It consists of "various didactic stories and fables used as illustrations of morality and right conduct", and belongs to the "mirror for princes" literary genre.

[1] The Marzbān-nāma was translated fully or as an abridgement into Turkish, Arabic, French and English.

[1] K. Crewe Williams notes that the Marzbān-nāma is said to have been based upon a non-extant precursor, which was written in the vernacular of Tabaristan (a historic region in northern Iran) around the 10th century, by the Bavandid ruler Al-Marzuban (r. 979–986).

[1] As opposed to normal practise, the three illustrations found at the beginning of the earliest extant manuscript (dated 1299) were drawn before the text was written.

[2] The illustrations depict the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the author of the work and the patron.