The Crown Book in the Morals of Kings

The book in your hands, dear reader, contains chapters in which the discussion revolves around the kings and their conditions with some detail. From mentioning their companionship and their hospitality, to narrating the qualities of their courtiers and what is due to the kings from their subjects in good manners in both jest and seriousness, to reviewing various types of conversations and humorous anecdotes, which Al-Jahiz, the unique literary figure, draws from the news of historians and narrators, moving between the temperaments of kings and their peoples, across different lands, commenting on each narration with his own style and insightful analysis, which directly depicts a picture of societies in his time within a special literary framework. Al-Jahiz extensively discussed the kings from the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs and what distinguished each of them by their qualities, so much so that the book can be described as a broad history of the two Islamic states, the Umayyad and Abbasid, and the anecdotes, stories, and narrations surrounding those histories. As with all of Al-Jahiz’s works, the book is characterized by its eloquent language, precise organization, and careful choice of words, making it a timeless literary journey that preserves the brilliance of the Arabic language and offers a splendid image of Arab literature through one of his creative masterpieces.