Counsel for Kings: Wisdom and Politics in Tenth-Century Iran

ISBN-13: 9780748697564 / Angielski / Twarda / 2016 / 392 str.

L. Marlow

Opis

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.

About the series: Edinburgh Studies in Classical Arabic Literature provides new insights into classical Arabic literature in light of state of the art cultural and literary theory, including theories of gender, empire, textuality, reader response, performance, narrative and semiotics.

Spis treści

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 Na???at al-mul?k; Map 2: The Oxus Regions in the Ninth and Tenth Centuries 85; Chapter 2. A Liminal Setting: The Location of Na???at al-mul?k; 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 Na???at al-mul?k; 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 Qur?anic verses; Bibliography; Index.