Editing Araby

{{Oldschool}}
[[File:Araby Map.jpg|right|300px]]
'''Araby''' was an area in the [[Warhammer Fantasy Battle|Warhammer World]] based roughly on the medieval Middle East, or at least how the average brit imagines it. The Arabyans had scimitars and jezzail muskets and used them to fight back those [[Tomb Kings|Tomb King]] guys when they came about uninvited stirring shit up. Much like [[Kislev]], they had an army all the way back in [[Warmaster]], which included flying carpets and magicians who could summon [[Genie|djinni]]. Oh and they had [[Awesome|Elephant Cavalry]]. Despite having a lot of potential when it came to introducing a new and unique faction with a slightly different tone to the usual semi-european setting, GeeDubs did, their favourite past time; nothing.

In [[Total War: Warhammer II]], [[RAGE|no Arabyan faction or subfaction showed up]], leaving the empty lands of Araby to be contested between Bretonnians to the west, Dwarfs to the west and southeast, and Tomb Kings to the east. The only possible Arabyan character in the game is Khaled Al-Muntasir, who rules the Lahmian Sisterhood in the Dark Lands. He was an Arabyan Vampire in lore (heavily implied to be the original identity of Mannfred von Carstein), and even then he is represented by a typical Vampire lord.

== History ==
=== Early history ===
Two thousand years before the reign of Sigmar, Mullah Aklan'd of the island of Fyrus led a war against the High Elves, who raided his people's ports and cities. He became the founder of Araby as a nation, being its first Great Sultan. Then, Araby had to deal with later assaults by Nehekhara, [[Arkhan the Black]], and the Skaven.

Centuries later, Ibn Jellaba went south to explore the Lizardmen of Zlatan, and returned as a very wealthy man after establishing the first trade agreement with humans and Lizardmen.

Araby was later doomed to Chaos corruption, no thanks to a cultist of Tzeentch, Mahik al'Rak, who influenced Arabyan sorcerers to inadvertantly serve Tzeentch after being possessed by a Lord of Change.

=== Sultan Jaffar ===
Araby’s most prominent appearance is little lore than a sidestory in [[Bretonnia]]n history, serving as the impetus of their great crusade. Long story short, the evil sorcerer Jaffar unified Araby as one of its Great Sultans, with his pacts with the Djinn devolving into service to Kairos Fateweaver. He got tricked by the [[Skaven]] into believing that Estalia was going to invade, and he launched a “pre-emptive” attack, crushing and enslaving Estalia as its virtually powerless to stop the invaders. Bretonnia, meanwhile, is deeply concerned by the horrific injustice happening right next door, and proceeds to beat the shit out of Araby all the way back to the desert until the Vizier is killed and the once-proud nation is a shadow of its former self. Those who left home brought with them booty, others decided to vassalize some of the remaining city-states. And Araby has been the punching bag of both Bretonnia and the Tomb Kings ever since.

Essentially an easy way for Bretonnia fans to enjoy their Deus Vult without having to worry about arguably being the baddies. If this was a good idea is debatable, though it would have made a pretty cool starter set for a new edition, introducing Araby in the process. Alas it would not come to pass, for such a deed would have required a bit of imagination, never one of GeeDubs strong suits. 

This very original, never before seen storyline may or may not be because GeeDubs, being Brits, are still salty at having lost the crusades. Particularly the eighth and ninth, where an English king actually participated.

=== So much lost potential ===

Araby also used to be part of the Nehekharan Empire and managed to largely avoid the Necromantic corruption that overtook the rest of the Empire, having been able to have staved off Nagash and Arkhan for nearly a 1000 years. This would arguably make them the only true successors of Nehekharan civilisation as a result. A more intelligent writer than those at GW would perhaps explore this avenue, perhaps depicting Arabyans reconquering some of the old Nehekharan cities from the Tomb Kings or dealing amicably with the more rationally minded undead, or perhaps clashing with Settra the Imperishable over who is the true inheritor of the greatness of the oldest human civilisation on the planet, but no, this apparently was too much to ask for.

=== Future ===
The northern coast of Araby was invaded by Luthor Harkon and his Vampire Coast pirates.

Araby, like Estalia, Tilea, and the other nations to the north, was ruined by the massive Skaven invasions during the End Times.

== Geography and Politics ==
[[File:Oechrlm7fw6n.webp|right|500px|thumb|The habitable areas of Araby vs the rest of it.]]

