''Nasihat Nama'' (), also known as ''Qabus Nama'' (), is a book in the
Persian language
Persian ( ), also known by its endonym and exonym, endonym Farsi (, Fārsī ), is a Western Iranian languages, Western Iranian language belonging to the Iranian languages, Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages, Indo-Iranian subdivision ...
from the 11th century. It was authored by Amir
Keikavus. The book was completed in the year 475
AH. ''Qabus Nama'' is an
advice book, and its contents are presented in the form of counsel and advice.
The author of ''Qabus Nama'', Keikavus, was a prince of the
Ziyarid dynasty
The Ziyarid dynasty () was an Iranian peoples, Iranian dynasty of Gilaki people, Gilaki origin that ruled Tabaristan from 931 to 1090 during the Iranian Intermezzo period. The empire rose to prominence during the leadership of Mardavij. After his ...
. He wrote this book for his son,
Gilanshah, in 44 chapters and one introduction; with the intention that if his son were to maintain the rule after him or take care of other affairs, he would know how to fulfill his duties. Keikavus also covered topics such as the upbringing of a child, the customs of military expeditions, governance, social etiquettes, and the common knowledge and skills of that era. Although the primary audience of the book is Gilanshah, Keikavus explained in the introduction that others could also benefit from this work, and he strived to make the book accessible to all.
''Qabus Nama'' is one of the earliest advice books in
Persian Dari and one of the most prominent ones. Five manuscript versions of ''Qabus Nama'' are known, which have differences in their compositions. This book has a simple text that is close to
contemporary Standard Persian, and throughout the book, advice, proverbs, stories, and poems are interwoven. Although most of ''Qabus Nama'' is written in simple prose, there are also quatrains in the middle of the text, mostly by Keikavus himself. However, these poems are of lesser quality compared to his prose. The book uses
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
sparingly, and the author only employs this language for technical and specific terms. There is only one verse in Arabic and one verse in the
Tabari language
Mazandarani (Mazanderani: , ''Mazeruni''; also spelled Mazani () or Tabari (); also called Taveri, Mazeruni, Tati, Geleki and Galeshi) is an Iranian language of the Northwestern branch spoken by the Mazanderani people. , there were 1.35 million ...
in the book.
In contemporary times, various editions of ''Qabus Nama'' have been published in Iran. For the first time,
Reza Qoli Khan Hedayat published a
lithographed
Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...
version of it during the Qajar era. Subsequently, editions with corrections and introductions by
Saeed Nafisi
Saeed Nafisi (also Naficy) (; June 8, 1895 – November 13, 1966) was an Iranian scholar, fiction writer and poet. He was a prolific writer in Persian.
Nafisi was born in Tehran, where he conducted numerous research projects on Iranian culture, l ...
and
Gholamhossein Yousefi were also published. ''Qabus Nama'' has been translated into various languages. The earliest translations were into Turkic languages, including
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...
and
Tatar
Tatar may refer to:
Peoples
* Tatars, an umbrella term for different Turkic ethnic groups bearing the name "Tatar"
* Volga Tatars, a people from the Volga-Ural region of western Russia
* Crimean Tatars, a people from the Crimea peninsula by the B ...
, and later translations were published in German, French, English, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Japanese, Georgian, Uzbek, and Azerbaijani.
The prose style of ''Qabus Nama'' influenced Persian literature after its time and led to more complex literary texts. Additionally, the storytelling style and the inclusion of short poems within the prose impacted writers such as
Saadi. The translations of this book into Turkic languages gave rise to a style in Ottoman Turkish literature known as
Nasihatnama. The German poet
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
was also influenced by this book in his work ''
West–östlicher Divan
' (; ''West–Eastern Diwan'') is a diwan, or collection of lyrical poems, by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It was inspired by Goethe's readings of the Persian national poet Hafez.
Composition
''West–Eastern Diwan'' was writ ...
''.
