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n Narratives of Kingship in Eurasian Empires, 1300-1800 Richard van Leeuwen analyses representations and constructions of the idea of kingship in fictional texts of various genres, especially belonging to the intermediate layer between popular and official literature. The analysis shows how ideologies of power are embedded in the literary and cultural imagination of societies, their cultural values and conceptualizations of authority. By referring to examples from various empires (Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arabic, Turkish, European) the parallels between literary traditions are laid bare, revealing remarkable common concerns. The process of interaction and transmission are highlighted to illustrate how literature served as a repository for ideological and cultural values transforming power into authority in various imperial environments. Biographical noteRichard van Leeuwen, Ph.D. (1992) University of Amsterdam, is senior lecturer in Islamic Studies at that university. He has published widely on the history of the Middle East, Arabic literature, and Islam, and is also a translator of Arabic literature. His publications include Notables and Clergy in Mount Lebanon, 1736-1840 (Brill 1994); Waqfs and Urban Structures in Ottoman Damascus (Brill 1999); (with U. Marzolph) The Arabian Nights Encyclopedia (2 vols, Santa Barbara 2004); The Thousand and One Nights: Space, Travel and Transformation (London 2007).ReadershipScholars and students in the fields of history and literature of Eurasian empires, comparative literature, world literature, ideologies of power and authority.Table of contentsAcknowledgementsList of FiguresIntroductionThe Thousand and One Nights and Processes of TransmissionSource Material1 Kings, Viziers, ConcubinesThe Cycle of the ‘Seven Viziers’/ ‘Seven Sages of Rome’ and Its CognatesVariations: The Story of ‘Jaliʾad of Hind and His Vizier Shimas’King Wu’s Expedition against Zhou and Proclaiming HarmonyConcluding Remarks2 Gods, Demons, and KingsThe Prince and the Demons of Evil: The Legendary VikramadityaThe Thirty-Two Steps of the ThroneHarun al-Rashid, Vizier Jaʾfar, and the JinnsHarun al-Rashid and the Discourse of PowerFighting the Evil Spirit: The Creation of the GodsConcluding Remarks3 Divine Insights, Cosmic HarmonyThe Cycle of the ‘Queen of the Serpents’King and Cosmos: The Sorcerer’s RevoltJan Potòcki’s Manuscrit Trouvé à SaragosseConcluding Remarks4 The Knight and the KingTirant lo Blanc: The Ideal KnightThe Harbinger of the Faith: Amir HamzaThe Emperor and the Barbarians: The Exploits of Yue FeiHang Tuah, the Malay HeroThe ‘Foreign’ Sultan: Al-Zahir BaybarsThe Muslims against the Byzantines: Sayyid BattalConcluding Remarks5 Kingship and LoveThe Prince and the Mysteries of LoveThe Story of ‘Mirigavati’Sufis and SolomonThe Enchantment of Love: European Fantasies of Kingship and LoveConcluding Remarks6 Unrequested AdviceThe Frustrated Official: Mustafa Ali of GallipoliAgainst the Old Order: Huang Zongxi and Hung ShengEuropean and Oriental Despots: Montesquieu and DiderotA Modern Mirror-for-Princes: Christoph Martin Wieland’s Der Goldene SpiegelThe Official and His Empress: Alexander Radischev and Catherine IIConcluding RemarksConclusionBibliographyIndex&#160;