The Abbasid Caliph's Palace, Baghdad
In times past when the Abbasid Caliphs ruled over the lands of the faithful, provincial governors and satraps would journey to the Court of the Caliph for the shura, or consultation, between the Defender of the Faith and the ummah.
Although those days are but a memory, and the Caliphate a shadow of its former self, the tradition of the Court at Baghdad acting as a focal point for negotiations and announcements between nations of the region has persisted, and emissaries of the disparate peoples of the ummah continue to gather there to do business, gossip and make threats and declarations.
The current Caliph, weary of strife and keen to restore the Caliphate's leading role among the nations of the Dar al-Islam through religious instruction, diplomacy and trade, has encouraged this practice - and to that end has even invited the Kings of the Christian nations of the West to send their representatives to Baghdad.
An uneasy truce is maintained at the Court between the rival factions and freedom of speech and open negotiation is encouraged.
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