Qabus-nama

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Qabus-nama or Qabus-nameh (variations: Qabusnamah, Qabousnameh, Ghabousnameh, or Ghaboosnameh, in Persian: کاووس‌نامه or قابوس‌نامه, "Book of Kavus"), Mirror of Princes,[1] is a major work of Persian literature, from the eleventh century (c. 1080 AD).

Seen here is the last page of a Qabus-nameh manuscript located in the library of The Malik National Museum of Iran, dated 1349.

It was written by Keikavus,[2] the Ziyarid ruler of parts of Tabaristan, and was dedicated to his son Gilanshah.

The belles-lettres was written in 44 chapters and outlines princely education, manners, and conduct in ethical didactic prose.

Extant original copies

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The Turkish version was then translated into German by Heinrich Friedrich von Diez as Buch des Kabus in 1811, and a source of inspiration for Goethe's West-östlicher Diwan as he was in contact with von Diez.[citation needed]

The text was translated directly from Persian into English by Reuben Levy with the title: A Mirror for Princes in 1951. French, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, and Georgian (1978) language translations also followed.[citation needed]

Cultural references

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This work is mentioned several times in Louis L'Amour's The Walking Drum as well as in Tariq Ali's "The Stone Woman".

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ C.E. Bosworth, The Later Ghaznavids, (Columbia University Press, 1977), 35.
  2. ^ J.T.P. de Bruijn ,"KAYKĀVUS Amir ʿOnṣor-al-Maʿāli" in Encyclopædia Iranica [1]. Oneline Edition
  3. ^ Sadettin Buluç (1969). "Eski Anadolu Türkçesiyle Bir Kabus-name Çevirisi". Belleten (in Turkish). Turkish Language Association. p. 195.