Akkadi (Ah-KAD-ee)

People of Solkaddi

Akkadi are considered to be the inhabitants of Solkaddi, a large territory split under the rule of the Zamyr Sultanate, the Efreet States, and the Akkadian Concordant. A large proportion of Akkadi are human, although they also count half-elves, dragonborn, tieflings, half-orcs, Vasarthi, and genasi among their number. Due to the barren and inhospitable nature of Solkaddi, Akkadi are generally quite a hardy and determined people who have managed to build a culturally rich and sophisticated civilisation out of the deserts. Most of them descend from slaves who fled the Old Kingdom of Akhenaton after its fall around 12,000 years ago. This has led to a deeply-ingrained bitterness surrounding Akhenaton that has boiled over into open conflict on numerous occasions, although the Akkadi squabble among themselves more often than not over territory, way of life, and political leanings.

Naming Traditions

Family names

Akkadi, especially those from wealthy or renowned human families, consider their names to be of the utmost importance and something to take pride in. Someone with titles appended to a full name is generally worthy of respect, whereas someone without a family name or any mention of their parentage is usually considered to be in the same class as a slave or perhaps less than, especially when even a slave will carry his or her master's name. A typical Akkadi name is made up of four parts, or five if there are titles: the titles, followed by the first name, the father or mother's name, the family name, and the birthplace. For example:

• Emir of Zaqarba Amin yn Kalil el Raffaya yi Zaqarba

Male Akkadi indicate their father with 'yn', meaning 'son of', and female Akkadi with 'yr', meaning daughter of, followed by their father's name. Sometimes, a male or female Akkadi may also refer to themselves as the son or daughter of their mother, particularly if she was famous or the other parent had a less than satisfactory reputation. The family name or surname is usually prefixed with 'el' or more rarely 'al', meaning 'of the [family name] family', or even 'of House [family name]'. The latter is generally only used in important noble families. An Akkadi's birthplace is not always used when giving a full name, although it is kept in most social circles as a sign of respect. It uses the preposition 'yi', meaning 'from', and then followed by the name of the bearer's birthplace. In cases where a person had been disowned, orphaned with no living family, or had rejected their family, this would commonly be substituted for their family name, although doing so would invariably make the person a social pariah within Akkadi society.    

Culture

Major language groups and dialects

Although Common is a language spoken all across Solkaddi by most individuals, the predominant regional dialect of Akkad is what is generally used in preference to what a lot of Akkadi consider 'a baser tongue'. 

Ideals

Beauty Ideals

The vast majority of Akkadi take great pride in their personal appearance. Those who appear dirty, unkempt, and dressed in ragged or ill-fitting clothes are treated as beggars even if they are nothing of the kind. If men have beards, they make sure to keep them trimmed neatly and free of wayward stubble. Boys are encouraged to go clean-shaven until they are capable of producing a substantial beard that can be groomed. Hair is typically short for men (although sometimes they grow it longer, so long as it is well-maintained) and women are seen as prostitutes or slaves if they do not keep their hair long. Women usually keep their hair tied back or off their shoulders with elaborate braids, but ponytails and buns are seen as a common and barbaric way for women to wear their hair. Young girls are actively encouraged to take an interest in cosmetics such as make-up and perfumes, but to wear anything like that themselves before the age of twelve, particularly in public, is frowned upon. Only at special events, such as private family celebrations, are girls permitted to make themselves look more mature than they actually are.  

Gender Ideals

Akkadi men are expected to be the breadwinners of a family by going out to work, running businesses, and joining the military. They are held to high standards when it comes to their masculinity, but to be coarse and abrasive with women in particular is seen as a major fault in a man's character. A perfect man in Akkadi culture is strong but gentle; stoic but charismatic. Knowing when to switch between these qualities was of vital importance when interacting with different people in society. Akkadi women on the other hand are expected to run the household, raise children, and manage the family's personal finances. An ideal woman is subservient to her husband's will without losing any of the grace or charm that he comes to expect from her when entertaining guests or attending other social events. They are expected to dote on their children (the father tends to take the role of disciplinarian) and have a head for numbers, so education is equally important for men and women in Akkadi society.

Courtship Ideals

Unmarried men and women from different families are forbidden from interacting with each other when alone from the age of 15 onwards. From this age, girls are permitted to marry a man who is usually of her father's choosing. Men are allowed to marry from 20 years old onwards, as by then they have completed any further studies, set up a business, found steady work, learned a trade, or done some form of military service. As a rule of thumb, women are allowed to marry above but not beneath their social station, whereas men can only marry their social equal or their lesser. 

Encompassed species

• Half-Elf
• Vasarthi

Related Locations

• Akhenaton
• Solkaddi