cts. Originally
from Tabaristan, he, in the words of Ibn al Qifti, was introduced to Abu
Maashar al Balkhi, stood well with Jaffer the Barmecide, and
subsequently with Fazl ibn Sahl, the Wazir who recommended him to his
sovereign al-Mamum. And for this Khalif Mamun he prepared a number of
translations. The sympathy of these persons for the Persian literary
tradition could not have been confined to the translation of scientific
works, but must have extended to the preservation of Persian
ethico-didactic tradition in literature.

Books with the title of _Kitab al Mahasin_ are to be met with in the
Fihrist, if not often, several times. A book with this title (77, 21)
has been ascribed to the celebrated Ibn Qutaiba. It was composed
doubtless after the book of Umar ibn Farrukhan, for Qutaiba flourished
at the close of the reign of Mamun and his literary activities could be
referred to the ninth century. Qutaiba undoubtedly interested himself in
Persian literary materials. Hence it can be concluded that his _Kitab al
Mahasin_ was not foreign to the materials and in form could be the first
imitation of Farrukhan. Further it is interesting to note that books
with this title were attributed especially to Shia authors such as Abu
Nadar Muhamed ibn Masud al Ayashi who wrote _Kitab al Mahasin al Akhlak_
or a book of good morals (195, 10) and Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Khallid
al Barki who wrote _Kitab al Mahasin_ (2213-4, also 7-9). And the
interest of Shia authors in Persian tradition was unquestionable. A book
with the same title of _Kitab al Mahasin_ is ascribed to a certain Ibn
al Harun, (148, 17) an author who has been assigned in the Fihrist a
place among the writers on Adab and as responsible for a book called
_Kitab al Adab_. Now the discussion of Adab as we said above is
intimately connected with Persian tradition. And this tradition probably
survived in the books which had for their theme "the good qualities of
Adab."[1] We believe that all these books were devoted to Persian
literary tradition, in close relation to which stands the book on "good
qualities and manners" mentioned in the Fihrist as translated from the
Persian language into Arabic by the man from Tabaristan, Umar ibn al
Farrukhan.

[Footnote 1: For instance, _Mahasin al Adab of Ispahani_, see
Brockelmann, _Geschichte der Arabischen Litterature_ I. 351.]

Co-related with these books on "good qualities" stand, in our opinion,
the books on "good morals and th