The Economy of Dunmar

Dunmar is a society of largely nomadic animal herders in the arid grasslands and deserts of the east, but increasingly a rich agricultural society in the west, on the fertile Nayan Floodplains.

Historically, Dunmar grew rich in large part off the profits of trade, given that a large portion of the east-west overland trade passed through Dunmari territory prior to the Great War. In addition to trade, a highly efficient message service was once famous across Taelgar.

In the current day, Dunmar is largely known for horses; animal products, including fine leather and raw wool; tropical hardwoods from the Shrev river valley and beyond; and agricultural products of the Nayan Floodplains.

Trade

Dunmar is not completely isolated from its neighbors. Although not a significant maritime power, a considerable amount of trade passes through Darba, the richest city in Dunmar. In addition to agricultural products, dwarven trade passes through Dunmar between the Yuvanti Mountains and the Chardonian Empire.

Trade from the Green Sea to the east usually comes via halfling caravans out of Sembara, that cross the passes of the Sentinels in season.

The message system is largely extinct now, but fast messages still run from Askandi -~ Tokra -~ Songara, and Nayahar -~ Darba -~ Tokra; the latter is more efficient as it still has full official support and stocked waystations

Coins

Coins are not commonly used in the current day in Eastern Dunmar, as much trade is conducted in barter and in kind. Coins are minted in Nayahar, however, and these are in occasional use in the east.

Gold coins (worth 1 gp) are known as steeds; silver coins as rupas, and copper coins as taams.

Older coins from pre-Blood Years uses the same names, but tended to be larger and more pure, and so can trade for more than their ‘face value’

Dwarven Coins are in common usage in Dunmar as well, as are dwarven trade bars, stamped with a known weight of silver or gold, which are commonly used for large transactions.

Land Ownership

In the Dunmari conception, the land of the Dunmar is owned by the gods, and it is not possible for humans to claim ownership over land - one may only use it for a time, borrowing it from the gods. Thus, the Dunmari have no real concept of land ownership. Formally, all land in Dunmar is managed for the gods by the Samraat, via the head priest of each temple.

The Dunmari do, however, have property rights of a kind, generally organized around the concept of usage rights. All Dunmari have commons rights to Dunmari common land, which is the vast majority of land in Dunmar. The right to pasture, travel, camp, and hunt is generally unencumbered on these lands, with some exceptions made to manage overuse and prevent overgrazing or overhunting (although in most of central and eastern Dunmar, population density is low enough for this not to be a significant concern).

However, anything that creates exclusive use of a parcel - building structures or turning wild land into farmland - removes the land from Dunmari common land. Only the Samraat, via the local temple administrator, can grant permission for land to be removed from the commons. Usually, this is in the form of a donation or an ongoing tithe agreement for a portion of the profits of the land.

These exclusive usage rights do not create any form of ownership over the land. They are a grant by the gods to a specific person to remove land from the Dunmari commons. Formally, usage rights cannot be sold or inherited, although improvements (buildings and the like) can be. In practice, it is rare for a temple to refuse to extend usage rights to a new person who wants to inherit or buy a building, but it is possible.

Usual custom generally means that settlement rights, land transferred out of the commons for the construction of permanent housing, are initially purchased with a donation to the temple but rarely taxed or encumbered when transferred or sold. Economic rights are instead usually acquired via a lease agreement that stipulates rents owed in exchange for exclusive rights, typically a portion of the profits of the business owed in tithes to the temple. These are more likely to be renegotiated on transfer or sale.

Wayhouses deserve a special mention, as these are usually maintained by the Samraat via the temple system, and the masters of waystation caravanserai sometimes function in some ways more like local manor lords.

Taxes

In addition to the obligations of tithe and service that run through the temple system, other revenue sources provide money for the Dunmari state.

The Dunmari hold that all land in Dunmar is owned by the gods. While most land is held in common, some land in cities and towns, as well as agricultural land where it can be supported, may be leased for exclusive use. The rents from these leases, typically collected in the form of a fraction of the profits of the land, flow to the temple that controls the land in that region, and are used to fund local needs, for defense, roads, and other needs.

Traditionally, because the land is owned by the gods, passage across it is free and unencumbered, accounted for in the tithe for common lands. In better days, temples at border crossings would collect tithes from travelers so the gods would keep them safe on their journeys, but many of these have fallen into disrepair and have been abandoned, especially in the east. But in the former days of Dunmar, this was a major source of revenue for the Samraat. 

Many towns also impose market taxes or sales taxes, or maintain monopolies on certain goods.

The mystery cults derive revenue from specific monopolies they are granted, as well as rents on land they control. All mystery cults have specific monopolies on the sale and provision of particular magical goods and services, and many also have rights to particular other monopolies in their area. In regions with both a mystery cult and a temple, the distribution of rents between them can be a tricky political issue, and there are usually founding charters that delineate rents owed. Some mystery cults which are isolated and far from settlements are largely self-sufficient, providing their own food and defense and acquiring occasional additional goods by bartering whatever they produce.