Calimport

Calimport is the sprawling capital city of the country of Calimshan. For most of its existence, it was by far the largest city in all of Faerûn. It is the long-time home of the assassin Artemis Entreri, known for his longstanding feud with Drizzt Do'Urden.
“…I care about Calimport as much as I care not to step on a viper. It is vile place of tangled intrigues miles thick that end up in the few profiting over the many.” — Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, former Archmage of Waterdeep
Geography Calimport is between the Calim Desert to the north and the Shining Sea to the south. It rests at the mouth of the Calim River at the very southern end of the Trade Way. To the west of Calimport, the coast extends south, forming a natural harbor for the city.
Architecture Calimport is an ancient city with a long history, including at least twelve times where the city was almost completely destroyed by fire or other calamity. Most of the older buildings of the city have been rebuilt or merged into newer ones. One could find ancient byways, rooms, or other structures integrated into others.
Defenses Perhaps surprisingly, since the Seventh Age of Calimshan, the city has not had a full wall around it. Even so, the city would be very difficult to place under siege due to its massive size. Moreover, because of its walled sabbans and drudachs—as described below—it would be next to impossible to march an army deep into Calimport.
Calimport was built using the "drudach system", an interlocking series of small brick-walled neighborhoods. All drudachs are organized into groups of two to five, called sabbans, which in turn were grouped into wards. Calimport is subdivided into 17 wards, 53 sabbans, and 166 drudachs. Daunting as it may seem for a foreigner, most locals rarely abandon their home sabbans. Each sabban is a walled zone and most function almost like a self-sufficient town, with its own water, supplies, guards, markets, residences, and so on.
The condition of drudach and sabban boundaries varies greatly between richer and poorer regions of the city. In upper-class regions, boundary walls might be improved by intricate stone work or glazing; in poorer areas, the drudach walls may be trampled to mud and the sabban walls little more than stepping stones. In these lower-class areas, like the Maule, plinths are often used instead to indicate the boundaries.
In the richer central wards—like Palace Ward, Jewel Ward, and Grand Ward—the ground level of the city had been elevated. Streets and courtyards are raised off the ground by stone and wooden supports and archways. Stairs lead down to the original ground level, where workers and servants move about. The area below these "risen sabbans" is known as the "Upper Muzad".
Calimport contains the following major wards, among others:
Faith Ward
Trades Ward
Emerald Ward
Khanduq Ward
Hammer Ward
Crypt Ward
Palace Ward
Jewel Ward
Grand Ward
Quill Ward
The Pasha's Sabban, housing the syl-pasha's palace, is located in the center of Palace Ward but is not considered a part of that ward.
The Muzad The city contains many springs and wells to provide water for the population. These are heavily guarded by amlakkar (the city watch) and members of the Guild Arcane to prevent against poisonings.
Calimport's sewer system is vast. It was constructed in the Seventh Age of Calimshan and empties into the ocean south of the city. The primary tunnels are 30 feet wide with five-foot walkways on each side. Stepping stones over the sewage are located every 50 yards or so. Secondary tunnels are half as wide, with a pathway only on one side. More than wells, sewers, and waterways, subterranean Calimport functions as its own part of the city. It contains streets, buildings, and ancient, forgotten areas and is collectively known as the Muzhajaarnadah, the "city of shadow", or simply the "Muzad". The Muzad was formed over the millennia from all the times that Calimport was rebuilt; rather than clear rubble, newer sections of the city were often rebuilt atop the old ones.
The Port The port of the city is the largest in all of Faerûn. Massive, magical sea walls are in place to protect the docks, which may hold as many as 600 private vessels and an additional 30 military vessels at any time. These sea walls are ancient, constructed during the Calim Empire by marid and dao. The harbor itself is extremely deep, as the shore incline at Calimport is steep. The city is also a well-known airship port, similar to Waterdeep. However, airship vessels, other than those with specific permissions to cross the Paling, are required to land on a separate platform over a mile from the city and make their final approach by sea. The reason for this law is that items in trade that come through wildspace are greatly sought after by the local population and can fetch much higher prices than equivalent local goods. This rule is ruthlessly enforced by the merchants' guilds; trespassers would either be found dead the next day or simply disappear, their spelljammers (the technology that powers airships) auctioned to the highest bidder.
Government Throughout its ancient history, Calimport has been ruled by a wide assortment of leaders. Since the Seventh Age of Calimshan, the ruler of Calimport has been called the syl-pasha. Most syl-pashas, however, rule in name only, the true power being held by the syl-pasha's vizars. Immediately below the syl-pasha are the sultans, the princes who rule over the wards. The ruler of each sabban is called a "sabbalad", and each drudach is directed by a druzir, the bottom of Calimport's pyramidal administration. The current syl-pasha, Ralan el Pesarkhal, is particularly influential and has disbanded his formal council of vizars, choosing instead of act as sole ruler.

Aliases The City of Glory Eye of the Desert
Region Calimshan, Southwestern Faerun
Size Metropolis
Demonym Calimpanni Calimportan
Major Imports Grains, fruits, vegetables, wine
Major Exports magic items, exotic spices, alchemical supplies, silk, gems, horses, trika
Currency 1pp = 1 Star = 5 Sun = 10 Tear = 100 Moon = 1000 River
Politics Autocracy
Ruler's type Syl-pasha