The ancient Egyptians used a type of writing based on images, in recording their ideas. Unlike other writings that are always written in one direction, hieroglyphics can be edited and read from right to left or vice versa; or vertically in both directions.
One can define the beginning direction from which text is read, depending on animal or human labeling; for backward and forward, as these marks always face the beginning of the text. When writing hieroglyphic texts, the ancient Egyptians ignored the sounds of moving letters, as is now the case with Arabic and Hebrew writing. From the time of the ancient state onwards, the ancient Egyptians also used the Hieratic script; a short, concise writing on papyrus, used by priests in religious and funerary texts. With the later pharaonic times and the Ptolemaic period, a more concise written writing was used: the demotic script.
Throughout ancient Egyptian history, scribes were considered the custodians of literary traditions. In addition to their basic administrative functions, scribes edited and reviewed theological and medical texts; they also compose new texts. The scribes used a rectangular folder, known as the plate, to save their ink and pens from the canvas they used to write. The most common surfaces were pottery, plates, papyrus and leather. The papyrus came together, forming a roll. The papyrus scroll remained the common form of the book, until the Roman era; when the manuscript replaced it, a set of leaves was found together in the form of the modern book. Slavery, made of leather, became the preferred surface of writing in the Byzantine era and beyond, because it was the most stable and durable. Complementary auxiliary industries related to the book arose from the formation, reproduction and decoration; with the increasing number of books produced by Christian churches and monasteries.
In the reign of the successors and governors of the Muslims, Egypt adopted the Arabic language; it is written in many decorative lines, in which copies, coffees and many others. Arabic has 28 characters and is written from right to left. Arab artists became fond of the Arabic language, inventing it for writing art, in the formation of letters and words. Schools were established to study and practice the art of lines, especially in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. The collection of pens, pens, ink pots and dewatering material was a necessary tool for Muslim writers in Egypt. They did their work on bone and wood, with special metal pens; while they used pens to write on papyrus and paper. Decorative writings were used to decorate mosque lamps, coffins, pottery and other everyday objects.
Tags: literature
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