Unsurprisingly, Araby is mostly a vast desert with almost no life in the interior. Most of the cities are situated in the north where rivers from the Atalan Mountains provides fertile soil and the seashores allows the Arabyans dominate trade with other countries, while desert inland territories are inhabited by nomads. Araby only borders [[Nehekhara]] to the east and [[Southlands]] to the south (duh). 

The country is nominally ruled by Great Sultan from the city Al-Haikk, but he really only controls the capital (so, like in real life, or the Empire [[Elector Count|further in the north]]), with other Sheikhs, Emirs and Princes being pretty independent. Same goes for nomadic tribes. Here is the list of notable cities:

* '''Al-Haikk''' - as it was said earlier, the nominal capital of Araby, where Great Sultan resides.
* '''Copher''' - the most independent city, known for its wizards and pirates that are pain in the ass for the Old Worlders.
* '''Djambiya''' - only notable for being the closest one to the realm of undead Egyptians.
* '''Sorcerer's Islands''' - not a city, but an archipelago that resembles Azores, which is situated to the west of Araby. Here be College of Sorcerers.
* '''Lashiek''' - Arabyan fleet is located here.
* '''Sanaá''' - is only interesting as a birthplace of Abdul Alhazred aka [[Games Workshop|GW's]] most shameless [[Lovecraft]] rip-off.
* '''Teshert''' - Arabyan colony in [[Badlands]] that guards the only passable road between the Sultanate and [[Border Princes]].
* '''Bel-Aliad''' - previous capital that was completely destroyed by [[Arkhan the Black]] more than three thousand years ago.
* '''Sudenburg''' - An Imperial Colony in the Southwest.
*'''Ka-Sabar''' - The southernmost city in Araby, once Nehekharan. Is occasionally attacked by angry Tomb Kings or suffers raids by Forest Goblins and Apemen from the Southlands directly to the south. The inhabitants are mostly black Southlanders, who adopted Arabyan culture.

== Religion==
Arabyan religion has generally been left vague. (Thankfully) Nothing at all to do with contemporary Islamic Extremism, since their beliefs and culture were vaguely described in the 90s when they were first introduced. It should be noted that Araby's inclusion in Bretonnian lore at that point was more due to a desire to satirise the then ongoing First Gulf War, meaning that they were intended as a parody of Saddam Hussein's secular Iraqi government, which at the time was attempting to invade Kuwait, rather than a typical West-vs-Islam screed (yes, this would essentially make Bretonnia George H.W. Bush's America). This has not stopped fans from theorising that they are a society of strict monotheists, however, based off of a line from the Old World Bestiary.

Given the fact that they are descended from the Nehekharans, it's probably more logical to assume that they worship those gods.

Another belief in Araby is a sect formed by Mullah Aklan'd, who claimed to venerate deities older than the Nehekharan gods. He led an army of Arabyans against the High Elves, being his people's first Great Sultan. Among his followers were the "Death Commandos", who guard the Great Sacred Books of Mullah Aklan'd, which describe his accounts about Araby's history, society, government, and warfare, and the secrets of St'oec.

=== Djinn-worship and the risk of Chaos ===
Nathan Long implies in ''The Two Crowns of Ras Karim'' that Arabyans worship Djinns as their gods, by going to temples to leave offerings to them at sunset. In the lore, Djinns are described as some sort of [[Daemons of Chaos|Chaos Daemons]] ... which would make Araby a Chaos-aligned nation, in spite of the prohibition of ''direct'' worship of the Chaos Gods.

Even worse was that all this Chaos corruption was stuck by Mahik al'Rak, an insane sorcerer who built the Portal of Twilight in the ruins of Bel Aliad. His influence of other Arabyan sorcerers into the service of Tzeentch made sure that the land will never be free from Chaos corruption. 

One tragic result of Arabyan obsession of Djinn was Jaffar, a sorcerer who united Araby as its Sultan to wage war on the Old World, up to the point that he even made a pact with [[Kairos Fateweaver]], a Daemon of Tzeentch!

In a Gotrek & Felix novel, it was written by good ol' Bill King that a 'Prophet of Law' had arisen in Araby who was dedicated to destroying all influences of Chaos, and this entailed genociding all non-human races. The Prophet of Law emerged long after Sultan Jaffar's misrule and dark pacts, but not even his attempted purge of Araby would stop the inevitable [[The End Times|ruin of it and the Warhammer world]]. Not that it would have, anyways, as that would have been just as evil, slaying all nonhumans would include the Dwarfs, Halflings, and Elves, and would have made the Arabyans just as evil as the Imperium of Man is when it destroys a non-Chaos Abhuman or Xenos civilization which means no harm to it.

