Oldims

Oldims is a fictional ancient city-state used as a setting in fantasy literature and role-playing games. It is not a real historical place, but in these works it is often described as a coastal power whose records illuminate trade, diplomacy, and urban development in a late Bronze Age to early Iron Age context.

Geography and setting: In most depictions, Oldims sits on a protected bay along a temperate coastline, featuring a large harbor, waterfront warehouses, and a citadel overlooking the sea. Inland, marshes, hills, and a river system provide resources for agriculture, shipping, and defense, contributing to its prominence as a trading hub.

History and political structure: Chronicles place Oldims as a maritime republic or oligarchic merchant state that rose through seaborne trade and crafts production. Its governance is frequently described as a council of leading families or merchants, tasked with regulating commerce, enacting law, and organizing naval defense. Periods of expansion are often followed by conflicts with rival port cities and external powers.

Economy and culture: The economy centers on long-distance trade networks, metalworking, pottery, glassmaking, and navigational services. Cultural life emphasizes seafaring, astronomy, and ritual practices related to the sea. Inscriptions and monuments commonly reference treaties, ports of call, guild privileges, and civic commemorations.

Legacy and in popular culture: Oldims appears in several fantasy novels and tabletop games as a source of ancient ruins or as a model of merchant-city governance. Its imagined ruins and artifacts are used to explore themes of memory, exchange, and the dynamics of coastal economies within fictional worlds.