History of Katapesh

Update needed This article should be updated to reflect canon changes noted in Travel Guide and Firebrands. The specific problem is: revise to describe historical role of slavery, add detail on its abolition, and align with articles on slavery, Katapesh, and Katapesh (city) as well as related canon events ca. 4717-4722 AR. Please help improve it if you can; the talk page might contain suggestions.

In 2217 AR, Sarenrae's faithful fled the pogrom in Osirion, and led by a devout priestess named Vedie. Once in the desert, Vedie instructed her followers to build a settlement they called Sarenrae's Bastion, but a splinter group broke off to search for a "golden land". They found a lush valley with a massive sphinx standing at the center. They settle in the valley in 2218 AR and name it the Golden City.

In 2375 AR a band of raiders of all races attacked and overthrew the Golden City. The raiders took control of the city.

In the Year of Scouring Winds (2589 AR), a sandstorm lasting 33 days destroyed almost all plant life in the valley, killed hundreds, and nearly buried the Golden City. Survivors fled, some to Sarenrae's Bastion, where priests proclaimed the sandstorm a "judgment" against the city's evil populace.

A century later, a mysterious woman named Nimhar walked out of the desert and began to clear the ruins of the Golden City. In 2692 AR Nimhar took control of the new Golden City and renamed it to Sandstar. People flocked to the new city.

During the so called Oasis Age, no major conflicts occurred and the settlements flourished but in 3249 AR an alchemist named Atopu discovered the production of a narcotic substance he called pesh. News of pesh spreads rapidly and, drawing criminals and merchants of all kinds to the city of Sandstar. A bandit named Jade-Eye slaughtered Nimhar in 3250 AR and took control of the city. Nimhar's body is never found. Jade-Eye renamed the city Katapesh, and the region soon adopted that name.

Also in 3250 AR, Katapesh broke free from Osirian rule to become an independent nation.

During 3256 AR gnoll slavers were raiding Sarenrae's Bastion and were relentlessly selling slaves to Katapesh. The citizens of Sarenrae's Bastion feeling betrayed by their goddess, renamed the town Solku. In the Year of Rent Sails, (3721 AR), another rash of slave raids from Okeno, hit Solku. City guards drove off the raiders.

In 3725 AR the Pactmasters took over the city of Katapesh, and construction began on the city's new palace and outer walls. The infamous Nightstalls opened in Katapesh, in 3730 AR.

In 4112 AR paladins of Sarenrae returned to Solku to establish a base of operations to combat regional slavery.

In 4701 AR gnolls from White Canyon, led by Rath Sandstalker besiege Solku. Paladins of Iomedae arrived to reinforce the established faithful of Sarenrae. The siege broke but the paladins of Iomedae all perish in the Battle of Red Hail.

The Pactmasters abruptly abolished slavery, a longtime cornerstone of the Katapeshi economy, in 4722 AR. In the same year the Firebrands, a loose organization of freedom fighters, targeted the Pactmasters' control over Katapesh's pesh trade in solidarity with the nation's nomadic peoples, Badawi villagers, and newly freed slaves. Part of this campaign includes the traditional Badawi cultivation of a less powerful form of pesh known as pesh paste, which is not only less addictive but can also treat and reduce a person's addiction to the Pactmasters' refined pesh. The brewing insurrection has been referred to as the Katapeshi Revolt.