The Political Similarities between Firdowsi's Shahnama and Saadi's Bustan

On the first look, Shahnama is a collection of distant Iranian king's rules of kingship and sovereignty. Their political techniques, along with ritual guidelines and the coordination between the king and the people – manifest in the symbol of Rustam – is a strong motive for research on the political aspects of Shahnama. Saadi's Bustan, which is replete with practical wisdom and includes a network of men's simple and complex relations, starts with 'justice, judgment, and acumen' in order to show how a chaotic state can be regulated through the mediation of a tactful and just ruler. This article focuses on a comparative assessment of the intellectual and political components of these two masterpieces of Persian literature.