Post by Merenaz Caliphate on May 6, 2011 10:13:20 GMT -5
Merenaz Caliphate's Emblem
Kingdom Name: Merenaz Caliphate
Kingdom Race:
Humans - Humans are the youngest race around, and they have the most to learn. However, humans are also the most eager to learn the ancient art of magic, and they are also one of the more honorable races. Human kingdoms are varied and diverse, which leads credence to the idea that humans are a powerful race indeed. Humans have an average lifespan of 70 years.
Strength of Men -- Humans have increased military prowess against Orcs, Drow, Goblins and Lizardmen.
Easily Corrupted -- Human leaders are much more easily corrupted and bribed.
Natural Disposition: Good -- A good natural predisposition means that this race opposed the rise of Varinus and those races that allied with him. Good allied races must be followers of freedom and justice. They have great relations with other good aligned races and are at near war with evil aligned races.
* Orcs and Goblins cannot be Good aligned.
* Halflings must be Good aligned.
Kingdom Size: Moderate
A moderate kingdom possesses a capital and two cities, as well as having adequate land surrounding all three settlements for sufficient growth. A moderate sized kingdom is ripe both for growth as well as conquest.
* Has two cities and the Capital.
Name of the Capital and surrounding Cities (if any):
-Hadrallah(Capital)
Located at the western edge of the caliphate next to the body of water in the west. Hadrallah has been the most prosperous city even before the war with Varinus. After the great war is over, Hadrallah is still the jewel of the desert albeit dimly as the once prosperous state now falls into disrepair and neglect. Under the new caliphate, Hadrallah is made the capital and now a thriving city once more, it is also home to the magnificent Emerald Jade Palace, resident of the Grand Caliph and his family.
-Telmatalhamar
Located further south in a slightly lush and fertile valley bordering to another body of water that's connected to the great sea. Telmatalhamar is a relatively new city onto itself. It was founded right before the war with the Undead hordes, so it was left relatively untouched most of the time during the great war. Telmatalhamr serves as a trade hub of the entire caliphate and has a larger population than that of Hadrallah itself. It is said that the caliphate could still survive without its capital but once Telmatalhamar falls, the caliphate would be virtually crippled.
-Ishtafar
Ishtafar is perhaps the oldest settlement in the Merenaz Caliphate to have survived till today. It is said that when the first oasis was discovered by the Aremians, they built tents surrounding it, those tents have over the past centuries evolved into tall and magnificent buildings that can be seen in Ishtafar nowadays. Though old and slightly neglected, Ishtafar retains its importance due to it being an industrial city that supplies the entire nation with the much needed resources. Ishtafar is also one of the last few remaining cities to have survived the great war, it took quite a beating and survive 5 sieges throughout the great war and while the city may look scarred and rundown due to constant battles, the people of Ishtafar still hopes to rebuild the city to its former glory.
Government: Republic(Shura Council) - Shura Council is almost similar to that of a republic system of governance. The people of Aremish would elect an elder whose knowledge regarding religion and governance far exceed the common folks, these elders would then be given a seat within the ruling council called the Shura Council whose members are called the Aalimis. There can only be 23 Aalimis at any one time and each of them governs and supervises certain part of the lands. The Aalimis are charged with representing the people and voting for the next Grand Caliph to rule the caliphate. Candidates must always be from the special noble families who were once, the families of the defeated hereditary rulers of Aremian deserts. These noble families would choose a representative of their house and teach him the art of governance, the knowledge of their religion and the knowledge of warfare. Afterward, these representatives would be asked to wander throughout the land with whatever provisions given to them by their family to win the hearts and minds of the people. When the time has come for the current Grand Caliph to step down, the Shura Council will convene and voted for their favorite candidate based on the common people's perspective, the candidate with the most votes, becomes the next ruler of the caliphate.
((Republic - A republic is a form of government in which people or the representatives of the people have ultimate power rather than the power being vested in a monarch or despot. The people or their representatives may elect a leader, but that leader's power derives from the consent of the people.
-- Generates +1 Happiness per city per week.))
