Abu Nuwas

Abu Nuwas was one of the most famous and influential poets of the Abbasid era. He was born in Ahvaz, Iraq, to an Arab father and a Persian mother. He studied poetry and Arabic language in Basra and Kufa, and was influenced by the works of earlier poets such as al-Akhtal and al-Khansa. He moved to Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid caliphate, and became a court poet of the caliph Harun al-Rashid and his son al-Amin. He was known for his witty, irreverent, and sometimes scandalous verses, which covered topics such as wine, love, homosexuality, and satire. He also wrote elegies, panegyrics, and religious poems. He experimented with free verse and used various meters and rhyme schemes. He was admired for his mastery of the Arabic language and his originality of expression. He was also notorious for his libertine lifestyle and his involvement in various intrigues and scandals. He was imprisoned several times for his political and religious views, and was accused of heresy and blasphemy by some of his enemies. He died of poisoning, allegedly by the order of the caliph al-Ma'mun, who was displeased with his poems. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets in Arabic literature and a pioneer of modern Arabic poetry.