Mariam served on the declining court of the Abbasid Caliphate, centered in Baghdad, just when its power began to wane away from the Middle East. Although the Islamic city was once a quintessential location of Afro-Eurasian commerce, trade began to gravitate towards the North. Merchants passed by the center of commerce by caravan, choosing newer, more innovative and affluent cities to bring their business to.

      Serving on the court, Mariam was tasked with analyzing reports from every corner of Dar-al-Islam. Her first scroll of the day was one from the Mamluk empire, confined to much of Egypt. This kingdom was governed by ethnic Turks who had previously been enslaved by Abbasid Arab elites to take on bureaucratic roles within the empire. This group, beating all odds, had seized the government for themselves, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate. Mariam winced to herself as she thought of the hustle and bustle of the Mamluk cities, juxtaposing the newly embraced silence of Baghdad.

      A specific scroll from the East of the region was dedicated to Mariam, announcing the ascendancy of the Sejluk Turks. Taking control of most of the Middle East throughout the eleventh century, these Turco-Persian conquerors had earned the title of Sultan. Their exponential growth, and Baghdad´s likewise waning, underscored the predecessor's increasing symbolic and decreasing authoritative role. Mariam adopted precision as she took notes over this scroll, how one bigger, Islamic body was splitting into smaller empires.

      For the first time in the morning, Mariam received a message stemming from fear. The Sejluk Turks had unlawfully obstructed access to various Christian religious sites that fell under their landholdings. Rightfully aggravated European Christians announced their formation of fighters called Crusaders, who would march East and defend their right to these sites. Thriving under an unchanging city, this action enthralled Mariam. How would the region around her transmute after this conflict?

      Yet, the Crusaders were only the tip of the iceberg. News had it that the Central Asian Mongols were set to bring storms into Central Asia. They were brutal, unstoppable even. Some scholars predicted that they would take over many of the present sultanates. While chaos had the potential to brandish the Middle Eastern landscape, culture flourished. Many of the intellectuals working with Mariam would spend their afternoon break times transcribing and translating ancient Greek texts into Arabic. Their current fixation, however, was Indian arithmetic and mathematics. Baghdad sprouted with libraries due to the Chinese innovation of paper-making, and well-versed knowledge became the widespread normality.

      It is an undeniable fact that Mariam was surrounded by invention, yet she herself was a testament of liberalization as a woman, a first in the Postclassical world. She was a proud Muslim, protecting her modesty with the hijab which had become a common practice even for Non-Muslim Central Asian women. Through her faith, she was also granted a diverse portfolio of individual rights, including a right to property, remarriage if widowed, inheritance and the potential initiation of divorce. But this was not the fate of all of womankind, many women experienced limits on their personal rights, especially those residing in larger cities like Baghdad.

      Later that day, she overheard a conversation between one of her colleagues and a merchant from the far West. He spoke with an atypical accent, talking of his estate back in al-Andalus, the Islamic state in Spain that was ruled by the Muslim Umayyads. He described the fortune he earned living in the city of Cordoba, a melting pot with religious toleration for Muslims, Christians and Jews.

      Unlike Baghdad, Cordoba´s hubbub of activity distinguished its proliferating trade from all over Afro-Eurasia. More captivating of Mariam´s attention was the fact that the largest library resided in Cordoba, featuring works from polymaths like Ibn Rushd. Astronomical charts from scholars like Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and poems from the revolutionary poet ‘A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah were all featured throughout Cordoba.

      The breaking of dawn marked the beginning of Mariam´s shift, and she concluded her time at the court with the shattering of dusk. As Mariam stepped out of the courthouse, Baghdad´s reality slapped her. The hush of trade, the crumbling canals, everything typified the fall of the city.

      For the first time in her life, Mariam pondered if her destiny would take her out of Baghdad.

      Maybe she´d thrive with the Mamluks?

      Maybe in the Sejluk cities, where scholarship augmented.

      Maybe under the magnificence of Cordoba, where learning was limitless.

      Mariam took one last glance at the hollowing city in front of her. She was native to Baghdad, growing to love the city at every twist and turn.

      But sometimes, change is needed for the continuity of life. Mariam wasn't ready to fade with her city.

      Her final destination was ambiguous, and was more than uncertain. But Mariam knew she would mark her departure from the Abbasid caliphate. She was going to escape before Baghdad´s silence consumed her.

      One woman. One faith. One life.

      And in one night, she was gone.