== Society ==
Insofar as culture and society goes, Araby has been fairly indecisively written. The only thing that's completely clear regarding them is their consummate professionalism in matters of trade and economics. They vie with Cathay for overland spice trade routes that go through the Southlands, and have generally emerged better off from those confrontations than the Cathayans have. Some writers, like the great Rick Priestley, when he made an Arabyan armylist for Warmaster, described the Arabyans much akin to the Islamic World from the 8th - 16th centuries, i.e.: significantly ahead of the Old World insofar as medicine in particular and other scientific disciplines in general were concerned. Though they typically were behind insofar as adopting gunpowder was concerned however, but if you know anything about the efficacy of gunpowder in the middle ages, you'd also realise that this isn't particularly a mark of backwardness. On the other hand, Arabyans were also described as notorious slavers, who had contacts with Norscans (but then again, the Norscans sell slaves to the Kislevites also) and also had decadent, opulent courts. 

This disconnect was later justified by writers stating that the Arabyans were a disaggregated society ruled by many Emirs, Sheikhs, and Sultans, with some of them being Orientalist nightmares, while others were more or less competent rulers who governed their domains justly and with respect for the Arts and Sciences. So in a way, Araby is like the decentralised Empire of Man and Kislev to the north: like its real-life development, its potential as a great civilisation to rival its northern counterparts was hampered and stifled by corrupt rulers who limited their more-advanced neighbours from improving their whole nation and its peoples.

Because both GW designers and independent fan-writers are both neither as well-informed on historical matters as either thinks to be, most Arabyan armylists and lore, although ostensibly written to evoke the Arabs of the 7-9th centuries, actually ends up invoking the Ottoman Empire, which was Turkic (Warhammer already HAVING analogs for the Turks and Tatars). The actual armies of the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates still had had a lot of Greek and Roman influence in their equipment, with a preference for spear formations supported by archer auxiliaries, although with more mail armor.  

Along the southern borders, the local Southlanders were influenced by Arabyan culture, and they also intermarried with local Arabyans, resulting in a large mixed population.

== Relations ==
* ''' The Empire''' - While the empires knightly orders are wary of arabyan traders the imperial colony of  Sudenburg inside the Gulf of Medes has become a very important enclave for business dealing with the rest of the Old World.

* '''Bretonnia''' - Some Bretonnian Nobles chose to remain in Araby as lords of newly conquered lands their usual treatment of peasants led to distrust and hatred between them and their arabyan vassals. However Warriors such as [[Repanse de Lyonesse|Repanse]] & [[The Red Duke|el Syf]] have earned the respect of arabyans.

* '''Estalia''' - Most Estalians remember the arabyan invasion of their lands with dread but they have undeniably been influenced by Araby leading to mixed heritage families. 

* ''' Tilea''' - While at the time of invasion Tileans fought against araby the city states are an important trade partner of Araby and have friendly relations with modern arabyans. The Arabyans love to trade with the Tilean merchants, with whom they have an excellent relationship. In Copher, the City of Spices, there is now a Tilean neighborhood.

* '''Marienburg''' - They do not dominate trade in Araby mostly because of the emirs, sheikhs and caliphs distrust of Marienburg's "government by usury". In contrast adventurous Arabyan traders use Marienburg as a place to sell rare spices and develop their careers thus over the centuries a small but thriving Arabyan community has grown in Marienburg.

* '''Vampires''' - While [[Abhorash|Abhorash]] trained arabyan tribes to defend against desert raiders his heroic efforts are sadly surpassed by [[Mannfred von Carstein|Khaled al-Muntasir]] being a traitorous wretch and reviving [[Neferata|neferata]] causing a long civil war that plagued the nation.  In Araby, knowledge of necromancy is not suppressed, and so they do not suffer from the ignorance that allows Vampires to gain footholds amongst them as in the Empire. Only the Blood Dragons have a presence there, and that is in the western desert.

* ''' The Southlands ''' - The Southlanders who live along the border of Araby were influenced by Arabyan culture, and they also intermarried with Arabyans. Aside from these, much of their cultures were unknown, but presumably primitive due to their isolation these tribes suffered raids by slavers. In contrast the Apemen are mentioned to occasionally go north into the savannahs surrounding the southernmost city of Araby, Ka-Sabar, to make raids.

