Afzal al-Din Badil (Khaqani) b. Ali b. Osman, commonly known with his pen name Khaqani (d. between 1187 and 1199), a poet of medieval Shirvan in present-day Azerbaijan, was in perpetual conflict with his rulers and patrons. He transformed the figure of the poet into an agent of political critique through his innovative qasidas (odes). He is perhaps best known for his prison poems, including the Christian Qasida. Alongside his numerous qasidas and ghazals (lyrics) he authored one of the first travelogues in Persian verse, The Gift from Two Iraqs (Tuhfat al-Iraqayn), which chronicles his pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken without the consent of his ruler.