GRAPHEMES

Ha, Shape. This letter is the only one with three entirely different positional var iants (with innumerable nuances). The transformation of the initial ha, can be described as a 90° shift of the left vertical bar. Starting out parallel to the right bar, it becollles para! lei to the upper horizontal bar. NI and 2 sho w the beginning of this shift, which is completed in N 16 and 19. The final variant retains these parallel vertica l bars, but connects them to a square (NS) or oval loop with a flat top (Nl0 and passilll in monumental Nabatean). ln later Nabatean, the final variant flattens to a horizontal drop-shape (N 11 , 19, A2, 4) with a spike extending above it. The elements of the later Arabic initial hii° are presellt as early as N16 and 19, but are not yet written in a continuous lllOVelllent, as suggested by A2. The long onstroke descends and bends to the left, turning the two parallel bars into a loop that inclines to the right, touching the descending onstroke (Pl). The ear ly epigraphic initial (El, 3, 5, 12) and medial (E2-5 , 12, 22) stops at this so-called butterfly stage, an oval divided by the baseline. The triangular form of the non-final epigraphic ha, in E8-9 echoes the silhouette of A2 or P4, especially the pseudo-cursive character of the interior bar (E9), which, unusually, is thinner. In the cursive initial ha,, the onstroke shortens and bends to the left (P4, 14 , 16, 19), fonning a cat's head, or curves down to the line in a separate little loop (P22-23). No true cursive medial appears in the early Arabic s tage . The llledial in Pl is really a connected initial, and in E2, the disconnected oval is stuck onto the baseline in

a flagrant instance of aporia. Only in P9 do we find the solution. The long onstroke is cut to a short, slanting spike, reverting slightly below and back before completing the second loop and returning to the baseline. Many interrupted hooked medial fom1s still remain at the stage depicted in PIS-16. In the cursive final, the loop can be traced either clockwise or counter-clockwise (both Nl7, 19), in which case the end may be turned up (PIO, 16) or eliminated (Pl4). Co1111ec1io11. The final he is most often connected at its foot (N3) ; less frequently, in the middle (N6) and at the top (N8). The initial joins to the left-either at the top bar (N6, 8) or its foot (N6)-with the medial colllbining both options so as to leave only a few unconnected instances of he in Nabatean. When the left bars ha ve joined their ends (Nl4-15) , the upper one serves as a horizontal connecting line, almost aligning itself to the right connection, thus cutting horizontally through the letter (like the Arabic butterfly). A new type of triple connection, by both the parallel and the down-curving vertical, emerges in N19. Then the parallel bars are lowered on the left, so that only the baseline upholds the left connection (A2 and E8-10).

Alig11me111. From its full size in Nabatean, ha, descends to a llledium range in Arabic. In non-final position, the letter is either equally divided by the baseline (initial El, E2-5) or comes to rest on it (P14-16) by bending the interior bar up and squash ing the lower loop against the baseline. The final ha, is raised above the baseline.

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