> > 500-1000 people taking
> > refuge in a city is going to cause immense strain considering that of the
> > Sartarite cities, only Jonstown, Aldachur and Boldhome have populations
> > above 2000. Secondly an unaligned clan entering the grounds of a tribal
> > confederation can be expected to be treated as invaders.
>Like the Third Eye Blue people, for instance?
Who travel in small family groups of 5-10 and not massive clans of 500-1000 people.
> > I should point out that the Mayor represents the people of the City
> > in the City Ring. But she would not need clan chiefs acting as
> > intermediaries to do her job.
>No, it's the other way round : she is the intermediary between the important
>citizens/families/clans and the other Magistrates of the City, Kingdom, and
>Tribes.
No she isn't. KoS p134 specifically states that Sartar instituted the Mayor to represent the city residents on the city's Rings. The power circles of Sartar are the King, the Tribal Confederations and independant tribes such as the Colymar. There's no conception of mayors having the major importance in the Kingdom that you describe. And there are zilch other Magistrates in Sartar.
>From my own experience of RW City politics, such violent means of
>controlling dignitaries is very unusual (but not unheard of).
We are not talking about the French, we are talking about the Orlanthi who have their own culture and their own methods of social control. Secondly these 'dignitaries' would do the same to their own enemies, so they can't complain.
>I don't believe that the violent methods of political control that you
>suggest for the Sartarite Orlanthi are at all realistic, frankly.
Really? It worked for Republican Rome which is an excellent example a city governed by clan politics.
> > >and the Prince would certainly make sure that the
> > >Gustbran smiths tithed directly to him, rather than via the Tribes.
> > Why would the Prince want to do this?
>To simplify Administration, and to make sure that his supplies were as
>little affected as possible by the vagaries of inter-Tribal politics.
Administration? You are thinking like a Renaissance Despot which the Prince of Sartar most certainly isn't. There's no Royal Administration in Sartar as anything the Prince wants done beyond Boldhome is handled by the Tribes. All he has is a few buildings with "Royal" tacked onto their titles.
> > His army is levied from
> > the Tribes and he runs the country with Tribal Advice. The
> > Prince isn't some absolutist despot.
>Certainly not. I didn't wish to suggest that City and Tribal politics
>were completely divorced !
But you are applying modern concepts to the Orlanthi when you suggest that Prince has a bureacracy to handle his affairs and the following:
>But, the Cities only make sense, politically, if the Tribes
>have permanently surrendered portions of real political power to the City
>Rings, which would have power in these domains even over the Tribal Kings,
>as long as the Tribe is a member of the coalition.
The tribes have lost or surrendered no power. The tribal kings have a major influence over the city as they are the people who sit on the City Ring. The Tribal Kings remain part of the City Ring because it is in their best interests to do so: it provides them with a neutral venue to deal with other tribes and the city is a cash-cow that enhances their status.
>Probably, there are independant City militias which are independant
>of the Tribes. Basically, police forces.
Again this is too modern. The city militias would be furnished by the tribal kings and be factionalized.
>> There's no mayoral palace either.
>But there are Mayors.
There are no Mayors of Boldhome.
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