A Brief Introduction to the Arabic Alphabet

The Arabic alphabet has a rich history, one that is closely linked with the development of culture and society in the Middle East. In this comprehensive introduction the authors trace the origins of the Arabic alphabet back to Aramaic, which also gave rise to the Hebrew and Greek alphabets. Using detailed illustrations the authors investigate early Arabic papyri and early Islamic inscriptions as well as classical Arabic scripts. John F. Healey and G. Rex Smith bring the story up to the present day by examining the practice of calligraphy, printing and computing in Arabic.

John F. Healey is Professor of Semitic Studies at the University of Manchester. His works include The Early Alphabet (London, 1990), The Nabataean Tomb Inscriptions of Mada'in Salih (Oxford, 1993) and The Religion of the Nabataeans (Leiden, 2001). G. Rex Smith is a professor emeritus of the University of Manchester. He is an Arabist, historian, and scholar of the medieval history of Yemen. His works include A Medieval Administrative and Fiscal Treatise from the Yemen (Oxford, 2006) and A Traveller in Thirteenth Century Arabia (London, 2008).