Social Structure of Medinaat Al-Salaam

[Jewel]

The Theory

The Sultan, a hereditary position, rules Medinaat Al-Salaam and creates the laws that its citizens live under. The sultan is advised in this endeavor by three councils: the Council of Grain, the Council of Shelter, and the Council of Trade. These individuals, and the bureaucracy that serve them, are known as the Sultanate.

Once the laws are decided it is then the task of the Caliph, also hereditary, to enforce and oversee those laws. In times past the primary servants of the Caliph in this duty were a system of judges known as the Qadi. The Qadi, in turn, oversaw the guards of the city as well as listening and ruling in disputes among the people. This system, and those within it, are the Caliphate.

Over the centuries a third power structure arose that, while not formally holding a place in rulership, wielded enough influence and power that it could risk deposing either Caliph or Sultan if forced into conflict. This was the network of allied merchant houses that eventually came to be known as the Houses of Dahab. Medinaat Al-Salaam lives on trade and that trade relies on the Dahab. As such, while they fall under the rule of Sultanate And Caliphate they hold a position of authority and quasi-nobility compared to the average Mekham.


The Reality

The Immortal Caliph, Hanan Talibah, first and only of her name is the undisputed ruler of Medinaat Al-Salaam.

Oh, on paper the Sultan - Kedar al-Rassulii, called the Bold (more often in mockery) - still rules and writes the laws. He is still advised by the three councils. But the head of each council is now a Khadi, loyal to Hanan, and their 'advice' is ignored at risk of great misfortune. Though generations have passed Kedar is well aware the fate of Sultans that have denied Hanan and he has no wish to join them.

The Qadi have been fully replaced by the Caliph's Khadi. Though the Qadi were far from paragons of virtue, many open to bribes and other corruption, their replacements are vastly worse. The Khadi are immortal and immoral. They care only for their own power, schemes, and vices... and for not upsetting the woman who holds their hearts and thus could destroy them at a whim. Justice is a concept now decided by coin or whim and this attitude has, in turn, trickled down to the guards who serve under them.

Only the Dahabi have remained mostly unchanged though they certainly are cautious in their dealings with the Caliphate. But the Caliph has no desire to rule an empty city and Medinaat Al-Salaam still needs trade to survive which means it still needs the Houses of Dahab - as they have firmly quashed any that tried to form true competition.