Over time, Nasta‘liq gained widespread admiration and brought about a remarkable transformation in the art of calligraphy. Known as “the bride of Islamic scripts,” Nasta‘liq is one of the most elegant and distinguished calligraphic styles, and it continues to be widely practiced today.
Nasta‘liq, one of the most beautiful and recognizable Persian scripts, emerged and developed in Iran during the 8th century AH (approximately the 14th century CE). Thus, within the ECO member states, Iran is the birthplace of Nasta‘liq. From the Safavid period onward, Nasta‘liq became firmly established as both an artistic and official script in Iran. It was extensively used in manuscripts, poetic works, architectural inscriptions, and governmental documents, and it remains one of the most widely employed artistic and literary scripts in the country.
Most ECO member countries have been influenced by Islamic culture and arts, particularly in their use of Arabic and Persian scripts for transcribing the Qur’an, religious texts, and classical literature. Common calligraphic styles across the region include Naskh, Thuluth, Nasta‘liq, Diwani, and Kufic, each practiced with regional variations. Persian and Urdu poetry has played an especially important role in shaping the calligraphic traditions of these countries.
After Iran, Nasta‘liq spread to Afghanistan, where it became the primary script for writing Dari Persian as well as literary, official, and religious texts. Today, it remains the main script used for Persian in Afghanistan.
In Tajikistan, Nasta‘liq has a long and significant history closely intertwined with Tajik Persian culture. As Persian was historically the official and literary language of the region, Nasta‘liq was widely used for poetry, literary works, and religious manuscripts. Tajik calligraphers practiced the traditional Iranian style, and many fine examples of Nasta‘liq manuscripts survive. However, during the Soviet era, the Tajik Persian script was replaced with Cyrillic, leading to the near disappearance of Nasta‘liq in daily and official use. Today, it survives mainly as a cultural and historical art form.
In Pakistan, Nasta‘liq was adopted far more extensively than in most other ECO countries, eventually becoming the principal writing script. Nasta‘liq calligraphy is regarded as a national art form and remains highly prevalent in educational, artistic, and publishing contexts.
The script entered the Indian subcontinent, including present-day Pakistan, through Persianate Islamic dynasties and the Mughal empire. With the rise of the Urdu language, Nasta‘liq became the standard script for Urdu writing. Indian and Pakistani calligraphers adapted the Iranian style to accommodate Urdu, creating a distinctive and highly legible variant known as “Urdu Nasta‘liq,” characterized by modified spacing and elongation. Today, it remains the primary script for Urdu and continues to flourish in artistic and decorative calligraphy.
In Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Nasta‘liq was historically used before the adoption of Latin and later Cyrillic scripts. It served mainly for religious and literary texts in Persian and Arabic. During the Soviet era, Arabic–Persian scripts, including Nasta‘liq, were eliminated from daily and official writing, restricting their use to religious manuscripts and calligraphic arts. Today, Nasta‘liq retains primarily historical and artistic significance in these countries.
In Turkiye, during the Ottoman period, Arabic and Persian scripts were used in parts of the empire. Nasta‘liq was employed mainly for Persian and Arabic literary, scholarly, and religious texts, but it was not widely used for Ottoman Turkish. Turkish calligraphers adopted Iranian and Arabic Nasta‘liq styles for manuscripts and decorative works, though its usage remained limited. After Turkey adopted the Latin alphabet in 1928, the use of Nasta‘liq for daily and official writing ended entirely. Today, it appears only in Islamic and Persianate calligraphic art.
In Azerbaijan, Nasta‘liq was historically widespread, especially during the Safavid era and earlier. Many Persian and Arabic literary texts were copied in Nasta‘liq, and Azerbaijani calligraphers took great interest in the Iranian style of Nasta‘liq, using it for poetry and literary manuscripts. Numerous Nasta‘liq manuscripts survive in Azerbaijani libraries and archives. After the introduction of the Latin alphabet, and later Cyrillic during the Soviet era, the everyday use of Nasta‘liq gradually diminished. Today, it remains present mainly in traditional calligraphic art, decorative panels, and Islamic–Persian manuscript heritage.
Overall, the birthplace and earliest center of flourishing for Nasta‘liq was Iran, from which it spread into Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and subsequently other ECO countries. Today, Iran and Pakistan remain the primary centers where Nasta‘liq is widely practiced, while in other ECO member states it is preserved largely as a historical or artistic tradition.