Mahuun

Mahuun, officially known as the Emirate of Mahuun ("Mahuun" itself meaning "Young Land" in Mahuuni) is a kingdom founded on the isle of Mahuun in -9568 L.C.

## History

The first people of Mahuun spoke a language that closely resembled modern Mahuuni.

Emir Mahammud, the emirate's first leader, was a ruthless conqueror, sacking many other smaller islands. He was stopped in his conquest when he made a grave mistake in attacking the mighty Zandalari Empire, which rendered his fleet destroyed and his pride broken.

Descendants of these great warriors and conquerors, the Mahuuni of today have since shed these violent ways and become peaceful traders. Some practice the ways of stealth, others dabble in arcane magic.

It is due to this change that the nation's secret ability, known as the "Mahuuni bloodlust", is unknown even to most locals.

### 1. The founding of Mahuun, reign of Mahammud the Conqueror (-9568 L.C. - -9493 L.C.)

Under the leadership of Emir Mahammud, they moved to the island we now call Mahuun in -9568 L.C., Mahammud himself adopting the name "Al'Naara", meaning "(son) of fire" in Mahuuni.

Mahammud's most ambitious attack proved to be his last. He tried to take over Zandalar, and failed miserably. His fleet was lost, leaving only Mahammud's personal vessel intact and forcing him to flee.

This loss proved to be a major setback for the emirate, forcing them to abandon raiding and focus on rebuilding their empire from scratch.

### 2. Becoming a commerce giant, reign of Dawaronn the Reformer (-9493 L.C.- -9415 L.C.)

During the rule of Dawaronn Al'Rajmath, the entire economical system was revamped to be geared more towards export and trade rather than warfare and conquering. The city of Ganor was founded.

### 3. The discovery of bewabroo, reign of Sazaan the Merrymaker (-9415 L.C. - -9334 L.C.)

The method through which bewabroo - or date-wine - could be fermented, was discovered during this era.

### 4. The Peace Law, reign of Giiledan the Wise (-9334 L.C. - -9275 L.C.)

The rules of Raj'ehbaad were established. Verbal or physical agression and discrimination against one another henceforth is punishable by exile from the island.

### 5. Zandalari incursion, reign of Hawihk the Chained (-9275 L.C. - -9180 L.C.)

In -9275 L.C., the Zandalari sought to retaliate against Mahammud's attack against the empire, to which end they sent a small division to Mahuun to seize the island for themselves. They initially succeeded due to the peaceful nature of the Mahuuni people, and established a puppet government nominally ruled by Hawihk Al'Rajmath, overseen by Talmok, a Zandalari conqueror.

### 6. Mahuuni revolution, reign of Naarchee the Seer (-9180 L.C. - -9073 L.C.)

The Mahuuni, however, wouldn't take kindly to being oppressed for long. Naarchee, the son of Hawihk, led a revolution to liberate the island from the Zandalari, who severely underestimated the resolve of the otherwise peaceful locals. The Hama'ketaar guard was put in place. The city of Hamaar was founded.

### 7. Abolishment of the emirate, reign of Dawaronn II the Enlightened (-9073 L.C. - -8964 L.C.)

Dawaronn II Al'Rajmath was the last to be called "Emir" in the traditional sense. He abolished the hierarchy of the emirate, declared all of the inhabitants of the island as equals and reduced himself and his bloodline to an administratoral role. While this act prohibited any future rulers of Mahuun to become tyrants and blocking them from abusing their power, it maintained them in the position of leaders, albeit forcing them to become closer to their people. Thus, These actions earned him the nickname Zewaan (translating roughly to "Child of Equality").

### 8. Reign of Dawaronn III the Explorer (-8964 L.C. - -8892 L.C.)

Towards the end of his life, Dawaronn III, seeking to get away from the burden of leading an emirate, passed the leadership to his daughter, Giiledan II, then travelled north with his consort and a a few other people, settled on a small island west of the Eastern Kingdoms, and built a Tel'Raj there. His last days were spent in deep prayer to the Sun. With his dying breath, he blessed the small island. His grave is just below the Tel'Raj. The people he left behind, who started calling themselves the "Dawaronnidessi" (or the Dawaronnites), ('Dawaronn's people) later moved to the mainland of the Eastern Kingdoms, where they melded into the nation of Alterac. Members of the Alteraci House Highsoar to this day claim descent from Dawaronnite ancestry.

### 9. Second Zandalari incursion, reign of Giiledan II the Defender (-8892 L.C. - -8803 L.C.)

The Zandalari attacked again in -8845 L.C., but Mahuun was ready for them. The Hama'ketid battled the invaders valiantly, utilizing their sand magic to blind and trap the trolls. They eventually retreated and decided not to disturb the island anymore.

### 10. The age of neology, reign of Annuur the Linguist (-8803 L.C. - -8754 L.C.)

Annuur decided that some words in Mahuuni, especially numerical names, were overcomplicated, and decided to simplify them. He was a highly intelligent scholar, and was interested in linguistics.

