Marzban-nama

The Marzbān-nāma (Persian: مرزبان‌نامه, lit. 'Book of Marzban') is an early 13th-century Persian prose work. It consists of "various didactic stories and fables used as illustrations of morality and right conduct", and belongs to the "mirror for princes" literary genre.^[1][2] It was written in 1210–1225 by Sa'ad al-Din Varavini, under the patronage of Abu'l-Qasem Harun, the vizier of the Eldiguzid ruler (atabeg) Muzaffar al-Din Uzbek (r. 1210–1225).^[1]

Marzban-nama

Folio from a manuscript of the Marzban-nama stored in the Malek National Museum and Library, Tehran
Author	Sa'ad al-Din Varavini
Language	Persian
Genre	Mirrors for princes
Publication date	Early 13th-century

The Marzbān-nāma was translated fully or as an abridgement into Turkish, Arabic, French and English.^[1] K. Crewe Williams notes that the Marzbān-nāma is said to have been based upon a non-extant precursor, which was written in the vernacular of Tabaristan (a historic region in northern Iran) around the 10th century, by the Bavandid ruler Al-Marzuban (r. 979–986).^[1]

As opposed to normal practise, the three illustrations found at the beginning of the earliest extant manuscript (dated 1299) were drawn before the text was written.^[2] The illustrations depict the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the author of the work and the patron.^[2]

Manuscripts

Older extant manuscripts of the Marzbān-nāma include (per the Encyclopedia Iranica and the Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture):^[1][2]

• Ms. 216 (Library of the Archaeological Museum, Istanbul), the only known manuscript with illustrations, dated 698/1299. It is the earliest known extant copy.
• OR 6476 (British Library, London, used in the collation of Qazvini), dated 8th/14th century, displays evidence of more than one copier.
• Ancien Fonds Persan 384 (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; also used in Qazvini’s collation), dated 9th/15th century.