TheCodeBreakers
similar games abounded; grammar became a major study. And included
was secret writing.
The Arabic knowledge of cryptography was fully set forth in the
section on cryptology in the Subh al-a 'sha, an enormous, 14-volume
encyclopedia written to afford the secretary class a systematic survey of
all the important branches of knowledge. It was completed in 1412 and
succeeded in its task. Its author, who lived in Egypt, was Shihab al-DIn
abu '!-'Abbas Ahmad ben 'Ali ben Ahmad 'Abd Allah al-Qalqashandi. The
cryptologic section, "Concerning the concealment of secret messages
within letters," has two parts, one dealing with symbolic actions and
allusions, the other with invisible inks and cryptology. Qalqashandi
attributed most of his information on cryptology to the writings of Taj ad-
Din 'All ibn ad-Duraihim ben Muhammad ath-Tha'alibi al-Mausill, who
lived from 1312 to 1361 and held various teaching and official posts
under the Mamelukes in Syria and Egypt. Except for a theological
annaabi.ee 
