Philosophical Poetry and Courtly Appeal: Fakhr al-Din Rāzi’s Didactic Panegyric for the Khvārazmian Prince Nāser al-Din Malekshāh

Abstract

While Fakhr al-Din Rāzi’s (d. 1210/606) works of philosophical theology are well known, his poetry has been largely ignored by scholars to date. This article provides a translation and analysis of Rāzi’s previously untranslated Persian panegyric ode (qasidat al-madh) entitled “Fi al-manteq va-ʾl-tabiʿa va-ʾl-elāhi va-madh al-soltān (On Logic, Physics, and Metaphysics, and Praise of the Sultan).” Combining a historical and literary approach, I argue that Rāzi strategically employs both the didactic and the panegyric genres in his attempt to regain the favor of the Khvārazmian crown prince, Nāser al-Din Malekshāh (d. 1196–7/593). In addition to demonstrating Rāzi’s belief in the soteriological value of knowledge, the poem adds further evidence for elite support of Islamic philosophy after Ebn Sīnā—in this case, in the eastern lands of the Islamic empire.