Nineteenth-century Baghdad. Al-Amin, son of the great Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid, now reigns over the most powerful and prosperous empire in Islam's history.

Under his father's rule, the Islamic Golden Age was at its zenith—a time of unprecedented scientific, religious, and artistic prosperity. But the reckless al-Amin was burdened with the burden of maintaining his father’s vast empire.

His stately and learned half-brother, al-Ma'mun, has suffered witnessing the degradation of the House of Abbas at the hands of the careless new caliph.

What was once an intimate, fraternal bond may soon untether, jeopardising Harun al-Rashid's legacy and threatening to tear a once glorious empire apart.

Written in pentameter, House of Abbas is an ambitious verse play that unapologetically conjures the spectre of a true Shakespearean tragedy.

Author: Ali Telmesani

Paperback, 76 pages

Dimensions: 128 x 178 x 5mm