Difference between revisions of "Ardashirshahr"
| Line 12: | Line 12: | ||
The Walls of Ardashirshahr were built at the instruction of Baron Ardashir across a period of nine years in order to enclose the settlement that would house the largest portion of his demobilised veterans left over from the Elfinshi Wars. | The Walls of Ardashirshahr were built at the instruction of Baron Ardashir across a period of nine years in order to enclose the settlement that would house the largest portion of his demobilised veterans left over from the Elfinshi Wars. | ||
| − | These massive walls | + | These massive walls enclose an area of more than sixty square miles, much of which was formerly occupied by fields and gardens watered by canals from the river. The walls consist of the main inner wall separated from the lower outer wall by a terrace, while a low breastwork crowned the moat's eastern escarpment. Access to both terraces was possible through posterns on the sides of the walls' towers. |
| − | Most of the fields have been built over now, giving rise to a tangled mass of fortified Ribats and crude residential ziggurats. Set in amongst these are the great majority of the houses which are naturally small and undistinguished, but among them are scattered decaying palaces, thronging fire temples, tranquil tea houses, narrow winding streets of shops shaded by trees, busy bazaars, and all the equipment of a great and wealthy city. | + | The inner wall is a solid structure, 6 metres thick and 12 metres high. It is faced with carefully cut limestone blocks, while its core is filled with mortar made of lime and crushed bricks. Between seven and eleven bands of brick, approximately 40 cm thick, traverse the structure, not only as a form of decoration, but also strengthening the cohesion of the structure by bonding the stone façade with the mortar core, in the hope of increasing endurance when subjected to bombardment. |
| + | |||
| + | The wall was strengthened with 365 towers, mainly square but also a few octagonal ones, three hexagonal and a single pentagonal one. They are 20 metres tall and 10 metres wide, and placed at irregular distances | ||
| + | |||
| + | Most of the fields enclosed within these walls have been built over now, giving rise to a tangled mass of fortified Ribats and crude residential ziggurats. Set in amongst these are the great majority of the houses which are naturally small and undistinguished, but among them are scattered decaying palaces, thronging fire temples, tranquil tea houses, narrow winding streets of shops shaded by trees, busy bazaars, and all the equipment of a great and wealthy city. Each tower has a terraced battlement on the top. The interior being typically divided by a floor into two unconnected chambers. The lower chamber, which opened through the main wall to the city, was used for storage, while the upper one could be entered from the wall's walkway, and had gun ports for keeping watch from and for firing projectiles. Access to the wall was provided by large ramps along their side. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The outer wall was 2 metres thick at its base, and featured arched chambers on the level of the inner wall's terrace, crowned with a crenelated walkway, reaching a height of 9 metres. Access to the outer wall from the city was provided either through the main gates or through small posterns on the base of the inner wall's towers. The outer wall likewise had towers, situated approximately midway between the inner wall's towers, and acting in supporting role to them by providing interlocking fields of fire. | ||
| + | |||
| + | The moat was situated at a distance of about 20 m from the outer wall. The moat itself was over 20 m wide and as much as 10 m deep, featuring a 1.5 m tall crenellated wall on the inner side, serving as a first line of defence. Transverse walls cross the moat, tapering towards the top so as not to be used as bridges. The western ends of the moat were connected to the Blue Elwynn by vast wrought iron gates some | ||
and for the innumerable flak towers that dominate the suburbs. | and for the innumerable flak towers that dominate the suburbs. | ||
Revision as of 15:34, 12 April 2016
Ardashirshahr (Elw: Ardaxirxaar) is an Elwynnese royal city and bailiwick, and is the capital of Alalehzamin and Utasia. With a population (1624) of 7,678,177 residents, it is one of the largest cities in Elwynn. The Greater Ardashirshahr metropolitan area also includes the neighbouring bailiwicks of Arsalani, Babrân, Eskenderyebandar and the Jazâ’ir ul Zjandariyah — the combined population (1624) for the metropolitan area is 10,067,186.
Ardashirshahr was incorporated in 1499 by Baron Ardashir I and was named after the baron. However, between 1542 and 1552, and between 1570 and 1601, the city bore the name Tielion Loki.
Contents
Fortifications and the Suburbs
Prior to becoming the capital of Alalehzamin and Utasia, Ardashirshahr was the capital of the County of Lesser Zjandaria where the Babkhi population and proximity to the Imperial Capital of Shirekeep, as well as being effectively on the front line between Elwynn and Brookshire meant that the city was always having to look to its defences.
The Walls of Ardashirshahr were built at the instruction of Baron Ardashir across a period of nine years in order to enclose the settlement that would house the largest portion of his demobilised veterans left over from the Elfinshi Wars.
These massive walls enclose an area of more than sixty square miles, much of which was formerly occupied by fields and gardens watered by canals from the river. The walls consist of the main inner wall separated from the lower outer wall by a terrace, while a low breastwork crowned the moat's eastern escarpment. Access to both terraces was possible through posterns on the sides of the walls' towers.
