City of Ptolaea

Art: Assassin’s Creed Origins Concept Art by Eddie Bennun
The White-City of Ptolaea sits on its namesake island, the largest in its archipelago. Described by some as a city of flowing gold, much trade from the rest of Sona-Nyl comes through its ports before going on to the rest of the Ashuurite Empire.


Society/Religion Ptolaean public life centres around the marketplace, the tavern and the dock. Ptolaean people are known to be fond of stories and gossip, especially about foreign peoples and places. They are warm and welcoming people who are willing to share a cup and a song as long as you have the coin to return the favour. Those who find themselves unwilling or unable to afford the cost of doing business in the islands of Ptolaea may find themselves cut out of public life altogether.
Ptolaeans worship all the usual gods of the Uuman pantheon and a dozen more from foreign lands. Among the LAW of Heaven, they do however have a particular fondness for Zenobia; especially in her aspects of Zenobia Poetica, goddess of the arts, and Zenobia Copula, goddess of sex and relationships. They also commonly worship the twin consorts of Zenobia; Bakshir, god of weights, measures and fair dealings, and his brother Boaz, god of fishing and ship-craft. In darker times, an older name is called upon in hushed tones, Charybdis of the Sunless Sea. An ancient being from the primordial chaos of the sea-beneath-the-sea. When tempests tear at sails and dash ships upon the rocks it is Charybdis who is entreated for mercy, for all storms and sea monsters come flooding in howling torrents from her needle-toothed maw. Her shrines are set on small offshore islands and made of ships destroyed by her wrath.

Government

The Ptolaeans are politically savvy and proud of their government (although not always its members). The Council of Equals is the only representative government and its 99 members are chosen in public elections from any class of people. Most however are drawn from those with the money and connections to launch a political career. Danua of House Sacaar, daughter of Kuurash, sits as head of the council, the First Among Equals. There are rumblings of dissent as this single voice often speaks louder than any of her so-called peers.

Districts

The Grand Agora: The wealth of the Empire flows through this open-air marketplace, but more than just goods and coin are exchanged here. The air buzzes with theatrical performances, political grandstanding, philosophical lectures and scandalous gossip. It also houses temples, brothels, inns and anything else a visitor may require.

The Council Chamber: Set in the former Office of the Actuary, the Council Chamber is still the most lavish and opulent building in the satrapy. It is built in the Ptolaean style with rows of marble columns, each adorned with golden carvings and draped in silks.

History

During the re-unification of the Empire by Kuurash, the people of Ptolaea were nigh unassailable. Their mighty fleets and mastery of the seas allowed them to hold Kuurash’s powerful land forces at bay. They were, however, not without weakness. The Via Chrysopoeia had a stranglehold on all trade and had been extorting heavy tariffs from the Ptolaean merchants. Kuurash sent emissaries to the once-proud noble houses and convinced them of the need to storm the VC headquarters, the Office of the Actuary, and reassert themselves as the lords of trade. Despite its name, the Office of the Actuary was not a mere merchant company’s office but a glittering golden palace set on the hill above the Grand Agora, the marketplace and centre of Ptolaean social, financial and political life. With the help of Kuurash’s land forces smuggled into the city, the palace was stormed and the gold-skinned actuaries crucified. In a fierce naval battle, the people of Ptolaea defeated the mercenary forces of the Via Chrysopoeia and cast them out.
The Ptolaeans willingly joined the empire, becoming a lynchpin in Kuurash’s invasion strategies. Under the command of Admiral Acritas of House Mamun, the Ptolaean navy helped ferry the retreating Ashurite army to safety after their defeat in Harmundara and they spearheaded the successful amphibious assault into the river-ways of Subaruum.