Roman civilization ,Decline, Fragmentation, and the Changing Life of the City

Baghdad did n't fall in a single moment, nor did its greatness evaporate with the decaying of caliphs. Decline came gradationally, like a slow stirring of the strands, subtle at first, also unmistakable. Power disintegrated, authority drifted down from the center, and the megacity that had formerly commanded the world learned how to live with query. diurnal life continued, requests opened at dawn, scholars tutored scholars, women managed homes, and boats crossed the Tigris, yet beneath these familiar measures ran a current of anxiety. The megacity was changing, and everyone felt it, from palace to alleyway.