Punt (poont)

Punt was an ancient civilization of Kathara, concentrated along the lower reaches of Embasin Cove. Punt was established by Chronos  to be his main seat of power in Fabella and he was regarded as the kingdom’s one and only god. Harpies were first to lead Punt with the unification of Sobek Cadmus. Punt was the most powerful empire in Fabella until its collapse, which gave rise to Sheba.

Punt reached the pinnacle of its power during the Age of Dynasties where it acted as the main armed forces for the Titans rise to power. The success of ancient Puntian civilization came directly from advanced knowledge of agriculture, and military techniques passed down by Chronos. With resources to spare, mineral exploitation of the valley and surrounding woodland regions commenced. Punt had the early development of an independent writing system, the organization of collective construction and agricultural projects, trade with surrounding regions, and a military force no other power could compete with. Motivating and organizing these activities was a bureaucracy of elite scribes, religious leaders, and administrators under the control of a sobek, who ensured the cooperation and unity of the Puntian people.

The many achievements of the Puntians included the quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that supported the building of monumental obelisks and temples; a system of mathematics, a practical and effective system of medicine, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, the first known planked boats, and new forms of literature. 

History

Predynastic Period

Human hunter-gatherer tribes were spread out all over Kathara. These included Lop, where the first witch is said to have originated. Harpies, intent on claiming land for their own, saw the human tribes of Kathara as easy pickings and started terrorizing the poor people, forcing them out of their land. When the harpy Cadmus spied Chronos wielding advanced technology, he mistook Chronos for a god. Chronos put Cadmus in charge of a new kingdom and Punt was born.

First Dynastic Period

Chronos was worshipped in Punt as their god throughout its development. Cadmus became the first Sobek and established Punt’s capital city of Cadmium. Cadmus eventually found out Set was not a god. Set was expelled from Punt and the people were told to worship Lukis instead as the one true god. Cadmus went on to present the “Twelve Commandments” for living a life according to Lukis’ will.

Second Dynastic Period

Goblins later seized control of Punt and instituted the first cross universal trade agreement with Ancient Egypt. Under goblin rule, people were commanded to worship Set along with his wife Nephthys. The Puntian military started to assemble. When they launched their first attack on the kingdom of Nella, it was with the first flying cavalry. A flying cavalry was an airborne militia comprised entirely of soldiers riding on flying mounts or in chariots pulled by these creatures. The Puntian flying cavalry heavily favored riding griffins because of their sharp eyesight, claws, and maneuverability. Pegasuses and hippogriffs were also widely utilized.

Third Dynastic Period

The third dynastic period saw polytheistic religion in Punt shift to belief in the Titans. Titans were said to be more powerful than gods and capable of decimating entire kingdoms. The Puntian army greatly prided itself on being named the military force of the Titans. Punt made many enemies during this period. The merpeople split off from Punt to form their own underwater kingdom, starting a long history of animosity between goblins and merfolk. Fantasia showed itself to be a formidable opponent toward the fall of Punt. Leading to the Titanic War and Punt’s eventual collapse following the Battle on Mount Olympus.

Government and Economy

Administration and Commerce

The sobek was the absolute monarch of the country and, at least in theory, wielded complete control of the land and its resources. The sobek was the supreme military commander and head of the government, who relied on a bureaucracy of officials to manage his affairs. In charge of the administration was his second in command, the vizier, who acted as the sobeks’s representative and coordinated land surveys, the treasury, building projects, the legal system, and the archives. At a regional level, the country was divided into administrative regions called “burrows” each governed by a bomarch, who was accountable to the vizier for his jurisdiction. The temples formed the backbone of the economy. Not only were they houses of worship, but were also responsible for collecting and storing the nation’s wealth in a system of granaries and treasuries administered by overseers, who redistributed grain and goods.

Much of the economy was centrally organized and strictly controlled. Although the Puntians did not use coinage until the Third Dynastic Period, they did use a type of money-barter system, with grain and copper or silver weights. To purchase something, people would add grain to a scale weighted down by copper or silver blocks. The weight of grain had to be equal to the weight of the blocks. So if the price for a blanket was two coppers, the shopper would have to add grain to the scale that was equal to two copper blocks. Copper weighed less than silver and it wasn’t unheard off for merchants to add weight to their scales so shoppers would have to provide more grain. Prices were fixed across the country and recorded in lists to facilitate trading; for example shirts couldn’t cost more than three coppers, vases had to be under five silvers etc. 

