Counsel for Kings : : Wisdom and Politics in Tenth-Century Iran: Volume I: The Nasihat al-muluk of Pseudo-Mawardi: Contexts and Themes / / Louise Marlow.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Edinburgh University Press Complete eBook-Package 2016
• VerfasserIn: Marlow, Louise,
• Place / Publishing House: Edinburgh : : Edinburgh University Press, , [2016]; ©2016
• Year of Publication: 2016
• Language: English
• Series: Edinburgh Studies in Classical Arabic Literature : ESCAL
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (360 p.) :; 4 B/W illustrations

A textual and contextual study of an early Arabic mirror for princesMirrors 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 featuresIntegrates the evidence of Counsel for Kings with established materials for the study of Samanid historyDemonstrates 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

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Notes on Transliteration and Dates -- Glossary -- Introduction -- Part I Situating the Text -- 1 An Early Samanid View of History: The Dating of Na‚īªat al-mulūk -- 2 A Liminal Setting: The Location of Na‚īªat al-mulūk -- Part II Governance and Society -- 3 Kingship and Governance: Concepts and Terminology -- 4 Intermediaries and Networks -- Part III The Religious Landscape -- 5 Multiplicity and Rhetoric -- 6 Religion and the Samanid Amirs -- 7 The Afflictions of the Kingdom and their Remedies -- 8 The Religious Sensibility of Nasihat al-mulūk -- Notes -- Index