Louise Marlow, Ph.D. 1987

A textual and contextual study of an early Arabic mirror for princes

Mirrors for princes form a substantial and important genre in many pre-modern literatures. Their ostensible purpose is to advise the king; at the same time they assert that the king, if he is truly virtuous, will appreciate being reminded of the contingency of his power. The unknown author of the Counsel for Kings studied in this book wrote in a distinctive early tenth-century Iranian environment. He deploys an abundant set of cultural materials representing ‘perennial wisdom’ of mixed provenances, which he reinvigorates by applying them to the circumstances of his own time and place.

The first volume situates Counsel for Kings in its historical context. The second volume gives direct access to a substantial portion of the text through translation and commentary.

Key features

• Integrates the evidence of Counsel for Kings with established materials for the study of Samanid history
• Demonstrates the interplay of mirrors for princes with other forms of literary expression, such as anthologies of adab, historiographical, theological, philosophical and homiletic writings, encyclopaedic works and poetry

  Table of Contents

  Volume I
  Preface
  Notes on Transliteration and Dates
  Glossary
  Introduction
  Part I: Situating the Text
  Map 1: The Nile-to-Oxus Region in the Tenth Century
  Chapter 1. An Early Samanid View of History: The Dating of Naṣīḥat al-mulūk
  Map 2: The Oxus Regions in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries 85
  Chapter 2. A Liminal Setting: The Location of Naṣīḥat al-mulūk
  Part II: Governance and Society
  Chapter 3. Kingship and Governance: Concepts and Terminology
  Chapter 4. Intermediaries and Networks
  Part III: The Religious Landscape
  Chapter 5. Multiplicity and Rhetoric
  Chapter 6. Religion and the Samanid Amirs
  Chapter 7. The Afflictions of the Kingdom and Their Remedies
  Chapter 8. The Religious Sensibility of Naṣīḥat al-mulūk
  Fig. 1: The Samanids
  Fig. 2: The Samanid Dynastic Family
  Notes.

  Volume II
  Part I. The Cultural Landscape
  Chapter 1. The Presentation of Advice
  Chapter 2. Sources and Authorities: The Living Meaning of Ancient Wisdom
  Part II. The Three Governances: Translations and Commentary
  Chapter 3. Governance of the Self
  Chapter 4. Governance of the Élites
  Chapter 5. Governance of the Common People
  Conclusion
  Notes
  Index of Qurʾanic verses
  Bibliography
  Index.