The new scientific work “The Muslim Decorated Grave Steles of the 14-16th centuries from Kubachi as the Examples of Stone-Carving Art, Arabic Epigraphy and Calligraphy” was issued by “Sadra” Publishing House with the assistance of Ibn Sina Foundation. This book was prepared by the senior research scholar, Doctor of Art Professor Misrikhan Mammaevich Mammaev from the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology of the Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The author of the monograph investigated the Muslim decorated grave steles of the 14-16th centuries from Kubachi that had not been studied by scholars up till now. These stone steles, skillfully adorned with calligraphic late-Kufic Arabic and partly Persian inscriptions, as well as plant ornaments, have remained largely unexplored.
This work describes over 100 steles identified by the author, examining their shapes, dating, decorative features, while also tracing the evolution of their forms and decor. The grave steles, with their ornamental-epigraphic compositions, are presented as valuable works of stone-carving art, showcasing Arabic and partly Persian epigraphy and decorative calligraphy. The monograph characterizes Kubachi as the foremost center of stone-carving art, which significantly impacted the artistic culture of Dagestan and the North Caucasus.
The monograph by M. Mammaev is the eighth volume of the series “Written Monuments of Dagestan” that has been issued by the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology of the Dagestan Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Earlier the work “Dagestan Arabic-language Sources and Documents of the end of the 18th – the beginning of the 20th Century. Part 1” (“Sadra”, 2025) was published with the assistance of Ibn Sina Foundation.
