Imagi-Nations that are used in wargames are fictional countries that have been created to provide a setting for battles, campaigns, and wars.

The Imagi-Nations that will be featured in this blog all ‘exist’ during the latter part of the nineteenth and early part of the twentieth centuries, the period usually referred to a ‘La Belle Époque’.

This was a period characterised by general economic prosperity, colonial expansion, and technological and scientific innovation. Amongst the latter two were the development of the motor vehicle, the telephone, early aircraft, and medical advances in the fields of germ theory of disease, bacteriology, and X-ray photography.

The Emirate of Khyberistan

The Emirate of Khyberistan

A history of Khyberistan

Khyberistan is a small mountainous country that is ruled over by an hereditary Emir. It was once part of the ancient Harabian Empire, but gained its independence many years ago when the empire collapsed in upon itself.

The population is split into three main tribes (the Shinwazi, the Gaziri, and the Bathani), each of which comprises a number of family clans. Although blood feuds between clans and tribes occasionally break out, the Emir usually arranges for them to be resolved by a system that is akin to trial by combat. Each side chooses a champion, and they are pitted against one another in a series of tests (e.g. killing a mountain lion), which if both survive, culminates in a duel to the death with knives.

The tribes and clans of Khyberistan are:

  • Shinwazi (who are concentrated around the Shin Valley and the Shin Hills)
    • Akazai
    • Kinwazi
    • Jowka
  • Gaziri (who live in the Atman Valley and on the Durbal Plateau, the location of the capital, Durbal)
    • Kebiri
    • Teseri
    • Durbal Khel
    • Durbalzai
    • Atmani
  • Bathani (who live in and around the Chindu Valley and the Kybosh Pass)
    • Munir Khel
    • Kybosh Khel
    • Jakzi Khel
    • Orak Khel

The economy of Khyberistan

The people mainly rely on hunting wild animals for their meat, subsistence farming for their fruit and vegetables, and goat herding for their milk, cheese, and wool, and the wool from Khyberistani goats is renown for its softness, warmth, and water-resistance. The local tribes also trade small quantities of gold and precious gems with the outside world, but in general, foreigners (i.e. anyone who is not a Khyberistani) is viewed with suspicion. Because almost every male Khyberistani is a hunter, they are all marksmen, and a large number of small artisan metalworkers are able to produce copies of imported rifles that are indistinguishable from the originals.

The armed forces of Khyberistan

Each tribe provides troops (mainly infantry but also including some light artillery) to defend the county when called upon by the Emir. They generally operate as individual tribal columns that are identified by their tribal turban colour, and have their own supply units. The Emir has a small full-time bodyguard that includes obsolete fortress artillery, and these act as a garrison for the fortress that protects the nation’s capital, Durbal.

The tribal turban colours are:

  • Shinwazi wear red turbans
  • Gaziri wear white turbans
  • Bathani wear cream turbans

The army of Khyberistan

The army of Khyberistan has the following units:

  • Infantry
    • Emir’s Bodyguard Regiment
    • 1st (Shinwazi) Infantry Regiment
    • 2nd (Gaziri) Infantry Regiment
    • 3rd (Bathani) Infantry Regiment
  • Artillery
    • 1st Fortress Artillery Battery
    • 2nd Fortress Artillery Battery
    • 1st (Gaziri) Field Artillery Regiment
    • 2nd (Bathani) Field Artillery Regiment 
  • Train
    • 1st (Shinwazi) Infantry Supply Column
    • 2nd (Gaziri) Infantry Supply Column
    • 3rd (Bathani) Infantry Supply Column
    • 1st (Gaziri) Field Artillery Supply Column
    • 2nd (Bathani) Field Artillery Supply Column

Units shown in italics are militia or reserve units.

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