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Name: Sahmina
Coordinates: K-19
Hyperlane: Corellian Trade Spine
Rotation: 24 Standard Hours
Satellites: Sahmina has two small moons, Bus and Eki, as well as numerous space stations, refueling depots, communication satellites, and dockyards for local customs enforcement and naval forces.
Inhabitants: Sahmina is primarily inhabited by the descendants of human colonists, however the planet today is quite cosmopolitan. The demonym for people from Sahmina is Sahminans.
Climate:
Sahmina is dominated by two major seasons, dry and wet, which are evenly divided for each half of the standard year. Sahmina's climate is largely semi-arid, with scattered lakes, rivers, and seas snaking across the surface. This is what allows some areas to support more vegetation than others, ranging from barren deserts to lush jungles.. As a general rule, the further one travels on Sahmina from the Equator, the more common water becomes and the more temperatures drop. In some areas one can even find snow and ice. Weather patterns are fairly mild for a desert planet, although sandstorms are common in the dry season, and short but torrential rains in the wet.
Terrain:
Sahmina is covered in irregular mountain ranges, bluffs, valleys, and steppes. Depending on how far one is from the Equator or a water source some regions can support jungles and forests, although the most common form of vegetation is grasslands. Between these regions are dry stretches of desert and savannah in which little vegetation or water can be found. The more vertical areas of Sahmina are often marked by either running rivers or ancient river beds, signifying to geologists that Sahmina may have had more surface water at one point. The presence of numerous oases, lakes, and even a few small seas does support this hypothesis, as many of these water sources appear to sit in craters or gorges meant for larger bodies of water. Irrigation techniques used by settlements have found water deep below ground and allowed pockets of vegetation to crop up in certain areas.
Resources:
Sahmina has is rich in mineral resources, including rarer materials such as chromium and electrum, which play a vital role in Sahmina's economy, infrastructure, and culture. The planet is also known for agriculture, particularly cash-crops like coffee, marcan herb, and nysillin. Zharan lily, a flowering tea plant unique to Sahmina, is a common staple of both farming and cuisine. The Zharan lily is known for its sweet aroma and bright blue petals which produce a blue tea with a strong flavor. On a less physical note, the planet is renowned for its education system and rich culture, meaning many people flock to Sahmina for intellectual goods and tourism.
Government:
The planet of Sahmina is ruled by a hereditary monarchy known as the Emirate. The leader of the Emirate, the Emir, holds absolute executive power over the planet, with a great deal of legislative and judiciary power as well. The Emir may be of any gender, but must be related in some way to the Sahminan Royal Family. The Emir also has an official Royal Court of Advisors, the monarch's trusted entourage, who may come from any background as they are handpicked by the Emir. There is a separate judiciary system of courts and judges known as the Khonun, although the Emir holds final say in all judiciary decisions should a case be appealed before them. There are two legislative bodies responsible for presenting potential laws to the Emir, the Vizier Council (elected by high-ranking Sahminan nobles) and the Fellah Council (elected by average citizens). These councils can craft and present potential legislation to the Emir and settle cases of unclear or questionable succession. In emergency circumstances, these councils can override a decision of the Emir, or even elect an entirely new Emir, through a unanimous vote in both houses.
Culture:
Sahmina's culture is marked first and foremost by its artistic inclinations. Almost every aspect of Sahminan culture features some level of ornamental design, from their architecture to their calligraphic writing. It is difficult to find a building that does not sport mosaics, murals, or artistic graffiti on both its exterior and interior. Fashion, gardening, city planning, weaponry, and even combat styles all mix vibrant aesthetics with practical design. This dynamic and decorative style also extends to the auditory and verbal as well with musicians, poets, and writers all thriving on Sahmina. Multi-level bazaars act as hubs for social interaction, bringing in goods and traders from across the galaxy via the Corellian Trade Spine. Given that agriculture is one of Sahmina's largest industries their cuisine is regarded as highly exotic, particularly their teas, coffees, and cash crops. Certain forms of natural spice, such as marcan herb, are perfectly legal on Sahmina which has actually slowed the advance of the illegal spice trade through the planet. While alcohol is available on Sahmina the preferred local drinks are tea, coffee, and fruit juice, with alcohol being restricted to spaceport cantinas and wealthy households.
