bar_ do not contain anything
of a special nature with reference to king Anushirwan so that the _Book
of Taj_ on the "Acts of Anushirwan" mentioned in the Fihrist among the
books of Ibn al Mukaffa could hardly have comprised what has been quoted
in _Uyunal akhbar_. The materials at our disposal are too scanty to
establish its relation with the Sasanian _Book of Taj_.[1]

[Footnote 1: The supposition (Zotenberg, Thaalibi XLI,) according to
which Firdausi saw an illustrated "Book of Kings" rests on a
misunderstanding. The fact is that certain verses have been incorrectly
translated by Mohl (IV, 700-701, Verses 4071-4075).

Mohl translated the passage as follows: "There was an aged man named
Azad Serw who lived at Merv in the house of Ahmad son of Sahl; _he
possessed a book of kings in which were to be found the portraits and
figures of the Pehlwans_. He was a man with a heart replete with wisdom
and a head full of eloquence, and a tongue nourished with ancient
tradition; he traced his origin to Sam, son of Nariman, and he knew well
the affairs regarding the fights of Rustam."

A more correct translation would be: "There was a certain old man by
name of Azad Serw living in Merv with Ahmad son of Sahl. _He had a Book
of Kings. In figure and face he was a warrior_; his heart was full of
wisdom, his head full of eloquence, and in his mouth there ever were
stories of the ancient times. He traced his origin back to Sam, son of
Nariman, and preserved in his memory many a tale of the battles of
Rustam."]

CHAPTER VI

The list of the translators from Persian into Arabic as given in the
Fihrist, (244, 25-245, 6) 75

The different categories of these translators

Omar ibn al Farrukhan of Tabaristan (Fihrist 273, 14-18) and his _Kitab
al Mahasin_ 79

Other authors of books of analogous titles in the first centuries of
Islam,--the relation of these books to the books of "Virtues and
Vices" (cf. Baihaqi, pseudo-Jahiz) and the connection of these books
with the Parsi religious idea of the licit and the illicit,--_Al Mahasin
wal Masavi_, and the _Shayast la Shayast_. 83

_TRANSLATORS FROM PAHLAVI_.

In the Fihrist (244, 25-245, 6) are stated a number of names of the
principal translators from the Persian into the Arabic language.
Assuredly this list is far from complete. The author names only a few
calling attention to only particular translators. The passage in
question in the Fihrist has been more than once utilised