![]() ![]() ![]() In a 1377 description of cards by John of Rheinfelden, the most common decks were structurally the same as the modern 52-card deck. The third court card may have had a special role to play since the Spanish, French, and Italians called the newly introduced cards naipe, nahipi, and naibi respectively as opposed to their Arabic name of Kanjifah. King, Ober, and Under of Acorns from a Swiss deck (1880) Both Mamluk and modern European decks include three face cards per suit, or twelve face cards in a deck of four suits. There are fragments of what may be Mamluk court cards from cheaper decks showing human figures which may explain why seated kings and mounted men appear in both Indo-Persian and European cards. It is possible that the Topkapı deck, a custom made luxury item used for display, does not represent the cards played by commoners. To avoid idolatry, the cards did not depict human faces and instead featured abstract designs or calligraphy for the malik (king), nā'ib malik (viceroy or deputy king) and thānī nā'ib (second or under-deputy). When playing cards arrived in Iran, the Persians created the first face cards.The best preserved deck is located in the Topkapı Palace. ![]() While playing cards were invented in China, Chinese playing cards do not have a concept of face cards. ![]()
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