Background
''Qabus Nama'' is a book in the category of
educational literature. Such books have a long history in
Persian literature
Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
, and a large portion of literary books were written for education and training. Writing
Pahlavi advice books
Pahlavi may refer to:
Iranian royalty
*Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire
*Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979
**Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...
was a common tradition in
ancient Iran
The history of Iran (also known as Name of Iran, Persia) is intertwined with Greater Iran, which is a socio-cultural region encompassing all of the areas that have witnessed significant settlement or influence exerted by the Iranian peoples and ...
before Islam. Although the original Pahlavi advice books mostly disappeared gradually before the advent of Islam, their contents were translated into
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
in the first three centuries after Hijra. Additionally,
Sasanian Pahlavi language
The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranian peoples, Iranians"), was an List of monarchs of Iran, Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, th ...
continued to be used up to the fourth and fifth centuries after Hijra, and the tradition of writing advice books was thus passed on to later generations. By the fifth century after Hijra, advice books had found their way into Persian works. However, the moral teachings rooted in ancient times underwent changes according to the requirements of Islam. Nevertheless, references to Sasanian customs, which are present in ''Qabus Nama'' and other early works, are derived from these Pahlavi regulations. Persian prose in the fifth century, contemporary with the
Ghaznavids
The Ghaznavid dynasty ( ''Ġaznaviyān'') was a Persianate Muslim dynasty of Turkic peoples, Turkic ''mamluk'' origin. It ruled the Ghaznavid Empire or the Empire of Ghazni from 977 to 1186, which at its greatest extent, extended from the Oxus ...
, also witnessed gradual changes. Its
Simple Prose
Simple or SIMPLE may refer to:
*Simplicity, the state or quality of being simple
Arts and entertainment
* ''Simple'' (album), by Andy Yorke, 2008, and its title track
* "Simple" (Florida Georgia Line song), 2018
* "Simple", a song by John ...
lost its excessive simplicity, and sentences became longer and more elaborate. The works of this period are referred to as transitional or formative literature.
Extant original copies
* The oldest copy, dated 1349, belongs to the library of
Malik National Museum of Iran
Malek National Museum and Library () is a museum and national library in Tehran, Iran. Malek National Library and Museum Institution (MNLMI) is the first private museum of Iran, and one of the six large libraries holding the exquisite manuscript ...
in
Tehran
Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...
.
* The
Egyptian National Library and Archives
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
keeps a copy in
Old Anatolian Turkish
Old Anatolian Turkish or Old Turkish, also referred to as Old Anatolian Turkic, (, Perso-Arabic script: اسکی انادولو تورکچهسی), was the form of the Turkish language spoken in Anatolia from the 11th to 15th centuries. It dev ...
, written during the reign of
Süleyman of Germiyan.
* One of the earliest remaining copies of this work is one dating from 1450, translated into Turkish by
Mercimek Ahmed on the orders of the
Ottoman Sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
Murad II
Murad II (, ; June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1421 to 1444 and from 1446 to 1451.
Early life
Murad was born in June 1404 to Mehmed I, while the identity of his mother is disputed according to v ...
. It is kept in the ''Fatih Library'' of
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
.
* The
British Museum
The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...
keeps a copy of an early Turkish translation, dated 1456.
* Another copy, dated 1474, exists in the
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(ms. Persan 138).
* An excellent copy is kept at the
Leiden University
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
library.
The Turkish version was then translated into
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
by
Heinrich Friedrich von Diez as Buch des Kabus in 1811, and a source of inspiration for
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...
's
West-östlicher Diwan as he was in contact with von Diez.
The text was translated directly from Persian into English by
Reuben Levy
Reuben Levy (28 April 1891 – 6 September 1966) was Professor of Persian at the University of Cambridge. He wrote on Persian literature and Islamic history.
Life
Levy was educated at the Friars School, Bangor, the University College of Nor ...
with the title: A Mirror for Princes in 1951. French, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, and Georgian (1978) language translations also followed.
Cultural references
This work is mentioned several times in Louis L'Amour's ''
The Walking Drum'' as well as in
Tariq Ali
Tariq Ali (;; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and co ...
's "The Stone Woman".
See also
*
Persian Literature
Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
*
Mirrors for princes
Mirrors for princes or mirrors of princes () constituted a literary genre of didactic political writings throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It was part of the broader speculum or mirror literature genre.
The Latin term ''speculum reg ...
Notes
References
*
*
*
* (Based on
Reuben Levy
Reuben Levy (28 April 1891 – 6 September 1966) was Professor of Persian at the University of Cambridge. He wrote on Persian literature and Islamic history.
Life
Levy was educated at the Friars School, Bangor, the University College of Nor ...
's 1951 edition)
* (Sixth edition; first edition in 1345)
*
Secondary sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qabus-nama
Persian literature
11th-century Persian books
Islamic mirrors for princes