Mesitum

Structure

At the top of Mesitu society resides their king, who is commander-in-chief of the kingdom's armies. He resides in the capital - Nabilun - with his court. Reminiscent of Delumash's empire of old, regional governors control small parcels of Mesitu territory. Beneath them are so-called city lords that control single cities, hence the nomenclature. Like other kingdoms inhabiting the Azimun river basin - called the Asanma in Sarriku - political power is ultimately centered in the monarch and his capital. As the monarchy is more tied to the army than in Kalumak, while the queens are the high priestesses in Nabilun's ziggurats. The royal court controls the kingdom, and there are several key positions, such as: head scribe, head tax collector, a council of judges, etc.

Public Agenda

As a political entity, Mesitum claims to carry on the legacy of the Sarriku Empire, albeit in a diminished form.

Assets

Mesitum controls the middle of the main Azimun river and considerable distances up two of its largest tributaries. As such, the kingdom has access to vast tracts of farmland and grazing pastures. The largest oases in the region are also in Mesitu hands, granting them disproportionate control of westbound desert trade in the region.

Demography and Population

The Mesitu people form the majority of the kingdom's population. Descendants of the Sarriku, their blood has been modified by incursions from the east due to constant barbarian invasions. Interspersed in their borders are smatterings of Nupari from the north and Kalu from the south.

Territories

Traditionally, Mesitum has ruled the middle Azimun and up two of its middle tributaries: the * and the *. The extent of their control of these two rivers waxes and wanes like the phases of the moon as smaller kingdoms prosper and decline.

Military

The Mesitu army, like many of its contemporaries, is infantry-dominated supplemented by a magic-wielding nobility chariot corps. The king and his nobles ride into chariots that carry two people: a driver and a mage. 
Those with more extensive means wear bronze scale armor and wield spears, swords, and bows. Armies carry projectiles to hurl at the enemy as part of the baggage train. Common tend to wield large shields and spears, with their armor being made of leather or cloth with the occasional piece of bronze. The poorest wear no armor at all, solely relying on shields for protection.

Religion

The Mesitu worship a small pantheon of deities.
Nirga: god of the sun, fire, war, change, battle, bronze, and the passage of the time and the seasons, giver of fire and metal. 
Ersatun: goddess of animal husbandry, animals, plants, healers, medicine, spring and summer, giver of life. 
Galkur: goddess of weather, agriculture, thunder, storms, and rain, giver of wind. 
Ashiki: god of rivers and the Encircling Sea, patron of cities, urban life, food, and cooking, giver of water. 
Kalabu: goddess of precious metals and gemstones, the mountains, fall and winter, mistress of the underworld and keeper of the dead, giver of earth.
There are numerous minor deities, usually elevated kings, queens, and great heroes. Cults of worship sprang out of the deification of these people, each of whom serves as a paragon for a particular virtue. 
Each deity has ziggurats and a priesthood dedicated to them. Men are allowed to join the priesthoods and gods, while are women are permitted the same for goddesses. Public holidays and festivals are common in Mesitum, as they are elsewhere in the world.

Foreign Relations

Mesitum shares the Azimun River with several other large kingdoms, including Nupara and Kalumak. Relations between them rotate between a predictable cycle of peace, tension, war, treaties, and alliances based on marriage. Due to the common ancestry between Mesitum and Nupara, the two oscillate between friendly rivalry and violent conflict quite often. Both claim to be the heirs of Delumash, and as such, seek to outdo the other in military and political power. 
With Kalumak, their neighbors to the south, the Mesitu allow share a complicated relationship. Although the Kalu were the progenitors of civilization in the region, the older-younger sibling dynamic is often overruled by the rivalry. Mesitum invades Kalumak every so often, when the Sarisi's grip over his lands weaken, with the goal of accessing the lucrative trade routes of the Tin Sea.

Agriculture & Industry

The most common crops in the Azimun valley include einkorn and emmer wheat, barley, lentils, and chickpeas. Popular fruits in Mesitum are dates, figs, grapes, and pomegranates. The Mesitu largely grow the same vegetables as their contemporaries, such as peas, beans, cucumbers, leeks, onions, garlic, and lettuce. 
Cows are used to pull plows, while goats, sheep, pigs, chicken, geese, and ducks are raised for food. Donkeys and horses serve as the other beasts of burden.

Trade & Transport

The wide and sluggish Azimun provides a natural highway for commerce throughout the Three Kingdoms and beyond, from the mountain streams of Nupara to the silty delta of Kalumak.

Education

As with the rest of the world, education in Mesitum depends on social status. People tend to learn the trade of their families, resulting in familial knowledge being passed down through generations. A select minority are permitted to become scribes, a rare opportunity for lower status people to elevate themselves. Scribes are the lifeblood of diplomacy around the Three Seas, as they transcribe the messages baked onto clay tablets and sent from kingdom to kingdom.

Infrastructure

Because of the excellent navigability of the Azimun, there are few roads in Mesitum. Several major routes are paved, while the rest are little more than dirt paths.

Divine Origins

Mesitu religion stems from that of the Sarriku. In ancient times, the once-nomadic Sarriku settled over most of the Azimun river valley, most heavily within the present-day borders of Mesitum and Nupara. As these people expanded south, they came into contact with the Kalu. The beliefs of the Sarriku's tribal ancestors acquired aspects of Kalu myths and customs. At the time, Kalu and Sarriku lived side-by-side in villages, towns, and cities, influencing the beliefs of commoners and nobles alike. Monumental changes to Sarriku religion occurred after Delumash conquered the Fourth Kalumak. The tumultuous centuries after the collapse of the Sarriku Empire caused a greater emphasis to be placed on warfare and death in the Mesitu religion.

Cosmological Views

According to legend, the world is hundreds of thousands of years old. The mortal plane was created by two primordial deities: Ashiki and Kalabu. They formed the two aspects of the world separately, and then forged the celestial sphere above together to contain their creation. They had a son and two daughters together, who form the rest of the Mesitu pantheon.

Priesthood

Each deity has its own priesthood.

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Capital

Nabilun

Demonym

Mesitu

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Economic System

Command/Planned economy

Currency

Gold and silver Mesitu rods

Major Exports

Grain, produce, wine, beer, textiles, and pottery.

Major Imports

Gold, silver, precious stones, perfume ivory, copper, tin, stone, wood and many other things that are in short-supply in the fertile but resource-poor river valley.

Judicial Body

The Council of Judges

Location

The Azimun