* '''Nehekhara''' - Most arabyans are terrified of the undead some venture into the land of the dead to seek the knowledge of their ancestors former masters but few return alive.

== Notable Characters ==
[[File: Fatandira.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Fatandira, soldier, mercenary, and [[Border Princes|Border Princess]].]]

* '''Abdul Ben Raschid''' - Arabyan Prince of the Ka-Sabar Sultanate. Famous for capturing some Nagash manuscripts.
* '''[[Al Muktar's Desert Dogs|Al Muktar]]''' - Born Werner Glook of Marienburg he became the leader of a band of [[Dogs of War|Dogs of War mercenaries]].
* '''Fatandira''' - She served as a soldier and mercenary, eventually becoming one of the many [[Border Princes|border princes]].
* '''[[The_Golden_Magus|The Golden Magus]]''' - Calls himself the "Sultan of the Seas", due to his absurd wealth he is also secretly a tzeentchian sorcerer.
* '''Ibn Jellaba''' - Trader of Araby  he tried opening a trade route into the Southlands and met the lizardmen of Zlatlan.
* '''[[Mannfred von Carstein|Khaled al-Muntasir]]''' - A traitor even before becoming a vampire, the worst thing to come from Araby.  
* '''Khar-mel the Djinn''' - A female genie armed with a scimitar, her apparitions are usually a cloud of dust or fire. 
* '''Mehmed-bey''' - One of Jaffar's top generals, he is widely believed to have been slain in combat by the Red Duke.
* '''Suliman the Saracen''' - Friend of Baron Odo of Outremer they fought in opposite sides but became best bro's later.
* '''Sultan Jaffar''' - The tyrant king of Araby, a sorcerer & a slaver still less evil than Khaled for [[End Times|obvious reasons]].
* '''Shihab Ibn Alim''' -  Arabyan sorcerer in the service of the Sultan of Copher he can control genies.

== Local Flora and Fauna ==
Older lore stated a Minor Chaos God named Atagro's rise to godhood involved having to slay a Sandworm like something out of Frank Herbert's [[Dune]] within the depths of the deserts of Araby at the behest of another Minor Chaos God named Shagraunt. Arabyan Horses are a native breed, and ostriches may be found here, presumably in the savannah closer to the jungles of the Southlands. Panthers apparently live in the area near the Southlands, too. Camels and War Elephants have been mentioned, too.

== Collecting Araby ==
While interest in Araby as a faction is sadly middeling, there are some fan-made codexes out there, most of them centered around the expected middle eastern/north African fare. Historical miniatures like Victrix African War Elephant and Numidian Cavalry aswell as GBPs Arab cavalry sets should prove treasure troves for the aspiring collector of Araby. In the future there may be some hope for GeeDubs to revive Araby in their upcoming Warhammer: The Old World game, <s>though such a thing remains doubtful as [[ChapterHouse Studios|they're not exactly easy to trademark]]</s> Recently there was apparently a tweet by a Creative Assembly designer where he posted some Arabyan artwork ostensibly developed in-house by the Old World team which he promptly deleted. Given recent developments that Cathay will be a launch race both in Total War: Warhammer III and in Warhammer: The Old World, the possibility that Araby will once again see the light of the day has become more significant.

== "Controversy" ==

The fantastic portrayal of Arabyans is theorized as one of the reasons for the lack of more recent araby related content but in a setting where [[Sylvania|"totally not romanians"]] are literal vampires and the [[Norsca|Norse]] are demon worshipping, mass murdering, backwards cavemen, and [[Brettonia|Frangland has a 90% tax rate]], subtlety is a rare thing to ask for. Others suggest fear of a terrorist attack on Games Workshop's headquarters as a result of any chance of offending an Islamic extremist as the reason why Araby is avoided like the plague.

==The Death(?) of Araby==
In 2021, it was officially stated by Creative Assembly designers that there were no plans to add Araby to Total Warhammer, nor were there ever likely to be plans to do so. It was even stated that Games Workshop itself wanted to stay as far away from Araby as possible with its new tabletop game releases, meaning that the faction has effectively come as close as you can get to being [[squatted]] without actively being killed off in the lore. With how [[Skub|contentious]] discussions about the Middle East and Islam have been these past two decades, GW is probably trying their best to sidestep the issues presented with the old lore short of retconning it altogether. In order to prevent offending their audience they threw Araby into the closet [[Derp|making southern realms fans even more pissed off]].

Fans immediately erupted in protest at this news, and the [[skub]] about why Games Workshop would do this to one of the more requested and actually fleshed-out human factions...

