Shinar City

The City of Shinar was once the capital of the Shinar Empire, but is now just a small city on the Karialan Isthmus subject to the Kingdom of Kariala. While the city has rebuilt much in the 400 years since the Fall of Shinar, Shinar City remains a shadow of its former glory, evidenced by ruins dotting the nearby plains. Shinar City sits along the Godval Sea and overlooks the north end of the Shinar Canal, near where the Linoka Islands stand watch. Shinar's sister city, Silah, was itself founded on what was once a southern part of Shinar City. The Tower of Amraphel pierces the clouds to the southeast, a constant reminder of the Shinar Empire's arrogance. Across the mountains to the west lies the Zaplanyne Empire, while roads to the east lead to the Karialan cities of Burias and Keshem.

## History

### Early History

Shinar City was founded by ancient settlers as a fishing village. Access to the Godval Sea and steady trade with its neighbors allowed the village to thrive. As the village grew, it developed the surrounding land for agriculture while establishing itself as a port town. However, Shinar did not grow into a city until long after the arrival of the elves and dwarves. Elves dominated much of Velismeret through sea trade, which caused Shinar to grow rapidly in importance. Shinar City was a keystone in Alansian control over Kariala.

Elven control would not last. Diplomatic slights and racial conflicts eventually boiled over, and Shinar City rebelled against Alansian authority. Elves used the Linoka Islands to stage a blockade of the city while Imperial Alansia prepared to subjugate the city by force. It is at this point when the dwarves, themselves subject to hostile elven occupation, came to Shinar's Governor Isin with gifts. First, the dwarves offered finely crafted weapons with fantastical properties. Second, they offered a poison deadly to elves but harmless to humans. Finally, they gave the governor a scepter inscribed, "Emperor Isin, King of Kings, Ruler of Godval."

Isin surrendered to the Alansian fleet, stipulating that peace talks would be held in Shinar but submitting to full occupation during negotiations. This arrangement was a ruse, and the occupying force and delegation choked to death on the city's poisoned water. Furious at Isin's barbarity and the loss of two of his sons, the Alansian Emperor declared war on Kariala. However, the dwarven gambit had crippled Alansia and given Isin a much-expanded fleet. After a humiliating defeat at sea and full-scale dwarven revolt, the Alansia granted Shinar full freedom and amnesty for Isin's treachery. Shinar was free to begin expanding its own influence, and by the time Isin passed the throne to his son, the title of "Ruler of Godval" was only a small hyperbole.

### Imperial Shinar

The Shinar Empire was characterized by its cooperation with the dwarves, and Shinar City was the focal point of that cooperation. Shinar and Silah became the center of trade between dwarf and Man, and between Godval and Pagida. The enchanted tools and materials created by dwarves radically increased productivity and enabled startling architecture. As Shinar grew into an economic powerhouse, its navy too became unrivaled. While the city itself serviced scores of merchant vessels daily, the Linoka Islands were used as a harbor for the Shinar navy and the resident elves pressed into servitude.

With the Linoka Islands under Shinar control, the Houses of Alansia had no hedge against Shinar, giving the empire uncontested control over Godval and the dwarves a far greater degree of freedom. Dwarves began to freely experiment with and share the secrets of enchantment, and those secrets spread through travelers. People came from far and wide in hopes of learning to enchant or discovering some new innovation. The city grew and prospered for centuries under a long line of emperors.

In the 9th century of the empire, an ambitious emperor of the name Arioch took the throne. By this time, Shinar City had annexed the city of Silah and was the vehicle for trade between Godval and Pagida. Though aided by the dwarves' dizzying feats, transferring goods between the seas was still a massive undertaking, making it only viable for highly valuable cargo. Calling upon the ingenuity of his engineers, Arioch commissioned the Shinar Canal, a massive waterway stretching 40 miles from Godval to Pagida. Half a century later, the canal was opened, opening trade between the two seas. With this great commission completed, Arioch turned his attention to a final innovation: immortality.