Works
Counsel for kings
The Islamic mirror-for-princes genre drawn as two streams. Root one is Plato's Republic, which reaches Arabic only in pieces: SEP says a full Arabic translation is doubted and one translated passage is known (Reisman 2004), so the channels are al-Fārābī (who takes some inspiration from the Republic and Laws and summarised the Laws), Ibn Rushd's commentary (preserved in Hebrew) and Ibn Bājja, who quotes Plato and turns him the other way. Galen's synopses of Plato reached Arabic in part (Kraus and Walzer 1951); whether one of the Republic was among them is not yet checked. Root two is the Persian andarz tradition and the pseudo-Aristotelian Sirr al-asrār, with Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ as the channel of Persian counsel into Arabic: TDV lists Greek, Indian, Iranian and Chinese books and andarz-nāmas among the genre's sources, and names Plato and Aristotle's political thought beside them. Ibn ʿArabī's Tadbīrāt belongs to the second stream by a documented link: its preface names the Sirr al-asrār (Nyberg pp. 120–121). The line from the Republic to the Tadbīrāt is a parallel unless a source documents a route; none was found.
Roots
سر الأسرار / كتاب السياسة في تدبير الرياسة
Pseudo-Aristotle · Core 8th c.; two recensions (short, long) by 10th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
Galen's synopsis of Plato's Republic (Arabic reception)
جوامع كتاب أفلاطون في السياسة (Galen's synopsis of the Republic, as reported)
Galen of Pergamon · unknown; not verified not yet checked
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
To Nicocles; Nicocles (or the Cyprians); Evagoras
Πρὸς Νικοκλέα / Νικοκλῆς / Εὐαγόρας
Isocrates · c. 374-365 BCE not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with To Nicocles; Nicocles (or the Cyprians); Evagoras) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Πολιτικά; Οἰκονομικά (pseudo)
Aristotle · Politics c. 330s BCE not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Secret of Secrets) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Pseudo-Aristotelian letters to Alexander (Arabic Alexander-romance epistolary corpus)
رسائل أرسطو إلى الإسكندر; الرسالة في السياسة للمدن
Pseudo-Aristotle · 8th-9th c. Arabic not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
To an Uneducated Ruler; Sayings of Kings and Commanders (Moralia)
Πρὸς ἡγεμόνα ἀπαίδευτον; Βασιλέων ἀποφθέγματα
Plutarch of Chaeronea · c. 100 CE not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
Resonance, not influence (with To Nicocles; Nicocles (or the Cyprians); Evagoras) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Advice to the Emperor / Ekthesis
Ἔκθεσις κεφαλαίων παραινετικῶν
Agapetus the Deacon · c. 527-30 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Advice to the Emperor / Ekthesis) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Letter to Boris-Michael; Παιδεία βασιλική; Κεφάλαια παραινετικά
Photius of Constantinople · 9th-11th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Secret of Secrets) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature
اندرز (Pahlavi andarz)
Anonymous (Sasanian andarz) · Sasanian, preserved in 9th-10th c. Pahlavi not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
عهد أردشير
Ardashīr I (attributed) · Sasanian (3rd c.) tradition; Arabic text 8th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
نامه تنسر
Tansar (attributed) · Sasanian setting; Persian recension via Ibn Isfandiyār (c. 1210) not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Book of Lords / Lives of the Kings of the Persians
خداینامگ / سیر ملوک العجم
Anonymous (Sasanian andarz) · 6th-7th c. Pahlavi; Arabic 8th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage
الأدب الكبير؛ الأدب الصغير؛ رسالة في الصحابة
Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ · c. 750s not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Kalīla and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai)
كليلة ودمنة
Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ · c. 750; Persian 1144 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Letter of Ṭāhir to his son ʿAbd Allāh
رسالة طاهر بن الحسين إلى ابنه عبد الله
Ṭāhir b. al-Ḥusayn · 206/821, to his son ʿAbd Allāh b. Ṭāhir on his appointment; al-Maʾmūn had it copied and sent to governors (TDV, citing al-Ṭabarī VIII, 582–591) checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
Resonance, not influence (with The Secret of Secrets) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Secret of Secrets (Latin versions)
Secretum secretorum (Latin)
John of Seville and Philip of Tripoli (Latin translators) · 12th-13th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Secret of Secrets (Latin versions)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Bacon's glossed edition of the Secretum
Secretum secretorum cum glossis et notulis
Roger Bacon · c. 1270s not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Secret of Secrets) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Secret of Secrets (Latin versions)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Poridat de las poridades; Secrees of Old Philisoffres; Secreta secretorum (Old French, German, Russian, Welsh...)
