Amshan

Amshan
Capital	Hashkaman
Ruler	Dynast Rtaxshira rel Sakan
Government	Monarchy
Demonym	Amshani
Adjective	Amshani
Languages	Kirnashal, Common, Telan, others
Religions	Kirnashal pantheon; other pantheons and faiths

Amshan (pronounced AHM-shahn) is the largest nation on the western coast of the Kirnashal Sea. Its philosopher-monarchs are well-known for their patronage of intellectuals of all kinds, and the empire is a haven for artists, theologians, historians, and mages. Between its control of the eastern terminus of the Golden Path and the skill of its professional military, Amshan has long been the dominant power around the Kirnashal Sea.

History

Demographics

The population of Amshan is largely human, though many orcs, half-orcs, gnolls, and plane-touched individuals live in the region as well. The cities of Amshan, especially those along the Golden Path and in the central province of Marhasi, are quite cosmopolitan, home to all manner of ancestries.

Culture

Burial practices

The Amshani primarily bury their dead in family plots, or otherwise under their houses, but this practice is now largely considered archaic and only followed by the most traditionalist or those in the rural regions of the north. Some particularly renowned individuals are interred in a manner that can cause them to inadvertently rise as Esteemed.

Government

Rather more centralized compared to many of its neighbors and other nearby states, Amshan is a hereditary monarchy where most power ultimately rests with the dynast, as Amshani kings and queens are called. The majority of positions amongst the ministers of the Amshani state, as well as within the clergy of the empire, are appointed by the dynast. Ultimately, however, the dynast is also beholden to the various houses, or clans, that govern the provinces of Amshan.

Each province is ruled by a triumvirate consisting of the leader of a clan with historical ties to the region, usually referred to as a dynast-prince, as well as two priests, one of Sraosheh and one of Mihr, who are nominated to the role by the monarch. Each of these figures is responsible for a different part in the administration of those who live within the territory. All clans in a province possess the right to the title of dynast-prince, though as only one can hold it at a given time they are typically forced to negotiate concessions and alliances to support their nomination before the dynast. Historically this arrangement has allowed for the effective administration of territories far away from the Amshani capital of Hashkaman while still preventing clans from threatening central rule.

Amshani cities and settlements are ruled either jointly by a local clan and the clergy, for cities and large towns, or simply a clan, if small enough.

Yet some clans remain outside the provincial governance. As Amshan united into one state, a few chose not to settle and instead kept their nomadic ways. These clans eventually formed three confederations, the Ishparaba, the Kishesu, and the Saparda, who rule themselves in their traditional hereditary, and largely matriarchal, ways, heeding no one's commands but the dynast's.

The Amshani military is entirely under the control of the dynast - no clan, nomadic or otherwise, is allowed to maintain a standing army of their own, though guards and militias in times of crisis are permitted.

As of Y9976^*, the current dynast of Amshan is Rtaxshira of the Sakan clan.

Relations

Amshan has two vassal states, Kudurru and Ramashal. Both were established as ways to control the chaotic and wild southern frontier against the Shields, yet in the stability and relative safety of recent years they have begun to engage in minor clashes with each other.