Tarsh

In post-classical Arabic, a ṭarsh (طرش) is an engraved block used for printing. They were made of wood or tin and were in use from around 900 to 1436/1444. There are over a hundred known Arabic blockprints on paper, parchment and possibly papyrus. They are mostly small strips intended for use in amulets. They have mainly been identified in public and private collections, but a few prints have been recovered archaeologically at Fusṭāṭ in Egypt. No physical specimen of a ṭarsh (wooden print block or metal matrix) itself has yet been found.

Etymology and Origin The origin of ṭarsh, whether borrowed along with paper from China or invented independently in the Islamic world, is disputed. Richard Bulliet, contrasting the rapid adoption of paper and the marginalization of printing in the Islamic world, suggests a separate origin for each and thus the indigenous development of ṭarsh. Though the use of alternating black and red ink in some printed talismans recalls Chinese red seals on black prints. Similarly, the unusually undulating Basmala calligraphy in TIEM inv. no. 44/14 reflects the distinct visual character of Chinese seal script. The origin of the word ṭarsh is uncertain. The Semitic root ṭ-r-š (طرش) is related to deafness and ṭ-r-s (طرس) to writing (including the word for palimpsest), but an Egyptian origin has also been suggested. In Aramaic, a language which the Banū Sāsān language of Sīn drew much from, the triliteral root ṭ-r-sh means "to beat" or "to batter." Richardson argues this refers to the production method itself: the physical action of striking an inked stamp or matrix onto a printing support to produce an impression. In the modern surviving descendant of the Banu Sasan Sīn language, the Sīm of Nile Ḥalab smiths, the related word mutrash refers to a type of anvil, further reinforcing the connection to metalworking and striking.

Social context

For the most part, printing was not a state-sponsored activity but a "minority enterprise" practiced by a confederation of social outcasts known as the Banū Sāsān, since printed artifacts are only mentioned in connection to them, and the entire vocabulary of blockprinting is in their tribal dialect of Sīn not any other middle eastern languages. (Haykal: large amulet scroll, Sharīḥa: small amulet, Sirmāṭ: block-printed amulet, sarmaṭa: to print, ṭarsh: printing block, ṭarāsh: printer). Their name is in reference to a certain Shaykh Sasan, who some medieval authors thought to be the son of Kay Bahman, by asserting and taking pride in these royal origins they sought to elevate their social standing. In the 13th century, they acknowledged their estrangement and renamed themselves the ghurabā’ ("Strangers"). This name is the origin of the Gurbeti Romani subgroup across the Balkans and Turkey, as well as the Ghorbati who range from Syria through Iran and Afghanistan to South and Central Asia. They were made up of various ethnic and religious groups, such as Zutt, Persians, Nubians, Jews and Aramaic speakers, and were predominantly of a Shi'i inclination. They fulfilled many economic niches as: animal trainers, public performers (astrologers, magicians, acrobats, sword swallowers), medical workers (ophthalmologists, drug dealers, pharmacists, female genital cutters), beggars, night watchmen, and makers and sellers of printed amulets. But most important was their connection to the occult sciences such as alchemy, divination and particularly astrology. To such an extent, that the term for these sciences in Arabic and persian ('ulūm gharība/'ulūm-i gharībe) seems to be drawn from their name ghurabā’. They also developed the illuminated Shi'i astrological book genre known as a Bulhān. To sell as many amulets as possible, ghurabā’ astrologers mass produced them through block printing, deceiving the illiterate masses into thinking they were individually made and handwritten. To maintain the charade, they required strict secrecy regarding the printing process. This culture of guarded secrecy is a likely a major reason why printing was not adopted for mainstream book production in the Islamic world, despite the technology being well-established for half a millennium.

Historical development

Between the 10th and 14th centuries, several texts contain passages which could refer to block printing. Perhaps the earliest of these is Ibn al-Nadim's Fihrist of the late 10th century, where he mentions Egyptian magicians who use stamps. Around the same time,the poet and traveller Abu Dulaf al-Khazraji (fl. ca. 952) composed for Buyid vizier Sahib ibn Abbad a panegyric about the Banū Sāsān, an informal guild of beggars, thieves, and confidence tricksters. Mentioning their use of the ṭarsh to produce amulets:

The engraver of ṭarsh is he who engraves moulds for amulets. People who are illiterate and cannot write buy them from him. The seller keeps back the design which is on it so that he exhausts his supply of amulets on the common people and makes them believe that he wrote them. The mould is called the ṭarsh.These amulets were believed to possess white magic providing protection or divine assistance and blessings. Most amulets are long, narrow rectangular strips, similar in size to a bookmark, though a few can reach over a meter long. These were to be folded or rolled up and placed in metal cylinders that were worn around the neck, though some were dissolved in water and ingested carrying its magical power throughout the body. They typically had numerous recurrent elements: address to God (such as the Basmala or Takbir), statement of purpose (I seek refuge from followed by a list of afflictions), identification of the beneficiary (due to being blockprinted this was generic: owner of this amulet; whoever wears this), invocations to God. A few have a closing formula (such as blessings upon the prophet) but most end abruptly. To be considered efficacious, amulets required specific religious components: Qurʾānic citations (especially the "disjoined letters" (Muqattaʿat), Surahs Al-Fatiha and Al-Ikhlas, the 18th verse of Al Imran and verses from Al-Isra') lists of some or all of the 99 names of God, invocations, numerological elements, and geometric forms like circles, teardrops, hexagrams and Octagrams, some may also include Magic Squares.

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