Shirkal

Shirkal
District
Clockwise, from the top right: The Azayr Towers, the House of Deputies, the Seven Stars Plaza, the Grand Mithraeum, the Skadanshah-Kala Outer Walls, and a night view of the city as seen from the Citadel.
Blason
Nickname:  Lion's Fortress
Country	Shirazam
Area
• District	47.87 km2 (18.48 sq mi)
• Urban	1,141.4 km2 (440.7 sq mi)
• Metro	4,605.8 km2 (1,778.3 sq mi)
Elevation	137 m (449 ft)
Highest elevation	305 m (1,001 ft)
Lowest elevation	67 m (220 ft)
Population  (2024)
• District	522,224
• Density	11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi)
• Urban	1,702,771
• Urban density	1,500/km2 (3,900/sq mi)

Shirkal is the capital of Shirazam. With a population of 500,000 people, and 1,7 million people within its Urban area, It is the country's largest city as well. Despite historically being a city (Xer), Shirkal is administratively categorized as its own District (Bax) with special prerogatives. It is one of three such "Urban District" (Xerak Bax) within Shirazam with Skandar and Tabruz as the other two. It is located at the confluent of the Great Rivers: the Sin-Darya and the Bozorg-Darya and controls the entrance to the Sabsagusha, the "Green Delta" which is the economic and demographic heart of Shirazam.

History

Kingdom of Skadia

Bardyia of Chirasmia was the Satrap and ruler of his home-province, corresponding roughly to modern Shirazam when Alcaeus XI the Azagartian Emperor, was overthrown by Mithridates II in 566 BC. during the crisis, Bardyia stopped delivering tributes to the throne and took the title of Skadanshah, King of the Skadians, possibly in the aftermath of a victory against the Sayareses nomads. Bardyia oversaw the construction and completion of the Fifty Fortresses of Shirazam, a network of fortification meant to protect the Green Delta and the fertile shores of the Great Rivers. One of the Fifty Fortresses was Shir-Kala, the "Lion's Fortress". The Skadian Kings did not have a single capital and regularly moved from palace to palace depending on the military or administrative necessities. The Kingdom of Skadia lasted around 60 years until it was reconquered by the Mithridatid Artaxerses II between 505 and 500 BC. Three Kings of the Skadians are known: Bardyia, Chosroes/Khosrow, and Ormisdas. Their relationships and the exact dates of their reigns are unknown although Ormisdas was King during the Mithridatid reconquest and is said to have been a teenager.

Archeological studies of this era are especially difficult in Shirkal to the continuous occupation of the site and the modern high density of inhabitants. Nonetheless, ruins and archeological artefacts are regularly found during construction works, mainly in the form of pottery shards. But the main fortress, the Skadanshah-Kal, still remain to this date albeit heavily altered by two millenium of use, expansion, destruction and reconstruction. A large section of the fortress' outer wall has notably been opened during the 15th century to build gardens, on top of which the House of Deputies now stand.

Only one more Azagartian Satrap, Mithridates, is known in Chirasmia following the reconquest. Shirkal and the other Fortresses would fall into disrepair. Mithridates relied heavily on nomad mercenaries and new settlers for his military strength. His exact residence is unknown and there is no further detail on his administration which is other assumed to have been brutal and repressive over a people, the Skadians, still recovering from the repression. At some point before 470 BC, the Tabarids, a nomadic people part of the Sayar Confederation with an history of military collaboration with imperial authorities, took over the Province and refused to acknowledge the new Emperor-appointed Satrap. The Tabarid Rebellion would lead to another 60 years of warfare. It's only once the Abayrids another Sayar dynasty supported by the Azagartian Empire, managed to topple Tabarid rule that Chirasmia was break the cycle of violence.

