Qart-Hardasht

Qart-Hardasht is an occupied city, albeit one occupied long before anyone still living was born, infiltrated and run from within by a secret society technically banned by the Empire, but long accustomed to hiding it’s practices. In Qart-Hardasht, the Imperial governor (at Tripoli) holds most of the power, but the powers of that office are superseded by the needs of the Admiralty and those Imperial Fleet Officers guarding the port. Local governance is left to the Dragon Cult, despite it’s being banned in the Empire proper. The nobles of Qart-Hardasht are still loyal to it and the Ba’alat Tanith, head of the Cult and ruler of the city. Qart-Hardasht has always employed human sacrifice as a means of population control, and the Imperial ban has not changed that. The Punics consider it an honor to be offered to their city, and if this keeps Hannibal in check, all for the good. That the city keeps its organ pits and sacrificial grounds a secret does not mean they do not keep them, just that they keep them hidden. Although the Admiralty runs the ports and has the blessing of the basileus, the machinations of Elissa and the Punic nobles keep Qart-Hardasht a Punic city at heart, and several illegalities performed by the Cult of the Dragon go unreported and unremarked upon even by Qart-Hardasht’s Imperial portmaster. Qart-Hardasht maintains it’s nobles as the source of all civic authority, meeting with the Ba’alat Tanith to determine the course of the city. The Imperial trappings of a senate and offices are maintained as a facade to keep the Empire happy, but the real decisions come from the Ba’alat and not the offices of the Empire. The Cult of the Dragon has no fear of replacing any office that interferes with them or the nobles of Qart-Hardasht at all. The nobles meet in the Byrsa, but are largely a body of tired old Punics assembled for no purpose beyond assuaging Roman sensibilities after the fall of Qart-Hardasht and supplying the basileus with whipping boys. This body of mostly retired Punic nobles no longer interested in governance is assigned by the nobles to elect the various functionaries required to run the city and it’s expansive lands by Imperial standards. The further one gets from the ports firmly controlled by the Empire, the more obvious the Punic rule becomes, even to outlanders. The Cult of the Dragon is not obvious, remaining underground and hidden as it’s existence is immediately responded to with military might, often with the basileus or one of the Council of Kings in charge. Punics who are charged for any crime will simply pay a fine. Non-Punics find themselves sentenced to slavery or execution, invariably to the Dragon Cult’s dark needs, even if taken with a Punic for the same crime. The nobles appoint the officials of Qart-Hardasht save for those who oversee Imperial crimes as opposed to local. If the basileus is aware of the Qart-Hardasht’s courts, he is unconcerned with their practices. The Admiralty ensures that Qart-Hardasht builds no armies to overthrow the Empire nor openly practices the rites of the banned Cult of the Dragon, but leaves local crime to the concerns of local authorities. Since Admiralty forces report to their own courts rather than the Qart-Hardasht courts, this system is the most protested but least likely to change. Important outlanders will address their complaints to the Imperial officials to bypass the local courts. The offices of Qart-Hardasht are as follows: Aediles(appointed by the basileus)-set weights and measures, enforce the laws of the marketplace, fees and fines collected by them are deposited in the fund to maintain public works, and they are responsible for seeing to it public contracts are paid in full. Censors(appointed by the Admiralty every five years for an eighteen month term) Ethics and Oversight, they can remove or ban any senator from office. Their secondary function is setting up the bidding to maintain public works, which is proposed to the Senate, which then votes to accept the bids, which bid is accepted, and then the matter passed to the aediles who see to the funding. Dictator (emergency office, serves until emergency is resolved or six months, whichever comes first) Absolute commander and ultimate authority on law, the courts, and executive power. Governor(appointed by the basileus) Commander-in-Chief of all Imperial forces, Supreme executive in Qart-Hardasht, only answers to the basileus. The Admiralty technically outranks the governor, but usually will offer him any requested assistance unless military matters outweigh gubernatorial concerns. Praetors(appointed by the Ba’alat)-judges Quaestors(appointed by the basileus) tax collectors, budgeting and payroll and financial reports submitted to the nobles of Qart-Hardasht, the Imperial Senate in Byzantium, the basileus, and the Admiralty. Tribunes(appointed by the nobles or the Ba’alat then ratified by the nobles) protect citizen rights, all have veto power over any legislation, can propose legislation as well. It should be noted that Punic society has no interest in the protections offered by this office and it is often left vacant unless Imperial attention has brought powerful officials outside Qart-Hardasht to the city, when swift appointees claim to have held the job for some time. Except for the censors and the governor, the offices of Qart-Hardasht are single year terms with fairly strict term limits. Only rarely is an individual exceptional enough to receive multiple terms, and even more rarely are these terms consecutive. Governors serve until replaced. If killed in office, a governor will be replaced by the ranking Admiralty officer until a replacement is appointed. If the governor was murdered, his replacement will often declare themselves dictator and begin a purge of the Cult of the Dragon.

The docks and ports offer all Imperial amenities, but the city itself adheres to Punic tradition, offering nothing without service. The great noble houses maintain compounds where these things are offered, but not freely.

Qart-Hardasht was founded by the amazing Elissa of Sirru after failing to win the intense and vicious civil war that destroyed the Purple Ports. When Sirru fell, Qart-Hardasht rallied the various colony cities to it, but engaged in a series of ill-conducted wars that saw the Empire devour all it's holdings. It had lost it's prominence and power when the House of Barca decided to renew hostilities in the wars it had lost. Although the ba'alat disapproved, the Barca warlord ferried troops across the Mare Nostrum and even laid seige to the Eternal City. He was unstoppable and rose to folkhero status despite the ba'alat's opposition by winning every battle, but his audacious schemes failed to take into account the Eternal City had nothing but friends and allies nearby so no disgruntled neighbors considered his armies more than a threat and he was forced to raid to supply his troops, further dividing himself from the interests on the peninsula. The ba'alat did eventually call him home when the Eternal City began mobilizing troops, able to find allies rather easily near Qart-Hardasht who gave not only supplies and haven but troops. When the warlord's forces were demolished, he fled to Qart-Hardasht with the legions in slow pursuit, entrenching themselves before advancing further. The ba'alat poisoned the Barca warlord and performed a Great Rite, sealing him in an egg of Amber and initiating a transformation to a monstrous form. The forces of the Eternal City were welcomed, with the ba'alat offering Hospitality. She showed the invading generals the warlord's body, and offered the egg as a sign of victory. Satisfied the warlord posed no further threat, the Eternal City occupied Qart-Hardasht, moving troops to control the harbor and ports and escorting the ba'alat to the Eternal City, where peace was brokered.

Qart-Hardasht favors tall, slim towers of stone separated by narrow, twisting streets. Prominent families huddle their towers together, connected at the lower levels though some have connecting bridges at the uppermost levels, where living quarters as traditionally set. Lesser towers of wood mark newer or less prosperous families, buttressed with plaster painted brilliant colors.

Qart-Hardasht has a vast natural harbor and it's walls encompass surrounding farmland adequate to sustain it.

The Mare Nostrum sustains Qart-Hardasht, but outlying farms assist, and can be depended upon in emergency.