Baha al-Din Baghdadi (Persian: بها الدین بغدادی; died after 1192) was a Persian[1] secretary of the Khwarazmshahs, who is notable for his expertise in Persian letter-writing. He served as the head of the divan-e insha (chancellery) under Ala ad-Din Tekish (r. 1172–1200).
Baha al-Din Baghdadi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Baghdadak, Khwarazm |
| Died | after 1192 |
| Nationality | Khwarazmian Empire |
| Occupation(s) | Secretary, poet |
| Relatives | Majd al-Din Baghdadi (brother) |
Biography edit
The background and early life of Baha al-Din is obscure. He was a native of a place called Baghdadak in the Central Asian region of Khwarazm, and had a elder brother named Majd al-Din Baghdadi, a prominent mystic in the 12th and 13th centuries. Baha al-Din first rose to prominence during the reign of the Khwarazmshah Ala ad-Din Tekish (r. 1172–1200), under whom he served as the head of the divan-e insha (chancellery). Baha al-Din was jailed twice due to his association with the Khwarazmian court; first for a short time after a disagreement with Tekish's vizier Nizam al-Mulk Shams al-Din Mas'ud Heravi, and later, he was imprisoned at Marv from 1186 to 1189 by Tekish's brother and rival for the throne, Sultanshah.[2] It was during his second imprisonment that he wrote the Persian prose of Risala-ye habsiya ("Message from prison"). He was released from jail after the brothers made peace, and rejoined Tekish. According to the Haft eqlim of Amin Razi (died in the 17th-century), Baha al-Din retained his post during the reign of the next Khwarazmshah, Muhammad II (r. 1200–1220), which according to the Iranologist Clifford Edmund Bosworth, however, is "hard to verity." Baha al-Din disappears in records after 1192.[2]
Baha al-Din distinguished himself as a prominent writer through the quality of prose writings. His work was praised by poets such as Awfi and Sa'd al-Din Varavini.[2]
References edit
- ^ Bosworth 2008.
- ^ a b c Bosworth 1988, pp. 430–431.
Sources edit
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (1988). "Bahāʾ-al-Dīn Baḡdādī". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume III/4: Bačča(-ye) Saqqā–Bahai Faith III. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. pp. 430–431. ISBN 978-0-71009-116-1.
- Bosworth, Clifford Edmund (2008). "Khwarazmshahs i. Descendants of the line of Anuštigin". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Volume XIV: Isfahan IX–Jobbāʾi. London and New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul. ISBN 978-1-934283-08-0.
Further reading edit
- Morgan, David; Stewart, Sarah, eds. (2017). The Coming of the Mongols. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781786733832.