Aggregate of the Middle Ages

Aggregate of the Medieval in Throne of the Crescent Moon

In Saladin Ahmed's book Throne of the Cresent Moon, the Cresent Moon Kingdoms represent a hodgepodge of medieval middle eastern societies and cultures. 
The Cresent Moon Empire is a mixture of Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Turkey as well as the Persian and Ottoman Empires. We can see the influence of each of these cultures through the story and particularly in the city of Dhamsawaat. The tea houses of Dhamsawaat were a feature of Turkish society, meanwhile, the name of the empires itself references many middle eastern flags such as Algeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. 
 Another example is the Kaftans that are worn by multiple characters were worn by multiple middle eastern cultures, including but not limited to Morocco, Algeria, the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Empire. 
The entire book is littered with references to Islam such as the different titles for God like the Merciful, the Almighty etc., the existence of Ghuls and references to Angles including Lucifer. Raseed bas Raseed is Dervish, a sect of Sufi Islam and the Kalif is actually a spiritual position in addition to a governmental position. 
Zamia is a Badawi tribeswoman. Badawi is another name for the Bedouin people, a nomadic group in North Africa. 
Saladin Ahmed also joins together a host of Western cultures. 
The Warring Cities are a lumping together of Europe, with the Coin Cities as a reference to Italy, specifically and a combination of Saxony and Britain being described through their boxy script and odd legends. 

Comments

  1. ZakMay 3, 2018 at 4:41 AM

    I rather enjoy the city of Dhamsawaat. It's rather unique as a central location and is rather intriguing as a main setting. I do wish that it got a little bit development as a location, like what are the levels of government and such, but it's still interesting.

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