Najjir

Najjir

Najjir
Map of country or capitol
Country Information
Motto	None
Capital	Najjir has no capital, but major cities include Qarsythe and the ruins of Amas'kyaa
Language(s)	display name
Ethnic Groups	races
Religion	pantheon/god/goddess
Government	description
Current Ruler	full name with title
Population	Approx. (number)
Currency	name of coins

North of Kahlahra and Rashnad lie the dunes of Najjir – a stretch of desert, scrublands and oases extending to the long sea. Najjir is not a country but a language and culture shared among multiple sovereign domains and city-states throughout the region.

Najjir is a region, bounded by Kahlara in the south, Taraja in the east, and the vast ocean to the north. Its heart is the smoldering Fareedah desert and its periphery is full of burgeoning life. Most Najjira civilization is situated in a broad ring around the Fareedah, encrusted around the life-giving rivers, streams and oases in an ocean of drifting sand.

Najjir is a relic. Many centuries ago, it was spanned by the mighty Amas’kyaa empire. The capital city laid at the heart of what was once a valley of life but is now the wasteland that is Fareedah. A magical cataclysm involving a giant rift in the sky once swallowed the enormous center of civilization in a matter of hours. The rest of the empire crumbled shortly afterwards. Thousands of ruins and fragments remain scattered throughout the land.

Najjir is a language shared by all ethnic groups that live there, a poetic tongue that arose from centuries of trade and cultural diffusion among the northern deserts. The modern alphabetic Najjira came to replace the glyphic Amas’kyaan language that once dominated the region. Dialects vary all throughout the land but the Qarsythian sheikh, the Buhuchan poppy farmer and the Emshi wanderer can all understand each other.

Najjir is a culture. Though we come from different cities and ethnic groups, the brown people of the desert share an identity that is unknown to the light-skinned dwellers of the Occident. Najjir’s cultural bias towards mercantilism and scholarly pursuits is renowned throughout the continent.

Society and Peoples

Culture and Economy

Etymology:

Najjir (noun) - Used to refer either to the region or the entire body of people living there. Najjira (adjective) – Used to refer to the Najjira language or to a person’s background, i.e. “A Najjira man.” Najj, Najji (slang) – An informal, occidental way to refer to someone from Najjir.

Common Culture

Najjira populations cluster around city-states that sit on rivers, crossroads or oases. Usually, a city has a satellite of villages and farmland spread out around it. The city’s ruler exerts a sphere of influence over the surrounding land to the extent that he can protect it. These spheres of influence are commonly called domains. Some domains like Qarsythe are enormous, containing many towns and cities, while others, like Dastrakhan are tiny in comparison.

Most people except some tribes are patriarchal and polygamous. Marriages are usually arranged and the number of wives a man has is often a sign of his social status. Other status symbols include the amount of land or livestock a man has, whether he was born as a noble or a commoner and how educated he is. Slavery is an accepted practice in Najjir and free people always have more rights than slaves.

The Najjira are a trading people but they are also a people of letters. Najjira scholars try to translate as many cultures’ written works as they could get their hands on. A handful of the larger cities boast public libraries. Najjira natural philosophers have made some important breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics and linguistics (see the section on Ankenah.)

Customs vary but most free Najjira value piety, hospitality and eloquence. Poetry is a national pastime to the point where all educated people are expected to be able to speak and write in verse. Family is of paramount importance to any Najjira and family honor and reputation is worth more than material wealth. Young men like to declare blood feuds against people who brought dishonor to their families.

If you find yourself a guest in a Najjira household, know that your host is expected to share his best food, wine and lodging with you so accept it without question. It is expected of you, the traveler, to regale your host with your road tales and news from abroad. Never hesitate to follow your host in prayer, even if you worship a different deity – if you pray silently, your thoughts are your own. Remember that most Najjira dwellings have two sections – for men and for women. Depending on your gender, you must make sure you sleep on the appropriate side of the house.

Social Status

Rulers, their advisors and high nobility stand at the top of society. They live in palaces or manor-houses with lush gardens and sizeable harems of up to dozens of women. Usually, such powerful people have their own private guards or command detachments of the domain’s soldiers. The powerful love to bask in ostentatious displays of their wealth – hiring artists and decorating everything they own with jewels and precious metals.

No less wealthy are the top merchants and guild masters. They enjoy a very high standard of living but tend to invest their money into more liquid assets than expensive palaces. Because they command not only great wealth but the means of trade that fills their ruler’s coffers, they enjoy a great deal of influence in society. A powerful merchant’s reach may extend across many domains, where Emirs and Princes eat out of the palm of his hand.

Smaller merchants, master craftsmen, plantation farmers and educated scholars are next on the social ladder. They are comfortably well-off but lack the opulence of their wealthier counterparts. They might have only a handful of wives, a nice house and a plot of land that brings in a decent income.

Journeymen crafters, small farmers and semi-skilled laborers usually have only one wife and a small house. Though they have the means to make their daily bread, they won’t always be comfortable. On Bazaar days, their likes clog the market stalls, hoping to sell enough to maintain their meager lifestyle. Most low-ranking guards and soldiers also fall into this category.

Unskilled laborers, dervishes, beggars and subsistence farmers have it worst of all. They rarely go a day without experiencing hunger pangs. Sometimes these poor souls turn to a life of crime out of desperation.

Though they sometimes eat better than the free poor, slaves are at the bottom of Najjira society and are entirely at their master’s disposal.

Economy

The economy in the big cities and their surrounding areas is structured around the concept of the bazaar – a huge marketplace that forms daily except on religious holidays in the very center of town. Everything is bought, sold and traded at the bazaar, including the administration of most social functions, which makes it the nexus of Najjira life.

The bargaining tradition is deeply embedded in the bazaar culture. Expect to haggle for everything except food and tea. In some cities, bargaining is an art of competing in eloquence, while in others, haggling fulfills a more practical role. If you don’t haggle for your goods, most vendors will not respect you and sell you goods at a highly inflated price.

Traders intersect the desert in camel and mule-drawn caravans, banding together for protection and hiring guides to lead them along the treacherous roads. Heat, the lack of water, and banditry are all common threats to any caravan. Caravans can either be conglomerates of various traders; belong to a single merchant; or professional transporters with their own camels and guards who hire out to people for passage.

Traders often cross national boundaries to do business with Rashnad and more recently, Arangoth. Animal breeders often make mercantile forays into Kahlara to purchase the prized Khalar horses for the upper crust of society. The port cities of Mashriq, Bassij and Khorzem receive ships from all over the world.

Guilds are the biggest players in the Najjira economy. In any given city, you will find large and small guilds devoted to all sorts of crafts and professions. Some guilds are local, while others are spread out across Najjir. Membership often equates to a more favorable place in a bazaar, while high-ranking guild officers can control supply and thus, prices. In some cities, guilds have de-facto taken over the functions of government (see Qarsythe and Khorzem.)

There are some special types of guilds like the shipwright cartels in the port cities and the pan-Najjira association of scribes that is described in greater depth in the “Language” section of this manual.

Etymology:

Najjir (noun) - Used to refer either to the region or the entire body of people living there. Najjira (adjective) – Used to refer to the Najjira language or to a person’s background, i.e. “A Najjira man.” Najj, Najji (slang) – An informal, occidental way to refer to someone from Najjir.