[1][2][3] His poetic style earned him great popularity in his time and many of his poems are not only still widely read in today's Arab world but are considered to be proverbial.

His political ambitions, however, ultimately soured his relations with his patrons and his egomania may have cost him his life when the subjects of some of his verse attacked him.

[citation needed] Al-Mutanabbi lived at the time when the Abbasid Caliphate started coming apart and many of the states in the Islamic world became politically and militarily independent.

Sayf al-Dawla was greatly concerned with fighting the Byzantine Empire in Asia minor, where Al-Mutanabbi fought alongside him.

During his nine years stay at Sayf al-Dawla's court, Al-Mutanabbi wrote his greatest and most famous poems, panegyrics in praise of his patron that rank as masterpieces of Arabic poetry.

The latter part of this period was clouded with intrigues and jealousies that culminated in al-Mutanabbi's leaving Syria for Egypt, then ruled in name by the Ikhshidids.

Encyclopædia Britannica states: "He gave to the traditional qaṣīdah, or ode, a freer and more personal development, writing in what can be called a neoclassical style that combined some elements of Iraqi and Syrian stylistics with classical features.

At the entrance of the street is an arch adorned with the poet's quotes and on the end of it is a statue of al-Mutanabbi that overlooks the Tigris River.

Over time, al-Mutanabbi Street evolved into a symbol of intellectual freedom, attracting writers, artists, and diverse dissenting voices from across the country.