Talk:Zakhara

Old Wikipedia data

 * Because it would too much work for me alone;
 * Because I worked so much on the Wikipedia entries;
 * Because I believe my intense researches are still of use (especially the labourously collected external links);
 * Because I do not know enough of the forgottenrealms Wikia lore to dare or wish to intervene directly anymore,

I just paste in the permalink of what I believe to be most exhaustive Wikipedia entry on the topic:

Most complete permalink for Zakhara

(starting point: Geographical index of Toril on 18th of March 2007)

Could some kind soul take care of extracting the data somewhere it would not be deleted again because of “lack of notability”? Note that a lot of content may be duplicate and also has to be rewritten. Some link shouls also be checked (think archive.org] if nothing else), Wizards of the Coast not being that serious with permanency of data.

David Latapie (✒ | @) 12:40, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

real world basis
Some info is needed on Zakhara's real world basis.

I'm almost positive that at least parts of it are partially based on India. (Pakistan and Bangladesh only came into existence in the 20th century, so they aren't relevant.)

Gringo300 (talk) 03:00, March 22, 2013 (UTC)


 * Arabian Adventures quotes Arabia as a real world basis for Zakhara on page 9: "The Arabian Adventures rulebook opens the door to a new campagin that weaves threads of Arabian legends with the fantasy of the AD&D(R) game." "Three distinct visions of Arabia have helped give shape to these rules. The first is the historical Arabian Empire [...] eventually encompassing an empire from the Atlantic to India." And so forth.
 * I am also convinced that Afyal is indeed based on India: It is culturally somewhat distinct from the rest of the continent, it is on the eastern edge of Zakhara, they have jungles (as have the rest of the Ruined Kingdoms), a caste system, and elephants. The symbol of Medina al-Afyal on the map bears a strong resemblance to the Taj Mahal.
 * In addition, the Seven Voyages of Sindbad the Sailor are cited as one inspiration. According to the Wikipedia article part of those happen in India (or modern-day Pakistan and Sri Lanka). However, apart from the tenuous quote above, I have not found a direct statement about India as a basis for Al-Qadim so far. Daranios (talk) 18:43, March 22, 2013 (UTC)


 * Aspects of India appear in various places in all three settings. Durpar and the Utter East in Faerûn, Afyal and other places in the north of Zakhara, and various southern lands in Kara-Tur that I'm not too familiar with. They all sit fairly close together where the settings border eachother, around the centre of the super-continent. — BadCatMan (talk) 01:32, March 23, 2013 (UTC)


 * Zakhara would obviously have basis in Arab areas/cultures, and would probably also have basis in Turkey (Turks aren't Arabs), Persia/Iran (Persians/Iranians aren't Arabs, though I've heard that Persia/Iran has an Arab minority), maybe the Berber cultures of most of North Africa, and maybe ancient (pre-Arab) Egypt (Egypt is partially in Africa and partially in Asia, with the larger proportion in Africa.). Maybe a few other things. Gringo300 (talk) 02:23, March 23, 2013 (UTC)