2023/01/01 by Marijn van Putten · 1 voice
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Archaeology and Historical Studies #Biblical Studies and Interpretation #Historical and Linguistic Studies
paper · doi:10.1515/mill-2023-0007
openalex publication_date 2023/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract This paper examines the main orthographic innovations of the early Islamic orthography in comparison to the Nabataean orthography and traces through new epigraphic evidence when and where these innovations came to be used. It is shown that a number of them clearly develop already in the pre-Islamic period. Besides this, the paper looks at the complexities of Arabic orthography and morphophonological spelling as it is reflected in the Quranic orthography as well as pre-Islamic inscriptions and argues that the early Islamic orthography represents the continuation of a developed Hijazi scribal tradition.