Abayrid Renaissance

Abayrid fresco recovered from elite graves in the outskirt of Shirkal

Artav Wishagn (also known as Artaban Ouranos, lit. "Light of Truth, the Destroyer of Obstacles") was the first recognized Abayrid ruler of Chirasmia. he began the process of rebuilding the Fifty Fortresses, Shir-Kala included. During his reign, it would only be one of many royal palaces and not necessarily his favored one but quickly its strategic location, controlling all land access to the Green Delta, made it an important military bastion in which the Abayrids would spend more and more time each generation until it became their de-facto capital. It's under the Abayrids that Shirkal became more than just a fortress: it also became an important market and a great industrial center when Artav' grandson, Tishtrya Baraz (Tishtrya Exalted), settled many blacksmiths and iron workers to meet the demands of his military. The creation of a permanent administration also led to the creation of a literary class and the demands in various luxury goods by the Court encouraged goldsmiths, jewellers, perfumists, and so on to settle in Shirkal. The first Mint of Chirasmia was created by Artav in Shirkal itself which has given archeologists a good idea of the number, names, and succession of Abayrid rulers through their coinages.

From 425 to 370 BC, the Abayrids ruled as Satrap Dynasts of the Azagartian Empire. Their administration would outlive their nominal master and from 370 to 310 BC, Shirkal became the summer capital of a new dynasty who took the title of Ayarshah, "King of the Ayars" to highlight their rule over both settled (Skadians) and nomadic (Sayars) people. It's during this time that Shirkal became the known of the entire town while the Fortress became known as the Skadanshah-Kal. The Winter Capital, further north and dominating the Steppe, was the Sayaranshah-Kal, the Fortress of the Sayar Kings.

Azbanid Zenith

The Azban (Sawan in Skadian, Zicat in Sayari. Lit. "From Glory") conquered Shirkal in 310 BC. An altar was dedicated to the Azbanid ruler Azkajwar Anosh, "Azkajwar the Immortal", by the inhabitants of Shirkal as celebration for Azkajwar' unexpected sparing of the city. A copy of the dedication, destroyed sometime during the 12th century, is still visible today in the Great Mithraeum. The Azbanid expanded and embellished the city, adding new buildings to the royal district and new rings of walls. Azbanid Shirkal was long said to have had seven rings of rampart, from the outer to the inner wall, each of a different color and drilled by seven gates guarded by two stone winged-lions each. The Winged Lion would become the icon of the city.

It's also under the Azbanids that the first documents on Shirkal's administration emerged: the Fortress, Royal Palace, and the surrounding Royal District were considered part of the King's Household. Outside of it, the King appointed a Sharban, a "Metropolitan" to handle both military and civil affairs outside of the palace. The Sharban then appointed a Kalantar for each ring. It was the Kalantar's duty to collect both ordinary and extraordinary taxes, fixed the price of corn, and supervised bakers, cooks, and such, handing out fines or even prison sentences for artisans found breaking his decrees. Each of Shirkal's wards then nominated their representatives, the Kadxudan ("House Masters") with the Kalantar having the final word on the appointment. Guilds also had their own Kadxudan, outside of the Kalantar's perview, and played a role in the administration of the city.

In 205 BC began the reign of Vakarama "The Great", an era immortalized in Shirazam as the zenith of the Azbanid Dynasty. Its under his rule that the seventh and final wall of Shirkal was completed. Vakarama's Shirkal is estimated to have reached 200,000 inhabitants. After Vakarama's death, the Kingdom fell into a period of decay: his son Artav Arshan lost territories but was able to keep the Kingdom united in face of increasing external pressures. His grandson, Priyapatar, however, was captured in battle and its his younger brother Werod Priyabrad, "Werod who loves his brother", became king in his stead and waged war to reclaim lands lost by his predecessors and to free his elder. Priyapatar died early and its Werod's son who became king. However, the two branches of the family would continue their quarrel and Priyapatar's son would usurp his cousin before dying in battle at an early age. His son fell under the control of his prime minister and a civil war began in 121 BC that brought Shirkal's great losses.

The last great Azbanid monarch, Wishagn Mytrapati (91-75 BC) did not rule from Shirkal. Local rule over the city and its country side was devolved to Tarkhun Priyashah. Kings after Wishagn would prove too weak to remove Metropolitans and other officials and Tarkhun would become the patriarch of a new dynasty of Shirkalese rulers.

