A Comparative Study on Different Aspects of the Book of Deeds of Ardashir And the Will of Al-Mansur

The book of deeds of Ardashir, a Sassanid king, and the will and testament of Al-Mansur, an Abbasid caliph, are regarded as historical works. They were both inspired by religious beliefs and social situation of society and they were written for the purpose of reforming governmental and administrative affairs. (Brief History) However the relations between these two works have been always unidentified (Problem), which has not been studied or analyzed so far in any research. (Background) Therefore, the present paper will try to answer the raised question: Is it possible that Al-Mansur was inspired by Ardashir, because of his curiosity about the life of Sassanid kings. (Question) It seems Al-Mansur, an Abbasid caliph, tried to follow the book of deeds of Ardashir, in administrating his government and then wrote his will and testament based on it. (Hypothesis) As the books of deeds and wills are precious and inseparable part of every cultural, political, social and economic system, analyzing and comparing them would help us in recognizing the culture, ideology and beliefs of that time; as they contain common discourse of the time. (Purpose) Historical aspects of the book of deeds of Ardashir and the will of Al-Mansur will be analyzed by means of a descriptive – analytical approach. (Methodology) After analyzing and comparing these two historical works, it can be expressed that administrative systems of Al-Mansur and Ardashir had numerous similarities. (Finding)