Mir Emad (born
Emad al-Molk Qazvini Hasani (Persian:
میرعماد حسنی قزوینی) in 1554 in
QazvinQazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran with an estimated population of 331,409 in 2005...
- d. August 15 , 1615) is perhaps the most celebrated
PersianIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
calligrapherCalligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of writing . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
. It is believed that the Nasta'liq style reached its highest elegance in Mir Emad's works. These are amongst the finest specimens of Nasta'liq calligraphy and are kept in several museums in the world.
Early life and education
Mir Emad was born in Qazvin, where he had his early education. Mir Emad's family had librarian and accountant positions in Safavid court. He was trained in calligraphy at first by Isa Rangkar and then Malek Deylami. Mir Emad later on moved to
TabrizTabriz is the fourth largest city of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince...
to study with Mohammad Hossein Tabrizi. Afterward, he traveled to Ottoman Turkey,
BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is coterminous. Having a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab World....
, Halab and Hijaz. He returned to Semnan and worked as a scribe in
Shah AbbasShāh ‘Abbās the Great or Shāh ‘Abbās I was Shah of Iran, and the greatest ruler of the Safavid dynasty. He was the third son of Shah Mohammad....
's library and later on his court in the capital of
IsfahanIsfahan or Esfahan , historically also rendered in English as Ispahan or Hispahan, is located about 340 km south of Tehran and is the capital of Isfahan Province and Iran's third largest city...
.
Rivalry with Ali Reza Abbasi
In Shah Abbas's court, Mir Emad was not the only calligrapher. Ali Reza Abbasi Tabrizi, another famous calligrapher, was also under Shah's patronage. Ali Reza Abbasi's was also a pupil of Mohammad Hossein Tabrizi (Mir Emad's teacher) and later on became Mir Emad's opponent.
Death
Mir Emad was later alleged of being Sunni, a branch of
IslamIslam Islam Islam ( al-’islām,
[There are ten pronunciations of Islam in English, differing in whether the first or second syllable has the stress, whether the s is or , and whether the a is pronounced as in father, as in cat, or (when the stress is on the i) as in the a of sofa...]
which was not tolerated under Safavids, and implicitly sentenced to death by Shah Abbas. In a night, on his way to
HamamHamam may refer to:* Turkish bath in Turkish* Hamam , a European film directed by Ferzan Ozpetek* Hamam , brand of soap in India* Sam Hammam, Lebanese businessman and football club owner...
, Mir Emad was assassinated by Masud Beik Mesgar Qazvini, and for several days no one dared to bury his corpse. Finally his pupil, Abu Torab Khattat Esfahani, buried him in Maqsud Beik
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. Muslims often refer to the mosque by its Arabic name, masjid, —...
. He was not allowed to build a mausoleum for Mir Emad.
Works and legacy
"Adab al-Masq", a dissertation on penmanship, is attributed to Mir Emad. Goharshad, Mir Emad's daughter, was also an adept
calligrapherCalligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of writing . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
. So was her husband, Mir Mohammad Ali, and her sons Mir Rashid, Mir Abd al-Razzaq and Mir Yahya. Mir Emad's son, Mirza Ebrahim, is also known to be a
calligrapherCalligraphy is a type of visual art. It is often called the art of writing . A contemporary definition of calligraphic practice is "the art of giving form to signs in an expressive, harmonious and skillful manner"...
. So is Mohammad Amin, Mirza Ebrahim's son.