Al Alus Republic

## *Unknown*

The Al Alus Republic is a small state situated in between the Caliphene Republic, Kingdom of the Silver Shores, and Mooriyye. A Songaskia Qadir populace dominate this New Ceardian nation, and they follow the Shambala religion passionately, albeit with some modified practices. Whilst it is not particularly economically strong and has little military prowess, the Al Alus Republic is famed for the masterful architecture within the cities and countryside alike, and many of Aloria’s finest architects hail from this region.

## History

Even before the Cataclysm, the land where Al Alus stands today was untouched by civilization. Settlers of ||Ailor]] came in a few droves in early 18 AC and settled down on the land in unorganized tribes who roamed the dusty grasslands in packs, hunting and gathering what they could. Only in 203 AC was the region first settled by Qadir when a wealthy Emir from Farah’deen by the name of Muayiah Al-Alus I laid claim to land between Silver Shores and Caliphene with a large band of migrants. After a short and quite easy war against the natives, Muayiah I was able to beat them into submission, and they were fully subjugated by 206 AC. Having began the construction of Qardhba later that year, he named himself the Sultan, with the backing of his army.

The stately palace of Al-Banaah was completed in the year of 225 AC, little less than a month before Muayiah I died from old age. Now with no leader, the citizens of Al Alus decided to hold votes and nominated Baziah II, one of the previous Sultan’s advisors, as the new Sultan. Under his rule, the economy of Al Alus grew with the expansion of the fishing industry, and great palaces were constructed for each of the wealthy families amidst the countryside. Another ruler followed, though his reign was cut short and he died, therefore allowing the present Sultan Abul Hassan to take charge. Since his ascent to power, the state has never been politically unstable, nor has it gone to war, and has made no official alliances with any other countries for want of being independent and self-sufficient.

### Etymology

The Al Alus Republic owes its name to its founder, the first Sultan Muayiah Al-Alus I, who led his Qadir followers and army into the region in 203 AC. There have been a few other Sultans after him, yet there has been no change to the Republic’s name out of respect for Muayiah’s success in beginning the state.
Qardbah, the capital of Al Alus, takes its name from the Qadiriq language which is spoken by Al Alus’s Songaskia people. Qardbah is a synonym for ‘Seaside City’, which references Qardbah’s position on Al Alus’s western shoreline.

## Geography

The landscape of the Al Alus Republic is predominantly flat, useless, and arid land marked by dusty plains and low-lying grasslands. Toward the coastline the land is more hilly, providing a foundation for the Republic’s iconic hillside palaces. Most notably, the cities of the Al Alus Republic are divided by the seven leading families. Each city is named after the family’s surname, and each family’s city specializes in a certain trade, making the closed market of the country diverse enough to allow the country to not need imports. While the City of Hassan specializes in fishing, the City of Amaraam specializes in mining, thus supplying the coal to cook the fish that Hassan’s merchants catch and feed the populace of the state.

Due to the arid landscape of the Al Alus Republic, there is minimal foliage and few animals that inhabit the landscape. Most of the plants are either poisonous or covered in thorns and thus not messed with by the city-dwelling people of the Al Alus Republic. The most notable of the plants is a thorny plant called Gardu by the natives. It produces a very sweet fruit that is often protected by the various thorny vines of the plant. It is considered a delicacy by those whom inhabit the areas in which it grows. Amongst the various plants that dot the landscape, there are rodents that often scurry about eating the small amount of vegetation that is available. Larger animals are virtually non-existent due to the lack of food to support them, even though the grasslands are home to a few coyote packs.

### Climate

The climate is warm, and inhabitants of the Republic constantly remark that “The sun always shines over Al Alus”. The winds blown in from the sea offer a cooling relief during the normally humid days, while at night the temperatures drop.

### Notable Landmarks

* **Al-Banaah Palace**

This palace is one of the largest sandstone palace in the Qadir’iyye inhabited side of the world, boasting many lush gardens and open, airy courtyards. It is known for its extraordinary size along with it’s beauty. Many noblemen, Qadir and Ailor alike, travel to see this architectural wonder.
* **The Mukdeen Spire**

After the death of Muayiah I, the heads of the leading families decided to make a memorial upon his burial ground in the City of Hassan. What they decided on was a high reaching spire, in order to represent the rise of power of the nation so any visitor to the Spire could see the lands Muayiah I ruled over from the top floor. The Mukdeen Spire is generally acknowledged as one of the greatest building feats in Aloria.
* **Qardbah**

The City of Qardbah, situated on the sandy coastline of the Republic, is a large and crowded city built from sandstone and marble. Well-known for being the first constructed city of Al Alus, it nowadays hosts a grand harbour and huge colourful marketplaces.
## Government

Al Alus is a republic wherein every time one leader dies, another is elected from the ranks of the previous Sultan’s advisors. The Sultan is usually lucky enough to enjoy a reign with the aid of other advisors picked from the noble Emir families who can deal with trade, finance, industry, architecture, and other areas. When it comes to the hierarchy, the aforementioned Sultan is in charge, and rules from the comfort of the Al-Banaah Palace. Underneath him there are several wealthy Qadir families who hold the title of Emir, and each family leader must act as one of the advisors in the reign. Below the wealthy and aristocratic come a predominantly lower class populace comprised of Qadir and Ailor.