Culture

Cuisine

Bread of Shirkal.

Shirkal is reputed as the culinary heart of Shirazam, the junction between the Great Rivers and their valleys where wheat is the dominant cereal and the Green Delta where rice is the most cultivated one. As such, it present a wide array of dishes and meals using ingredients from all across Shirazam.

Symbolic of Shirkal is its bread. It's a kind of Tandyr nan, a category of bread that take its name from the oven in which it is cooked: the Tandoor, a large vase-shaped clay oven. The Shirkalese Tanur is fully overground and its relatively small size make it easy to transport. It is circular and leavened with yeast, whereas most Tandoor breads are not, and typically has a crisp golden surface. Each bakery has its own stamp which are used to both decorate the bread and signal its origin. While Tanur Nan are cooked throughout Shirazam, in Shirkal they add milk, butter and honey to the base ingredient (flour, water, and yeast). Some bakers also add egg yolk to their recipe, giving their Nan a quality closer to a Brioche-like pastry. A number of superstition surround Shirkal's bread: it must not be laid upside down, nor can anything be stacked on top of it except another Nan bread. It should not be cut with a knife instead it is the responsibility of the host to break the bread by hand.

The main dish of Shirkaleses is the Pulaw, a rice-based dish where the grains are simmered in a rich stew of meat and vegetables until all the liquid has been absorbed. It is generally cooked in a Deghi, a large cooking pot similar to a Dutch oven. The pot is generally covered to also achieve a limited degree of steaming. Shirkal distinguish itself by the oil it use to cook the meat: Zigir oil. A mixture of melon seed, cottonseed, sesame seed, and flaxseed oils.

Sport

Shirkal is famed internationally as a city of sport, competition, and physical prowess. One of the most common sport-related infrastructure in Shirkal historically, and still a common sight in the modern days, is the Zourkhaneh, a gymnasium reserved to the practice of wrestling, bodybuilding, and traditional physical training. The Zourkhanehs would become especially associated with knightly orders and were a vector to a specific form of chivalry and honorable conduct for the youth of Shirkal. To respect the spirit of this Code, the Javānmardi, Zurkhaneh gyms are non-profit organisations that demand no payment from their athletes and were thus important meeting grounds for people of different classes of society, including the Dash (Knights) and the Lati (Gangsters). Finances came from charity, donations, and the organisation of public events such as "casting of flowers" ceremonies in which athletes held matches and other displays of strength (weightlifting, bodybuilding...) to raise funds for the needy. They were thus part of a network of associative and charitative organisations, including hospitals and schools, that formed the social tissu of Shirkal in particular but of Shirazam as a whole.

Following the independence of Shirazam, Zurkhaneh gyms returned to the forefront and developped across the country without completely shaking off their rebellious spirit. They became dominated by gangsters and organised crimes who had turned donations to the gyms as a form of protection racket and used athletes as enforcers and charity matches as staged competitions for gambling. It took a national-level effort by the Republic to purge Zurkaneh of criminal elements and restore the good reputation of wrestling as a whole. Decades later, Professional wrestling would suffer from this infamy staged wrestling had acquired in the first half of the 20th century and attempts at creating a properly Shirazamite promotion all failed due to both political resistance to the idea and lack of a supportive market.

Shirkal is the headquarter to the Shirazam All Wrestling Federation, the governing body for all wrestling styles in Shirazam with a state mandate to sanction tournaments, control member-clubs, investigate of irregularities, but also offer assistance and counsel to clubs when it comes to management or finances with the stated goal being the growth and diffusion of both amateur and professional wrestling.

The most prestigious wrestling competition held in Shirkal is the Shirkal Freestyle Wrestling Open Championship, colloquially known as the Lion's Prize. The Championship is open to all competitors belonging to an internationally recognized federation who can fit within one of its 30 categories, regardless of professional or amateur status and their international rankings or lack thereof. More than a thousand wrestlers take part in the qualifying rounds each year and for a month Shirkal earns its monicker as the "greatest arena of wrestling" as every Zourkaneh and stadium possible are used to host qualification games.