ʿAzirat is the daughter of Salmān, the most prominent member of the guild of goldsmiths, a profession that he inherited from his own father. His skill and his cleverness were far greater, however, and he made a name for himself throughout the province and beyond. Due to his influence in Bostra, he was granted Roman citizenship and took on the praenomen and nomen of the governor who elevated him, becoming Marcus Bassaeus Salmān.

Although he will allow locals to continue to call him Salmān, he likes to dress in the latest Roman fashions and plans to one day go to Rome to design beautiful gold creations for the emperor and his family. He is not a political man in terms of his support for one emperor over another; he believes that he can fit into any world, as his skills will always be valued.

Once,ʿAzirat had a brother calledʿAqrab, but after taking their mother's life during childbirth, he lived only a few weeks. Her father had married again after Aud died, only to find out that his wife struggled to have children. She was replaced by a much younger woman who bore him another daughter, to his dismay, but who was presently with child again.

Perhaps because Salmān had no sons and did not find his nephews to be worthy of apprenticeship, he treated his daughter differently than most. She helped him with his business, which meant learning to read and write. He would even take her to the theatre with him, where special seats were reserved, the guild's name carved into the stone. While he did not let her work the gold, he did note her artistic skill and allowed her to help him design his jewellery and other objects.

But like any good father, he wed her to a wealthy glass-maker when the time came. The marriage only last three years, however, before the man died of a fever. Salmān welcomed his daughter back into his home and was said to be scheming to aim higher, to try and marry his daughter to a Roman citizen who might find a way to give her status—not an easy task due to her position as a foreigner.

Salmān,ʿAzirat and his family live in a mansion with an attached bathhouse. It is also the headquarters of the guild and there are several storefronts, including his own, off of the colonnaded street.