Anonymous and later translators (Castilian, English) · 13th-15th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Testament of Ardashīr) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Book of the Crown (on the characters of kings)
كتاب التاج في أخلاق الملوك
al-Jāḥiẓ (attributed) · 9th–10th c.; TDV (Siyâsetname) calls it one of the first works with the siyāsatnāma genre's marks, dedicated to the vizier al-Fatḥ b. Khāqān, in a preface and four parts probable
Resonance, not influence (with Choice Reports (Book 1: al-Sulṭān)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Book of Lords / Lives of the Kings of the Persians) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Courtesies of Kings; Gift for Viziers; Histories of the Persian Kings
آداب الملوك؛ تحفة الوزراء؛ غرر أخبار ملوك الفرس
al-Thaʿālibī · early 11th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
نصيحة الملوك؛ تسهيل النظر وتعجيل الظفر؛ قوانين الوزارة؛ أدب الدنيا والدين
al-Māwardī · c. 1030-1058 (Naṣīḥa authorship in doubt) not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Counsel for Kings; Facilitating Deliberation; Rules of the Vizierate; Conduct of Worldly and Religious Life) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
الأحكام السلطانية والولايات الدينية
al-Māwardī · c. 1045-58 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Counsel for Kings; Facilitating Deliberation; Rules of the Vizierate; Conduct of Worldly and Religious Life) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Al-Fakhri: on the systems of government and the Muslim dynasties
الفخري في الآداب السلطانية والدول الإسلامية
Ibn al-Ṭiqṭaqā · 1302 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Kalīla and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Solace for the Ruler during Hostility of Subjects (Waters of Comfort)
سلوان المطاع في عدوان الأتباع
Ibn Ẓafar al-Ṣiqillī · c. 1159-60 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Lamp of Kings) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
The Shining Meteors on Useful Policy
الشهب اللامعة في السياسة النافعة
Ibn Riḍwān al-Mālaqī · late 14th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Counsel for Kings; Facilitating Deliberation; Rules of the Vizierate; Conduct of Worldly and Religious Life) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Wonders of Conduct in the Natures of Kingship
بدائع السلك في طبائع الملك
Ibn al-Azraq · c. 1480s not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Great Book of Conduct; The Little Book of Conduct; Epistle on the Caliph's Entourage) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
قوتادغو بيليگ
Yūsuf Khāṣṣ Ḥājib · 462/1069–70, presented to the Karakhanid ruler Tavgach Ulugh Bughra Khan (TDV) checked in Hasan Hüseyin Adalıoğlu, “Siyâsetnâme”, TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (2009)
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
Resonance, not influence (with Introduction to History (Prolegomena)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Guide to Practice for the Correction of Defects
دستور العمل لإصلاح الخلل
Kâtib Çelebi (Ḥājjī Khalīfa) · 1653 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Guide to Practice for the Correction of Defects) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Andarz: Middle Persian counsel literature) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
The Book of Government or Rules for Kings
سیاستنامه / سیر الملوک
Niẓām al-Mulk · late 5th/11th c., written at Malikshāh's request (TDV: fifty-one chapters; draft: c. 1091–92) probable
Resonance, not influence (with Testament of Ardashīr) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
Resonance, not influence (with The Nasirean ethics) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Jalalean Ethics (Practical Philosophy of the Muhammadan People)
اخلاق جلالی
Jalāl al-Dīn Dawānī · c. 1475-77 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Jalalean Ethics (Practical Philosophy of the Muhammadan People)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Mirror for Princes: The Qābūs Nāma) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Mirror for Princes: The Qābūs Nāma) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Kalīla and Dimna (Fables of Bidpai)) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Laws) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Opinions of the people of the virtuous city
آراء أهل المدينة الفاضلة
al-Fārābī · c. 940s not yet checked
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
The political regime (also called the Principles of existing things)
السياسة المدنية
al-Fārābī · c. 940s (draft; unchecked) not yet checked
Lineage (with Laws) A summary of the Laws by al-Fārābī; SEP says the Arabic text survives. checked in its source
Resonance, not influence (with The Nasirean ethics) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Metaphysics of the Shifāʾ, book X (prophecy, law and the city)
الإلهيات من الشفاء، المقالة العاشرة
Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) · c. 1020s not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Opinions of the people of the virtuous city) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Opinions of the people of the virtuous city) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Commentary on Plato's Republic
جوامع سياسة أفلاطون
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) · c. 1194 (draft; unchecked) not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Epistles of the Brethren of Purity; The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the Jinn
رسائل إخوان الصفا؛ نزاع الإنسان والحيوان
Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ · 10th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Opinions of the people of the virtuous city) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Divine governance of the human kingdom
التدبيرات الإلهية في إصلاح المملكة الإنسانية
Ibn ʿArabī · Composed at Mawrūr (Morón) 'in under four days' (dūn al-arbaʿa al-ayyām, Nyberg p. 121); the year is not yet established (draft: before 598/1202) probable
Resonance, not influence (with The refinement of character) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
عجائب القلب (إحياء علوم الدين، الكتاب 21)
al-Ghazālī · c. 1095-1105 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Wonders of the Heart) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return
مرصاد العباد من المبدأ إلى المعاد
Najm al-Dīn Rāzī Dāya · 620/1223 not yet checked
No link to an earlier work is recorded yet.
Treatise on the Differences between Breast, Heart, Inner Heart and Core
بيان الفرق بين الصدر والقلب والفؤاد واللب
al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmidhī · late 9th-early 10th c. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with The Wonders of the Heart) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Mirror for Princes: The Qābūs Nāma) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Spiritual Couplets) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Divine governance of the human kingdom) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
The Stations; Reminder to the Intelligent and Admonition to the Heedless
كتاب المواقف؛ ذكرى العاقل وتنبيه الغافل
Emir ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī · 1850s-1860s; Dhikrā 1855 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with On Clemency) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Politics; (pseudo-)Economics) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Politics; (pseudo-)Economics) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Commentary on Plato's Republic) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with To Nicocles; Nicocles (or the Cyprians); Evagoras) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
The Education of a Christian Prince
Institutio principis christiani
Desiderius Erasmus · 1516 not yet checked
Resonance, not influence (with Cyropaedia (Education of Cyrus); Hiero) The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked