 The series incorporates contemporary geo-political events in Egypt and the Middle East into the background as well as directly into the plot.The Mahdist War in the Sudan forms much of the backdrop for "The Last Camel Died at Noon", in which an eager Emerson ventures into unstable territory to satisfy a lifelong wish to dig among the Nubian pyramids.The 1906 Dinshawai Incident is mentioned in historical context, and, as a result the character of David Todros (Abdullah's Coptic Christian grandson, who is fostered by the Emerson-Peabodys) becomes involved with the Egyptian nationalist movement.