The inner wall is a solid structure, 6 metres thick and 12 metres high. It is faced with carefully cut limestone blocks, while its core is filled with mortar made of lime and crushed bricks. Between seven and eleven bands of brick, approximately 40 cm thick, traverse the structure, not only as a form of decoration, but also strengthening the cohesion of the structure by bonding the stone façade with the mortar core, in the hope of increasing endurance when subjected to bombardment.
The wall was strengthened with 365 towers, mainly square but also a few octagonal ones, three hexagonal and a single pentagonal one. They are 20 metres tall and 10 metres wide, and placed at irregular distances
Most of the fields enclosed within these walls have been built over now, giving rise to a tangled mass of fortified Ribats and crude residential ziggurats. Set in amongst these are the great majority of the houses which are naturally small and undistinguished, but among them are scattered decaying palaces, thronging fire temples, tranquil tea houses, narrow winding streets of shops shaded by trees, busy bazaars, and all the equipment of a great and wealthy city. Each tower has a terraced battlement on the top. The interior being typically divided by a floor into two unconnected chambers. The lower chamber, which opened through the main wall to the city, was used for storage, while the upper one could be entered from the wall's walkway, and had gun ports for keeping watch from and for firing projectiles. Access to the wall was provided by large ramps along their side.
The outer wall was 2 metres thick at its base, and featured arched chambers on the level of the inner wall's terrace, crowned with a crenelated walkway, reaching a height of 9 metres. Access to the outer wall from the city was provided either through the main gates or through small posterns on the base of the inner wall's towers. The outer wall likewise had towers, situated approximately midway between the inner wall's towers, and acting in supporting role to them by providing interlocking fields of fire.
The moat was situated at a distance of about 20 m from the outer wall. The moat itself was over 20 m wide and as much as 10 m deep, featuring a 1.5 m tall crenellated wall on the inner side, serving as a first line of defence. Transverse walls cross the moat, tapering towards the top so as not to be used as bridges. The western ends of the moat were connected to the Blue Elwynn by vast wrought iron gates some
and for the innumerable flak towers that dominate the suburbs.
Central Ardashirshahr
The administrative heart of the city is chiefly noted for its planned and 'brutally functional' layout [1]. The parks at its heart are scarred with the remaining stretches of the 'peace walls' that once marked a divided city during the period of the Elwynnese Union's independence.
The centre of the city is laid out on a grid pattern centred around the Palace of One Thousand Columns and the Maydan of the Four Quarters (Osman County Park, Victory of Virtue Memorial Gardens, Ahuramazdahbagh, Elwynnbagh). The city grid comprises of four north-south avenues, these being - from west to east - Babak Avenue, Mamluk Avenue, Eliria Salaam Avenue and Dread of Malarbor Avenue. There are three west to east avenues, being - north to south - Babkhi Avenue, the Avenue of Zurvan and the somewhat hubristic Victory over the Elfinshi Avenue.
The city centre is orbited by the Qermez (Red) Line Underground Transit Network and bisected by two overland rail lines proceeding from east to west. Within the bounds of the Qermez Line can be found the administrative district for the city and the Emirate.
| Building | Function | Streets | Architectural Style |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palace of One Thousand Columns | Royal Residence & Administrative Centre for the Emirati Government | Vijayanagara Avenue, Caligae Avenue, Babkhi Avenue, Mamluk Avenue | Persianate 'hypostyle' "apadāna" |
| Abode of Fidelity | Formerly the seraglio, now a suite of hospitality apartments for use by guests of the Emirati Government and the Royal Family | Babak Avenue, Babkhi Avenue & Mamluk Avenue | Moorish |
The Government District is surrounded by ten UDF Flak Towers, designed to provide a curtain wall of rapid fire exploding ordinance up to 35,000ft, intended to be as impenetrable as any fortress. The Flak Towers also double as an air raid shelter as well as command bunkers, supply depots and defensive strongpoints in the event of an enemy ground assault.
Eluinshahr (Northern Borough)
- Bandar-e Osman: Harbour of Osman, the riverside dockyards
Ribat-e Kapav (Southern Borough)
Metropolitan Area
- Arsalani: Noted for its award winning Genocide Museum. The city is currently being demolished and resited to allow the construction of the Ziggurat of the Road that will form the Ardashirshahr terminus of the Royal Road, a combined eight lane motorway and high-speed railway, connecting the city to Islus and eventually to Eliria.
- Babrân: The site of a rather controversial memorial to Kaspar Soleiman raised by die-hard supporters of the Emirate of Sathrati
- Eskenderyebandar:
- Jazâ’ir ul Zjandariyah: The Zjandarian Islands are a group of many small islands in the Blue Elwynn which are situated just north-west of the Royal City of Ardashirshahr. The Bailiwick of the same name has most of its land on the mainland though, mainly because of land reclamation during the Ardashirian era when the riverlets and canals were in-filled with dredged silt in order to make new agricultural land from which to feed the then ever-expanding city of Ardashirshahr as its own agricultural footprint was reduced by the ever expanding urban sprawl.
