[Region 1][Map 09] - Khanate of Qashya Mal

No map yet, just getting a feel for names and cultures.

Khanate of Qashya Mal - City of Calishem on the Sea of Qashya
The Khanate of Qashya Mal is the most recent horde of the steppes to conquer the Spice Road between east and west, holding the old trade capital of Calishem, the Jewel of the Khanate, at the western end of the route on the Sea of Qashya. The prosperity of the cosmopolitan city has increased as southerly routes of the Spice Road, have been cutoff by the plague lands south.

You might recall I used the City of Calishem, in my January challenge, it will be the same city.

Though cities and towns dot the eastern shore of Qashya Mal, to the west is a sea of grass and only the carthouse towns and steppeland yurt villages exist and they are never at the same location for more than a few weeks, except during the harsh winters of course.

On the narrow spit of land between the Sea of Qashya and the southern lakes a wall has been erected and a watch prevents access to and from the plague lands to the south.

The Khanate of Qashya Mal has an eastern capital on Lake Kaikha, on the northwestern edge of area 27 on the world map (areas 9,10, 27 and to its east is all part of the Khanate.)

Despite being part of the Khanate, this is still considered southwestern Brinsmerd.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gamerprinter

(Admin, please change my post title to [Region 9] instead of 1)

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Not sure how everyone else feels about it, but in the documentation I've been keeping, I've been referring to the different maps as Region 1, Map 9 (or whatever number your map is).

I'm not sure that it matters how it's done, but it'd sure be handy if it were done uniformly, just for referencing issues.


-IG

Title Fixed

Calishem is the western capital of the Khanate of Qashya Mal on the Inland Sea of Qashya, southwestern Berimerd.

Nobudai Xho is the Topaz Khan, master of the Turgan Horde who dwells at his eastern capital of Kaikha, on Lake Kaikha (1300 miles east), protected by his 100,000 horseman army. His nephew, Gendai Xho is the western governor stationed at Calishem. Gendai is less the horseman and more a bureaucrat with mercantile interests, thus his appropriate station by the khan. 5,000 Turgan warriors are stationed 70 miles east of the city at the fortress of Kaikaar (Steppes End).

Calishem has a population of 46,580 making it one of the largest urban centers in the Near East. Home to Turgan traders, arabic merchant princes, citizens from the Chin Qai Empire and other lands far to the exotic east, as well as western traders, and a large slavic working and slave class of people. The indigenous population on the eastern shore of Qashya are the slavs.

You know that there is a Calimshan in forgotten realms ?

Yes, but I've never liked the name Calimshan, actually Calishem has a nicer ring to it. "Shan" has a distinctly chinese sound it it, that didn't seem to belong to a middle eastern location, as in the F.R. domain. "Shem" has a much more middle eastern sound in my opinion.

I've always wanted to develope a culture, map and setting based on a near eastern capital of Calishem. Now I can take this idea off the shelf and use it for that very purpose, so I will insert it in this world.

Commissioned by the august emperor, the Topaz Khan, Nobudai Xho, the imperial geographer and cartographer, Yu Zhiang Yi is a map of the Khanate. This is the far western portion of the Khanate of Qashya Mal, on the shores of the Great Inland Sea of Qashya.

The Western Capital of Calishem is perhaps the largest city in the known world with a population over 850,000 with a racial mix of slavs, arabs, vikings, mongols, chin-qai, rashadi and minorities of dwarves, half-orc, and half-elf. The city professes religious freedom with no less than 12 of the greatest temples of the major religions found within and without the Khanate, 9 academies of learning, and 36 guilds. Calishem is the terminus of both the Silk and Spice Roads.

Tyrborg on the northern shore of the Sea of Qashya, is a viking port trading amber, furs and dwarven goods from lands north and west to grand port of Calishem.

Darkovia on the southern reaches of the Vahlvoska Mountain range is the continent's primary source of bloodstones, with the capacity of holding arcane charges, they are greatly sought by wizards east and west. Darkovia is ruled by a Boyar-Prince named Casimir Darkov, who is rumored to be Nosferatu.

Because the Topaz Khan has decreed all wars not declared by the Khanate as illegal, thus encourages peace within the Nobudai's domain, however, it protects dark local rulers such as Prince Casimir. 8)

[The Map for area 9 is complete!]

I had a feeling this was going to be worth waiting for. Great job GP as always. You have painted a rich tapestry with the background stuff and there his a huge amount there to stimulate the imaginations of other mappers here, which is precisely the point of the project. Darkovia seems to be crying ouit to be an adventure site. I'm having some flashbacks to panicky sweaty palmed D&D sessions in Ravenloft.

Torq

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Torq

I had a feeling this was going to be worth waiting for. Great job GP as always. You have painted a rich tapestry with the background stuff and there his a huge amount there to stimulate the imaginations of other mappers here, which is precisely the point of the project. Darkovia seems to be crying ouit to be an adventure site. I'm having some flashbacks to panicky sweaty palmed D&D sessions in Ravenloft.

Torq

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I was thinking the same thing. Sounds like fun.

Very Nice, GP! As Torq said - great job!

What font did you use? I really like it.