The Use of Persian in Monumental Epigraphy from Ghazni (Eleventh-Twelfth Centuries)

Abstract

Archaeological investigations in Ghazni, the ancient capital city of the Ghaznavid dynasty (late 10th-12th c.), delivered a large corpus of monumental inscriptions. Official and religious texts are executed in Arabic, though many occurrences attest to the epigraphic use of Persian. Presented in this paper are some preliminary analyses concerning Ghaznavid inscriptions in Persian, their alleged chronology and function. This overview reveals that, in all likelihood, the tradition of decorating buildings with Persian epigraphy had developed in Ghazni since the early 11th century. Persian seems to be particularly used for inscribing poetic texts, which allow us to highlight the Ghaznavid contribution to the development of an artistic tradition destined to persist in the eastern Islamic lands.