Al'Ard Aldhahabia

Location of al'Ard Aldhahabia, as it were during the era of the first Sultanate

Al'Ard Aldhahabia (الأرض الذهبية; English: Golden Earth) is a city located on the tip of Cape York Peninsula. It is the earliest evidence of Arab expansion in Australia, and is the origin city of the Sultanate of the Nicolides. As the first location of Arab contact with Australia and thus the origin of the Nicolideans, it is considered a very significant city within Nicolidesland. Evidence suggests the city was founded sometime around 70 BC, although it is possible it was inhabited prior to this date by Aboriginals. It was a prosperous port city under the Nicolides, as it held a strategic location at the south side of the Torres strait between New Guinea and Australia.

The city managed to survive the collapse of the Nicolides and experienced a rebound during its occupation under the Colonial Empire and later, New Portugal. Al'Ard Aldhahabia was one of several cities of importance in Australia during the Terran Era, being part of the state's heartland. After the collapse of Terra, it prospered further under the second Sultanate of the Nicolides, being subject to a massive cultural revival. However, due to the chaos caused by the Solar flare, and the subsequent collapse of civilization, the city fell into disrepair, becoming mostly abandoned during the tumultous post-Flare period, shrinking to the size of a town. It would only become resettled following the colonization of the Cape York peninsula by Euskadi. Following a brief period in which it was controlled by the CGC, it fell onto the hands of the Australians for nearly three centuries. During this era of near-continous stability, the city was revitalized, reasserting its status as a center of Nicolidean culture.

Even after the dissolution of the Australian Commonwealth, al'Ard Aldhahabia continues its streak of prosperity under the rule of the state of Nicolidesland. It is the only one of the three main Arab settlements to not have its name changed ever, due to its historical significance and role in founding the first recorded superpower.

## History of al'Ard Aldhahabia

### Prior to the founding of the first Sultanate

The exact date of the founding of al'Ard Aldhahabia is shrouded in mystery. From *A Chronicle of our Nicolides*, It is known that Arab merchants began exploring the Malay Archipelago, "eras before the creation of this sublime state," and eventually managed to reach New Guinea, bringing with them their religion and converting many of the native Austronesian and Papuan people. It is said that the first sighting of Australia was by a merchant named Amar, who sought to discover new lands and trading opportunities. Crossing the Torres strait, he landed on the tip of the Cape York Peninsula. As he was the first Arab to ever set foot on the landmass, he did not know he'd discovered an entire continent, believing it to be another tropical island. As he supposed this would be part of a bigger island chain, he named it the Nicolidean archipelago, or simply the *Nicolides*, and the "island" which he landed on *al'Ard Aldhahabia*. It is unknown why he chose these names, and the author of the chronicle does not shed light on the etymology. It is possible that "Nicolides" relates to a person the merchant knew.

Unfortunately, Amar was fairly poor for a merchant, and did not have the capabilities to found a settlement or a trading outpost, or to explore any further. Thus, he returned to New Guinea and declared his discovery. It is unknown what happened to the merchant after this, as he never directly appears after this action. According to the book, a generation passed before a union of merchants was formed, which sought to build a settlement on Australia. Before this, there were several expeditions made to explore the continent, it evidently being much more massive than Amar could have ever envisioned. To honor Amar's discovery, the settlement was decided to be built exactly where he landed. Apparently, the building of the settlement was delayed many times, and it is not indicated how long it took to finalize. Extensive research done by Terran scientists has shown that the oldest relics unearthed from the old city date back to 70 BC, but it is possible that al'Ard Aldhahabia was founded before this year.

After the completion of the settlement, it slowly grew over the course of decades, attracting more and more Arab traders and colonists, as well as native Aboriginals. As Arab presence on the Cape York peninsula increased, and the scale of the Australian continent properly known, a sudden population boom occured. Al'Ard Aldhahabia came to overshadow every other city built on the coastlines, with the exception of Kayrinz. As the city ballooned in size, it also integrated some native tribes, converting them to Islam. Al'Ard Aldhahabia eventually came under the control of the future Sultan of the Nicolides, an enigmatic man only known as Aalam. In the chronicle, the man had a prophetic dream, in which Allah Himself ordered him to unite the peninsula, and "bring all of the Earth [he] knew under his heel." A devout and superstitious muslim, he immediately set on achieving this goal.

Through clever diplomacy and warring, all of the arabic settlements on Cape York were unified under al'Ard Aldhahabia and Aalam. Thus, he proclaimed the Sultanate of the Nicolides, and himself its ruler. Al'Ard Aldhahabia was no longer the capital of Aalam's sultanate, as it was deemed too unsafe and susceptible to invaders. Kayrinz became the new center of the burgeoning empire, but the original city never fell behind, it remaining a powerhouse in its own right.