Siyasatnama

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A front page of the Government Book.

Siyāsatnāmeh (

Islamic writing known as the "Mirrors for Princes".[2]

Written in

Ismailis.[3] The treatise is concerned with guiding the ruler with regard to the realities of government and how it should be run. It covers "the proper role of soldiers, police, spies, and finance officials"[4] and provides ethical advice emphasizing the need for justice and religious piety in the ruler. Nizam al-Mulk defines in detail what he views as justice; that all classes be "given their due" and that the weak be protected. Where possible justice is defined by both custom and Muslim law and the ruler is held responsible to God.[5]

Anecdotes rooted in Islamic, and occasionally pre-Islamic Persian, culture and history with popular heroes - for example,

Mahmud of Ghazna and the pre-Islamic Shah Khosrow Anushirvan - who were considered as exemplars of good and virtue frequently appearing. The Siyasatnameh is considered to provide insight into the attitude of the Persian elite of the 12th century towards the past of their civilization as well as evidence for methods of the bureaucracy and the extent it was influenced by the pre-Islamic traditions.[5]

The earliest remaining copy is located in the

National Library of Tabriz, in Iran
. It was first translated into French in 1891.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Green, Nile (2019). "Introduction: The Frontiers of the Persianate World (ca. 800–1900)". In Green, Nile (ed.). The Persianate World: The Frontiers of a Eurasian Lingua Franca. University of California Press. p. 16.
  2. ^ Esposito, John (2003). The Oxford Dictionary of Islam. New York City: Oxford University Press. p. 235.
  3. Bosworth, C. E. "Niẓām al-Mulk"
    . The Encyclopaedia of Islam, New Edition, Volume VIII: Ned–Sam. Vol. 8. pp. 69–73.
  4. ^ Lapidus, Ira A History of Islamic Societies p. 151
  5. ^ a b Morgan, David (1988). Medieval Persia, 1040-1797. London: Longman. pp. 29–30.

External links

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