Abu Nuwas

Abu Nuwas was a classical Arabic poet who lived from about 756 to about 814 and was the foremost representative of the modern, or muhdath, poetry that developed in the first years of the Abbasid Caliphate. Of mixed Arab and Persian heritage, he studied in Basra and al-Kufah, first under the poet Waliba ibn al-Hubab and later under Khalaf al-Ahmar, and he also studied the Qur'an, Hadith and grammar. He won the favour of the caliphs Harun ar-Rashid and al-Amin. He is best known for his wine poetry, and his Diwan, the collected volume of his poems, explored religion, pleasure and homoeroticism. He also entered folklore and appears several times in One Thousand and One Nights.