Subject: The Capital City; Nasii Sat Dec 18, 2010 1:45 pm
Spoiler:
The Capital of Sida, and the Jewel of the Seas, Nasii is a place of peace and tranquility. It's fountains pour clean and crystal water into it's rich denizens, and the vast markets bustle with activity from every nation of Aeria. North of the city, sitting upon a hill, is the Sultan's Palace, with it's spiralling minarets and battlements unbreakable by conventional means. Below it, lies the patrician quarter of the city, rich nobles who have bribed their way into power, at the peak of their careers. Even lower than this is the barracks, housing the Sultan's Harem, the men who guard the Sultan and his Royal Family to the death, with oaths muttered only to the holiest. Down below the grand city, in the slums, are vicious gangs of thugs, preying on rich citizens foolish enough to go down into the slums. Fleshpots of exotic women and inns of the strongest scented wine are the source of power in the area.
The language of Sida before its expansion was Mayja, and this became the sultanate's official language. By the time of the Baktr'id period, Mayja began evolving into two languages: the 'high' written Classical Salva and the 'low' spoken Vulgar Mayka. Although Mayja remained the most widely spoken language in the East, through to the fall of Nasii and for some centuries afterwards, in the East the Salva language was the literary language. Today, however, the Sidans generally do not attempt to supplant local languages. They generally leave established customs in place and only gradually introduce typical Sidan cultural elements including the Salva language. Along with Mayka, many other languages of different tribes in and around Nasii are used but almost without expression in writing.
Salva is already widely spoken in many cities in the east, and as such, the Sidans are quite content to retain it as an administrative language there rather than impede efficiency. Hence, two official secretaries serve in the Nasii Harem, one charged with correspondence in Salva and the other with correspondence in Mayka for the tribes. Thus in the Western Provinces, as with all provinces, original languages are retained.
Life in the Sultanate revolves around the city of Nasii, and its famed Palace on the hill. The city also has several theatres, washing palaces, pleasure palaces and mansions for the upper classes and many taverns, baths and brothels for the lower classes. Throughout the territory under Sida's control, residential architecture ranged from very modest houses to oasis palaces, and in the capital city of Nasii, to the residences on the elegant Sultan's Hill. The vast majority of the population lives in the city centre, packed into slums and apartment blocks for space.
Slavery and slaves is part of the social order; there are slave markets where they can be bought and sold. Many slaves are freed by the masters for services rendered; some slaves can save money to buy their freedom. Generally mutilation and murder of slaves is prohibited by legislation and It is estimated that over 25% of the Sidan population is enslaved.
Legally only the Sultan and his Harem have the authority to mint coins inside the city. However the authority of the Harem was mainly in name only. In general, the Sultan issues gold and silver coins while the Harem issues bronze coins marked by the legend "HR", short for Halhk Rehimma "from the harem". However, bronze coinage can be struck without this legend. Some parts of Sida are allowed to mint bronze and certain silver coins, which today are known as Nomad Imperials. The Nomad mints are under the control of a chief financial minister.
Last edited by Jack on Sat Dec 18, 2010 2:15 pm; edited 5 times in total
Kain
Posts : 1427 Join date : 2009-03-24 Location : Somewhere Pat doesn't want me to be
Sat Dec 18, 2010 1:45 pm
