1 Geography

Ankh-Morpork lies on the River Ankh (the most polluted waterway on the Discworld), where the fertile loam of the Sto Plains (similar to Western Europe) meets the Circle Sea (the Discworld's version of the Mediterranean). This, naturally, puts it in an excellent trading position.

Lying about equidistant from the cold Hub and tropical Rim, Ankh-Morpork is in the Discworld's equivalent of the temperate zone.

The name "Ankh-Morpork" refers to both the city itself, a walled city about a mile (1.6 km) across, and the surrounding suburbs and farms of its fiefdom.

The central city divides more or less into Ankh (the posh part) and Morpork (the humble part, which includes the slum area known as "the Shades"), which are separated by the River Ankh.

Ankh-Morpork is built on black loam, broadly, but mostly what it is built on is more Ankh-Morpork. Because of the nature of the Ankh-Morpork citizenry and the flooding of the River Ankh, they figured it was simply easier to build on top of the existing buildings rather than excavate them out. This has resulted in two things: Firstly, many people own basements and have no idea they do. Secondly, there is a "cave network" below Ankh-Morpork made up of old streets, including the infamous "Via Cloaca" ("Even the shit have a street to itself. Truly, this a land of opportunity."~Detritus). Because of these "unknown basements," anyone with the proper implements (and a sense of direction definitly helps) can get around relatively unimpeded.

2 History

According to legend, the first city of Ankh-Morpork was founded thousands of years ago by twin brothers who were raised by a hippopotamus (an alusion to the myth of Romulus and Remus). It is in memory of this that the hippo is the royal animal of Ankh. The original city was little more than a walled keep, surrounding the Tower of Art, a building of mysterious origin.

At one point it had an empire, similar to the Roman Empire, that covered half the continent, and much of the neighbouring continent of Klatch. These were the days of the "Pax Morporkia", another reference to Rome, ( Pax Romana), although the Morporkian version is translated as "Do what we say, or we will kill you".

The Empire was largely the creation of General Tacticus, the greatest military mind in history - a reference to the Roman historian Tacitus and an obvious play on words. Tacticus refused to accept that the Empire was growing too big to control, and was finally shipped off to be king of Genua. He immediately declared war on the Empire. It was an obvious threat, after all.

This was, however, a Golden Age, ruled by the Kings of Ankh, who are recalled in legend as wise, noble and fair. The line died out approximately 2000 years before the present, leading to the collapse of the empire.

Shortly before this, however, the mage Alberto Malich had founded the Unseen University in the Tower of Art, and Ankh-Morpork continued as a service town for the wizards. Royalty became extremely debased and the later Kings of Ankh-Morpork are recalled in history as power-mad and corrupt.

The last one - the euphemistically-remembered King Lorenzo the Kind - was overthrown in the Ankh-Morpork Civil War of 1688 (dating from the founding of UU). The question of what to do with the deposed king was settled when he was executed by the Commander of the City Watch, Suffer-Not-Injustice Vimes, known as "Old Stoneface", who was banned from bearing arms as a consequence. Afterwards "Old Stoneface" and his Ironheads attempted to introduce democracy, but the people voted against it. Ankh-Morpork reverted to an non-hereditary oligarchic system. The ruler is called the Patrician.

Under the Patricians it has become the mercantile and political capital of the Discworld. So much so that the Sto Plains operates under a new Pax Morporkia: "Do what we say or we'll call in our mortgages". The current Patrician has opened the city to dwarfs, trolls, gnomes, humans from across the Disc and even the undead, making a truly multicultural society, with both the advantages and problems that suggests. (The Patrician's own, typically pragmatic, view on multiculturalism is " Alloys are stronger".)

In recent years, the city has seen numerous changes. Most notable are the rise of the semaphore network (the " clacks"), the invention of the newspaper and the revitalisation of the City Watch and the Post Office.

Civic symbols include Morporkia, a woman in a cabbage-spangled cloak and an old-fashioned helmet, carrying a shield with the civic coat of arms and a toasting-fork symbolising "something or other" (compare Britannia, Columbia).

3 Politics

The succession of the Patrician is normally either by assassination or revolution. It has been known for Patricians to resign, but it is very much the exception.

Power is to some degree shared with the many Guilds of Ankh-Morpork (including legalised Thieves, Assassins and " Seamstresses"), and the surviving nobility. They form a sort of city council, but the Patrician has the only vote at meetings.

The most recent office-holder is Lord Havelock Vetinari, a former assassin. He has one known relative (Lady Roberta "Bobbi" Meserole, his aunt) who may come from Genua (and possibly now lives in Quirm), but his past remains obscure. His predecessor was "Mad" Lord Snapcase.

The nearest surviving relative of the former royal family seems to be Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson, technically a dwarf. However, he has gone to some effort to keep this as quiet as possible. The origin of Corporal Nobby Nobbs remains shrouded in mystery. At one point he was identified as being a descendant of the Earl of Ankh (and therefore the next in line), but this was (probably?) a deliberate deception.

Public Holidays

Date	Name
1 Offle	Hogswatch Day ( New Year)
28 April	The Creator's birthday
1 May	May Day (also called May Blossom Day)
25 May	The Twenty-Fifth Of May (commemorates last A-M revolution, only if you were there)
6 Grune	Patrician's Day (in reality Stephen Briggs' birthday)
The first Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday after the last half moon in Sektober	Soul Cake Days
30 Ick	Hogswatch Eve
31 Ick	Hogswatchnight

4 References

• Pratchett, Terry (1983). The Colour of Magic. Colin Smythe.
• Pratchett, Terry (1989). Guards! Guards!. Gollancz.
• Pratchett, Terry (1993). Men At Arms. Gollancz.
• Pratchett, Terry (1997). Jingo. Gollancz.
• Pratchett, Terry (2000). The Truth. Gollancz.
• Pratchett, Terry (2002). Night Watch. Gollancz.
• Pratchett, Terry & Briggs, Stephen (1993). The Streets Of Ankh Morpork. Corgi.
• Pratchett, Terry & Briggs, Stephen (2003). The Discworld Companion (3rd ed.). Gollancz.

Discworld locations Fictional countries Fictional towns and cities

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