Sahmina also values intellectual pursuits as well, with each citizen receiving a basic, public education, with higher education such as universities and colleges available to the upper and middle classes. Literacy is remarkably high for a non-Republic planet and most population centers have access to a public school. Centers of higher learning, while often restricted to large cities, attract students, staff, and scholars from across the galaxy. Even the poorest citizens may attend certain public debates and lectures at universities, for a small fee of course. Wealthy families, Emirate officials, and university staff may sponsor gifted students of any class which has made the educational system on Sahmina remarkably equitable. These same groups often fund learning institutions and research expeditions on Sahmina both for profit and intellectual pursuits. While schools and universities may be the centers of formal education on Sahmina, the lounges are hubs of intellectual discourse. Serving coffees, teas, and a variety of smokeable substances, lounges are where artists, scholars, merchants, and politicians gather for open, and often chaotic debate. It is in the lounge where theorems are shared, manuscripts are edited, and compositions are tested before some of the most raucous and critical crowds on the planet.
Despite its beauty and intellectual prowess, Sahminan culture is still marred by class divisions and the scars of slavery. Despite the new common law system many officials and wealthy families are granted special privileges and preferences that set them apart from common people. The upper class, and parts of the middle class, also have far greater access to opportunities and luxuries than the average citizen. The poor, many former slaves, often work as laborers in mines or on plantations for a meager pay while their employers rake in profits. The middle class, mostly skilled laborers, artists, and merchants, are granted more economic opportunity but true political and social power rests with the elite. Highborn families hold wide tracts of land and pools of resources which they use to solidify their power on Sahmina. And despite recent reforms and the charity of certain families, class divisions on Sahmina remain a fact of everyday life.
Sahmina's naming conventions are of note for their complexity, a holdover perhaps from the days of warring city-states and slavery. Names begin with whatever title or rank a person may hold, then their first name, their family name, and the city of their birth. Each of these terms is separated, however, by a specific Old Sahminan term, ihl (meaning "of house/clan/family") and ab (meaning "of city/town/planet") Those unsure of their birth city use their planet's name, and those born in space use the term Binjara ("nomad"). Some self-aggrandizing nobles will add family businesses, the names of their parents, and epithets to their names, but these people are often few and far between. For an example of a standard Sahminan name: Hiras ihl Kresh ab Sushran (Hiras of family Kresh of city Sushran). Due to the complexity of these names, however, most Sahminans go by a nickname, pet name, or other title in their day-to-day lives, only using their full names in formal settings.
History:
Archeologists, both local and galactic, agree that there was a wide-spread civilization on Sahmina before the arrival of human colonists. This civilization is referred to as the Atharan, Old Sahminan for "Builders", constructed elaborate cities carved from stone across the planet. When colonists arrived, however, only a few ruins remained of the alien culture as it had apparently been devastated eons prior. The first human civilization on Sahmina arrived sometime around 15,000 BBY as colonists from the Inner Rim, although no definitive source world or reason for colonization has ever been found. Early Sahminan civilization consisted of a confederacy of scattered colonies run by aristocratic administrators. As their societies developed and spread across the planet conflicts began to arise between warring factions and city-states that fought for control of the planet's resources. Out of these grisly civil wars rose the first centralized government on Sahmina, the Prahwale Sultanate, which united many of the planet's factions and destroyed those that would not fall in line. The Prahwale regime was ruthless and tyrannical, instituting a policy of slavery which fueled its expansion and economic growth.
For many decades Sahmina existed in a bubble having no knowledge of the larger galaxy beyond their own solar system. That is, until Corellian hyperlane scouts stumbled across Sahmina while expanding their Trade Spine into the galactic south. Suddenly faced with the existence of a far larger galaxy than they had first believed, and the influx of ideas, technology, and culture that brought, a new conflict exploded across Sahmina. Mass slave revolts aided by sympathetic and power-hungry nobles raged across the planet against the Prahwale regime. After years of brutal conflict the rebels won out and a new regime was established, the Ramali Emirate. This new regime, largely controlled by politically savvy nobles that had rode the rebellion to power, instituted many sweeping, but arguably meaning less reforms. Slavery, class conflict, and corruption still existed, but it hid now behind a kinder face and a gentler hand.
