Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-Muluk

Siyasat Nama (also known as Siyar al-Muluk; The Book of Government or The Conduct of Kings) is a classical Persian treatise on statecraft and political ethics composed by the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk (408–485 AH / 1018–1092 CE) Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1.

Composition and Context

The work was initiated in response to a royal decree issued in 479 AH (1086–1087 CE) by the Seljuk sultan Malik Shah, who instructed Nizam al-Mulk and other high officials to evaluate the functioning of the state, examine the customs and administrative institutions of earlier rulers, and report on any deficiencies in religious or worldly affairs Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1. Another report notes that he composed it approximately one year before his death Majallat al-Risala.

Nizam al-Mulk originally prepared a concise draft consisting of thirty-nine chapters and submitted it to the sultan Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…. He subsequently revised the text and added eleven further chapters, expanding the total to fifty chapters, before handing over the manuscript prior to his final departure toward Baghdad Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…+1. The revised text was held back from public release until after the security threats following his assassination by the Batiniyya (Ismailis) had subsided Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M….

Structure and Content

The treatise is organized into fifty chapters (fasl), addressing various facets of governance, court protocol, and administrative organization Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…+1. Among its core subjects are:

• The ruler's duty to establish justice, adhere to religious principles, and personally hold audiences twice weekly to hear the grievances and complaints of subjects Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…+1.
• The organization of royal banquets (khwan), state messengers, and the management of revenue, the military, and courtiers Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…+1.
• Supervision of governors, judges, and tax officials to prevent administrative abuse and corruption Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…+1.
• Extended historical warnings and refutations aimed at internal political and religious dissensions, with specific attention devoted to the Batiniyya and Ismaili movements Mawqif Ibn Taymiyya min a…+1.

Method and Style

Nizam al-Mulk drew upon his thirty years of ministerial experience under Sultans Alp Arslan and Malik Shah, as well as what he observed and learned from his teachers Siyasat Nama = Siyar al-M…+1. His method typically involves identifying an area of administrative weakness, proposing practical corrective measures, and corroborating his advice with Quranic interpretations, hadiths, stories of prophets, and historical anecdotes of earlier just rulers Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh …. The work draws upon both Arab-Islamic and Persian cultural traditions as well as other prevailing lore of the period, and its prose is characterized by straightforwardness and an absence of forced rhetorical embellishment Mawsuat Safir lil-Tarikh ….

Manuscripts, Editions, and Translations

Manuscript copies of the work are preserved in several libraries, including Istanbul University, the Fatih and Mulla Chalabi collections in Istanbul, and the Astan-i Quds library in Mashhad Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al….

The text was edited and published in Paris by Charles Schefer (1891, with a supplement in 1897) and printed in Tehran in 1310 AH Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1. It was translated into Turkish (Istanbul, 1954) and rendered into Arabic in translations by Muhammad al-Azzawi and Yusuf Husayn Bakkar Mujam Tarikh al-Turath al…+1.