a fictional short story on silk road empire abbasid caliphate

Using Gentlemen on the Road as a model, you will write a 5-7 page fictional short story set in one of the following Silk Road empires: Nabateans, Scythians, Xiongnu, Yuezhi/Tocharian/Kushan, Sogdians, Abbasid Caliphate/Samanid Dynasty, Tibetan Empire, Uygur Khaganate. Your story must involve people or goods moving along the Silk Road. For this project, you will need to conduct outside research in order to provide historically accurate descriptions of the place and its culture at the time your story is set, as well as of your characters. A good place to start looking for these kinds of details would be Susan Whitfield’s book. I also highly recommend exploring the material culture (paintings, artifacts, archaeological sites, etc.) of the location/empire you choose. The goal is to write a fun and engaging piece of historical fiction – be creative with it, but make sure to ground it in history!