Abstract
In the ethico-didactic literature of the Middle East, Aristotle and Alexander frequently appear as an inseparable pair. In the Arabic adab literature, they are represented as a sort of paradigm of master philosopher and royal pupil, or the vizier and the wise king. In these works, ideals of kingship and sovereignty are expressed through the authority of Aristotle, often in the form of letters of advice addressed to Alexander. This image of the model tutor-pupil or vizier-king diffused into the more popular wisdom (hikma) literature, that is anthologies of maxims and anecdotes ascribed to sages of the past. And the Arab ethical writings in turn influenced the depiction of Aristotle and Alexander in the Persian versions of the Alexander Romance.
In the following paper, we shall investigate the early stages of the development of this theme. First we will examine the fragments of information we have in classical sources about their relationship, notably on Aristotle's letters or counsels to Alexander. Then we shall discuss the intercultural significance of the Arabic translation and adaptation of a Greek collection of epistles, supposedly exchanged between Aristotle and Alexander, made at the time of the reign of the Umayyad Caliph Hisham (724-43) by his secretary Salim Abu al-cAlac
