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Abd al-Rahman al-Dahil: The Émigré Prince
September 13, 20217:00 p.m.
MADRID
Casa Árabe Auditorium (at Calle Alcalá, 62).
7:00 p.m.
In order to attend this event in person, you must sign up in advance.
Register by following this link.
In Spanish.
On Monday, September 13 in Madrid, Casa Árabe will be presenting Daniel
Valdivieso Ramos’ first novel to come out after his successful “La
Córdoba de Ibn Hazm” (“Ibn Hazm’s Cordoba,” 2016), published by Utopía
Libros.
The demise of the great caliph Hisham and his controversial decision to bequeath power to his reprobate nephew al-Walid seem to have opened up a deep wound within the Umayyad dynasty, which has ruled the fated of Islam’s vast empire for a century. With the caliphate in crisis, the Banu al-Abbas—an ancient rival lineage descended from an uncle of the Prophet—are facing the actual possibility of seizing the throne, and so they spread the flame of rebellion from the eastern regions, with the support of groups who oppose the Umayyads.
Unaware of the imminent war, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu’awiya—grandson of the late caliph—enjoys a life of luxury with his brothers in the Palace of Rusafa, but soon everything he knows and loves will be threatened, and he must embark on a harrowing, aimless flight through a world full of dangers, with no other help than the freeman Badr.
Meanwhile, as Al-Andalus grows increasingly oblivious to the government in Damascus, Syrian forces which come to quash the Berber revolt take control and turn the rich territory into a stage of battle as part of their ancient tribal disputes, threatening the fragile détente between Arabs, Baladis, Berbers and natives.
This thrilling novel finally dares to tell the story of the first Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus, one of the most exciting cultures in the Arab and Western worlds, based on painstaking historical documentation that took more than three years to gather, while also delving into the myths, culture and Islamic tradition, to vividly recreate an odyssey that would lead to the birth of the most powerful kingdom in the West.
At this presentation, the author will be accompanied by Eduardo Manzano, a historian and research professor at the CSIC’s Center for Human and Social Sciences and the author of acclaimed titles such as Conquistadores, emires y califas (Conquerors, Emirs and Caliphs) and La corte del califa (The Caliph’s Court). Presented by Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s International Relations Coordinator.
Daniel Valdivieso (Cordoba, 1983) has a degree in Psychology and is professionally dedicated to historical documentation and publishing, collaborating with the Utopia Books and Almuzara publishing firms. His main work consists of studying medieval sources from Al-Andalus—above all from the Umayyad period—, which has led him to become a consultant for Sexto Mario Patrimonio y Educación, a heritage interpretation entity that holds many official activities for the Madinat al-Zahra Archaeological Ensemble and is a regular contributor at Casa Árabe. Out of his interest in increasing awareness on these topics came his first book, La Córdoba de Ibn Hazm (Ibn Hazm’s Cordoba, Utopía Libros, 2016), a bestseller described by critics as “The finest historical recreation of this ancient capital of the caliphs to have been written so far in the twenty-first century.” He is now debuting this prose work with a tale as thrilling as that of the first Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus.
Unaware of the imminent war, Abd al-Rahman ibn Mu’awiya—grandson of the late caliph—enjoys a life of luxury with his brothers in the Palace of Rusafa, but soon everything he knows and loves will be threatened, and he must embark on a harrowing, aimless flight through a world full of dangers, with no other help than the freeman Badr.
Meanwhile, as Al-Andalus grows increasingly oblivious to the government in Damascus, Syrian forces which come to quash the Berber revolt take control and turn the rich territory into a stage of battle as part of their ancient tribal disputes, threatening the fragile détente between Arabs, Baladis, Berbers and natives.
This thrilling novel finally dares to tell the story of the first Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus, one of the most exciting cultures in the Arab and Western worlds, based on painstaking historical documentation that took more than three years to gather, while also delving into the myths, culture and Islamic tradition, to vividly recreate an odyssey that would lead to the birth of the most powerful kingdom in the West.
At this presentation, the author will be accompanied by Eduardo Manzano, a historian and research professor at the CSIC’s Center for Human and Social Sciences and the author of acclaimed titles such as Conquistadores, emires y califas (Conquerors, Emirs and Caliphs) and La corte del califa (The Caliph’s Court). Presented by Karim Hauser, Casa Árabe’s International Relations Coordinator.
Daniel Valdivieso (Cordoba, 1983) has a degree in Psychology and is professionally dedicated to historical documentation and publishing, collaborating with the Utopia Books and Almuzara publishing firms. His main work consists of studying medieval sources from Al-Andalus—above all from the Umayyad period—, which has led him to become a consultant for Sexto Mario Patrimonio y Educación, a heritage interpretation entity that holds many official activities for the Madinat al-Zahra Archaeological Ensemble and is a regular contributor at Casa Árabe. Out of his interest in increasing awareness on these topics came his first book, La Córdoba de Ibn Hazm (Ibn Hazm’s Cordoba, Utopía Libros, 2016), a bestseller described by critics as “The finest historical recreation of this ancient capital of the caliphs to have been written so far in the twenty-first century.” He is now debuting this prose work with a tale as thrilling as that of the first Umayyad emir of Al-Andalus.