Overview

Flag

Ul'dah's flag bears upon a field of black a set of golden scales, which weigh the jewel of prosperity on the left and the flame of might on the right. This emblem itself originates in Belah'dia, where the scale weighed power and wisdom. Thus, the twin heirs to that ancient civilization took one sigil apiece: Ul'dah the flame, and Sil'dih the grapes of knowledge.

Motto

For Coin and Country

Government

Members of the Ul Dynasty claim sovereignty by right of birth. Their will is carried out by the Divan, a group of eight viziers who oversee matters of law, finance, engineering, the interior, commerce, war, religious affairs, and palace affairs. However, the influence of sultans has been waning for some time, and at present true power is wielded by the Syndicate, a council sat by six of Ul'dah's most elite and influential.

Leader

Sultana Nanamo Ul Namo, seventeenth in the line of Ul

Ruling Body

As a sultanate, all offices of government serve to make manifest the will and policy of Ul'dah's ruler.

Racial Distribution

Midlander Hyur: 30%
Highlander Hyur: 10%
Dunesfolk Lalafell: 40%
Hellsguard Roegadyn: 10%
Other: 10%

Religion

Nald'thal, overseer of the underworld and god of commerce, is the guardian deity of Ul'dah. While many believe that He is possessed of a dual nature, Ul'dahns see Him as twins, and worship Nald and Thal separately. Since times of eld, the Order of Nald'thal has devoted itself to this task, and encourages the devout to donate their coin—for virtue in this life, and happiness in Thal's realm.

Guilds

Ul'dah is home to guilds representing gladiators, pugilists, thaumaturges, goldsmiths, weavers, alchemists, and miners.

Industries

Merchantry:

With a gateway to the five seas and roads to all corners of the realm, Ul'dah has long flourished as a center of commerce. Today, countless companies and cosortia—both large and small—operate within the city-state.

Mining:

Beneath the lands of Thanalan run countless veins of quality ore, and, as a result, a bustling jewelry trade has evolved.

Textiles:

In addition to crafting essential fabrics for everyday use, a large and prestigious apparel industry has grown under the auspices of an increasing number of wealthy people. As represented by Sunsilk Tapestries, a number of notable brands have become popular even outside of Ul'dah's borders.

Medicine:

Thanks to the tireless study of ailments at Frondale's Phrontistery, Ul'dah has established itself as a reputable producer of alchemical and traditional cures.

Entertainment:

The city-state offers something for seekers of pleasure, from gladiatorial displays in the Coliseum, gambling at the Platinum Mirage, and games of fortune at the Manderville Gold Saucer.

Beliefs

In a city of merchants, everything has a price, and business is placed upon a nigh-hallowed pedestal. Shopkeeps show scant mercy towards their rivals, and anyone who is cheated out off coin is seen not as a victim, but rather as a fool. To other Eorzeans, inhabitants of the city-state may seem as swindlers who worship nothing but profit. Nonetheless, the core Ul'dahn values of hard work and daring have earned many men great fortunes in their lifetime.

So wealthy is Ul'dah that coin has become not only the city's primary means of social stratification, but how disagreements are settled and even, in many instances, the guiding principle of its ethics. No vice is barred to those who can afford them; in fact, they're no vice at all once paid for. Drinking, gambling, and whoring are all perfectly acceptable to anyone who can afford to indulge—in fact, even encouraged by the Order of Nald'thal. After all, what moves coin drives commerce. Even crimes can be overlooked for a substantial enough fee, provided they don't inhibit trade: Ul'dah's only unforgivable sin.

Diet

Few vegetables grow in the heat of Thanalan, leaving Ul'dahn cuisine to consist largely of meats and insects, heavily seasoned with imported and local spices—though some claim this merely conceals fare that would normally be deemed unfit for consumption. Alcohol, on the other hand, is more highly appraised, and the arts of the Alchemists' Guild have led to distilling techniques leading to liquors of complex and subtle flavor.

History

The Rise and Fall of Belah'dia

The dawn of the Sixth Astral Era saw a great suffering of magi. They had ruled the realm for an age, yet their arts had wrought great destruction, and many people demanded that magic be forbidden outright. Naturally, all those even remotely proficient in spellcraft faced some form of persecution. Those few who used sorcery to project themselves from the stones of fearful peasantry were often subject to greater retribution. The only path left to the magi was to flee and hide in the remote outskirts of civilization.

As time passed, bitter memories became history, and history legend. After several centuries, men had forgotten their fear of magic, and instead desired it anew as a means of military might. Thus it was the Lalafellin heirs to the sorcerers of Mhach—one of the civilizations of the Fifth Astral Era—who eventually sought to reclaim the rightful place of magi. Banding together, they made for the wilds of Thanalan, and there used the arts of their forebears to find water flowing beneath the parched lands. What began as a well became a town, and grew into the nation of Belah'dia by the year 737.

Twins Apart

Belah'dian civilization flourished in relative peace for two hundred years. Yet all was to change in 964, when the sultan grew deathly ill and was confined to his sickbed. This triggered a fierce struggle between Sasagan and Sasawefu, his two sons, over who would sit the throne as rightful heir. The twins each called upon the soldiers loyal to them, and the nation was soon wracked by war. The sultan's death a year later did nothing to stem the fighting, and in 969 the princes decisively tore Belah'dia in half. Each then built a city anew in Thanalan—Sil'dih under Sasawefu, and Ul'dah under Sasagan.

For centuries thereafter, the sibling city-states found cause to fight. However, it was the actions of King Lalawefu of Sil'dih in 1159 that would ultimately doom their relationship. Instituting flood control to save his nation's ailing economy, Lalawefu began to draw waters from the upper reaches of Ul'dah's source. The move was popular in Sil'dih, and the people proclaimed their monarch the King of Springs. The Ul'dahns, however, hissed curses at him through parched lips. The stage, then, was set for war.

The Dead Walk

In 1177, a drought came over Thanalan and King Lalawefu succumbed to illness. This misfortune spurred Ul'dah to action, Sil'dih's sibling nation seeking to profit from the confusion. The following year, the city-state marched forth in full force to reclaim their water source. The Sil'dihn elite, however, did not stand idly by. They united their nation in the face of the crisis, and met Ul'dah with their own army. The resulting war was long and bloody. Yet, despite countless summers of campaigns against one another, neither side could claim superiority, and the conflict showed little sign of drawing to an end.

A New Dynasty

The Syndicate

The Amalj'aa threat notwithstanding, Ul'dah gained control of Thanalan through the razing of neighboring Sil'dih. It was then that the city-state began to truly establish itself as a mercantile power, hiring sailors and purchasing Lominsan-wrought ships from as early as 1190. Soon, it had opened trade with Radz-at-Han and the rest of the Near East. Behind this was the guiding hand of the Thorne Dynasty, who had restored the Ul'dahn markets and overland trade routes after moving the city. Inheriting their vision for the nation, the second Ul Dynasty worked to better commerce, and under their rule the nation flourished.

Yet, that selfsame policy granted the merchant class greater power as their own coffers grew, while robbing the sultanate of its influence in almost equal measure. Thus, in the year of 1401, the distraught line of Ul established the Syndicate, a group of six advisors chosen as the merchants who had added the most to the wealth of Ul'dah. This group came to command the government, and presently is the true power in the city-state.

Organizations

• The Immortal Flames
• Syndicate
• The Divan
• East Aldenard Trading Company
• Order of Nald'thal
• Sultansworn
• Brass Blades
• Stone Torches

See Also

• Mhach
• Belah'dia
• Sil'dih
• War of the Sisters