Narratives of Kingship in Eurasian Empires, 1300-1800

Erscheinungsjahr 2017
ISBN: 978-90-04-34053-4
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 11, 280 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 544 g

Reihe: Rulers & Elites

In Narratives of Kingship in Eurasian Empires, 1300-1800 Richard van Leeuwen analyses representations and constructions of the idea of kingship in fictional texts of various genres, especially belonging to the intermediate layer between popular and official literature. The analysis shows how ideologies of power are embedded in the literary and cultural imagination of societies, their cultural values and conceptualizations of authority. By referring to examples from various empires (Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, European) the parallels between literary traditions are laid bare, revealing remarkable common concerns. The process of interaction and transmission are highlighted to illustrate how literature served as a repository for ideological and cultural values transforming power into authority in various imperial environments.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Leeuwen, Richard van

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literaturgeschichte und Literaturkritik
• Geisteswissenschaften Literaturwissenschaft Literarische Stoffe, Motive und Themen
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtswissenschaft Allgemein

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgements
List of Figures

Introduction
The Thousand and One Nights and Processes of Transmission
Source Material

1 Kings, Viziers, Concubines
The Cycle of the ‘Seven Viziers’/ ‘Seven Sages of Rome’ and Its Cognates
Variations: The Story of ‘Jali?ad of Hind and His Vizier Shimas’
King Wu’s Expedition against Zhou and Proclaiming Harmony
Concluding Remarks

2 Gods, Demons, and Kings
The Prince and the Demons of Evil: The Legendary Vikramaditya
The Thirty-Two Steps of the Throne
Harun al-Rashid, Vizier Ja?far, and the Jinns
Harun al-Rashid and the Discourse of Power
Fighting the Evil Spirit: The Creation of the Gods
Concluding Remarks

3 Divine Insights, Cosmic Harmony
The Cycle of the ‘Queen of the Serpents’
King and Cosmos: The Sorcerer’s Revolt
Jan Potòcki’s Manuscrit Trouvé à Saragosse
Concluding Remarks

4 The Knight and the King
Tirant lo Blanc: The Ideal Knight
The Harbinger of the Faith: Amir Hamza
The Emperor and the Barbarians: The Exploits of Yue Fei
Hang Tuah, the Malay Hero
The ‘Foreign’ Sultan: Al-Zahir Baybars
The Muslims against the Byzantines: Sayyid Battal
Concluding Remarks

5 Kingship and Love
The Prince and the Mysteries of Love
The Story of ‘Mirigavati’
Sufis and Solomon
The Enchantment of Love: European Fantasies of Kingship and Love
Concluding Remarks

6 Unrequested Advice
The Frustrated Official: Mustafa Ali of Gallipoli
Against the Old Order: Huang Zongxi and Hung Sheng
European and Oriental Despots: Montesquieu and Diderot
A Modern Mirror-for-Princes: Christoph Martin Wieland’s Der Goldene Spiegel
The Official and His Empress: Alexander Radischev and Catherine II
Concluding Remarks

Conclusion

Bibliography
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Richard van Leeuwen, Ph.D. (1992) University of Amsterdam, is senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at that university. He has published widely on the history of the Middle East, Arabic literature, and Islam, and is also a translator of Arabic literature. His publications include Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon, 1736-1840 (Brill 1994); Waqfs and Urban Structures in Ottoman Damascus (Brill 1999); (with U. Marzolph) The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia (2 vols, Santa Barbara 2004); The Thousand and One Nights: Space, Travel and Transformation (London 2007).