The series “Moralistic literature of the Seljuk era in Persian: originals and counterfeits” was launched in 2017 with the support of the RAS Institute of Oriental Manuscripts and the Ibn Sina Foundation.
The first edition published was “The works of Imam Al-Ghazali”, which included short and instructive essays in Persian written by Imam Al-Ghazali closer to the end of his life or attributed to him afterwards.
In 2020 the 1st volume entitled “Amir Mu’izzi Nishapuri. Siyasat-namah/ Siyar al-muluk (“Book of Government”/”The Lives of Kings”) was published.
Siyasat-namah (“Book of Government”) and Siyar al-muluk (“The Lives of Kings”) is a falsified work that became part of the Persian classical literature under two names. This text is still being published and republished under the authorship of Nizam al-Mulk, the distinguished Prime Minister of the Seljuks. However, based on the results of historical and textual analysis, it turned out that the text was compiled by Muhammad Mu‘izzi Nishapuri, head of the poetry department under the Seljuk rulers, Malik Shah and his son Sanjar, and then attributed by him to the murdered Nizam al-Mulk with a certain purpose.
The 3rd and the last volume of the “Moralistic literature of the Seljuk era in Persian: originals and counterfeits” series is expected to be published in future.
