Athkatla Athkatla was the capital city of Amn . Considered a pilgrimage site for followers of Waukeen , the City of Coin was rumoured to have streets paved with gold . This was , of course , untrue , especially in the slums and the notorious Docks districts , where people were poor and crime was rife . Just about anything was acceptable in Athkatla and actions that would be illegal or immoral in other lands were tolerated . The law permitted nearly anything including lewdness and slavery . Government . Athkatla was ruled by the Council of Five ( formerly the Council of Six ) . Although council positions were once held anonymously , the council members now rule openly . The five council positions were held by : House Selemchant who sponsors the Cowled Wizards of Athkatla , House Dannihyr which belongs to the Shadow Thieves , House Alibakkar , House Ophal and House Nashivaar which is closely allied with the Church of Cyric . Locations . Daranthur ' s Hall . Daranthur ' s Hall is a market found in downtown Athkatla . It is the first of the " shared - roof " markets that is becoming increasingly popular in Amn . The hall was severely damaged during an attempt to uncover a smuggling ring . Storl Thammuraster , Amaront of Selgaunt , and Onth Tarralus of Silverymoon used an gem - exploding spell to detonate the gems hidden in bottles , causing a series of explosions that killed dozens of traders and shoppers . After calling additional contacts , three merchant families ( the Aerlonds , Kravalondurs , and Morornds ) were exposed as smugglers . Waukeen ' s Promenade . The market of Athkatla , named Waukeen ' s Promenade , was twice the size of Waterdeep ' s and in it one could buy " any " item found above - ground ( and some from below ) for a price . The promenade itself was found in the center of the city and built as an open , oval stadium surrounded by terraced , 50 ft . walls . It had four stories , each 75 ft . wide , with the upper levels providing shade for the lower ones . Each story was accessible from wide ramps leading from the story below . Illegal goods were hard to come by in the promenade as it was patrolled regularly , though contacts for such items abounded . It was cheaper to trade in other areas of the city , but it would vastly lower the merchant ' s and buyer ' s reputation if seen doing so . History . The city was founded around 100 DR by the Shoon Imperium along with Murann and Crimmor with mostly Calishite immigrants , in what was then known as " the emirate of Amin " . The Empire fell and in 460 DR , Amn became an independent nation with the city of Esmeltaran as its capital city ( despite Athkatla being the oldest and most established city ) . The nation was blessed with peace and prosperity for over 700 years , a period during which the rulers of Amn initiated trade with the far north . Money became the center of every good Amnian citizen ' s world , and the nation ' s taste for accumulating wealth corrupted many of the mercantile classes . Things got worse from 1238 DR forward as every three or four decades saw a trade war erupt that would last for two or three years at a stretch . The worst one came in 1333 DR when all trade in or out of Amn was stopped . A young merchant from Athkatla named Thayze Selemchant had just inherited a rich spice - importing business and the most affluent trading house in the city . He refused to allow this trade war to squash the wealth and power he would inevitably gain from his inheritance , so he personally went out and " persuaded " ( using his intelligence , charisma , secret powers of magic and the third largest personal fortune in the country ) five other Amnian merchant house leaders into forming a new government that wouldn ' t be so susceptible to these trade wars . The attempt succeeded and peace reigned once more ( though only with a compact of mutual nonaggression with the Shadow Thieves ) . The new " Council of Six " was based in Athkatla and the city became Amn ' s new capital and busiest trade port on the Sword Coast . More recently , as the last free port in Amn , Athkatla became the hub for nearly all the trade from Maztica although contact with Maztica ended when the entire continent was transported to Abeir during the Spellplague in 1385 DR . Appendix . Appearances . The city was featured in the 2000 computer game " " , as an initial setting for the player to collect quests and equipment .