Turath Games
قائمة القراءة
Every Turath game is rooted in a real text. These books are the companions to those worlds — chosen for students, teachers, and anyone who wants to go deeper into classical Arabic literature and Abbasid history.
Note: Turath Games is a non-profit educational project. Some of the links below are affiliate links. If you purchase through them, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps us pay for our servers and keep the games free. All titles are chosen on merit alone.
These titles cover the literature itself — poetry, prose, epic, encyclopaedia — and the historical world in which it was made. Several are direct companions to the games. Accessible but substantive: none require specialist knowledge.
Classical Arabic Literature: A Library of Arabic Literature Anthology
The single best introductory anthology: classical Arabic poetry and prose from pre-Islamic times to the 18th century, in readable English translation. Bilingual. Abu Tammam and al-Jahiz are both included.
The Life and Times of Abū Tammām
The medieval source behind the Abu Tammam game: a defence of his poetry written by the court scholar al-Ṣūlī. Bilingual Arabic-English.
Abu Tammam gameArabic Literature: An Overview
The most accessible single-author survey of Arabic literary history, classical and modern. Written for students of literature and non-specialist readers.
The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition
A selection from al-Nuwayri's 14th-century Arabic encyclopaedia — one of the monuments of classical Islamic learning. Muhanna's translation is lively and expertly judged for a general reader.
The Tale of Princess Fatima, Warrior Woman
An episode from the Arabic epic Sīrat Dhāt al-Himma, set in the Arab-Byzantine wars — the same historical moment as the Turath games. The only major Arabic epic available in English translation.
The Book of Misers (Kitāb al-Bukhalāʾ)
Al-Jahiz's satirical masterpiece — essential reading ahead of the al-Jahiz game.
al-Jahiz gameWhen Baghdad Ruled the Muslim World
The most readable account of the Abbasid caliphate — the world Abu Tammam, al-Jahiz, and the muhtasib all moved through. Excellent narrative history for undergraduates.
Abu Tammam gameThe Arabs: A History
Sweeping narrative history from the Arab conquests to the present. The best orientation for students new to the subject.
Fiction, narrative history, and translation — books that open doors into classical Arabic storytelling and Abbasid history. Start anywhere.
The Wrath and the Dawn
A YA retelling of A Thousand and One Nights. The best fiction entry point to the classical Arabic storytelling tradition for teenage readers.
A Thousand Nights
Another retelling of the Arabian Nights frame narrative — quieter and more literary than Ahdieh. Good for high school.
The City of Brass
Fantasy set in a richly imagined medieval Islamic world. Excellent for mature high schoolers. First in the Daevabad trilogy.
The Arabian Nights: Tales of 1001 Nights (3 vols.)
The authoritative modern English translation. For upper secondary students who want the real thing rather than an adaptation.
Habibi
A novel-in-verse by a Palestinian-American poet. Introduces Arabic language, culture, and family in an emotionally resonant way. Best for middle and early high school.
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge
Narrative history of the same Abbasid Baghdad, told through its scientists and translators. Accessible for younger readers.
Abu Tammam game
Our reading lists will grow as new games are released.
If you are a teacher looking for classroom resources, contact us at
contact@turathgames.com
— we are happy to discuss how the games and books work together in the curriculum.