in the name ofin the name of

AllahAllahMost Kind, Most CompassionateMost Kind, Most Compassionate

Chronogramsand Calendars

by

Shaukat MahmoodHEC Professor

College of Art & Design

Punjab University, Lahore

The Time FactorHow the time was calculated

Chronogramis a deviCe used for

measuring Timeand This has been in usesinCe Time immemorial

Neolithic Calendar discovered in BulgariaNeolithic Calendar discovered in Bulgaria

A Babylonian CalendarA Babylonian Calendar

A 19A 19thth century centuryMuslim CalendarMuslim Calendar

An Aztec CalendarAn Aztec Calendar

This is how ancient Iranians wrote their recordThis is how ancient Iranians wrote their record

This is how the ancient Greeks used This is how the ancient Greeks used their alphabets for numberstheir alphabets for numbers

Ancient Greeks used sun-dials, sand clocksAncient Greeks used sun-dials, sand clocksand water clocks for measuring time. and water clocks for measuring time. This is a water clock called ClepsydraThis is a water clock called Clepsydra..

This is another type of ClepsydraThis is another type of Clepsydra

This is water-clock of ancient KoreansThis is water-clock of ancient Koreans

This diagram explains how the Clepsydra workedThis diagram explains how the Clepsydra worked..

This is a conjectural picture of a meteorological laboratoryThis is a conjectural picture of a meteorological laboratoryof ancient Greeks where the studied winds also beside time.of ancient Greeks where the studied winds also beside time.

These are the remains of the same lab near Athens.These are the remains of the same lab near Athens.

The lab or observatory was octagonal buildingThe lab or observatory was octagonal buildingand on each side there was sculpture representingand on each side there was sculpture representing

one of the eight winds.one of the eight winds.

And this is how the Romans And this is how the Romans used their alphabets as numbersused their alphabets as numbers

• To measure timeLittle is known about the details of timekeeping in prehistoric eras; however, records and artefacts show that in every culture people were preoccupied with measuring and recording the passage of time.

• Ice-age hunters in Europe over 20,000 years ago scratched lines and gouged

holes in sticks and bones, probably counting the days between

phases of the moon.

Five thousand years ago, Sumerians in the Tigris-Euphrates valley in today’s Iraq had a calendar that divided the year into thirty-day months, divided the day into 12 periods (each corresponding to two of our hours), and divided these periods into 30 parts (each like four of our minutes).

The earliest Egyptian calendar was based on the moon’s cycles, but later the Egyptians realized that the “Dog Star” in Canis Major, which is now called Sirius, rose next to the sun every 365 days, about when the annual inundation of the Nile began. Based on this knowledge, they devised a 365-day calendar that seems to have begun in BC 4236, the earliest recorded year in history.

the Dog Star, a common name for the star Sirius, reflecting its prominence in its constellation, Canis Major (Greater Dog).

Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. It is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek meaning "glowing" or "scorcher”. The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris What the naked eye perceives as a single star is actually a binary star system.

In Babylonia, again in Iraq, a year of 12 alternating 29-day and 30-day lunar months was observed before BC 2000, giving a 354-day year.

Sun ClocksThe Egyptians were the first to have formally divided their day into parts something like our hours. Obelisks (slender, tapering, foursided monuments) were built as early as BC 3500 Their moving shadows formed a kind of sundial, enabling citizens to partition the day into two parts by indicating noon. They also showed the year’s longest and shortest days when the shadow at noon was the shortest or longest of the year. Later, markers added around the base of the monument would indicate further time subdivisions.

Water ClocksWater clocks were another form of early timekeepers that did not depend on the observation of celestial bodies. One of the oldest was found in the tomb of Amenhotep I, buried around BC 1500. Later named clepsydras (“water thief”) by the Greeks, who began using them about BC 325, these timekeepers were stone vessels with sloping sides that allowed water to drip at a nearly constant rate from a small hole near the bottom.

More elaborate and impressive mechanized water clocks were developed between BC 100

and AD 500 by Greek and Roman horologists and astronomers. The added complexity was aimed at making the flow more constant by regulating the pressure, and at providing fancier displays of the passage of time. Some water clocks rang bells

and gongs; others opened doors and windows to show little figures of people, or moved pointers, dials, and astrological models of the universe.

The first mechanical clocks: Early timepieces in EuropeAll modern clocks – down to the latest atomic clock, accurate to one second every 30 million years – depend on oscillation. An oscillator is a device which moves backwards and forwards at a regular speed. This regular movement chops time into segments, which can then be counted. The best known example is the pendulum, which is designed by the clockmaker to swing a precise number of times per second. (For example, in most pendulum wall clocks, it swings once every second.) The time of the swing depends on the length of the pendulum.

In the early-to-mid-14th century, large mechanical clocks, making use of oscillation, began to appear in the towers of several large Italian cities. There is no evidence or record of the working models preceding these public clocks that were weight-driven and regulated by a verge-and-foliot escapement. Verge-and-foliot mechanisms reigned for more than 300 years with variations in the shape of the foliot. All had the same basic problem: the period of oscillation of this escapement depended heavily on the amount of driving force and the amount of friction in the drive. Like water flow, the rate was difficult to regulate.

Portable time keepingPeter Henlein of Nürnberg created the first pocket watch in 1480. It was made of gilded brass and had only one hand, giving the approximate time. Ball shaped it was yet oddly named a “Nürnberg Egg”. Religion was to have a strong influence on the watch industry, however indirectly. When the Protestant reformation took over Geneva in 1535 the city had no watch making industry to speak of and was known rather for its jewellery.

