Dahra

Dahra, officially the *Overseas Crown Territory of Dahra*, is a treaty port of Liotain on Anitkabir's northern coast.

### History

Dahra was the main port, and one of the primary cities, of the Reman successor state of Anitaria, an independent kingdom which existed during the 6th to 10th centuries, and again between 1204 to 1401. During this period, the city carried a number of names, including Alexandropolis, Alexandria-in-Anitaria, Flavianum, Flavium, Flavianum-Alexandria, and Flavium-Daria. The town occasionally served as the kingdom's capital city. In 1401, Anitaria was conquered by the invading Kabirites, who incorporated the kingdom into their empire, and shortened the city's contemporary name of Flavium-Daria into the current name of Dahra. Anitaria was an important enough component to this expanding empire that, by the 1430s, it lent part of its name to the new word Anitkabir.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, Dahra (and the province of Anitaria) remained an extremely important component of the Anitkabirite empire, which was still expanding to the west. The neighboring Liotain, however, held off Kabirite expansion, and Anitaria remained a border region.

Dahra's importance as a port city declined through the 1700s as Anitkabir centralized their development at Tekkadin and Kizkalesi, which had a stronger majority of ethnic Kabirites; Dahra was instead viewed as an advanced border outpost.

Between 1690 and 1704, Firocco counted Dahra in their chain of treaty ports, but the legal terms of this arrangement were extremely informal. During the Firoccan-Liotainian War, a raid by Liotainian privateers resulted in the destruction of the Firoccan-owned warehouses, which were not rebuilt in the aftermath of the conflict. In 1715, the Sultan revoked the Firoccan port claims in Dahra but, in recompense, slightly expanded Firocco's claim in Karindah.

In 1810, border tensions rose between Anitkabir and Liotain, leading to the Four Banners War. In a prelude to the anticipated conflict, Liotain encouraged the ethnic Mardin and ethnic Reman minorities in Dahra to revolt if war started. On September 1810, when the Four Banners War broke out, Dahra natives seized the harbour fortifications and allowed a Liotainian fleet to land troops in the city.

Over the next five years, Dahra was on the front lines of the conflict. The Kabirite army besieged Dahra several times but were ultimately driven away each time by the Liotainians. Several small naval battles were also fought in the vicinity of Dahra.

In the final peace treaty, Liotain kept control of Dahra, with the city officially surrendered to them as a possession, but acknowledged the defeat of the Four Banners Movement.

Since 1814, the city remains in Liotainian control, although surrounded entirely by Kabirite territory.

### Government and Politics

As of 1866, Dahra is officially an Overseas Crown Territory. It has local autonomy in domestic matters, with Liotain being responsible solely for foreign affairs and defense.

The monarch of Liotain serves as the Territory's official head-of-state. The Governor-General, who acts as the territorial head-of-government, is elected by the territorial parliament. The election of a Governor-General can be vetoed by the monarch or by a supermajority of the Liotainian parliament. In practice, this has never been done.

A unicameral Territorial Parliament is elected for purposes of selecting a Governor-General and setting policy for the region. As of 1907, Dahra is organized into twenty-three districts, each of which sends one Representative to the Territorial Parliament. The city of Dahra covers sixteen of these twenty-three districts.

The Liotainian monarch also appoints a viceroy (or vicereine) to serve as the monarch's direct representative in the territory. This position is basically ceremonial, being bestowed to senior officials as a reward for a long career of public service. The viceroy's duties often resemble an ambassadorship in most respects, being accorded a seat on the Governor-General's executive council but having no binding power.

The Territorial Parliament also elects two representatives to the Liotainian Teismas (Parliament) in Neris.

* **Head of State / Monarch**: Queen Kotryna Urmana
* **Governor-General**: His Excellency

### Geography and Landmarks

#### Districts

Dahra's territory is divided into three districts: the Walled City, the New City, and the Agricultural District. The Walled City, sometimes also called the Old City, is located within the boundaries of the old stone city walls, first erected in the 1200s during the second Kingdom of Anitaria, and maintained or rebuilt almost continuously since then. The walls are fairly unique for the period in the houses that are built into them, many of which have remained continuously-occupied for over eight hundred years.

Since 1730, the New City slowly grew outside the old city walls, as the Kabirite army expanded defensive earthworks designed to replace the masonry walls which were too vulnerable to cannon. Within these larger fortifications, the New City grew up. Although housing in this region is more roomy than inside the Walled City, conditions are still relatively cramped.

An agricultural strip surrounds the urban district itself, being largely taken up by orchards and high-density crops, which can be cultivated year-round due to the favorable weather.

#### Melek Palace

Dahra's former citadel was torn down in 1772 in order to make room for the construction of Melek Palace, named after one of the most legendary sultans of Anitkabir, Melek II. This sumptuous palace, constructed at significant cost, was only occupied by the Sultan on one occasion, for a period of three days.

After the transition to Liotainian authority in 1814, the palace retained its original name but officially became the property of the House of Urmana, which used the building as the headquarters for the royal viceroy. Between 1860 and 1871, Melek Palace was used as an exotic vacation spot for the royal family. However, in 1871, the western portion of the palace was repurposed to serve as the headquarters for the municipal and territorial government, while the eastern portion was converted to a hotel (although it remains the property of the House of Urmana).

#### Citadel Market

A major landmark within the Walled City is the Citadel Market, which is located in the northern half of the city, bordering the former citadel (which was torn down in 1773 and replaced with the Kartepe Palace). The lower end of the market is a wet market selling food, fresh fish, and other goods. The middle end of the market is still used for clothing and other domestic goods. The upper corner of the market, up until 1810, was used for slaves, and was one of the largest slave markets (both for import and export) in northern Anitkabir.

