The pseudo-Aristotelian Kitab al-Siyāsa fī tadbīr ar-riyāsa al-maʿrūf bi- Kitab Sirr al-asrār “Secret of Secrets”

The pseudo-Aristotelian Kitab As-Siyāsa fī tadbīr Ar-Riyāsa al-maʿrūf bi- Kitab Sirr al-asrār “Secret of Secrets” is one of the most influential works of the Middle Ages, both in its original Arabic versions as well as in its many translations and adaptations. In the main preface of the book, the work is presented as an epistle by Aristotle to Alexander the Great. Aristotle is said to have written the epistle when he had become too old to accompany Alexander on his military expeditions. The text replaces him as Alexander’s teacher and gives Alexander all the knowledge he needs to rule successfully. The treatise therefore can be read as a mirror for princes, though it also has an encyclopaedical character, as it includes: politics, medicine, astrology, philosophy, ethics, physiognomy, talismans, and discourse on chemistry, magic, stones, and plants. This book has evoked many problems, like the attribution of the book to Aristotle, and that it was addressed to Alexander for the purpose of providing advice, which was discussed a lot in the West, and ended with the statement that this attribution is false, Including other problems that have not yet been resolved, which will be treated by this study, such as: the difference between the manuscripts of the book, the author or the compiler, and that it was translated from Greek, the attribution of the Arabic translation to Ibn al-Biṭrīq, and the multiplicity of sources and form of the book.