Political Hikmah in Ancient Iran

Political hikmah is an Iranian-Islamic concept and although at times it has been taken as synonymous with political philosophy, it is different from both political philosophy and political thought. The present article aims to explain political hikmah in ancient Iran. This is done in three stages. First, the meaning of hikmah and political hikmah is dealt with. Then, it is briefly discussed that hikmah and political hikmah originate from ancient Iran. Finally, some principles of political hikmah are examined. Ancient Iranians tried to rely on these principles in a macro intellectual and philosophical system in order to assign governmental positions to those who deserved them, direct the government toward justice and prevent rulers from committing injustice. These principles were as follows: dividing the universe into the world and heaven, the theory of philosopher-ruler, divine charisma, imperial splendor, and rejection of the theory of dominion. Some of the discussions in this article draw on Suhrawardi, the great philosopher and founder of the philosophical school of illumination, as he has presented this philosophy appropriately and his own philosophical school is based on the hikmah of ancient Iran. Keywords: hikmah, political hikmah, ancient Iran, Suhrawardi