The Medieval Reception of the Shahnama as a Mirror for Princes.

AuthorMarlow, Louise
PositionBook review

The Medieval Reception of the Shahnama as a Mirror for Princes. By NASRIN ASKARI. Studies in Persian Cultural History, vol. 9. Leiden: BRILL, 2016. Pp. xi + 398. $189, [euro]136

In the book under review, Nasrin Askari explores readings of Firdawsi's Shahnama that highlight "its characteristics as a book of ethico-political wisdom and advice for kings and courtly elites" (p. 2). She proposes that Firdawsl intended the myths and legends of the Shahnama to be understood as vehicles for the conveyance, through metaphor and symbol, of important ethical principles and political concepts. Concentrating on the reception of Firdawsi's text among near-contemporary and later medieval Persian writers, Askari argues convincingly that in combining moral instruction with political advice, the Shahnama functioned in numerous cases as a "mirror for princes," a category that she treats in an appropriately broad sense.

To explore this proposition, Askari concentrates on the section of the Shahnama devoted to Ardashir, the founding monarch of the Sasanian dynasty. Consisting of an introduction, four chapters, a conclusion, and substantial appendices, the volume provides an analysis of the Ardashlrian materials in the Shahnama, and traces the appearance of similar materials in later Persian-language didactic writings. Askari's focus on the figure of Ardashir is particularly pertinent, since, as she explains, the section devoted to this monarch is commonly taken to mark the movement in the Shahnama from the mythological and legendary eras to the fully historical period, yet Firdawsi's Ardashlrian corpus combines both legendary and "historical" narratives. The sequence accordingly provides Askari with excellent materials to illustrate her contention that Firdawsl had little interest in recording "history," at least as modern historians understand it, and that he intended instead to promote ethical political conduct. Acknowledging but avoiding extensive discussion of "interpolations" and textual "authenticity," Askari establishes criteria for her assessment of the verses that constituted Firdawsi's Shahnama. Using the edition of J. Khaliqi-Mutlaq, she cites her texts in the original Persian and provides, for the most part, her own translations.

Chapter one assembles the information available on the sponsorship of the Shahnama, assesses the anecdotes concerning its immediate reception, and cites the responses of later medieval writers to Firdawsl and his opus...

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