What were the qualities ascribed to the good ruler in medieval Islam and how is he depicted? Which examples were used to illustrate the adequate behaviour of a monarch and what was the ruler’s expected relationship to his entourage – ministers, counsellors and family? The Arabic textual tradition includes a wealth of texts on political theory and good government that can serve as source basis to answer these questions.
Writings dealing with the quality of the legitimate and good ruler, his appropriate conduct, and the effective organisation of government, abound in the vast ocean of medieval Arabic and Persian literature. They appear disseminated in a multiplicity of textual genres,such as treatises on ethics and political philosophy, mirrors of princes, advice literature, administration handbooks, legal books, historiography, literary anthologies and encyclopaedias. Since all these texts were developed by various social groups, they reflect diverse perspectives on the topic: whether that of the clerical class of administrators (kuttāb) and courtiers, the schools of legal scholars (ʿulamāʾ), theologians (mutakallimūn) or the circles of philosophers (falāsifa).
