Sultanate of Azhir

The Sultanate of Azhir, also called the Azhiri Sultanate or (rarely) the Shyrrik Sultanate, is the domain ruled by a series of dynasties whose heads have claimed the title Sultan of Azhir. The seat of the Azhiri sultans has usually (but not always) been in Shyrrik since the early 900s CV; prior to that, it was in the city of Tevril. The extent of this domain and the power of the sultans have both varied considerably over the centuries. Some scholars would argue that there have actually been a series of Azhiri Sultanates (with the current incarnation being only the most recent), since, as with the Kelimarian Sultanate, it has been disestablished and reestablished under different dynasties on several occasions.   
At its heights of power, the Azhiri Sultanate has dominated most or all of Azhir itself and also extended suzerainty, or even direct control, over large parts of the Western Isles, the Medrenesse city-states, and the Kelimarian coastline. Such times have typically coincided with nadirs of Kelimarian strength, when there was no sultan (or a very weak one) on the Topaz Throne, and the various states of Kelimaria were engaged in power struggles with each other. At other times, the holdings of Azhiri sultans have dwindled to the immediate hinterland of Shyrrik (if even that) and despite their high title, their actual status has been reduced to that of just another minor emir of the isles. During certain periods, they have been forced to swear fealty to strong Kelimarian sultans, making them client-kings and their domains an extension of Yhimir’s. At other times, weak Azhiri sultans have been pressured into disadvantageous trade pacts or tributary arrangements with strong alliances of Medrenesse city-states which have cooperated to dominate trade in the Sea of Wyrms.   
At present, the power of the Azhiri sultan is relatively limited but seems to be growing. Prior to the collapse of the most recent Kelimarian Sultanate during Gol Garga’s invasions, Shyrrik was firmly subordinated to the Topaz Throne. The father and grandfather of Zemune III, the current Azhiri sultan, had both been obliged to send yearly tribute to Yhimir and supply provisions from their own storehouses for Kelimarian ships that entered their ports. With Kelimaria now in disarray and the Topaz Throne vacant, Zemune is clearly seeking to reestablish Azhiri power. Most believe that if Rouam the Younger’s claim to the Topaz Throne does result in the reestablishment of a Kelimarian sultanate, Zemune will refuse to renew the tributary oaths to which his predecessors were forced to submit. He likely hopes that even if a new sultan does take power in Yhimir, the challenges of recovering from Gol Garga’s depredations and fortifying the new frontier with orcdom will divert most of Kelimaria’s resources.