The Abbasid Caliphate stretched from North Africa across to Afghanistan and the North West Frontier. Within the caliphate there were movements of people, goods and ideas. The golden period of this early Islamic caliphate was around 900 AD.

As the caliphs were building a major trading empire across the Middle East, Alfred the Great was attempting to rebuild the Saxon Kingdoms against the incursions of the Vikings. To an extent there are viable parallels across the two civilisations that could usefully be considered with children.