Having rid themselves from the Zandalari threat, the next eight millenia were relatively uneventful for the desert island. They continued exporting their goods to various parts of the world, with the high elves of Quel'Thalas being the main purchaser of Mahuuni hookahs. When the first human kingdoms were founded, the Mahuuni immediately opened up their trade routes to them as well.

### Reign of Sarrhakeen the Gleeful (16 L.C. - present)

Present-day Mahuun is merely a relatively unknown, albeit powerful country, with an economy based primarily on export.

### Voyages

Around the time of the Third War, a group of Mahuuni people joined the Southsea Freebooters, left the island of Mahuun and ventured northwest. A percentage of them settled on Tel'Abim. Their only source of income is banana farming and export. The others travelled all the way to the southern Kalimdor, where they settled in the deserts of Tanaris. They are now known as the Wastewanders. After the Cataclysm, they even ventured into Uldum.

## Origin

Their history prior to getting to Mahuun is mostly unknown.

## Geography

Despite being a desert wasteland with very few lush oases, Mahuun is nevertheless a vibrant country, littered with sandstone cities and wide-ranging bazaars.

## Architecture

Mahuuni architecture vaguely resembles that of the Tol'vir, with single-storey sandstone houses and winding streets.

## Economy

Mahuuni economy mainly relies on export of luxury products, exotic spices, tobacco, hookahs, and the world-famous - and extraordinarily potent - Mahuuni date-wine.

Mahuun is known for its salty rains, which in addition to the harsh desert climate led Mahuuni farmers to cover their farmlands with perfect glass hemispheres.

Emir Sarrhakeen is a people person and a generous ruler, organizing many parties, inviting every commoner from all across the island to his palace. He believes that the splendour of his emirate is the people's achievement, and as such they deserve to be rewarded for it.

There's virtually no poverty in Mahuun, which is all thanks to the selfless mindset of the Mahuuni people. People are free to trade goods for one another, but nobody owns more of anything than they need; surplus grains, produce, meats, spices and other goods are given by people who don't need or can't possibly use it to the less fortunate, and the rest goes to import, the profit from which is similarly distributed. The first receivers of the money are the farmers, bewibroo-fermenters, food processing workers and traders, but they all distribute their surplus goods and money amongst the others.

## Religion and mindset

Mahuuni people practice an advanced form of Sun worship. Priests and war-priests of Mahuun channel their power from the Sun itself, much like the Sunwalkers of Thunder Bluff.

The sentence "Raj quor zewonag al'weni" (roughly meaning "The Sun shines upon all") is the prayer and creed the religion is based on. Practitioners of Raj'ehbaad look down upon hatefulness, inequality, discrimination and hurting others. This principle is called "Zewo't" ("Equality").

The religious practice consisted of sitting on a special circular sandstone platform named Tel'Raj (or "Sun-island"), and basking in sunrays for an hour, while thanking the Sun for the light it provides, a bountiful harvest, or anything in particular that the practicer is thankful for at the moment.

While the principle of Zewo't remains to this day, the core religious practice slowly but surely transformed into that of pure gratefulness, with practitioners no longer thanking the Sun directly, but simply basking in the sunrays and reciting what they are grateful for.

Mahuuni people think in a radically different way than other races of Azeroth do. They believe that everyone deserves happiness and prosperity no matter how much or how little work they contributed to it. Feelings such as envy, greed, and the pursuit of surplus wealth are shunned and looked down upon in Mahuuni culture.

## Government

While nominally still an Emirate, the Emir in present-day Mahuun merely takes on an administrative role, handling paperwork, documenting export and import, and replying to the workers' complaints. Law enforcement is virtually nonexistent, the balance of the state is based entirely on a mutual respect-based system between the Emir and his people.

## Military

Mahuun does not have a standing army, although there are dune-mages (hama'ketidessi) that act as palace guards in Raj'math, but even they are very rarely deployed.

### Navy

Mahuun *does* still have a navy, although most of their ships are trade feluccas (dewa-teyethessi). Their military ships are known as solar barges (raj-teyethessi) and employ flamethrowers.

## Nomenclature

Mahuun names consist of a given name and a surname which usually denominates place of birth. (e.g. people of Hamaar are named "Al'Hamaar", etc.)

## Cuisine

Bewabroo ("Sweet fruit wine") is a potent wine made of Mahuuni dates. It is enjoyed by all inhabitants of the island, and served to visitors as a welcome gift. Another, although lesser-known variant of this legendary beverage is the Tel'Abim Bewabroo, which is made of Tel'Abim Bananas instead of dates.

Typical Mahuuni dishes include the naariftek ("Fire food"), which is a sort of ragù, served with boiled wheat and the anhoor ("Half-death"), which is pickled hot peppers, a common side dish.

Another typical Mahuuni dish is the Hamaari shawarma ("Spiced dish"), which is roasted seasoned mutton and sometimes beef, served in a wheat bun and sometimes with boiled wheat.

## Major settlements

* Ganor
* Hamaar
* Raj'math