94 DEAR SON, WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?
The Letter influences two particular strands of ludo-Persian histo-
riography which we can trace in Chachnama. First is the representa-
tion of Alexander as a young and doomed conqueror. We find this
specifically in De Mundo and the Pseudo-Callisthenes, in thd histo-
ries of Ya'qubi (d. ca. 905), Dinawari (d. 903), Tabari (d. 923) 1 Mas'udi (d.
956), and finally, Biruni (d. 1048). Alexander's exploits are a model or
precedent for the Arab conquests of Iran and India.^27 In Mas'udi parti-
cularly, Alexander's letter to Aristotle about the House of Gold (Bayt
ad-Dhahab) is quoted. Ma'sudi quotes Aristotle's admonishing the con-
queror for being blinded by avarice, and then explicates the matter.^28 In
Tabari's account, Alexander's conquest of India foreshadowed the
struggle between Dara and Alexander for the conquest of Persia.^29 In
these histories, the epistolary emphasis of Alexander's conquest is
maintained, and the political theory is articulated through this dia-
logue between the advisor and the young conqueror.
The second strand of Persian historiography is the presence of
Alexander as a heroic figure in Firdawsi's Shahnama (ca 1010) and the
Persianate romances that followed. Minoo Southgate traced various
storylines, motifs, and actions in the Fidrawsi, and forcefully argued
that the Syriac Pseudo-Callisthenes is preserved in the Shahnama.^30
In Firdawsi, Alexander is the descendant of the Iranian king Darab,
whose political and moral leadership is explicated via his dialogue with
his half-brother, Dara, whom Alexander has to kill in order to conquer
Persia. Firdawsi's Alexander narrative cycle contains critical aspects
for my reading of Chachnama, specifically Firdawsi's comparison of
Alexander to previous kings and the resonance in Alexander's ac-
tions with the deeds of others. This cyclital Teading throughout the
Shahnama has been studied by scholars (such as Peter Hardy and
Julie Meisami) as a break from the Arabic historiography tradition.^31
The Alexander narrative cycle in Firdawsi contains numerous let-
ters: between Alexander and Dara, from Alexander to the people of
Iran, between the Indian king Kayd and Alexander, between Alexander
and Foor, from Alexander to the Brahmins, from Alexander to the em-
peror of China, and from Alexander to his mother. Firdawsi notes that
some of these letters contain flattery and obfuscations, and some are
filled with moral advice.