Social Status

Puntian society was highly stratified, and social status was expressly displayed. A person’s race dictated their job.

Farming was the one thing anyone could do, so farmers made up most of the population. Only the rich and persons of nobility were allowed to wear purple because it was the most costly dye to produce. Anyone allowed to wear purple displayed it proudly.

Legal System

The head of the legal system was officially the sobek, who was responsible for enacting laws, delivering justice, and maintaining law and order. Local councils of elders, were responsible for ruling in court cases involving small claims and minor disputes. Plaintiffs and defendants were expected to represent themselves and were required to swear an oath that they had told the truth. In some cases, the state took on both the role of prosecutor and judge, and it could torture the accused with beatings to obtain a confession and the names of any co-conspirators. Whether the charges were trivial or serious, court scribes documented the complaint, testimony, and verdict of the case for future reference.

Lawbreakers were either sold into slavery or tasked to perform labor of high mortal danger. Punishments were typically severe and made to fit the crime. One merchant convicted of weighing down his scale was forced to forever walk the streets dragging rocks and weights freely added by Puntian people to show his shame. Someone lying about what they had seen would have their eyes gouged out, thieves would have their hands cut off, and murderers would be publicly hanged or burned.

Agriculture

A combination of favorable geographical features contributed to the success of Puntian culture, the most important of which was the rich fertile soil. The Puntians were thus able to produce an abundance of food, allowing the population to devote more time and resources to cultural, technological, and artistic pursuits. Land management was crucial in ancient Punt because taxes were assessed based on the amount of land a person owned.

Animals

The ancient Puntians used dehorned abadas and hadhayoshes as beasts of burden, and they were responsible for plowing the fields and trampling seed into the soil. The slaughter of a fattened hadhayosh was also a central part of an offering ritual. 

Natural Resources

Punt was rich in building and decorative stone, copper and lead ores, gold, and semiprecious stones. These natural resources allowed the Puntians to build monuments, sculpt statues, make tools, and fashion jewelry. Copper was the most important metal for toolmaking. Workers collected gold by washing the nuggets out of sediment, or by the more labor-intensive process of grinding and washing gold-bearing quartzite.

Trade

The Puntians engaged in trade with their foreign neighbors to obtain rare, exotic goods not found in Punt. In the Second Dynastic Period, they established universal trade with Egypt. Egypt mainly exchanged grain, gold, linen, and papyrus, in addition to other finished goods including glass and stone objects for livestock, food and ornaments found only in Fabella. Both kingdoms flourished as a result and they continued trading, even when Punt became Sheba, up until the end of the Titanic War.

Culture

Daily Life

Most ancient Puntians were farmers tied to the land. Their dwellings were restricted to immediate family members, and were constructed of wood, stone, and thatched grass. Each home had a kitchen with an open roof, which contained a grindstone for milling grain and a small oven for baking the bread. Walls were painted white and could be covered with dyed linen wall hangings. Floors were covered with reed mats, while wooden stools, beds raised from the floor and individual tables comprised the furniture.

The Puntians placed a great value on hygiene and appearance. Most bathed in the river and used a pasty soap made from animal fat and chalk. Men shaved their entire bodies for cleanliness; perfumes and aromatic ointments covered bad odors and soothed skin. Clothing was made from simple linen sheets that were bleached white, and both men and women of the upper classes wore wigs, jewelry, and cosmetics. Mothers were responsible for taking care of the children, while the father provided the family’s income.

Writing

Hieroglyphic writing was composed of hundreds of symbols. A hieroglyph can represent a word, a sound, or a silent determinative; and the same symbol can serve different purposes in different contexts. Hieroglyphs were a formal script, used on stone monuments and in tombs, that could be as detailed as individual works of art.

Military

The Puntian military was responsible for defending Punt against foreign invasion, and for maintaining Chronos and the Titans’ domination. Typical military equipment included bows and arrows, spears, and round-topped shields made by stretching animal skin over a wooden frame. In the Second Dynastic Period, the military began using chariots pulled by flying mounts. Weapons and armor continued to improve after the adoption of bronze: shields were now made from solid wood with a bronze buckle, spears were tipped with a bronze point. The sobek was usually depicted in art and literature riding at the head of the army; it has been suggested that at least a few sobeks did do so. Soldiers were recruited from the general population, but during, and mercenaries were often hired from foreign kingdoms.