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Exposing Some of the Meanest and Pettiest Men in History

Khalid Elhassan January 20, 2021 32 min

Jane Greer - Out of the Past — Jane Greer with Robert Mitchum in Out of the Past. Associated Press

20. The Greatest Arab Poet Was Also a Great Drama Queen and Jerk

Abu al Tayib Ahmad ibn Hussayn, AKA Al Mutanabbi (915 – 965) is the most influential and prominent poet to have ever penned lines in Arabic. His verse is widespread and proverbial throughout the Arab world. Most of Al Mutanabbi’s work was odes to patrons, but he was an egomaniac who managed to turn a significant portion of his panegyrics into odes to himself, his talent, and his courage. However, he crafted with such consummate skill and artistry that he is commonly deemed to have attained a pinnacle unequaled in the Arabic language before or since.

As with many gifted creative types, Al Mutanabbi’s great gifts were accompanied by great downsides. Chief among them was being a thoroughgoing jerk. A prickly and quarrelsome man, Al Mutanabbi sooner or later – often sooner rather than later – managed to antagonize those around him. His touchiness and over-sensitivity to slights, real or imagined, frequently led him to quarrel with those with whom he came in close contact, transforming fans into foes and admirers into avowed enemies. It ended up killing him.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.