Ninurmah Empire
| Formal Name | Ninurmah |
|---|---|
| Capital | Ninurmah |
| Head of State | Susuda Nushalluk |
| Government Type | Monarchy |
| Cultures | ~20.6 millions Midian, ~400,000 Others |
| Religions | Mostly Midian |
| Population Density | Very High |
| Population | 21 millions |
The Ninurmah Empire is the most powerful and dominant of the Midian states throughout most of known recent history. The city is located in the northern side of the inner Midian gulf, and is a harbor city at the mouth of the Zaguba river. Ninurmah used its position to dominate trade in the Midian gulf and imposes its hegemony together with its formidable army of battlemages and see maintenance of its trade network as the
History
Ninurmah has an ancient history going back millenium. It was the dominant city in the region over a thousand years ago, and its territory fractured into various smaller kingdoms in periods of civil war in between. But the prestige of Ninurmah is irresistible, and eventually, someone always reclaim the mantle of Ninurmah Empire, change their capital to Ninurmah and redo their conquest again. At various point, Ninurmah Empire has claimed to be an empire of all Midians with Ninurmah as its capital - but the current regime has no clout to do that, yet.
The current Nushalluk Dynasty have ruled for over two hundred years with support of the mage-priests and warrior mages underneath its rule, who see the dynasty as able guardians against foreign powers trying to strip away their privileges and territories.
Government
Ninurmah Empire is ruled by decree and non-hereditary governors appointed by the monarch themselves. In truth however, those governors often come from powerful family and nobles locally and position are often passed on to their heirs, and only occasionally will the dynasty attempt to disrupt succession.
In the Ninurmah Empire, power outside of the monarch are largely held by the warrior-mages clans who provide much of the Empire's famed professional soldiers, with the mage-priests relegated to a secondary, but still important sacred role.
Economy
Ninurmah's economy is highly diversified due to its vast territory but it is generally considered to be quite prosperous. Its southern land exports some preserved tropical fruits. It also has a strong alchemical & magical traditions and these products are traded east to the Tazraran and west to out of the Midian Gulf. Most trade are however internal instead of international, especially because of its hostile relationship with every other Midian states.
Regions
- Ekurmah (~10 millions): The economical and political heartland of the Ninurmah Empire, this is where the capital of Ninurmah is located - with most of its population concentrated along its western coast. Significant cities include:
- Ninurmah (600,000): A densely populated city known for its vast temple complexes. It is located next to a deep water harbor.
- Anshubar (30,000): A city located in the inner Midian gulf wrested between hilly land and the coast, it is a center of a metalworking industry.
- Sipparan (~4 millions): A large flatland province where the Sipparan ponies hail from and are bred. Most population live around the reach of the Idanur river, and the western end is fortified heavily against incursions.
- Girsalun (100,000): A large harbor city at the mouth of Idanur river.
- Abmarutu (~4 millions): Abmarutu province consists of most land on the southwestern side of the Midian gulf under Ninurmah administration. The region has been fought over by the Larsaki League and the Ninurmah Empire many many time over centuries, changing hand once in a while.
- Idkuralla (~3 millions): Idkuralla is a large province consisting of nearly all of the reach of the Kuralla river, and border the Kingdom of Tazrara to the east. It is considered to consist of the most marginal land in Ninurmah Empire - only by Ninurmah's standards however, as these are still very arable and good land anywhere else.
Military
Ninurmah's military relies very heavily on its warrior elites - the Zagarim, in a quasi-feudal system. It was in fact Ninurmah who invented the concept of Zagarim as a caste.
To be considered a proper Zagarim, one must be able to field themselves, a horse, a full set of armor, a lance, and be capable of casting war magic to maim enemy at range and in melee. And on top of that, they are also expected to be able to field lesser retainers and soldiers from the land they own. These forms of "traditional" Zagarims used to form the core of Ninurmah's formidable army, and still forms roughly half of them - mostly in rural provinces where those small petty landowners still hold considerable sway. In the Empire's core province of Ekurmah however, the power of these traditional Zagarims has been reduced in favor of the monarch redistributing tax revenues to fund a professional Zagarim court - with education provided since childhood in royal sponsored academy and the children growing up to become a professional soldier for thirty years once they become an adult, with their family supported by the income granted by the states. The professional Zagarim consist of the other, and generally more effective and loyal half of the Ninurmah army. Zagarims are generally formidable battlemage with at least the prowess of a Level 1 - 2 player, the Ninurmahian's equivalence of a knight, and numbers around 60,000 - 100,000. The rest of Ninurmah's army are drawn, levied or hired in time of war and supplement its formidable Zagarim corp.
Ninurmah has a powerful navy dedicated to protecting its interest. By numbers and quality, it is probably the single strongest navy amongst the Midian states, only countered by the fact that it is often restricted to the inner Midian Gulf as every single states leading out of the gulf are a rival of Ninurmah and has no interest in letting its navy project power beyond the gulf.