### List of Rulers

* Before Cataclysm - 18 AC - Nobody
* 18 - 206 AC - Disorganised Ailor tribes
* 206 - 225 AC - Sultan Muayiah Al-Alus I
* 225 - 251 AC - Sultan Baziah Muktin II
* 251 - 259 AC - Sultan Jerridh Salameh I
* 259 - 303 AC - Sultan Abul Hassan I

### Foreign Relations

When it comes to foreign relations, the Al Alus Republic is a fairly neutral state who remains impassive and indifferent toward Regalia and Farah’deen alike. It has small-scale trade negotiations with the neighbouring state of Caliphene, exchanging fish and coal for metals and valuable gemstones, though the relations don’t extend far past this.

### Military

The nation has a small standing militia, mainly to protect the Sultan during public events. Along with protecting the Sultan, the militia is also used to protect the heads of each of the leading families so they are not vulnerable. These militiamen are specially picked by the heads of the families and are trained with spears and pikes for means of crowd control, as they are not used for anything else bar bodyguarding the nobility.

## Economy and Technology

Due to the fact that the Al Alus Republic is on rather neutral ground with both the Sultanate and Regalia, they have no heavy reliance on importing or exporting goods. The leading families hire workers in order to do small time businesses in the cities, such as fishing and mining for coal. However, the products of those industries are strictly sold within the limits of the cities and not at all exported, so it does not appear they are taking sides with Regalia nor the Sultanate.

The heavy reliance on seafood can be crippling for Al-Alus’ economy, as nearly the entire population relies on fish for food. Sultan Baziah created jobs by hiring those fishermen to build homes and monuments, thus creating the wonderful marvels that appear in the cities of Al-Alus.

### Demographics

* 83% Songaskia Qadir
* 10% Ailor
* 5% Mansuriya Qadir
* 2% Other

## Culture

Due to the lack of food imports, the Al Alus Republic relies mainly on the fish market for their food supply, and people live off a staple diet of bread, fish, and rice. While agriculture is difficult due to the arid conditions of the land, you might occasionally find a small farm behind someone’s house so they can spice their fish accordingly. Due to the harsh environment that most commoners work in for most of the day they generally are found with white turbans and robes to protect them from the sun. In contrast to commoners, nobles wear extravagant silk robes with their corresponding family colors as the normally spend the majority of their days inside, writing important documents and dealing with politics.

Al Alus is well-known for the beautiful and exquisite architecture in its lands, where houses and palaces are constructed from carved sandstone and detailed with ornate carvings. The Qadir that reside in the Republic are experts of architecture, building grand palaces and gardens. Even the lower classes tend to live in sizeable and respectable homes, as the Qadir value architecture as a fundamental part of their culture.

## Religion

The Qadir that live inside of the Al Alus Republic follow the same religious views as Farah’deen; they believe in the Sun and Shambala. Though, what makes them different is that they are not as oppressive towards other religions as the worshippers in Farah’deen, in fact even accepting such beliefs as Unionism within its borders. There is speculation that worshippers of Shambala in the Republic value Unionism and believe that the Divine Spirit is in fact a messenger of the Sun, which is perhaps why Unionism is permitted in the villages and cities of Al Alus.

## Symbols

The Al Alus Republic takes the Mukdeen spire as its national symbol, displaying a large yellow pillar flanked by two dancing fish either side on the flag.

## Trivia

* The Mukdeen Spire is often referred as “The Tallest Qadir-Made Structure in Aloria” standing at over 30 meters tall and just over 10 meters at its base.
* Al Alus houses an infamous lizard called the Hagaan, a small reptile the size of the average Qadir’s foot. It is responsible for just under 10% of the total deaths in the Republic due to its venomous bite.
* It is suspected that the third Sultan, Jerridh Salameh, was assassinated by a radical group from Farah’deen due to the fact he was a Mansuriya Qadir, rather than a ‘pure’ Songaskia.

## Some attributes

### Third

*Unknown*

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