Tuhfa al-Mulook by Owhadi of Maragha: A Work Recently Discovered

Shaikh Owhad al-Din Owhadi of Maragha, son of Husain Isfahani, and one of the celebrated poets of the Mongol period, lived in the last third part of the 13th century A.D. Apart from his Divan of Qasidas and Qazals, etc., he is most renowned for his two Mathnavis: Jam-e Jam, and Mantiq al-Ushshaq (Dah Name). However, the only remaining prose work by him, known so far, is the treatise Tuhfa al-Mulook. The treatise is divided into nine chapters dealing with the moral subjects selected from the maxims presented by great men. While the first chapter begins with the two-word maxims, each next chapter adds one more word so that the last one reaches to maxims made up of ten words. There are two reasons emphasizing the attribution of this treatise to Owhadi: first, authenticity and age of the treatise which clearly shows the name of Owhadi at the beginning; and second, the style which is very close to the style of Dah Name. Of course, it is noticeable that the whole collection of manuscripts containing this work exclusively belongs to Owhadi’s authorships and is essentially written for the same purpose. The present work is a recently discovered treatise belonging to Owhadi of Maragha, not mentioned in any biography book. Even those who edited and publicized Owhadi’s works, such as the late Professor Saeed-e Nafisi, were unaware of such a manuscript and never mentioned it in their papers.