Statistics:
Astronomical Name: Rashidun
Class: Class-E
Radius: 7059 km
Mass: 6.067×1024 kg
Atmosphere: Oxygen-nitrogen
Population: 3.8 billionaire
Political Information:
Polity: Compact of Humanity in Assembly
Status: Core World
Government: Nominal reformed Islamic republic (technically, constitutional monarchy)
Capital: Rashidun
The Caliphate (styled with “The” capitalized) was one of the “Big Five” core worlds of the Compact by the mid-400s IE. An Earthlike planet, Middle Eastern nations originally settled it. While the Muslim cultural imprint was unmistakable on the planet’s society, Caliphite culture was actually freer and more progressive than some more secular societies. Many Caliphites openly drank wine, describing it like Jews eating pork and Catholics having meat on Fridays. They pointed to post-World War Bosnia, Malaysia, and Indonesia as their models.
The planet was governed by a Vizir, an elected premier heading the world’s legislature. The Caliphate had an actual Caliph, but the position was more ceremonial, rotating between several Islamic and “Islamic adjacent” faiths.
In Rashidun, the capital, stood the Burj Rashidun, a replica of the Burj Khalifa on Earth. However, the newer tower rose to 1715 meters without its antennae assembly, more than twice the height of the original. JunoCorp, a corporate front for the Juno underground group, had its headquarters there until 429, when its investors shut it down upon discovery of its true purpose.
The Caliphate boasted an impressive wine country, and many off-world service personnel resided there during their tours. The wine compared favorably with Earth wines from California, France, and Italy.
In 429, Baker ibn-Aziz, a very secular Caliphite, represented The Caliphate in the Compact Assembly. Upon the death of his senior counterpart, he rose to the Compact Security Council, which elected him secretary-general shortly thereafter. When the Compact implemented an independent president, ibn-Aziz accepted appointment as provisional president before winning a term in his own right. However, by 432, he became incapacitated by a mysterious virus.
The Caliphate had one of the largest hypergate networks in the Compact, rivaling those in the Sol and Helios systems. Hypergate controllers first detected the colonies of Farigha, Gilead, and Amargosa going silent in 429.
Appearances:
No Marigolds in the Promised Land, The Marilynists, Beyond Amargosa