When Liotain took control of the city, all slaves were freed and the slave market permanently shut down. However, the market itself was not repurposed, and in 1882 a monument was erected in order to memorialize the end of slavery in the city. The market, now simply called the Upper Market, serves as a major gathering point.

### Demographics

Dahra is a multiethnic city with a diverse population. No group possesses a dominant majority, which has led to certain difficulties in the past with intra-neighborhood rivalries.

* Anitarian: 30%
* Mardin: 20%
* Kabirite: 19%
* Ergeli: 16%
* Liotine: 10%
* Other: 5%

Ethnic Anitarians compose the largest minority. This group identifies themselves as part of the larger Reman diaspora. Modern Anitarians are largely a result of intermarriage between Remans and Kabirites between the 15th and 18th centuries, and their language and traditions similarly reflect this mixed heritage.

The Mardins are the second-largest minority in Dahra, being an ethno-religious group that was heavily-persecuted in Anitkabir; a sizable number of Mardins fled to Dahra both during the Four Banners War and afterward. They dominate in the densely-populated Mardin Quarter, located in the northwest portion of the city.

The number of ethnic Kabirites - who at various points composed a majority of the city's population - steadily decreased between 1814 and 1885, although it has stabilized somewhat in the last two decades. The slow Kabirite exodus from Dahra resulted in the loss of significant wealth from the city. Those Kabirites who remain are largely Kabirite Orthodox believers who either fled persecution in Anitkabir or would face social ostracism if they immigrated away from Dahra.

Slightly fewer in number is a small ethnic group called the Ergeli, who claim to be descendants of the pre-Reman tribes that once lived on the northern coast of Anitkabir. The Ergeli have variously been hypothesized to be related to the Erisians, the Syrellians, or even the Astyrians, but these ideas remain unproven. The Ergeli population in Dahra composes nearly half of all Ergeli worldwide (with a very small group found in Syrellia, in the Elbar region, and the remainder in Anitkabir, where nearly 80% of them are owned as slaves). The Ergeli are distinct for their tribal religion and manner of dress.

Ethnic Liotines are the smallest percentage of Dahra's population. They are largely associated either with the naval base or army garrison in Dahra, or with business and trading into or out of Anitkabir.

Most of the Kabirites, Liotines, and Anitarians tend to follow the Theophanite faith, mostly identifying either as Kabirite Orthodox or Liotainian Orthodox. A sizeable minority of Anitarians, and a small number of Kabirites, follow Hishelma. The Mardins and Ergeli are the most monolithic in terms of religious beliefs, each following their own codes.

### Economy

Tense political relations between Liotain and Anitkabir have caused constant difficulties for Dahra's local economy. Although the city received agricultural land in the Treaty of 1814, the region is not self-sufficient and has to import food, either buying from Anitkabir (which occasionally closes the border for random and sometimes petty reasons) or importing food from abroad, usually Liotain or Syrellia. Artisanal fishing contributes modestly to the local economy but does not fundamentally change the city's need to import food.

Dahra's limited land area and the irregular border tensions have largely prevented the city from finding its own economic niche, although a modest textiles industry has developed (bringing raw cotton out of Anitkabir), as well as the production of glass beads and fine jewelry. Salt collection - using an area of tidal flats - also provides work for a portion of the city's population.

### Infrastructure

#### Transport

The small footprint of the city constantly poses a challenge to urban transport. Most of the streets, particularly in the Walled City, are extremely narrow, with unpredictable turns and dead-ends, as well as stairs.

Only three streets in the Walled City are wide enough for cars. The city's denizens were so upset by the first car that arrived in Dahra (an electric car imported by a Liotainian businessman as a status symbol) that they pulled all of the occupants out and threw the vehicle into the harbour. Since that point, no further cars have been imported.

Bicycles are common in the New City, but within the Walled City, almost all traffic is pedestrian. The exception is the virtually unique Dahra Suspended Railway, which runs over Dahra's largest (and widest) street, running from the harbour promenade, through the Walled City (passing over rather than through the walls), and out into the New City.

Sedentary chairs - a simple cabin carried on poles between two porters - were once quite popular within Dahra, particularly in earlier eras when the Kabirite population was richer and employed numerous servants (or, prior to 1810, slaves). They are slowly falling out of fashion, although they can be hired (as a sort of taxi service); they are also used for civil occasions or for visiting dignitaries.

The metre-gauge Dahra Railway, which runs along the Anitkabir coast, has a terminus in the New City of Dahra, fairly close to the northwestern wall. Although the railway was constructed and funded by Liotain for purposes of reaching Dahra, the largest majority of the line (and, indeed, the rail-yard that supports Dahra) lies within Anitkabir, and substantially benefits that nation.

#### Utilities

The city receives much of its water from a Reman-era aquaduct constructed in the 3rd century, although a small stream, wells, and a single spring provide extra water.

A number of sewers from the 8th century, designed according to the Reman style, are still in use, having been completely refurbished during the 1860s, with additional modern systems being grafted in whenever new construction occurs.

Dahra's local postal service has an extremely high reputation for efficiency. In 1904, a reporter once arranged an experiment where she exchanged notes with an assistant across town. Each of them sent and received ten notes and responses over the course of a single day, averaging fifty-one minutes from a letter being posted to its delivery.

Electric power was not installed until 1901, when it became required for the suspension railway.

### Culture

#### Sport

Dahra has an unusual sporting rivalry between two local equestrian sports. The Liotainians play sritije (with six players per team) while the Kabirites play a close variant, popular in Anitkabir, called alan. Dahra has both native sritije and alan teams, and the two regularly play against each other, alternating which rules they use. The two teams co-own the playing field as well as the stable where they keep their horses. Team loyalties, however, are extremely strong.