An Ember in the Ashes is strongly influenced by the culture and history of ancient Rome. Tahir researched diligently in an effort to both be true to the history-based parts of the story world and to build a convincing existence in which history, humans, and the supernatural meet. An Ember in the Ashes also incorporates Arabic, Hindi, and West African culture, and the names of the characters from each group are based in these cultures. The name Elias has roots in both Hebrew and Greek, translates to “the lord is my god,” and represents strength and leadership. Laia derives from the Spanish and Catalan languages and translates to “fair of speech,” which reflects how Tahir’s character uses words as power.

Blackcliff’s intense training program is also based in history. Tahir drew inspiration from the ancient Spartan agoge, which translates to “raising,” meaning the intention of raising animals or people toward a specific purpose (in this case, military precision). The agoge was mandatory for all Spartan boys, and they began training at age seven, finishing at age 30. Tahir shortened the length of the training by 10 years and added the allowance of a single female trainee—girls were not permitted to participate in the Spartan agoge.