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Al-Mutanabbi's secret flight from Aleppo, c. 346/958

هرب المتنبي سراً من حلب، نحو ٣٤٦هـ/٩٥٨م

c. 958 CE · c. 346 AH

Aleppo

After nine years with Sayf al-Dawla, al-Mutanabbi's arrogance and fame had won him implacable enemies, led by the famous Abu Firas. When the amir tired of his poet's insolence and protection lapsed, Abu al-Tayyib no longer felt his life safe; he fled secretly from Aleppo with all he owned and took refuge in Damascus (c. 346/958, derived from the nine-year stay) 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era
Region
Levant & Iraq

In time

950960970 c.
The Buyid, Fatimid and Seljuk Era

In space

Aleppo

Map: Natural Earth, public domain · places and route from the graph

Overview

After nine years with Sayf al-Dawla, al-Mutanabbi's arrogance and fame had won him implacable enemies, led by the famous Abu Firas. When the amir tired of his poet's insolence and protection lapsed, Abu al-Tayyib no longer felt his life safe; he fled secretly from Aleppo with all he owned and took refuge in Damascus (c. 346/958, derived from the nine-year stay) 1.

Connections

Explore the connections

Had participant
al-Mutanabbi· Sayf al-Dawla
Occurred at
Aleppo
During the reign of
al-Muti li-llah al-Fadl ibn al-Muqtadir

People and things also explored

Al-Mutanabbi joins Sayf al-Dawla at Aleppo, 337/948· Byzantine capture of Aleppo· Ibn Nubata al-Fariqi, 'preacher of preachers'· Battle of Sayf al-Dawla with the Domesticus in 343· The killing of al-Mutanabbi (354 AH)· al-Muqaddasi's journey to Aleppo, c. 354–364/965–975· Lectures on his Diwan at Baghdad, 353/964· Sack of Aleppo

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 7 p. 770
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Al-Mutanabbi's secret flight from Aleppo, c. 346/958”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/mutanabbi-flight-aleppo-346/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-11-09.

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Al-Mutanabbi joins Sayf al-Dawla at Aleppo, 337/948

At the beginning of 337/948 al-Mutanabbi established himself at the Hamdanid court in Aleppo as official poet of the amir Sayf al-Dawla, staying nine years. He was genuinely attached to this patron, in his eyes the ideal Arab chief — brave, magnanimous, generous — who in turn overwhelmed him with gifts and never treated him with arrogance. The poet accompanied his expeditions and sang his exploits against the Byzantines and the desert Bedouins; Eastern critics generally hold the poems of this period the summit of his art.