Which turned out to be (only partially) bullshit.

New WFRP book, which mainly deals with knightly orders, adds a little bit more information about Araby. First of all, it mentions enigmatic Black Scimitar Guard as a thing that existed at least during the Crusades, which may be a new Tzar Guard-ish type of unit in... something. While the references are quite small, and Roleplay is known to be essentially a lore dump to which GW writers add some ideas that can be potentially brought to Old World or TWW3, it is still some glimmer of hope.

Now, we can only wait...

==Fighting Men of Araby: A History==
Similarly to [[Nippon]], and as stated above, Araby was a playable faction in the first three editions of the game, although they did better in that they also had an army in Warmaster and a ship in [[Dreadfleet]].

===1E===
In this edition, they were called '''Men of the East''' or simply '''Arabs''', though their nation ''was'' at least called Araby. In '''Forces of Fantasy''', they were able to field Warriors, Bowmen, Slingers, Horsemen, Desert Riders (who could ride camels instead of horses), Dervish Riders (Frenzied berserkers who Hated [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Men of the West]]), Eunoch Slaves (presumably a misspelling of eunuch), and Elephant Riders. They could also field the usual array of Heroes and Wizards, with lore noting that Araby wizards were renowned for their powers of healing and summoning.

===2E===
2nd edition was where [[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]] really began to take shape, as this was the first edition to truly invent a setting for its armies to take place. Araby... got the short end of the stick, at least as lore'd up in the corebook. Not only were they described as "correspond(ing) closely to Ottoman Turks of the 16th century", they were even stated to be monotheists who worshipped a god called Allah through the words of his chosen prophets. They would sometimes trade with the [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|Old Worlders]] (this was before the Empire and [[Bretonnia]] were separated), but largely hated them as infidels and preferred to wage war on them.

...No, we are '''NOT''' making this shit up. It's not ''[[Pygmies (Warhammer Fantasy)|the]]'' most embarrassing bit of Oldhammer lore, but you can probably tell why [[Games Workshop]] might prefer that this info be forgotten?

Ironically, despite this presence in the lore, the Araby didn't get an army list in ''Ravening Hordes''. They didn't even merit an appearance in the Allies or Mercenaries sections!

===3E===
The Warhammer 3e corebook lacked the distinct overview of human cultures in its bestiary section, but Araby does get pride of place as the focus of the [[Southlands]] portion of the world-guide. It's not very long, just two fairly generic paragraphs, but it's better than [[Nippon]] or [[Cathay]] got! Further ironic, considering this is when the Old World was expanded from just [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]] to include [[Bretonnia]], [[Estalia]], [[Kislev]], [[Tilea]], the [[Border Princes]] and [[Marienburg]].

Sadly, this wasn't followed through into ''Warhammer Armies'', where for the first time since the game was founded, Araby had no army presence. They couldn't even be taken as allies or mercenaries like [[Nippon]] could! Only [[Bretonnia]] and [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]] had full-fledged army lists, whilst [[Norsca]] was at least a fully fledged Mercenary mini-list, and the "Old Worlder Mercenary" mini-list allowed you to field [[Tilea]]n, [[Estalia]]n and [[Kislev]] troops, admittedly to a limited degree. 

===Enter WAP===
Being made by fans, for fans, the [[Warhammer Army Project]] doesn't give a shit about the potential of "bad optics", so they went  right ahead and did their own take on the Araby army for their 9th edition project.

The standard Lords and Heroes of the army are called, collectively, '''Commanders''', with the Lord-tier ''Emir'' and the Hero-tier ''Shiek''. These represent the various noblemen turned army commanders, which are obligatory in any [[human]]-based Warhammer army.

'''Sorcerers''' are the [[wizard]]s of Araby, protected from the worst risks of magic by their nation's extreme distance from either of the polar Chaos rifts. But they pay for this stability with a relative dearth of power, which has led to them focusing on [[elementalism|elemental magic]] centering around controlling beings born of magic. In practice, this means they have their own unique magical school - the Lore of the Desert - and they can also use the common Lores of Fire, Metal, Heavens, Light, Shadows and Death. Why they can't use Life or Beast magic isn't really explained. Ironically, despite Araby's close proximity to [[Nehekhara]] and their long history of strife with [[Tomb Kings]] and [[Vampire Counts]], there is no stigma against the art of Death Magic like there is in [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]].

