A Comparative-Thematic Survey of Kauţīlya's Arthaśāstra and Khawaja Nezam al-Mulk Tussi's Sīyāsatnāme

The Sanskrit epistle of Kauṭīlya's Arthaśāstra dates back to circa 3rd century B.C.; that is composed on rules of kingship and statecraft in India. The subject of this epistle is near to Sīyāsatnāme (Seyarolmoluk) of Khawaja Nezam al-Mulk Tussi, the well-known prime minister of Seljuk. He was the founder of military schools in Iran. The book of Arthaśāstra has not been translated into Persian and basically there is no traces of such Indian treatises in Persian literature and Iranian history. The aim of this article is to introduce this epistle to Persian readers and to compare some of the chapter of it, with Siyāsatnāme in terms of the subject and to clear the similarities and differences between them. In this way, it can characterize the differences of prevalent political thoughts in Iran and India at that time. The Author hopes that bring forward the degree of achievement of two writers in expressing purpose and usage of recommendation in statecraft.