Oldhami

Oldhami is a fictional city-state frequently used in speculative fiction, world-building guides, and tabletop role-playing games. It does not correspond to a real-world location, but serves as a template for exploring urban life in a pre-industrial society with long-distance trade networks.

Geography and urban form are typically described as a riverine or coastal setting, with a walled core around a citadel and a network of markets along a central thoroughfare. The city often features terraced housing, public baths, granaries, and craft districts where bronze-work, pottery, and dyeing are prominent. Its economy rests on river and caravan trade, access to natural resources, and a diverse crafts sector.

Governance in Oldhami is usually depicted as an oligarchic merchant state, ruled by a council of guild leaders and elder statesmen, sometimes with ceremonial or limited popular roles. Public finances support infrastructure, religious institutions, and defense. Social structure emphasizes guild affiliation, lineage, and artisanal status, with temples and civic spaces serving as focal points.

Culture and religion center on a pantheon tied to rivers, harvests, and trade. Festivals celebrate markets and seasonal cycles, while art favors geometric motifs, harbor mosaics, and functional pottery. Music, storytelling, and public plazas play important roles in social life.

Language and script are presented as fictional Oldhami: a purportedly agglutinative tongue with a distinctive angular script used in inscriptions. In fiction, Oldhami remains a rich source of legends, with periodic scholarly debates about its dating and cultural links.

In contemporary works, Oldhami serves as a concise shorthand for urban complexity, trade networks, and hierarchical merchant governance.