Marzban-nama
The Marzbān-nāma () 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. 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 (1210–1225). The "Marzbān-nāma" was translated fully or as an abridgement into Turkish, Arabic, French and English. 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 (979–986). 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. The illustrations depict the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the author of the work and the patron. Manuscripts. Older extant manuscripts of the "Marzbān-nāma" include (per the "Encyclopedia Iranica" and the "Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art & Architecture"):