Asadullah Kirmani (Esedullah-ı Kirmani)
d. 1488 · Kirmanshah & Anatolia
Asadullah Kirmani was an Iranian master of the six scripts who ended his life in Ottoman Anatolia. TDV says he was born in Kirmanshah and learned the six scripts from Shaykh Muhammad Kirmani, a scholar of his day, who gave him an ijaza. He belonged to the school of Yaqut al-Musta'simi, and TDV considers him the more advanced artist of the two; his writing is described as firm and sharp. The sources say little about his life but agree on three points: he was a very skilled calligrapher, he moved to Anatolia, and he had a part in training Ahmed Şemseddin Karahisari, who signed many works 'from the pupils of Asadullah Kirmani'. In nastaliq, Mustafa Ali's Menakib-i hünerveran makes him a pupil of Ali Heravi and then of Abd al-Rahim Khwarazmi; TDV and Persian Wikipedia reject the first because Ali Heravi lived later. He died in 893 AH (1488) according to TDV, 892 according to Persian Wikipedia. Arabic Wikipedia reverses his relation with Karahisari, which the other sources do not support.
Achievements
- Received an ijaza in the six scripts from Shaykh Muhammad Kirmani.
- Settled in Anatolia and helped train Ahmed Karahisari, who often signed 'from the pupils of Asadullah Kirmani'.
- Wrote in the school of Yaqut al-Musta'simi; TDV judges him more advanced than Yaqut in art and notes the firmness and sharpness of his hand.
- Was skilled in nastaliq as well as the six scripts.
Taught by: Shaykh Muhammad Kirmani, ʿAbd al-Rahim Khwarazmi Anisi
Taught: Ahmed Şemseddin Karahisari
His work
No freely licensed photograph of a work securely by him was found; a McGill Qur'an fragment names him only in a later owner's note, so it was left out.
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 Thuluth piece the store makes: Thuluth collection.
Sources
- TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (Ali Alparslan): birth, teacher, Karahisari's signature, Yaqut school, death 893/1488 islamansiklopedisi.org.tr
- Persian Wikipedia (after Fazaeli): death 892, nastaliq teachers, move to Ottoman lands fa.wikipedia.org
- Arabic Wikipedia: death 893/1488 (its teacher/student line is reversed) ar.wikipedia.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).