abu nu’ās between the rulers’ hammer and the history’s anvil

human history has been witness to the emergence of great men and women who illustrated the sufferings and wishes of mankind. they have bravely put in hard effort to resist long-standing and reactionary traditions of their own society and to fight oppressors, and at the same time, the comfort-seeking opportunists have endeavored to derail their efforts and to project a tarnished image of these characters. there may be numerous corrupt and oppressive men who have been admired and respected in history and there may also be many great people for whom history has created a false, hated image; one such great man is abu nu’?s, the accomplished iranian poet who lived in the second century (ah), during the first abbasid era; with his genius, he managed to present his lofty views and thoughts within the frame of wine poetry and thereby rebelled against age-old and inadmissible traditions. to attain his goal, he tolerated lots of imputations and was imprisoned several times. through a re-reading of the life of abu nu’?s and his scientific and literary character, and relying on significant historical sources, the present paper attempts to present his true character and resolve the ambiguities about him and pave the way for a better understanding of his wine poetry, which belongs to the most important and timeless arabic poems