Jumlat
City of Multitudes
Jumlat is one of the two "true" Pearl Cities, along with Gana, City of Riches. (Only these two actually have fleets that harvest the pearl beds, which are located between them.) While both cities thrive, Jumlat claims supremacy, for it has the greater population and gathers more pearls from the beds.
The pearl harvest that distinguishes Jumlat lasts only five months each year. By decree of the sultan, in accordance with the nomadic sea peoples who live in the Golden Gulf, the season begins as soon as the monsoons subside. During the next five months, pearl divers work daily to bring the pearls to the surface, often in dangerous conditions. While the risks are great and the rewards for the divers are few, it is through their lung-power and blood that the great City of Multitudes survives. Jumlat is a large, rather unattractive city that depends on pearls for trade. It is only half as populous as smoky Hiyal, but it is equally crowded, for the city is compressed onto a smaller amount of ground. A small minority of wealthy nobles, merchants, and townsmen live comfortably off the wealth of the pearl trade. The majority of Jumlat is reduced to poverty and indebted heavily to the merchants who control the trade. When the pearl season has ended, Jumlat has the greatest number of beggars of any city in the Land of Fate.
Government
The Ruler:
Jumlat is ruled by Sultan Kara al-Zalim, the Fierce Sword of the Sea. He is only the nephew of the previous sultan, yet he was chosen over the sultan's own children as heir to the throne. This has proved to be a wise choice as far as the moneyed classes are concerned, for the current sultan has all the cunning and ruthlessness of his favorite uncle. Sultan al-Zalim cut his eye-teeth in raids against Gana's fleets, and he has no love for the City of Riches. The sultan spends most of his time in his palace overlooking the harbor, and he is rarely found among his people.
The Court:
There are two breeds of courtiers in the Sultan's court: informers and merchants. The former is headed up by the sultan's chief vizier, Agat amir-Doth . This middle-aged elf has a taste for intrigue and a fondness for human maidens. Agat's spies are everywhere, particularly among the poor. One of his favorite sports is to select a young woman and, through his power and ability, remove each member of her family in turn, at last taking her into the harim. Many merchant families know of his predilection, and give up their daughters rather than risk their own arrest and death. Veils are more common among women in Jumlat than in other Pearl Cities.
Of the merchants, the most powerful is Ragi al- Makruh, a hulking and ill-mannered brute who has surprised everyone by not destroying his family's business upon taking its reins. He has more money than brains and more brains than charm. He spends most of his time paying homage to the sultan and chief vizier in return for favors. Al-Makruh, through a set of corrupt money-lenders, controls most of the pearl fleet ships.
Defences
- 10,000 city guard
- 1,000 mercenary cavalry, all desert riders from the High Desert
- an "official" navy of 30 ships, patrolling the pearl banks.
- The "unofficial" navy typically includes 10 to 30 ships- a l l sailed by corsairs and privateers who are hired to protect Jumlat's pearl diving ships or to destroy those of rival Gana.
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