Medieval Arabic Praise Poetry: Ibn al-Rūmī and the Patron’s Redemption.

London: RoutledgeCurzon 2003. Taschenbuchausgabe, London: Routledge 2010.

The book gives an insight into the panegyric (madīḥ), a text genre that is fundamental to the understanding of the pre-modern society of the Middle East. In their multicultural Arab-speaking environment, poets directed the main part of their verses to rulers, generals, dignitaries, and members of the upper classes, who celebrated, exhorted or threatened the recipient. The Panegyric is investigated by Ibn al-Rūmī (897), who devoted many of his poems to the last pre-emperor of Baghdad. Ibn al-Rūmī's work is suitable for such a study because it addresses the question of literary patronage and creates a self portrayal of the poet and his social position.