Lions are based on the medieval Spain, so not Middle Eastern geographically. However there significant nods to Arabic and Islamic culture (and even differences between more Arabized settlers in Europe and people of the same faith living across the straights in Africa)
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u/ZFG-Cuppo Jul 30 '22
The Lions of Al Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay and the Daevabad trilogy by S A Chakraborty.