YLARUAM (Emirates of)
Location: North of Thyatis, west of Rockhome and Darokin, south of Soderfjord. OW
Area: 53,130 sq. mi. (137,606 sq. km.).
Population: 208,000 (recent losses due to civil wars within the emirates).
Languages: Ylari (also known as Alasiyan), Thyatian, Alphatian.
Coinage: Dinar (gp), dirham (sp), fal (cp).
Taxes: 10% sales tax. Also a monthly head tax according to social rank (peasants: 1 cp, townsfolk and nomads: 1 sp, merchants: 1 gp, nobles: 10 gp). Heretics (those who refuse to follow the edicts of the Eternal Truth) and foreigners pay double the monthly head tax.
Government Type: Bureaucracy with administrative departments called voucheries (such as the Vouchery of Water Resources), under the supervision of the sultan and his grand vizier.
Industries: Textiles, horse-breeding, mining, marble-quarrying, glassmaking, and the cultivation of dates.
Important Figures: Hassam "the True" al-Kalim (Sultan), Khalid-al-Sharif "the Tale Teller" (Grand Vizier).
Flora and Fauna: Horses, camels and cattle are by far the most common animals found, followed by sheep and goats. In the wilderness of the desert, djinn, chimerae, dragons, undead, giant lizards, sphinxes, and manscorpions are all rumoured to be present. Demons recently released into the Prime Plane near the Emirate of Nithia are also a rare sight.
Further Reading: GAZ2 The Emirates of Ylaruam, previous almanacs.
Description by Omar-ibn-Chukri.
The Land
The western Ust-Urt Valley is a veritable oasis in the harsh deserts of the Alasiyan Basin. The Altan Tepes and Makkres Mountain Ranges provide the valley with cool temperatures, as well as several small rivers and runoff waters that give it rich soil. It is here that the vast majority of the Makistani make their homes, as opposed to the desert regions to the east of the valley.
The People
The people of the Emirate of Makistan are mostly of Ethengar descent-the Makistani having been a clan of that nation at one time. They are a short, dark-skinned people, fond of riding and raising horses. A very open and ofttimes brutally honest people, they have blended in well with the Alasiyan peoples of the deserts. Their candour and openness makes them more trustful than many in the emirates, perhaps even than their Ethengar relatives. Non-believers and sorcerers are less likely to be subject to discrimination in Makistan than elsewhere in the emirates. The Makistani are primarily herdsmen, though their fertile homeland yields a fair number of farmers as well. As befits their heritage as nomads, they live in tents and sod huts, rather than more permanent structures. Their villages lack fortifications, and the largest structures one is likely to find are the enormous stables that accommodate their herds.
Recent History
The Makistani were a minor tribe residing in the northern plains of Ethengar as recently as nine centuries ago. During the reign of Muhuli, a particularly vicious tribal khan, the Makistani were driven out of the steppes and into the dwarven Kingdom of Rockhome. Though not ill-disposed towards the Ethengar tribe, the dwarves were not inclined to allow them to remain in their mountainous home, and ushered them southwards, depositing the Makistani in the sparsely-occupied Ust-Urt Valley. There they settled, gradually trading in their nomadic ways for a more sedentary lifestyle. They never quite forgot their Ethengar roots, and remain some of the best horsemen and archers around. Their prowess was so legendary that al-Kalim himself sought their aid in AC 826 in his crusades against the Alphatian and Thyatian invaders. Their warriors were an invaluable aid to his army.
The Emirate of Makistan has remained relatively untouched by
the recent troubles in Ylaruam. In many
ways, they have prospered. Though trade
suffered during Ylaruam's isolation (in AC 1015-1016), their agricultural
output was vital to the rest of the country.
Since the reopening of ties with the outside world, it may be that
Makistan will come to replace the beleaguered Emirate of Alasiya as the
centre for trade and wealth in the nation.
I hear tell that the sultan is keeping a close watch on the Khan
of Makistan.