During the Abbasid era, the Round City was the beating heart of Baghdad and the home of more than a few caliphs. While it's part of a much larger city in Assassin's Creed Mirage, the Round City is where Baghdad began when the Abbasid caliphs decided to build a new capital on the Tigris.
Like every other region in Assassin's Creed Mirage, the Round City has more than a few historical sites. None of them are in the Palace of the Green Dome or its grounds, but a few of them can be hard to reach or hard to locate by running around. This guide will explain exactly where to find all 14 of them.
The Round City Historical Site Map
Most of the 14 Round City historical sites are clustered around the west and south sides of the district, but a few of them are east and north of the palace. One issue with the Assassin's Creed Mirage map is that collectibles don't show up on the max zoom level, but on the map above players can see all 14 locations at once.
Barid (Postal System)
Check the front of the Postal Bureau by a desk to get to this historical site. The codex it unlocks is about the barid, a system of spies and messengers that the Islamic caliphs took over and expanded after conquering the Persian Sasanian Empire.
Singing and Poetry
This site is next to a stage that sits right next to the palace wall (and close to a hidden entrance). It mentions that singing and poetry were important forms of entertainment thanks to the importance of oral tradition in both Arabic and Persian history.
Al-Jahiz
Players will find this site on the upper floor of Al-Jahiz's House. The best way to get in is to find an oil jug on the nearby rooftop and use it to break open the weak ceiling. The site describes Al-Jahiz, possibly the best Arabic author of all time and one of the first professional writers in history.
Marriage and Divorce
This site is also close to a stage, but this one is set up for a wedding party rather than a performance. While most interpretations of Islamic law allow up to four wives, the cost of marriage meant that only the wealthy elite of the Abbasid empire could marry more than once.
Qiyan (Singing Girls)
Look for this site inside an apartment. To get inside, players will need to throw a knife through a window to destroy a barred shutter on the opposite wall. Qiyan were a special class in Abbasid society: slave women who were highly educated and sought out in high society for their knowledge, wit, and ability to entertain.
Powers of a Caliph
Check one of the rooftops overlooking the front entrance to the Palace of the Green Dome to pick up this historical site. A caliph was (or at least claimed to be) the official successor of the Prophet Muhammad, but this status was more secular than religious.
Gardens and Power
This site is on a crane that overlooks the palace gardens from the southwest. Gardens were symbols of status and power in the Middle East going at least as far back as Babylon, and the Abbasid caliphs continued this tradition in Baghdad.
Harem
There are three historical sites surrounding the Harem, which is attached to the palace grounds on the south end. The site for the Harem codex entry is on a climbing box west of the building. The harem was where caliphs and other political elites kept their women and children, but the women of the lower classes could mingle with men since fully isolating a family was expensive.
Eunuchs
Check the south side of the harem to find this historical site. While eunuchs are associated today with Abbasid courts, they were also popular in neighboring empires like Tang China and the Byzantines.
Caliph's Mother
The last harem site is in a walled garden on the east side of the building. The current caliph's mother was traditionally in charge of the imperial harem, a position that gave her significant political power despite often being a slave or concubine.
Animals at Court
Another site that overlooks the palace is on top of a lift east of the palace wall. Animals were another way for caliphs to impress their guests, and Abbasid caliphs were especially obsessed with falcons.
Shurta (Police)
This site is in front of the west entrance to the Shurta Headquarters building. The shurta started as night watchmen in the Abbasid era, but the term has become the modern Arabic word for "police."
Education System
Players will find this site on a rooftop east of the Mazalim Courts. Boys and girls of every social class could get a basic education at their local mosque in the Abbasid Empire, and adults could get an advanced education if they could afford the lessons.
Judges and Judicial System
The last Round City historical site is in a room on the ground level of the Mazalim Courts. Abbasid-era judges used the Quran as the basis of law, and this sometimes meant they would countermand caliphal laws if they conflicted with the Quran.
Assassin's Creed Mirage is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.