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The Kalila and Dimna fables, written by Abu al-Ma`ali Nasr Allah (c.1150 AD), in New Persian language of Nasta`liq script (India 1412 AD).
These animal fables are of Indian origin dating back to around the year 300, and show how works were translated and have travelled between different cultures over several centuries. They can be traced back to the Panchatantra, which had been translated from Sanskrit into Pahlavi (Middle Persian), and then Syriac, in the 6th century AD.
Islamic culture adopted and absorbed the culture, traditions and stories of its new surroundings. This is one example. Kalilah and Dimnah are the Arabic names for the two jackals of the story. The Arabic version eventually passed to the West in Latin during the Middle Ages, and then into several European languages. This particular manuscript has many amusing illustrations as the one shown here. The timeless quality of the stories lends themselves to modern interpretations such as a recent play based on the stories at the Barbican in London in May 2006.
According to legend the scribe who created the Nasta`liq script based it on a flying bird that appeared to him in a dream. It combined Arabic Naskhi and Persian Ta’liq into a light, legible style, and is still used extensively in Persian art.
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