al-Mam’un Proposes Marriage

The poem Chahar Maqaleh, or Four Discourses (c. 1156), falls into the Persian literary genre known as the “mirror of the princes.” The text provides a series of anecdotes to describe the four advisers every Islamic prince required: a scribe, a poet, an astrologer, and a physician. This scene recounts the story of the Abbasid caliph (Islamic leader) al-Mam’un (786–883 CE), depicted here in his resplendent palace as he falls in love with and quickly proposes marriage to his adviser’s daughter. Quoting the Qur’an, she demands his patience. Impressed by her firm literary grounding, al-Mamun willingly obliges.