ABSTRACT
Rashid aI-Din Faq.lallah is a renowned lJakim, physician, historian and political philosopher of the Mongol period. In later historical accounts of Rashid aI-Din, he is described as the powerful minister of Mal)miid Ghazan whose fame is considered to be due to the historical role which he played. Despite his significance, many of his works in science and philosophy are forgotten and, therefore, a thorough investigation of his place amongst the Islamic scientists remains a difficult task. Rashid alDin lived in an era whose intellectual life and vitality has remained obscure and much research remains to be done to shed light on it. His intellectual merit has been further obscured by centuries of Western scholarship which has regarded the intellectual aspects ofIslamic culture and civilization to be merely a chapter of Western intellectual thought.
