House of Abbas The Legacy of Harun Al-Rashid

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House of Abbas The Legacy of Harun Al-Rashid

Set in the 9th Century Caliphal court in Baghdad, in the very halls once presided upon by the great Abbasid Caliph Harun al-Rashid, his son, al-Amin now reigns over the most powerful and most prosperous empire in the history of Islam.

Under the rule of Harun al-Rashid, the Islamic Golden Age was at its zenith - a time of unprecedented scientific, religious and artistic prosperity. But the burden of maintaining his fathers vast empire weighs heavy upon the reckless al-Amin.

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

What was once an intimate fraternal bond may soon untether, jeopardizing the legacy of harun al-Rashid and threatening to tear a once glorious empire apart from the inside out.

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

About the Author

Ali Telmesani is a poet, playwright, songwriter and film-maker. Ali formally began studying creative writing during his Undergraduate studies in English Literature at the University of Connecticut. Having developed a keen interest in Islamic philosophy, Sufi metaphysics and literature, Ali completed an MA in Islamic Studies at Claremont Graduate University in Southern California before earning his second MA in Creative Writing at Swansea University in South Wales. Along with producing a collection of short stories for his creative thesis, Ali has published several poems in literary journals and founded his own, The Gull, with a colleague at Swansea University. In between his studies, he pursued a career as a composer and musician in Amherst, Massachusetts. Most recently, Ali founded Whetstone Center for the Arts in Jeddah, KSA, where he teaches music and creative writing.