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)	Najjir
Ethnic Groups	races
Religion	Primarily Menxism, among others
Government	Independent city-states and domains
Current Ruler	None
Population	Impossible to determine
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. 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. Finally, Najjir is a culture. Though its residents 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.

Geographical Features

Najjir is a region bounded by Kahlahra 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.

Society and Peoples

Etymology:

Najjir (noun) - refers either to the region or the entire body of people living there.

Najjira (adjective) – refers 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.

Culture and Economy

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, with the exception of 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 his level of education. 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 can, and a handful of the larger cities boast public libraries. Najjira natural philosophers have made some important breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, and linguistics (see 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 have brought dishonor to their families.

When a Najjira household entertains guests, the host is expected to share his best food, wine, and lodging, and guests should accept it without question. It is expected of the guest, the traveler, to regale the host with road tales and news from abroad. A guest should never hesitate to follow the host in prayer, even if they worship a different deity; if they pray silently, their thoughts are their own. Most Najjira dwellings have two sections--one for men and one for women--and depending on a guest's gender, they must make sure to sleep on the appropriate side of the house.

Social Status

Rulers, their advisers, and high nobility stand at the top of society. They live in palaces or manor-houses with lush gardens and sizable 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 also 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. Slaves are at the bottom of Najjira society and are entirely at their master’s disposal, though they sometimes eat better than the free poor.

Economy

The economy in the big cities and their surrounding areas is structured around the concept of the bazaar – a huge marketplace in the very center of town that forms daily, except on religious holidays. Everything is bought, sold, and traded at the bazaar, including the administration of most social functions, making 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 a prospective buyer doesn’t haggle for their goods, most vendors will lose respect for them and drastically inflate their prices.

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 consist of professional transporters with their own camels and guards who hire themselves out to people for safe 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, large and small guilds devoted to all sorts of crafts and professions can be found. Some guilds are local, while others are spread out across Najjir. Membership often equates to a more favorable place in a bazaar; 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, such as the shipwright cartels in the port cities and the pan-Najjira association of scribes, described in greater depth in the language section.