Ribat

A Ribat (Baatharzi: رباط‎‎; ribāṭ, hospice, hostel, base or retreat) is a Sxiro-Babkhan term for a small fortification that doubles as a shared accommodation for a garrison or extended family. These were originally built in Elwynn in the aftermath of the Elfinshi War when Babkhi colonists were settled in the midst of a particularly hostile populace.

Most ribats are built in a square shape with a monumental portal, a courtyard, and long vaulted rooms along the walls. They tend towards a similar architectural appearance which consists of a surrounding wall with an entrance, living rooms, storehouses for provisions, a watch tower used to signal in the case of an invasion, four to eight towers, and a Atash Behram (fire temple) in large ribats.

In Alalehzamin it is not uncommon to see the courtyards and perimeter walls of residential Ziggurats belonging to wealthier and more established households take the form of a ribat.

The concept of the ribat lends itself to the Babkhi name for Elwynn, Ribat al-Eluinshahr, which in the modern era is primarily associated with the Babkhi settlements in Agnesia.