Qazi Ahmad Monshi Qomi
b. 1546 · Qom
Qazi Ahmad, son of Sharaf al-Din Husayn of Qom, a state secretary (monshi) of Shah Tahmasp, was born in Qom in 953 AH (1546); English Wikipedia gives 1547. At eleven he went with his father to Mashhad, where the Safavid prince Ibrahim Mirza kept a library of poets, painters and calligraphers. There he learned from Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, Mir Sayyid Ahmad Mashhadi and Malek Deylami, and Persian sources count him among the nastaliq writers of the school of Mir Sayyid Ahmad. In 974/1566-67, because he wrote quickly, he wrote out much of Shah Tahmasp's letter of condolence to Selim II. He is best known as an author. His Golestan-e honar describes the calligraphers and painters of the Safavid age, many from his own acquaintance, and his Kholasat al-tavarikh is a history of the dynasty. Shah Abbas I dismissed him in 1599 and he went back to Qom. The last record of him is from 1015 AH (1606-07). Eskandar Beg Monshi, the historian, learned the craft of chancery writing from him.
Achievements
- Wrote Golestan-e honar, an account of the calligraphers and painters of his age, many of whom he knew in person; it is a main source for Safavid calligraphy.
- Wrote Kholasat al-tavarikh, a history of the Safavid house up to the early reign of Shah Abbas I.
- Studied in Mashhad, under Prince Ibrahim Mirza's patronage, with Shah Mahmud Nishapuri, Mir Sayyid Ahmad Mashhadi and Malek Deylami.
- Took a large share, as a fast scribe, in writing Shah Tahmasp's long letter to the Ottoman Sultan Selim II in 974/1566-67.
Taught by: Mir Sayyid Ahmad Mashhadi, Shah Mahmud Nishapuri (Zarrin Qalam), Malek Deylami
Taught: Eskandar Beg Monshi
His work
No photograph of a page in his own hand was found on Commons; the manuscripts there are copies of his books, not his writing.
Write in the tradition this hand shaped.
Write in this tradition now →Living calligraphers you can buy from — signed originals on paper, from AED 550: Anwar Alhulwani (Thuluth) · Ahmed Alhawary (Jali Thuluth, Naskh) · Rasha Kasim (Kufi) — or every Nastaliq piece the store makes: Nastaliq collection.
Sources
- Persian Wikipedia (after Fazaili, Atlas-e khatt; Eshraqi's edition of Kholasat): born 953 AH in Qom, teachers, letter to Selim II 974 AH, nastaliq pupil of Mir Sayyid Ahmad, last record 1015 AH, pupil Eskandar Beg, five works fa.wikipedia.org
- English Wikipedia: born 1547 Qom, Mashhad under Ibrahim Mirza, teachers, Golestan-e honar, dismissal 1599 en.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia (translation of the English article) ar.wikipedia.org
- Wikidata: born 17/18 May 1546, death 1606 wikidata.org
Written by the MASHQ studio · last updated 2026-10-05. Further reading, the standard references in English: Sheila S. Blair, Islamic Calligraphy (Edinburgh University Press, 2006) · Annemarie Schimmel, Calligraphy and Islamic Culture (New York University Press, 1984) · Yasin Hamid Safadi, Islamic Calligraphy (Thames and Hudson, 1978).