Young Writers Society

Hey!
I'm just wondering, does anyone know of a good website (or know in general) more about Arabian monarchy in the Medieval times (specifically in Old Baghdad). I really would like to know more about palaces, the sultans, princesses and princes, servants and guards, etc. And specific details like if a princess had a personal servant, or the kind of clothes royals and servants wear, etc. Thank you if you can help!

If you're looking for between the 1500s and 1800s, then you're looking at the Ottoman Empire. That was a Sultanate that influenced a lot of the culture of the area. Although, the period right before that in Bangladesh, look up the Islamic Golden Age.

As for the details you're looking for, my own experience in researching Mughal India (which doesn't match what you're looking for— it was an Empire, not a Sultanate) is as follows:

The general idea behind the culture/architecture/ruling structure/general quality of life can be rather easily researched online. All you really have to do is type the period into Google and a lot of sources pop up. Sometimes you get lucky in finding a source with a large amount of information relating more to things like daily life, but I've found it's not really enough to base a world off of.

If you want a much deeper perspective on the culture, including more on daily life, dark secrets about the courts, a more complete analysis on how a culture goes from A to B and why it behaves the way it does, you are hard-pressed to beat books.

Look up those periods in a library or bookstore (make sure it has a large history section) and see what comes up. Try to avoid the kiddie section, although those do provide good quick snapshots of everything if that's what you're looking for, and go more for adult history. Try to find books that specialize in the topic at hand.

It can take you awhile to dial in on what kinds of information to look for, mostly because trying to dissect a culture is rather difficult. Once you have a general grasp on what you're looking for, and have some specifics on the culture to look up instead of the generalities, you can start mixing online and book research.

Thank you so much, that was really helpful. I'll take everything you said into account.

I loved Ferdowsi's "Shanameh" which is basically the Persian version of a book of kings. Perhaps you'll like that too?

If you read Jean P. Sasson's "Princess" you should get a fair idea of women's roles and a general idea of a monarchy - since it's set in Saudi Arabia of the '80s.

xXmusicaXx wrote:If you read Jean P. Sasson's "Princess" you should get a fair idea of women's roles and a general idea of a monarchy - since it's set in Saudi Arabia of the '80s.

Modern day portrayals aren't necessarily accurate, just an fyi. From what I've read, women used to have a lot more power than they do today (going so far as to there being a few females who are emperors/sultans-in-all-but-name over history). Some cultures even had the head of power inside the harem, so women could effectively know more than men about what was going on.

It's also worth noting that universities would accept female students, and that there were notable female scholars, with several women founding universities. The University of Al-Karaouine was founded in 859 AD by the very much female Fatima al-Fihri, for instance.

Rosey Unicorn wrote:

xXmusicaXx wrote:If you read Jean P. Sasson's "Princess" you should get a fair idea of women's roles and a general idea of a monarchy - since it's set in Saudi Arabia of the '80s.

Modern day portrayals aren't necessarily accurate, just an fyi. From what I've read, women used to have a lot more power than they do today (going so far as to there being a few females who are emperors/sultans-in-all-but-name over history). Some cultures even had the head of power inside the harem, so women could effectively know more than men about what was going on.

Sorry, I should've been more clear. It isn't a portrayal. It's written based on a narration from an actual princess, who's still alive and well.

My point still stands. Modern stories do not equate to Medieval or Ancient times. The original post is asking for information about a time period at least 500 years old, if not 1,000. (Probably right between the two, actually).

Because standards have this tendency to change, I find it's best to research from the actual time period you're looking at.

Oh right. Sorry. Just trying to help.

Which is good! I just wanted to add in that your time periods make a huge impact.

It can be good to know the before and after, though. Because if you know how a culture changed, you can get a much deeper picture of how the old ones were. By seeing what seeds in old cultures the modern culture grew from, you can usually figure out some more layers to what's going on in a time period.