JALAWAR (Mumlyket of)

Location: Southwest of the Atruaghin Plateau, south of Shajarkand, northeast of Jaibul.

Area: 13,500 sq. mi. (34,965 sq. km.).

Population: 63,000.

Languages: Sindhi, some Thyatian (Darokinian dialect).

Coinage: Guru (25 gp), rupee (5 gp), bhani (gp), khundar (sp), piaster (cp).

Taxes: See Sind. Rani Drisana Madhar has long tried to change the caste system in her mumlyket; now that she is back in power, the tax distinctions due to caste may change.

Government Type: Feudal monarchy. The ruler of Jalawar (called the rani) owes fealty to the rajadhiraja (king) of Sind, Chandra ul Nervi.

Industries: Agriculture, trade (salt, silk, cotton, rice, and especially tea).

Important Figures: Drisana Madhar (Rani, human, female, M9), Inay Paramesh (Former Rajah, human, male, T13).

Flora and Fauna: See Sind.

Further Reading: Champions of Mystara boxed set, previous almanacs.

Description by Ryuk-uk Tshaa.

[This entry for Jalawar is virtually verbatim from last year's; the only addition is an update on the recent history of the mumlyket. Ed.]

The Land

The mumlyket of Jalawar is colloquially referred to as the "Gateway to Sind," due to its geographic location at the head of the Asanda River, one of the primary routes into Sind itself. The predominant features of Jalawar are its grass and farmlands; it is also home to one of the few remaining swaths of forest in Sind.

The waters of the Asanda bring generous deposits of silt down from its northern head in the Great Salt Swamp, making the lands along its shores some of the most fertile farmland in the Old World; certainly the most fertile in Sind. Hundreds of tiny farming villages line the eastern banks of the Asanda in Jalawar, where they produce more than enough food to support the mumlyket; the surplus helps to provide for the rest of the agriculturally starved kingdom of Sind.

Central Jalawar is populated by small families of cattle owners, who keep their livestock full on the short grasses that fill the landscape, and the forest to the far east provides the only elephant reserve within the borders of Sind.

The People

The main human stock of Sind is a blend of Atruaghin and Urduk racial stocks, a combination that has resulted in the nut-brown skin tone often equated to the Sindhi. The people of Jalawar, in particular, are a more reddish brown than most Sindhi, likely due to a greater Atruaghin influence based on their geographical location. Almost two-thirds of the population is rural, living in the hundreds of farming villages along the Asanda river, or in the central grasslands. The rest live predominantly in the large trading ports along the southern shore.

There is a large foreign presence in Jalawar, due to its pre-eminence as a trading centre. As a result, there is a far greater portion of non-Sindhi to be found here than anywhere else in the nation. Peoples of all nationalities abound-Ierendis, Minrothaddans, Darokinians, Yavdlom; there is even a sizable population of Sindised Atruaghin peoples in the outlying towns and villages.

It is primarily this large foreign element that has led to a relaxation of the rules of the Sindhi caste system; for decades, I am told, there has been a gradual transition to a more "easternised" system of belief in equality, a move endorsed by the Madhar family that has traditionally ruled Jalawar.

Recent History

Rajah Inay Paramesh came to power in AC 1005, with the aid of the elite troops of then-Rajadhiraja Kiritan ul Nervi, deposing his distant cousin Drisana Madhar. Drisana, one of the few rajahs to maintain their loyalty to Chandra ul Nervi in the face of the Master's invasion, retreated to the Yavdlom Divinarchy, where she helped rally Chandra to return to Sind.

Last year, the exiled rani returned to Jalawar, backed by mercenary troops from Yavdlom and foreign aid from Darokin. Together with forces still loyal to her, Drisana was able to reclaim Jalawar, imprisoning Rajah Paramesh, and driving out most of the occupying hordes of Hule. There are still several pockets of Hulean resistance forces within the mumlyket, but the region has returned to the control of the rani.

Don't Miss

Though I was not able to visit it, I have been told that the capital city of Sambay (pop. 12,000) is quite a sight to behold. Traditional Sindhi architecture blends with a wide array of architectural styles from throughout the world-from as far west as Slagovich and the Savage Coast, to the easterly styles of Alphatia-and with a population as diverse. There is a large contingent of Hulean forces encamped in a shanty town just outside the northern gates of Sambay, along the banks of the Asanda, but that hasn't seemed to faze the foreign elements one bit. Life goes on as usual in the busy merchant town.