From the historian's notes

Samarra, 850

Iraq · Middle East · October 850 · autumn

What it was high

a capital strung for miles along the Tigris: palaces, barracks, polo grounds and marketsas the Abbasid capital by the caliph al-Mu'tasim in 836

That year

• The Great Mosque is being built, the largest in the world, its minaret a spiral ramp climbing around a tower 848–852 higha landmark seen for miles
• Palaces with walls of carved stucco in a new bevelled style that will spread across the Islamic world ongoing higha city that sets a fashion
• The Turkish guard grows too strong for the caliphs it guards; it will murder al-Mutawakkil in 861 the 850s highthe danger inside the palace

Who held it high

the Abbasid caliphatethe caliph al-Mutawakkilthe caliph is building on a huge scale, and his Turkish guard regiments dominate the city

Its name high

Surra man ra'a, 'a delight to whoever sees it'Written in Arabic

The date, there high

236 AHthe Hijri calendarThe five daily calls to prayer; water clocks in the palaces.

Money medium

the gold dinar and silver dirhamcopper fals for small changebread and dates for a few copper coins

Weather medium

October: hot days easing toward autumn, dry, the river low

Things

Objectslustre-painted pottery; carved stucco panels; gold dinars and silver dirhams; glassFoodflatbread; dates; mutton; sweets made with dates and honeyClothlinen and cotton; silk with woven inscription bandsGetting abouthorses and mules; camels; boats on the TigrisIn the airwet plaster; horses; the river

What she'd hear

Arabic in the city; Turkish among the guard regiments; Persian among the officials.

Where she could stand

• the Great Mosque's spiral minaret — a ramp winding up a tower of brick, still under construction
• the great avenue — a broad avenue running for miles through the city
• the river front — boats bringing grain and timber down the Tigris
• a stucco workshop — craftsmen carving wet plaster into bevelled patterns

Researched for this card · confidence high