Jushain

Political Structure: oligarchic
Language: Jushain

Jushain is a relatively small but wealthy state ruled by a council of merchant-princes. The nation is famous world-wide for its trade-caravans and for their merchant vessals expertly sailing the treacherous seas of Haven. The nation is warm year-round due to its proximity to the Kharak desert.

Internally it is a nation ruled by wealth more than people, where the size of your coffers determines your status and where people are useful tools at best and status symbols at worst. Competition is fierce and it's best not to get caught up in the internal power-games that grip the upper echelons of the country.

Notable Trade Cartels

Hamamsi Cartel
Current Head of Family: Jawhar el-Hamamsi

Umar Cartel
Current head of Family: Haarith el-Umar

Gita Cartel
Current Head of Family: Ezma el-Gita

Two societies

Jushain is built upon the wealth of the merchant princes as their personal kingdom and it is utterly dependant on them and their wealth. Food and material is largely imported, even their military and law-enforcement is largely outsourced to mercenaries.
Most of the common population of Jushain live in servitude to one of the merchant-princes, are clothed and fed by them and usually live in decent conditions so long as they show the proper deferrence to the prince.
Meanwhile the merchant-princes live in extravagant opulence, enjoying the finest foods and dressed in the finest clothes, living in grand estates and palaces made of marble and gold. They spend their days managing their trade-networks and showing off their wealth to their contemporaries in new and creative ways to compete for status.

There is a constant shadow-war dominating the upper echelons of the nation. Assassination attempts are not uncommon, neither are the hiring of bandits and pirates to attack other trade caravans. The merchant-princes ensure to have multiple heirs, both to ensure that they have people they can trust to manage aspects of their business, and to ensure that their children are too busy competing for their parent's favor to contemplate assassination.

A lack of common rights:
The lives of the common folk are usually fairly peaceful and simple as long as they keep their head down. However if a prince decides to abuse his servants or accuse them of a crime, they have no recourse and no defense. The most they can do is attempt to escape the household and beg for sanctuary at a church or at the feet of another tradelord.
Slavery is also fully legal in Jushain. Slaves are usually foreigners bought from bandits and slave-traders, kept as servants and concubines by the merchant princes themselves, mostly to display status or to satisfy exotic hungers.

Religion

The Church of Haven is influential among the common folk of Jushain, Hermes in particular is seen as the patron-deity of the traders from where the country draws its wealth.
However the church has almost no power among the ranks of the merchant-princes, where only money and status matter. The priests that traditionally eschew wordly possessions are looked down upon by the ruling class, and they are only shown respect because they hold signifficant influence with the servants.

Magic

Mages in Jushain exist almost exclusively as court viziers of the merchant-princes, to serve as advisors and to assure the safety of the princes against magical attacks. The common folk thus see magic as a tool of the upper class, to be given deference for it means the wielder has the favor of a merchant-prince in addition to their own power.
Most are educated in the country's mage's college or in apprenticeship of the viziers, though some are foreign mages either swayed by promises of wealth and funding or running from the law.

History

Historically Jushain has been inward-facing, the trade-lords engagin one-another in power-games and only looking outwards for exotic goods and people to aquire to further this end. The nation has historically only engaged in organized military conflict when its trade-networks were under threat, either from other nations or from pirates and bandits.