Zakiya

Schools of the Zakeem are everywhere in Terub, administered by the bureaucracy to instruct their pupils in the labyrinthine laws and ordinances of imperial justice called ‘Zakiya.’ Those who satisfy its bewildering requirements become members of the Zakeem, the elite lawyer class of the empire who serve in its law courts as judges and barristers and in its bureaucracies as magistrates. The Zakiya was developed by the sorcerer emperors and the aristocrats over the past six centuries and has become the basis of imperial law throughout the empire where Terub has direct administration. In client states and in foreign lands, Zakiya has little or no force.

Castes

The system of nine hierarchical castes is part of the essential core of Zakiya.

(1st): Sovereign (Sultana Sheba of Terub)

(2nd): Imperial Vizier, Ruling Nobles (thirteen aristocratic houses), Imperials, Imperial retainers of note; high-ranking bureaucrats;

(3rd): knights, low-ranking nobles, commissioned officers; guildmasters; mid-level bureaucrats

(4th): warriors, non-commissioned officers; high-ranking titancrafters; low-ranking bureaucrats

(5th): skilled craftsmen, guildsmen, merchants; titancrafters

(6th): skilled slaves (may own unskilled slaves)

(7th): unskilled slaves

(8th): helots (peasant farmers, semi-free, may not own slaves)

(9th): Enemies of the State (usu. most foreigners)

See Also

• Terubian Empire
• Zakeem