Nation Leaders:
Khaleed Al-Hareezi
The third grand caliph to be elected to the position of Grand Caliph by the Shura Council, Khaleed is the youngest son of the Hareezi Noble House. Since his childhood, his father the patron of House Hareezi have been neglecting him in favor of his eldest brother Ar-Rayahn, the heir to the Hareezi noble house, unfortunately Ar-Rayahn is a power monger but despite that shows no desire to rule and manage the caliphate but instead wasting time at the shisha house and watching belly dancers while surrounded by his other unruly friends. Unlike his older brother, Khaleed enjoys sophisticated poetry and philosophy, and his passion knowledge. Despite being neglected by his father, he was given all he wanted, a sign of pampering for a rich and noble son, yet all he ever asks for are tomes and books from distant lands, chronicles of the nation’s great heroes and books on philosophy.
It was however against his father wishes when he enters as another candidate to the title of Grand Caliph, contesting his own elder brother and he did this through political maneuvering and building alliances with strategic members of the Shura Council. Against everyone expectation, he outwitted all other contestants and even his own brother to become the Grand Caliph at the age of 25, one of the youngest grand caliph to be installed to the Crescent Throne.
Amir Ziyaad Shaheer
One of the oldest most veteran Amir who had taken up office since before Khaleed took over as the Grand Caliph. Ziyaad is one of the Khaleed’s staunchest ally and the very first who had joined him to overtake Ar-Rayahn in the election. Commanding the Emirate's first cohort, he had blazed through the fields of battle to mark himself as the Caliphate’s most feared and resourceful tactician.
Lady Iraa
Lady Iraa is the older sister to the grand caliph Khaleed, during the time of the previous grand caliph she was amongst those that was the most critical of her older brother Ar-Rayahn and had many times tried to persuade her father to let Khaleed took over, unfortunately her father favors his oldest son the more and was too blinded to realized there is no prospect in supporting the uncharismatic and unreliable Ar-Rayahn. Lady Iraa too is one of Khaleed’s first supporter and have since took major political office to help her younger brother ruled the Caliphate while her father and her older brother was simply cast aside by Khaleed for what he calls, ‘their stubborn stupidity’.
She helps with the administration of the government as well as keeping everyone in line from the Harem in the Emerald Jade Palace(Contrary to what people believed, harem is not really a house of concubines so that the sultan or ruler of the kingdom could have their bits of entertainment there, a harem is actually an institution of the government that involves the female members of the ruler’s family and more often than not, political maneuvering and intrigues happens here instead of in the court). Lady Iraa has an entire retinue of Assassins at her back and call, the moment she saw a political figure undermining her brother’s effort or a member of the nobles secretly working with the enemy, then she only needs to point her fingers and her agents would act immediately.
Lady Mirzinna
The First and official wife to the grand caliph and currently the only one, Mirzina comes from a family of impoverished nobles whose fortune have nearly runs out. It was unsure what made the Caliph chose her as his wife and consort but Mirzinna quickly proved herself worthy of becoming the Caliph’s wife. She is, aside from being an advisor and consort to the caliph, is also the highest ranking diplomat of Merenaz Caliphate entitled with the authority to make decision that could affect the entire nation as such she is a well spoken, well endowed and certainly manipulative just as her husband in politically outwitting their opponents.
Population Size: approx 13 million - have a Modest birthrate :
- Increase of 300,000 every two weeks.
Labor Civic: Free Workers - Workers in the kingdom can work with whom they please. Some wish to be masons, some wish to be scribes and others wish to join the military. There is no hierarchy that dictates who is born into what. Farmers becoming kings is still a near impossibility, but only in a society where workers are free to work where they wish is it possible that innovative new ideas can be added, traded and viewed to become usable, rather than in a heavily protected society where artists trudge stone and masons fight in the king's army.
-- Requires only 30 Economic Points for a Golden Age requirement.
-- Capital starts with a Library Construct and all other Library Constructs cost 6 Economic Points less.
Legal Civic: Citizenship - Citizenship is the policy of a nation that acknowledges that a certain group of people, usually based upon their race or tribe or where they were born, are members of that nation, and as such, deserve a certain amount of protection as well as some rights and privileges, above and beyond those accorded to foreigners. For example, a citizen can often move around the country freely, while a non-citizen may be subject to deportation or imprisonment if discovered by the authorities.
-- Requires only 75% of maximum Happiness for a Golden Age requirement.
-- Marketplaces generate +1 Economic Points per week.
