Das Saif al-mulūk wa-l-ḥukkām des Muḥyī ad-Dīn Muḥammad b. Sulaimān al-Kāfiyaǧī (gest. 1474), Edition, Übersetzung und Kommentar.

Muḥyi ad-Dīn al-Kāfiyaǧī, author of Saif 'l-mulūk wa-l-ḥukkām (The sword of kings and rulers), lived in Mamluk Cairo in the fifteenth century. His work reminds rulers to practice justice and benevolence towards their suzerains. At the same time it urges people to show obedience to their just rulers. Central for the work is its emphasis for justice as a human and social value, which was postulated from God, who demanded from the human kind to guarantee the main requirements for the cohesion and maintenance of the Islamic society. Thus Saif 'l-mulūk wa-l-ḥukkām discusses important political, social and moral issues and presents reforms in terms of advice and suggestions. The book belongs to the genre of ”Mirrors of Princes”. Therefore this study is supposed to give an overview of the genre and its development in a Muslim context. Furthermore it will contain a list of works, which can be seen as advising literature. Since this study is an edition of al-Kāfiyaǧīs work, it will explain the content of the manuscripts first, followed by the edition and translation of the text with commentaries about the manuscript and its scientific significance. Among other things this part will attempt to clarify the original motives for writing Saif 'l-mulūk wa-l-ḥukkām.