Author | Sa'ad al-Din Varavini |
---|---|
Language | Persian |
Genre | Mirrors for princes |
Publication date | Early 13th-century |
The Marzbān-nāma ( Persian: مرزباننامه, lit. 'Book of Marzban') is an early 13th-century Persian prose work. It consists of "various didactic stories and fables used as illustrations of morality and right conduct", and belongs to the " mirror for princes" literary genre. [1] [2] It was written in 1210–1225 by Sa'ad al-Din Varavini, under the patronage of Abu'l-Qasem Harun, the vizier of the Eldiguzid ruler ( atabeg) Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek ( r. 1210–1225). [1]
The Marzbān-nāma was translated fully or as an abridgement into Turkish, Arabic, French and English. [1] K. Crewe Williams notes that the Marzbān-nāma is said to have been based upon a non-extant precursor, which was written in the vernacular of Tabaristan (a historic region in northern Iran) around the 10th century, by the Bavandid ruler Al-Marzuban ( r. 979–986). [1]
As opposed to normal practise, the three illustrations found at the beginning of the earliest extant manuscript (dated 1299) were drawn before the text was written. [2] The illustrations depict the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the author of the work and the patron. [2]
Older extant manuscripts of the Marzbān-nāma include (per the Encyclopedia Iranica and the Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture): [1] [2]