The Formation of the Political Thought of Nizam Al-Mulk

Abstract

The article examines the political views of the famous Persian thinker and political figure Nizam al- Mulk, expressed in his main work, the treatise “Siyasatnama”. The paper deals with the brief description of the historical situation in which the thinker’s life took place; after that the author characterizes the structure and logic of the treatise. It is argued that politics for Nizam al- Mulk is inextricably linked to practice, not reduced to a set of certain theoretical provisions. Based on personal experience and proofing his ideas by concrete examples, the thinker sketched main traits of the ideal ruler and gave recommendations that the latter should follow in order to strengthen the power of state and to maintain it. At the same time Nizam al- Mulk sought to recreate the traditional Iranian political structure throughout the Empire. In particular, a competent approach to government issues implies a good awareness of the ruler, attention to economic problems and issues of religious education and upbringing. The thinker paid great attention to all three aspects in his work. This paper also concentrates on the question, how these ideas were implemented by Nizam al- Mulk, in his attempts to create an information service (diwan-i barid) to reorganize the financial system of the Seljuk Empire. Moreover, the article discusses why some of ideas of Nizam al- Mulk (mainly related to economic development) were not implemented or led to negative consequences while have been implemented.