HAMSAH 'HAMSAH MUTAZZ' 'NEW THALOS' (327)
After the battle name of the city's founder, Ghazi Abdul-Hafiz, Hamsah Mu'tazz (meaning "Proud Lion" or "Mighty Lion") has been the center of nomadic trade and an important sea port since the First Age. Ruled by the supreme power of the city, the sultan, the governing body is also composed of an array of lesser nobles appointed by the sultan. Since the days of Ghazi Abdul-Hafiz, religion and law have been at the fore-front of the culture. The Great Temple, erected in the Second Age, is a masterpiece of design and art even today. Every morning the prayer horns are sounded from the Temple towers and the devoted of the city are called to worship. The people of Hamsah Mu'tazz are threefold: citizens of the city proper (craftsmen, fishermen, merchants, and nobility), the mountain people that live in the rugged wilderness outside the city (farmers, herders), and the nomadic desert people to the south. The city coffers swell from sales of foodstuffs (olives, pomegranates, grains, cheese), livestock (sheep, camels), crafted items (glasswork, stonework and bricks, ships and colorful silk and linen textiles), and port trade. The History of Hamsah Mu'tazz The desert city of Hamsah Mu'tazz was founded long ago off the coast of the Dragon Sea when the first Sultan established a civilized foothold within the rocky wastes. The people of the city are a mix of the zealot dark-skinned descendants of the First Tribe (the founding Sultan's people), the nomads of the sands to the south, and the lighter-skinned mountain people of the surrounding heights. Hamsah Mu'tazz serves as a trade gateway between East and West with traders from Galadon, Arkham, and Seantryn Modan meeting together in the smoke-filled taverns and guild houses to move money and merchandise. Hamsah Mu'tazz was built over the ancient ruins of New Thalos. See also "Help HAMSAH2".