''Qabus-nama'' or ''Qabus-nameh'' (variations: ''Qabusnamah'', ''Qabousnameh'', ''Ghabousnameh'', or ''Ghaboosnameh'', in Persian: or , "Book of Kavus"), ''Mirror of Princes'', is a major work of

Persian literature Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) 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 h ...

, from the eleventh century (c. 1080 AD). It was written by Keikavus, the

Ziyarid The Ziyarid dynasty ( fa, زیاریان) was an Iranian dynasty of 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 death, ...

ruler of parts of

Tabaristan Tabaristan or Tabarestan ( fa, طبرستان, Ṭabarestān, or mzn, تبرستون, Tabarestun, ultimately from Middle Persian: , ''Tapur(i)stān''), was the name applied to a mountainous region located on the Caspian coast of northern Iran. ...

, and was dedicated to his son Gilanshah. The belles-lettres was written in 44 chapters and outlines princely education, manners, and conduct in ethical didactic prose.

Extant original copies

* The oldest copy, dated 1349, belongs to the library of

Malik National Museum of Iran Malek National Museum and Library ( fa, کتابخانه و موزه ملی ملک) 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 6 la ...

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the Capital city, capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is th ...

. * The

Egyptian National Library and Archives The Egyptian National Library and Archives ( ar, دار الكتب والوثائق القومية; "Dar el-Kotob") is located in Nile Corniche, Cairo and is the largest library in Egypt, followed by Al-Azhar University and the Bibliotheca Alex ...

keeps a copy in

Old Anatolian Turkish Old Anatolian Turkish (OAT, tr, Eski Anadolu Türkçesi, ''EAT'') is the stage in the history of the Turkish language spoken in Anatolia from the 11th to 15th centuries. It developed into Early Ottoman Turkish. It was written in the Arabic sc ...

, 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

Murad II Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451. Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...

. It is kept in the ''Fatih Library'' of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. * The

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docume ...

keeps a copy of an early Turkish translation, dated 1456. * Another copy, dated 1474, exists in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national reposito ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

(ms. Persan 138). * An excellent copy is kept at the Leiden University library. The Turkish version was then translated into

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Heinrich Friedrich von Diez Heinrich Friedrich von Diez (2 September 1751 – 7 April 1817) was a German diplomat and orientalist. He was ennobled in 1789 by Frederick the Great for his diplomatic service as the Prussian chargé d'affaires to the Ottoman Empire. In his ...

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 poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

'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, who wrote on Persian literature and Islamic history. Life Levy was educated at the Friars School, Bangor, the University College of No ...

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 ''The Walking Drum'' is a novel by the American author Louis L'Amour. Unlike most of his other novels, ''The Walking Drum'' is not set in the frontier era of the American West, but rather is an historical novel set in the Middle Ages—12th-ce ...

'' 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 cont ...

's "The Stone Woman".

Notes

Persian literature 11th-century books Islamic mirrors for princes {{ethics-book-stub

Extant original copies

Cultural references

See also

Notes