Administrative Processes and Principles of the Public in Siyasatnamas

Siyasatnamas are works that offer advice on administration to rulers and state officials. These types of texts thoroughly address the qualities that administrators should possess, the relationship between the ruler and the ruled, the concepts, fundamental elements, and processes of administration. Siyasatnamas explain the principles of public administration and at the same time provide guidance on how an ideal administrator should behave. This study, which examines the siyasatnamas written during the existence of various states such as the Samanids, Ghaznavids, Karakhanids, Abbasids, Seljuks, Ayyubids, Mamluks, Ilkhanids, and Timurids, which ruled in a wide geographical area ranging from Andalusia to Transoxiana between the 10th and 14th centuries, aims to explain the common principles these works present regarding administrative processes. Four basic processes can be identified in the siyasatnamas: decision-making, assignment, supervision, and punishment. In this study, the decision-making process is addressed in accordance with the principles determined within the framework of the concepts of legality, consultation, and equality; the assignment process is examined within the framework of the concepts of entrustment, merit, and interest; the supervision process is discussed within the framework of the concepts of officialdom, subordination, and enmity; and the punishment process is addressed within the framework of the concepts of legality, deterrence, and proportionality.