Copher

Copher has always been fiercely independent. Its rulers rarely yield graciously to orders from the Sultan. Many of the city's trading privileges dates back to the Mad Sheikh Tupar and these are defended with a force of arms if necessary. The city produces the finest spices native in Araby, and has the greatest slave market. The city is somewhat more liberal than other Arabyan cities, and though it does not have any established universities on par with the greater Old World cities, it is nonetheless considered a place of learning. Scholars flock to Copher to sit in on informal gatherings, and most noble houses openly have a Vizier in their retinue. Copher is primarily a merchant and trade city, and as such they gain their armies the old fashioned way: they buy them. Mercenary units, naval units, desert clans, and un-tethered Mameluke organizations are pressed into service as need demands. Usually, such a need calls for a limited action, over which the Sultan have full control.