Baghdad · 1258
Story
A city of gold. An army at the gates. The last days of Abbasid Baghdad.
Synopsis
Baghdad, 1258 AD — 656 AH.
As Mongol armies approach the walls of Baghdad and the Abbasid Caliphate enters its final days, the fates of three young men converge in a city caught between fear, hope, and betrayal.
Yahya, a young scholar, encounters secrets far beyond the world of books and learning, gradually realizing that the danger threatening Baghdad may not come from beyond its walls alone.
Sinan, a young man shaped by a world of assassins and secrets, moves through the shadows, where trust is a dangerous gamble and the past may prove deadlier than the enemies before him.
Layth, a young man caught in conflicts of loyalty and trust, must confront difficult questions about whom he can stand beside as old bonds begin to fracture.
As Baghdad approaches its defining moment, their paths become entangled with people driven by hidden motives and conflicting loyalties, in a world where a single decision can separate friend from enemy.
When an empire falls... who will remain to tell its story?
Ashes of the Caliphate — An Empire Falls. Legends Rise.
The historical setting
Baghdad was founded in the eighth century as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and grew into one of the great cities of the medieval world, a centre of learning, trade and craftsmanship.
In early 1258 a Mongol army led by Hulagu Khan laid siege to the city. Baghdad fell in February of that year, bringing Abbasid rule there to an end. The series is set against these events.
A work of fiction
Ashes of the Caliphate is an original work of fiction inspired by historical events. Its characters, dialogue and storylines are dramatised or invented, and the appearance of historical figures or places is not a claim of historical fact. The series is not a documentary or an academic source.