Caliph

The title Caliph, Who Is Arbiter Of All Disputes, refered to one of the two highest ruling positions in the city of Medinaat al-Salaam. Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 93 The Caliph and his attendants weere known as the Caliphate. Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 95
== Enforcing the law ==
The Caliph, Guiding Light of His Excellency, Crossbow (LBS - Shadow of the Tyrant) was in charge of enforcing the laws that the Sultan of Medinaat Al-Salaam decreed, and passing judgement on members of the population as to whether or not the law had been broken or upheld. This government system was the legacy of Mekhem, the Little Prophet, to the city. It was formed by three entities, the Qadi, the administrators, and the secretive Assassins that followed Adira and her dynasty. Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, pp. 85-86
=== Qadi ===
In reality, this task was far too large for one person to perform, so the qadi, or judges, were created to help the Caliph enforce and judge the law. 
=== Administrators ===
The administrators of the City enforced the laws not related with criminal activities, as taxes, inheritances, or city planning, among others. 
=== Assassins ===
After the death of the Caliph Hanan Talibah the Assassins had fulfilled their Blood Feud. Part of the sect followed the new Caliph, Adira, which used them as the underhand. They took care of the problems in a silent, quick, and deathly way. Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 86
== Merchant Houses ==
The elder houses of Medinaat al-Salaam confronted decisions of the Sultan, and began to hire mercenaries. It risked the start of a rebellion, and to level their power, the Merchant Houses were given the direct access to the Caliph and the Sultan. The first representative of the houses was Dahab Menjari, leader of the House of Menjari. The Houses of Dahab became the third power in the government of the Jewel. 
==Caliphs of Note==
=== Hanan Talibah ===
The first woman that would become the Caliph was born Hanan Talibah, sometime around the 9th century IC. She lost her mother very young, and her father was an aide to the Merchant King of the Houses of Dahab, which meant he spent around nine months a year away from their home at Medinat al-Salaam. She was raised by servants, and grew fearful of death and loneliness.
On the eve of her fifteenth birthday, she rummaged through her father's belongings, recently returned from the Senpet Empire, looking for her gift. Instead, she discovered a copy of the Senpet Book of the Dead. Shortly after, her father died. Because she had no other relatives, the Merchant King took charge of his aide's estate, "adopted" Hanan, and auctioned all of her belongings.
She soon had reasons to hate the King, who treated her as his property and was open about his intention to sell her as a wife, as he had done with Hanan's mother. She secretly learnt the Senpet language from a servant and studied the Book, that she had somehow managed to keep hidden. The Book taught her about the Senpet's cosmology, and many secrets. It also had secondary effects over her: her magical ability increased, and her inner fears became full grown obsessions. Finally, from teaching found in the Book, she created a new magical technique - the Ceremony of the Hidden Heart - that allowed her to make herself immortal, and her enemies into undead thralls: the Khadi. The Merchant King was her first victim.
Her magical power increased and she soon become the most powerful sahir in the city. Somehow, she manipulated the Prince into killing his father, the Sultan. A new Sultan was appointed, on her recommendation, and she became the Caliph, the de facto ruler of Medinat al-Salaam. From that moment on, she governed the city with an iron fist, with her Khadi patrolling the streets. Always fearful of anybody challenging her, she forbade any practitioners of magic into the city, and had shut down or ever burnt to the ground all the libraries. The Rise of the Caliph
=== Adira ===
Adira was an adopted daughter of the Old Man of the Mountain and devoted to his goal of eliminating the Caliph and restoring him to power. After the death of the Old Man of the Mountain at the hands of his eldest daughter Fatima, Fatima's Tale Adira continued to seek to fulfill his goal. Starter Quotes (The Awakening)
With the aid of the Yufet Alliance, Adira stormed the palace of the Caliph during the events surrounding The Awakening and defeated the Caliph. With her death, Adira took her position for her own The End of Age and cast the Khadi from the city, save San'a. The Tale of the Robber and the Caliph, Part Four
=== Puja ===
Puja was the son of Adira and succeeded his mother in the position of Caliph, clearly continuing the same policies. 
== Caliphate Dynasties ==
=== Early Dynasties ===
It was not known the name of the dynasties prior to the Immortal Caliph.
=== Talibah Dynasty ===
Begun and ended with Hanan Talibah, the Immortal Caliph, who ruled for three centuries.
Hanan I	828 - 1132
=== Senpet Governor ===
After the Awakening and the death of the Immortal Caliph, the city was governed by Keseth for a time. Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 99
Keseth	1132 - 1134
=== Descendants of the Mountain Dynasty ===
In 1134 Legend of the Burning Sands Roleplaying Game, p. 161 Adira, the adopted daughter of the Old Man began her own dynasty. Re-Awakening, Part 1, by Lucas Twyman
Adira 	1134 - 1155
Puja I	1155 - Present
== External Links ==
* The Caliph (LBS - Secrets and Lies)
Category:Burning Sands
Category:Law and Government