The mask of reform and equity was ripped off the Emirate as the Hundred Years Darkness began to take shape. The current Emir, Taginshah ihl Ramali ab Seema, otherwise known as Taginshah the Crimson, officially backed the Jedi Exiles without a fight. Sahmina's slave trade exploded as the Exiles ran roughshod over the planet's population, much to the benefit of the regime. While the war itself never touched Sahmina, the Exiles presence brought just as many atrocities to the planet and its people. While a few revolts broke out in response to the Exile-backed, or Exile run, new order, none succeeded to free the people.
That is, until the Exiles lost their footing in the war and began to suffer striking losses across the galaxy. Their garrison on Sahmina soon thinned as more warriors were called to the frontlines to fight and the power of the Order was stretched to a breaking point. As the southern remains of the Exile army were finally shattered they abandoned Sahmina, leaving the regime to deal with the consequences. A vicious series of civil wars broke out almost immediately as factions held in check by the threat of the Exiles now found their oppressors gone. The Zharan Rebellions, named after the blue Sahminan tea-flower which moderate rebels took as their symbol, tore the planet apart in more ways than one. Noble families were divided between royalists and rebel sympathizers, each offering resources to their favored side. Rebels fought not just their oppressors but themselves as competing interest groups created warring factions, each with their own vision of Sahmina. The Rebellions finally came to an end when Prince Sumil ascended to the throne and, through shrewd diplomacy and promises of reform, organized moderate rebels and royalists into a united force that was finally able to quell the more radical fringes of the conflict.
Emir Sumil ihl Ramali ab Yensara, now known as Sumil the Resolute, abolished slavery, instituted common law, and created elected councils for both the poor and aristocrats. He pardoned many of those involved in the Rebellions in exchange for military service, which he used to combat Exile remnants in the southern Outer and Mid Rims, and while the Exiles were already on the back-foot when Sahmina entered the war their efforts helped ensure a foot hold was not regained in the galactic south. As the war drew to a close, Sumil turned away from the military and toward modernizing Sahmina. His public works created irrigation systems, learning institutions, and open spaceports across the planet. Reforms in labor and law gave the lower classes better lives and led to the explosive growth of a strong middle class. Sumil encouraged aristocrats to sponsor educational and artistic pursuits across the planet which led to a cultural and intellectual renaissance on Sahmina. Despite these sweeping reforms, however, many have been quick to point out that many of Sumil's political enemies also fell in his campaigns, both on Sahmina and in the larger galaxy. True political power also still rests entirely with his family, with the people's representatives forming little more than an advisory board.
With the Hundred Years Darkness over and the galaxy returning to some semblance of stability, Sahmina stands as one of the few worlds to have grown stronger after the war. The Emir, however, has only grown weaker with age and many eyes now turn to his daughter Khamia, whose political and social affiliations remain in flux. Different interest groups, both domestic and galactic, have begun to take shape on Sahmina, which some believe is poised for either a second renaissance, or a second revolution.
Technology: Technology on Sahmina is at or slightly above the galactic standard, akin to worlds of the Expansion or Inner Rim.
Points of Interest and Major Cities: Link
Intent:
In a galaxy of almost unambiguously upstanding, futuristic fairytale-esque, Western European-style planets and kingdoms, I wanted to introduce something new. Sahmina is the setting for a potential NPC faction, the Emirate of Sahmina, designed to not only introduce an interesting new player in galactic politics, but to introduce a new culture as well. Sahmina takes many cues from Ottoman Turkey, Mughal India, and Berber Maghreb (i.e. North-West Africa). These cultures are rarely presented at all in our pop-culture, let alone presented well, so I hoped that Sahmina might bring these fascinating groups to light and create a world players will want to explore and roleplay in. I also tried to ensure that Sahmina's culture, like all real-world societies, was checkered and dynamic rather than being a shining city on a hill for its entire existence.
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