Elbeda (البهجة)
Elbeda, as it is known in Europe, or البهجة (el-Bedhja) to its inhabitants, is a great trading city on the northern coast of the African continent. It is the birthplace of Faruq and where he received all of his early upbringing and education. The city has a long history and has had a great many conquerors and rulers throughout the history. It has been occupied by the old empire, been part of the Byzantine empire, seen the rise of the Andor religion and consequently converted to the Mahrim religion. It was a hub of trading for both the Maghreb and the Iberian peninsula as well as for the Italian countries and a great pirate city for several hundred years, while nominally under the rule of another empire. Eventually the town was seized by the "French" as part of their colonial empire and used as both trading port and naval base.
In the days of Faruq, the last in the decline of the great Maghreb rulers, and only a few years before the town would become a pirate base, the city was still renowned as a center of learning although noticeably in decline (part of the reason he eventually left for Egypt to pursue further study).
Around the days of Faruq, there were some centers of learning but most students (especially of Faruq’s class) had private tutors who came to their households. The city had no university, but there was a library and several regular gatherings, similar to salons, where the educated would gather in order to discuss the latest developments and work on their ideas.
I think the city was under the rule of the Fatimids at the time, who were considered a foreign force, so there was still some ill feeling towards them, but not as much as might be because they hadn’t destroyed the intellectual structures set up by their predecessors as thoroughly as in our history. Yet the decay of both their rule and of the intellectual climate was noticeable. Already there were people from trickling in from Spain, those who had no trust in the ability of the Mahrimite rulers there to hold out against the Andorians. The city was only just managing to absorb them and occasional shortages of goods were becoming more common. Many of the more learned individuals moved away to other cities, just as Faruq did, in order to pursue higher education that wasn’t available in Elbeda, as the routes to the east (especially by sea) were still relatively safe at the time. It would be another few decades before the piracy became more rampant, and even then this was mostly directed at the European ships.
The city is further renowned for its stunning white buildings at the waterfront. Its inhabitants have always been a mixture of "Berber" and "Arab" with many Spanish Mahrimites coming in later, as well as eventually a Sundac community and lastly the "French".
Founding Date
Around 300 BCE
Alternative Name(s)
ميناء الأسود (mina' al'aswad, port of lions, possibly in Berber for Wahran instead?)
Type
City
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