Contents

Acknowledgements

Note on Transliteration, Translation, and Style

Introduction

Chapter 1 - The Medieval Reception of Firdausī’s Shāhnāma

The Reception of the Shāhnāma on the Part of Sultan Maḥmūd

Fact versus Fiction

Niẓāmī ʿArūżī’s Anecdote

Niẓāmī Ganjavī’s Allusions

Aṭṭār’s Allusions

Saʿd al-Dīn Varāvīnī’s Allusion

The Silence of Sultan Maḥmūd’s Court Poets about Firdausī

The Shāhnāma and the ʿAbd al-Razzāq Family

The Reception of the Shāhnāma on the Part of Medieval Writers

Biographies of Poets

Comments of the Copyists of the Shāhnāma

Works on the Science of Rhetoric

Post-Shāhnāma Epics

Compilations of Selected Verses from the Shāhnāma

Medieval Prose Works Containing Verses from the Shāhnāma

Chapter 2 - The Portrayal of Ardashīr in the Shāhnāma

The Structure of the Ardashīr Cycle in the Shāhnāma

Ardashīr’s Eligibility for Kingship

Noble Lineage and Protection of Religion

Divine Election

Divine Support of Ardashīr

The Support of the Military and the Priesthood

Ardashīr’s Battles: The Stages of Founding a New Empire

Ardashīr’s Successful Kingship

A Wise and Conscientious Minister

A Rightful Heir to the Crown

Reconciliation with Former Enemies

Chapter 3 - The Wisdom of Ardashīr and His Advices in theShāhnāma

Ardashīr’s Customs and Practices (āyīn)

The Army

The Scribal Class

Local Governors

War

Foreign Delegates

Construction of New Cities

Bankrupted Individuals

Addressing Grievances

Taxes

Ardashīr’s Throne Speech (andarz)

Ardashīr’s Testament (ʿahd)

The Concept of Justice

The Idea of the Union of Kingship and Religion

Threats to Kingship

Commonalities and Differences

Ardashīr’s Prediction

Ardashīr’s Cities

Chapter 4 - The Ardashīr Cycle and Medieval Persian Mirrorsfor Princes

The Pandnāma of Sebüktegin

The  dāb-i salṭanat va vizārat

The Qābūs-nāma

The Siyar al-mulūk of Niẓām al-Mulk

The Naṣīḥat al-mulūk of Ghazālī

The Aghrāż al-siyāsa fī aʿrāż al-riyāsa

Two Chapters of the Jāmiʿ al-ʿulūm (Sittīnī)

The Marzbān-nāma

The Ᾱdāb al-ḥarb va al-shujāʿa

Conclusion

Bibliography of Primary Sources

Bibliography of Secondary Sources

Appendices

Appendix A (1)

Appendix A (2)

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

Appendix F

Appendix G

Appendix H

Appendix I

Appendix J

Appendix K

Appendix L

Appendix M

Index