In the Shadow of the Mirrors for Princes The Standards of Good Government in the Abbasid Production of the 4th/10th century from the Case of al-Masʿ ūdī (d. 345/956)

Based on al-Mas‘ūdī’s (d. 956), this article shows that, in a time of intense reflection on knowledge and power, historiographical production also contributed to the development of government norms. The narrative sources allow us to identify the emergence of models and counter-models offered to Islamic rulers, a necessary step towards putting the philosophical content of the mirrors of princes and the political precepts they promote in a precise historical framework.