Religion Civic: Organized Religion - Organized religion is one in which a number of people follow the same religious practices and have the same beliefs. The religion may have priests who intercede with higher powers on behalf of the believers or who set/interpret the religion's rules. There may be a complicated hierarchy of priests and other religious leaders. The religion may have temples or other sanctums in which the people pray and worship. Generally the believers contribute money to support the religion, its priests and buildings. Generally, organized religion is a force of stability within a culture. People who share a religion have something important in common, and although strangers are less likely to murder each other. It can also be quite divisive as well - historically many organized religions have seen other religions as threats or abominations, and more than one war has been fought over whose god is the real God.
-- Kingdom will have a Major Religion that starts at 70% of the kingdoms population. Your kingdom's capital will be that Major Religion's capital.
-- Missionaries cost 50% less.
Military Civic: Espionage Network - The Espionage Network gives a Kingdom superior clandestine abilities by formalizing a system of spies, contacts, operatives, and organizers. With specialized training and a complex system, the network's operatives can outperform mere hired thugs or prying ears. In addition, Espionage Networks study ways to extract information from prisoners, and also train their own members and politicians in resisting these methods.
-- Subjects of kingdoms with Espionage Network are more resistant to interrogation.
-- Espionage Activities may now be carried out. Their success is determined by how much Economic Points are spent on them.
Kingdom Civic: Master of the Realms - Whether it be on the cold frozen mountain passes, the flat grassy plains, the sweeping sand dunes, this nation has mastered waging war in this environment. Giving them a considerable edge when their country is invaded by foreigners or when they assault a nation sharing similar terrain to their own. These people's have adapted to the terrain, suiting their fighting styles around it to craft the perfect strategy to ensnare and destroy it's enemies.
Desert -- Decreases effects of the desert biome on native troops. All units have increased movement bonuse
Kingdom History: The people of Aremish are natives to the Great Deserts around 750 AE and are some of the oldest culture to have emerge in the world. Prior to the formation of the Merenaz Caliphate, the Aremians lived in a a group of nomad tribes, eking out living in the harshest of conditions. As time passed by, many of these tribes joined together and some were conquered by the greater tribes.
Over hundreds of years, these tribes were united into a nation, the first desert nation that were able to tame the great desert. The leader of this tribe, Ammar Ibn Mu'Addib proclaim himself as the first sultan of what would later be known as the Ammarid Sultanate. At the height of it's power, the sultanate spans the entire great desert and further east into parts of the cursed lands, as any Ammarid would called it now. These cursed lands are also the domain of the powerful dark wizard Varinius. The Ammarids lived in a state of bliss, unfazed by worldly conflicts that had plagued so many nations surrounding it, neither offering help nor opposing any nation.
In fact, the Aremish people have their mind ingrained with the knowledge that their nation was the greatest in the world, that supposedly, their nation were the first uncover advanced technologies that would put even the most powerful empires to shame and that their advancement in technology helps in many areas, such as medicinal technology, the arts of warfare and even masonry. So proud were the Aremish that their arrogance blinds them to the threat that lies just next door.
After a couple of centuries ruling the great desert, the sultanate grew bloated and weak. Corrupt officials began to filled in the seats of power in the government. Sultans of the Ammarid grew spoiled and only cares for worldly pleasures and leaving the governing of the sultanate to the corrupt government. So it didn't come as a surprise when, Varinius began marshaling his undead army, the sultanate was slow to react. By the time the Sultanate was able to muster the entire realm against the impending doom, half of the sultanate has already fallen, cities were burnt to cinders and bodies littered the street. The armed forces were slow to react and reinforces the front line, as such they become easy target against the unending hordes of undead led by the mad wizard.
The sultanate's fall came swiftly, they thought that they would still have time and that a couple of minor victories at the border somehow gave them hope, so when Sultan Al'Mustaqmal declares that the Sultanate are somehow pushing the hordes back, he orders nearly all of the armed forces to march for the borders. Little did he knew however that one of the black captains of Varinius who commanded the undead hordes attacking the sultanate was simply a cunning and treacherous foe. This black captain was able to sneak past the battered defense line of the sultanate and killed any messenger that tries to escape from bearing news of the incoming undead army. So it was too late when they found the undead army at their doorstep. The capital of the Ammarid Sultanate, Beit al-Ammar was burned to the ground, most of the population did not escape the brutal massacre that follows and the royal family of the Ammarid dynasty ended that day.
