The ''Marzbān-nāma'' ( fa, مرزبان‌نامه, lit=Book of Marzban) is an early 13th-century

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

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 Mirrors for princes ( la, specula principum) or mirrors of princes, are an educational literary genre, in a loose sense of the word, of politics, political writings during the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, the late middle ages and the Re ...

" literary genre. 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 Atabeg, Atabek, or Atabey is a hereditary title of nobility of Turkic origin, indicating a governor of a nation or province who was subordinate to a monarch and charged with raising the crown prince. The first instance of the title's use was wit ...

'')

Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek, also known as Özbeg ibn Muhammad Pahlawan (died 1225) was the fifth and last ruler (''atabeg'') of the Eldiguzids from 1210 to 1225, during the later Seljuk and Khwarezmian periods. He was married to Malika Khatun, wido ...

(1210–1225). The ''Marzbān-nāma'' was translated fully or as an abridgement into

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

, French and English. 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 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. ...

(a historic region in northern

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) around the 10th century, by the

Bavandid The Bavand dynasty () (also spelled Bavend), or simply the Bavandids, was an Iranian peoples, Iranian dynasty that ruled in parts of Tabaristan (present-day Mazandaran province) in what is now northern Iran from 651 until 1349, alternating betwe ...

ruler Al-Marzuban (979–986). 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. The illustrations depict the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the author of the work and the patron.

Manuscripts

Older extant manuscripts of the ''Marzbān-nāma'' include (per the ''

Encyclopedia Iranica An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...

'' and the ''Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture''): * Ms. 216 (Library of the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul), the only known manuscript with illustrations, dated 698/1299. It is the earliest known extant copy. * OR 6476 (British Library, London, used in the collation of Qazvini), dated 8th/14th century, displays evidence of more than one copier. * Ancien Fonds Persan 384 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; also used in Qazvini’s collation), dated 9th/15th century.

References

Sources

* * Komaroff and Carboni, ''The Legacy of Genghis Khan: Courtly Art and Culture in Western Asia, 1256-1353''. New York, The Metropolitan Museum, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 2002, fig. 200. * {{Depictions of Muhammad 13th-century books Fables Literary illuminated manuscripts Persian mythology Cultural depictions of Muhammad Persian-language books Islamic mirrors for princes