Nyssian Empire

(Closest equivalent: Ancient Egypt)

Geography: 150k sq.mi. An empire clinging to the river in the steppes. Roughly 1500 miles long and only 50 miles wide in most places.
Government: Ruled with absolute authority by the Pharaoh. All the long line of Pharaohs have claimed to be descendants of gods.
Population and Races: Human-centric, although all races are found here. You are either a Nyssian citizen, a slave, or a foreigner passing through (no matter how long you’ve lived there).
Culture: Known for their heavy use of slaves, poison, and embalming their dead (at least the wealthy and powerful ones).
Economy and Trading: Heavy trade in slaves (mostly captured from the Hill Tribes or The Orkan Horde). Export some food during good times, and import lumber and metals from whoever has the best price.
Military: Cities along the river are generally walled (the empire lacks depth). A hard core professional army is backed by local levees and slaves. The army is highly mobile and the units are named after major gods. Has a powerful and wide-ranging navy.
Allies and Rivals: Generally gets along with the Five Banners Kingdoms. Other humanoid nations overlook their use of slaves to different degrees (after all, most of the slaves are goblinoids, or bandit primitives.) Enemies include the Hill Tribes and The Orkan Horde. Freeland doesn’t care much for them, but not enough to do anything about it.