Despite the rumors outside its borders, Akharin Sangar is markedly hospitable. By long-standing custom, every Sangarian is a potential host and must be prepared to entertain guests on short notice. Visitors are invited to relax on luxurious carpets adorned with colorful pillows while their host prepares them hot beverages—if not an entire meal.
#### Education and Art
A thirst for knowledge permeates Akharin Sangar. Its many independent schools are free to teach broad curricula that beget a well-read populace, although the long list of censored works constrains opportunities for higher education, especially in philosophy and literature. The city-state cautiously embraces progress, adopting developments in magic and science as long as they don’t contradict religious principles.
Akharin Sangar has a rich artistic heritage. Architecture is thoughtful and symbolic, and instruments like the barbat and kamancheh sweeten poetic lyrics with their unmistakable tones. Sangarian carpets exemplify the city-state’s long history of vibrant textiles: painstakingly woven rugs are highly sought works of art. Some are even rumored to fly.
#### Food and Clothing
Sangarian cuisine emphasizes savory, sweet, and sour flavors. When households entertain guests and during festivals, kabobs and hearty stews infused with saffron grace dinner plates alongside beds of rice. Bakers stay busy, filling bellies with chewy flatbreads and scrumptious pastries tinged with rosewater. But Sangarians know how to stretch small pots of a soup called aash to feed an entire family.
Clothing is generally modest, and Sangarians value fashionable dress. Men’s attire consists of baggy trousers, handwoven shoes, and robes or tunics secured with wide cloth belts. Women typically dress in layers, sporting long, elegant skirts and blouses with heavy embroidery. Floral patterns are common regardless of gender, and colors range from vivid to muted depending on preference. Common headwear includes scarves, caps, and headbands with veiled hats.
#### Laws and Society
Unprepared visitors might find some aspects of Sangarian society unusually austere. Intoxicants are prohibited within the city, there’s a strict curfew after sundown, and everyday interactions are tinged with restraint to steer clear of Atash’s forbiddances. Sangarians reserve intimacy for family and close friends, lowering their social guard only in the comfort of their homes.
#### The Sunweaver
Most Sangarians revere the Sunweaver—or pretend to. Locally, the Sunweaver’s faith uses an upright torch topped with a blazing sun as its symbol. Activities halt during daily prayers, which take place at dawn, noon, and sundown. Though other faiths are tolerated, those faiths are sequestered in shrines on the city’s outskirts. Public preaching is considered taboo, and unauthorized missionary work earns the ire of the Brightguard. The nature of the Sunweaver and whether they’re a unique god or a regional name for another deity—like Dol Arrah or Pholtus ([detailed](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/phb/appendix-b-gods-of-the-multiverse) in the [Player’s Handbook](https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/phb))—is up to you.
![[11-006.atash.png]]
Atash, Ruler of Akharin Sangar
The Sunweaver holds ultimate authority in Akharin Sangar, which is a theocracy ruled by the god’s self-proclaim cultivate light and warmth. The Sunweaver’s clerics hold significant power. In addition to priestly duties, they act as government officials and judges, employing divination magic in audits and trials.
Those who break the law answer to the Brightguard. The religious order enforces the law without prejudice, though its ranks contain both tender-hearted civil servants and disciplinarians who relish chastising citizens for misdemeanors.
#### Names
Sangarian names are drawn from lineage, religion, and literature and are often suffused with symbolism and history. The following names are common in the region:
**Feminine.** Forough, Mariam, Nazanin, Shohreh, Yasamin
**Masculine.** Amir, Bahram, Farshid, Hassan, Ramin
**Gender-Neutral.** Keyahnosh, Omid, Roshani, Shadan, Sorosh
**Surnames.** Farzaneh, Nasri, Pasdar, Rasul, Setar