It was during this dark time that a hero emerge from amongst the populace, before his coming, some part of the Aremians society have begun to rebelled against the Ammarid dynasty. Their mishandled of government's power and corruption has instigated many uprising and rebellion against the Ammarid Sultans. Leading this rebel faction is a son of a noble family, Addib Ibn Merena. A charismatic and a brilliant tactician for such a young age, with the fall of the Ammarid Sultanate, Addib stepped in to lead what's left of the sultanate to make a final stand in his home city of Hadrallah.
Addib, was able to round up the battered and disillusioned professional army of the sultanate as well as militias and commoners who decided to take up arms. Against all odds and thanks to Addib's superior tactical skill, he was able to repel the undead horde at the Battle of Hadrallah in 47 AE. This actually gives the Aremish a breathing room to recuperate and recover from their recent downfall but Addib knew that it is only a matter of time before they are completely wiped out, the undead legions of Varinius are inexhaustible but the brave men of the Great Deserts are not.
Good news began to arrived at the headquarters of Addib, that the surviving nations of the continents had begun to launch a massive attack to invade Varinius's domain, this would actually explain why the undead hordes have been slowing down and that Addib was no longer able to track down the black captain that had engineered the massacre of Beit al-Ammar. Using this news as a rallying cry across the desert, Addib was able to round up an army of 20,000 Sultanate's professional troops while leaving the militias to garrison the Aremian lands should they failed in this final attack. Addib led his own army in a multi-pronged attack against the Tower of Nuhr and with the help from the armies of the other nations, they were able to finally defeat Varinius's in that final battle.
Reports were sketchy but soldiers who fought and survive alongside Addib began spreading words that indeed it was Addib who struck the final blow on Varinius, although he himself denies the allegations. No one knows the truth, however one thing for certain is that Addib himself hired these people to spread such words while he himself denies the pleasure of killing Varinius with his own hands. The nobles and the commoners began to rally around this humble but heroic leader and true to what he had anticipated, the people of Aremians asked him to established a new dynasty to rule over the Aremians.
At the end of the war, Addib institutionalized a new type of government system that he believed would lead his people into an era of peace and prosperity, by this time, the old hereditary system has become nothing more than a past nightmare and the Aremians are slowly recovering from the great war. This new government system, in which he calls the Shura Council will see the people electing their representative, their community and spiritual leader to own a seat in the Shura Council and this Shura Council will in return elect their supreme leader for life.
Addib became the first Grand Caliph in 40 AE, a title given to the supreme ruler of the Aremian people and proclaim from that day onward, the people of Aremish shall unite under one banner, a nation he named, Merenaz Caliphate in honor of his late father whom he had attributed his victory and his quality as a leader. The caliphate now becomes the second dynasty to rule over the great desert and although the Aremians have suffered greatly in this war, with many cities razed to the ground no longer able to be rebuilt and that the Aremian's realm had shrink to what it is today, the people of Aremish are hoping for a brighter future in the form of the Merenaz Caliphate.
Kingdom's Location:
Military:
14 million population x 3 MP = ((42 Military Points))
4 Spearmen Regiment(12 MP) = 12000 Spearmen Troops
3 Skirmisher Regiment(6 MP) = 9000 Archer Troops
2 Light Cavalry Regiment(6 MP) = 6000 Light Cavalry Troops
3 Bireme(9MP)
((9 MP points unused))
Population: 14 million (+ 300,000 every two weeks)
Military Points: 9 MP remaining (33 expended)
Economic Points: 5 EP every 2 weeks (3 EP from traits + 2 from Constructs)
Cultural Points: 2 CP every 2 weeks (2 CP from constructs)
Resources:
Foodstuffs
-- Required by all kingdoms.
-- +1 Economic Points every two weeks.
-- Every Additional resource node adds +200,000 population increase
Horses
-- +2 Economic Points every two weeks.
-- Allows 20 Cavalry per node.
Constructs:
Library - 36 Economic Points - The Library is the apex of learning and culture in a kingdom. A Library generates +2 Economic Points, +2 Cultural Points and +1 Happiness Point per week. Maximum of 3 per city.
