Author : Nasrin Askari
Release : 2016-08-09
Genre : History
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 915/5 ( reviews)
Book Synopsis The Medieval Reception of the Shāhnāma as a Mirror for Princes by : Nasrin Askari
Download or read book The Medieval Reception of the Shāhnāma as a Mirror for Princes written by Nasrin Askari. This book was released on 2016-08-09. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nasrin Askari explores the medieval reception of Firdausī’s Shāhnāma, or Book of Kings (completed in 1010 CE) as a mirror for princes. Through her examination of a wide range of medieval sources, Askari demonstrates that Firdausī’s oeuvre was primarily understood as a book of wisdom and advice for kings and courtly elites. In order to illustrate the ways in which the Shāhnāma functions as a mirror for princes, Askari analyses the account about Ardashīr, the founder of the Sasanian dynasty, as an ideal king in the Shāhnāma. Within this context, she explains why the idea of the union of kingship and religion, a major topic in almost all medieval Persian mirrors for princes, has often been attributed to Ardashīr.