Quartz mechanismA major change occurred in the 1930s and 1940s when quartz crystal clocks replaced the pendulum, balance-wheel escapements and the spring as standard mechanisms, further improving timekeeping performance. In a quartz watch the oscillator is a quartz crystal, which has the property to vibrate in the presence of an electric field, produced in watches by miniature batteries. The high frequency of the vibrations means that a quartz timekeeper is very accurate – to within about one minute a year. In the 1960s it became possible to manufacture integrated circuits small enough to be used in wristwatches.

Atomic clocksThe atomic clock is the most recent development. It uses the oscillations of atoms of caesium-133. Their advantage is that they oscillate extremely fast and at exactly the same rate. Unlike quartz crystals, for example, they are unaffected by outside influences, such as temperature changes. An example is the FOCS-1, the most accurate clock ever developed in Switzerland, which started operating in 2004. It stands in a laboratory of the Swiss Federal Office of Metrology METAS in Bern. Were you to come back and look at it in 30 million years’ time, it would not have deviated by more than one second.

Calligraphy

and inscriptions

are a fundamental component

of Islamic architecture

Both mosques and mausolea

are replete

with a variety of

religious and secular inscriptions

Qur’anic inscriptions

1. Complete suras and selected ayat.

2. Bismillah

3. Islamic confession of faith(Kalima yi-Tayyibah and Shahadah)

4. The Takbir

5. Various attributes of Allah

Non-Qur’anic inscriptions

1. Name of the mosque2. Name of the patron3. The date of erection

4. Poetical eulogy in praise of Allahand the Prophet (pbuh)

5. Ahatith concerning mosques, salat and other fundamentals of Islam

Chronograms were commonChronograms were commonin Latin literature and the alphabet in Latin literature and the alphabet

had numerical value had numerical value like like ii for 1, for 1, vv for 5, for 5, xx for 10, for 10,

ll for 50, for 50, dd for 500, for 500, cc for 100for 100 and and mm for 1000for 1000

In Latin chronograms lettersIn Latin chronograms lettersgiving dates were highlightedgiving dates were highlighted

as we see in this exampleas we see in this example

CChrhr ii stst vvs s dvxdvx ergo tr ergo tr ivmivmphphvvssC = 100 + i = 1 + v = 5 + D = 500 + v = 5 +C = 100 + i = 1 + v = 5 + D = 500 + v = 5 +x = 10 + i = 1 + v = 5 + m = 1000, + v = 5.x = 10 + i = 1 + v = 5 + m = 1000, + v = 5.

TOTAL : 1632TOTAL : 1632

Persian chronograms in the Arabic alphabet are,Persian chronograms in the Arabic alphabet are, it seems, of greater antiquity than it seems, of greater antiquity than

European examples. It is not improbable indeed, European examples. It is not improbable indeed, that chronograms originated in the East where that chronograms originated in the East where poetic juggling of various kinds was common. poetic juggling of various kinds was common.

Chronograms became extremely popular for books Chronograms became extremely popular for books and epitaphs. Authors, and epitaphs. Authors, katibs katibs and printers rivaled and printers rivaled

one another by hiding dates inone another by hiding dates in intricate chronograms sometimes intricate chronograms sometimes

most difficult to decipher. most difficult to decipher.

Mir AmanMir Amantranslated a Persian romance of Amir Khusraw, called translated a Persian romance of Amir Khusraw, called

Qissa-i Chahar DarvishQissa-i Chahar Darvish(The story of four darvishes)(The story of four darvishes)

and he chose for his translation the nameand he chose for his translation the nameBagh u baharBagh u bahar (“The garden and the spring”).(“The garden and the spring”).

According to the Arabic system of According to the Arabic system of abjad abjad these words give the date 1217 / 1802these words give the date 1217 / 1802

which was the date of translation’swhich was the date of translation’spublicationpublication

In Persian datesIn Persian datesare computed on the basisare computed on the basis

of of AbjadAbjador or hisab al-jummal

Abjad: Category 1

Hawwaz: Category 2

Huttiy:Huttiy: Category 3 Category 3

Kalman :Kalman : Category 4 Category 4

Sa’fas :Sa’fas : Category 5 Category 5

Qarshat :Qarshat : Category 6 Category 6

Thakhaz :Thakhaz : Category 7 Category 7

Dazagh :Dazagh : Category 8 Category 8

Muslim all over the worldMuslim all over the worldoften write often write

786786at the top of their letters andat the top of their letters and

other documentsother documentsthis has chronographic significancethis has chronographic significance

Let’s examine theLet’s examine the

significance ofsignificance of

786786

This all important ayat is composed of four words. Examine the numerical value of

letters which make these four words

Mosque of Wazir Khan, Lahore. (Shahjahan’s Period)

Two chronograms on the main portalTwo chronograms on the main portal

(tr.) “When I asked the Reason the date of the foundation of this magnificent mosque,

It answered: ‘This is the place of worship of the pious.’ “ Words sajdagah ahl-i fadl

give the date 1044 (A.H.)

(tr.) “ When I asked of Reason the date of its foundation,

It answered: ‘Say the founder ofthis mosque is Wazir Khan.’ “

Words bani Wazir Khan contain the chronogram which gives the date 1044 (A.H.)

Thatisallfortoday

Dr. Shaukat MahmoodMA. Fine Arts, Gold Medalist, Punjab UniversityMSc. Architectural Conservation, Heriot-Watt UniversityPhD, Islamic Architecture, Edinburgh UniversityAcademic Roll of Honour, Govt. College University, LahoreGold Medal for research in Islamic CalligraphyPresident Medal for Pride of Performance 2001Sitara-i Imtiaz 2010HEC Professor & Coordinator Research & Ph.D. ProgrammeCollege of Art & Design, Punjab University, Lahore.