'''[[Genie]]s''' are a kind of [[elemental]] cum [[daemon]] indigenous to Araby, who rely on the magical energy bound into artifacts (or, more rarely, areas) to sustain their existence, and who are thus often bound into service by sorcerers. Here, the WAP has embraced Warhammer's distant [[Dungeons & Dragons]] roots by giving the Arabians four element-based genie species; ''[[Dao]]'' of Earth, ''[[Marid]]'' of Water, ''[[Djinn]]'' of Air and ''[[Efreet]]'' of Fire. They don't even try to hide that they stole these names and concepts from D&D.

'''Hashishin''' are the obligatory Araby-based religously zealous [[assassin]]s.

'''Warriors''' are, of course, the common soldiers of any Araby force. What separates them from their counterparts in, say, [[The Empire (Warhammer Fantasy)|the Empire]] is the addition of two specialist troops to their squads; ''Dibbukim'' are blood-drunk berserkers who push their way to the front of the squad, whilst ''Holy Men'' are preachers of the Arabian monotheistic god who attach themselves to squads to whip them into religious-fueled mania.

'''Bowmen''' are... well, we don't really need to spell them out, do we?

'''Corsairs''' plague the Araby coastline and shipping lanes, but sometimes sell their swords to fight on land, acting as skirmishers in the greater Araby army.

'''Slave Levies''' are, as the name suggests, the miserable, broken-willed dregs of Araby's vast underclass of slave laborers rounded up and herded into battle as expendable sword fodder.

'''Tribal Nomads''' have a very uneasy relationship with their settled cousins in the villages and city-states, but may sometimes loan ''Tribal Skirmishers'' and/or jezzail-armed ''Nomad Scouts'' to the Araby cause in times of war.

For cavalry, an Araby army turns to the legendarily swift and skilled horsemen known simply as '''Desert Riders''', as well as to the cantankerous but hearty '''Camel Riders''' and the professionally trained '''Sipahis'''.

'''Palace Guards''' are the elite warriors of the various nobles and wealthy elites of Araby.

'''Jannissaries''' are regiments of slave soldiers... but a far cry from their pitiful counterparts in the Slave Levies! They are a corps of elite warriors, renowned as the single most disciplined and well-formed fighting force in the entire nation, belonging to the Great Sultan of Araby himself. They enjoy many high privileges, and are deeply loyal, despite - or perhaps because - they are recruited exclusively from foreign children bought at the many slave markets of Araby. '''Mamelukes''' have the same origins, but whereas Jannissaries are infantry who fiught with swords and either bows or handguns, the mamelukes serve as the elite cavalry of Araby, and are scattered across myriad organizations, each devoted to its own individual idea or duty.

The '''Silent Guard''' are an elite order of eunuch soldiers, raised from the strongest, healthiest slave and orphan children. Though their gelding robs them of some of the raw physical might that their healthy physiques should entail, they make up for this in brutally instilled discipline. Unlike the Janissaries or Mamelukes, the Silent Guard are savagely indoctrinated to view themselves as disposable tools, stripped of all individuality, empathy and self-worth. They are referred to by numbers, not names, and their moniker comes from their cut vocal chords, a precaution against them conspiring against their masters.

'''Flying Carpet Riders''' take advantage of the most famous of the magical items crafted in Araby to serve as elite aerial cavalry, whittling their foes with volleys of arrows from above and by dropping pots full of poisonous creatures onto the heads of their enemies. They aren't the only flying cavalry the Arabians have, either; the '''Pegasus Guards''' are comparable to the [[pegasus]]-riding [[knight]]s of [[Bretonnia]], save that the Araby version ride the Radiant Pegasus, a subspecies that absorbs the abundant heat of the Araby sun and can discharge it as a lethal heat ray.

'''Dervishes''' are master swordsmen who practice a unique fighting style that emphasizes the use of twin scimitars, paired with incredible mobility. As beautiful an artform as it looks, it is deadly effective in combat, so the fact that the blades are smeared in the venom of the lethal black scorpion is really more of an afterthought. '''Bladedancers''' are their female counterparts, raised from the ranks of the bastard daughters born of the harems of the many sultans of Araby; they forgo the poisoned blades, but possess their own unique combat styles.

'''Naffatuns''' are Araby bombadiers who hurl pots full of a sticky, molten, flammable goo called naphtha, or squirt it over foes with a primitive flamethrower called the Naphtha Siphon.

To add raw punch to their army, an Araby commander may field '''Cannons''', the ridiculously huge '''Monster Bombards''', '''War Elephants''' and '''[[Roc]]s'''. In the rarest circumstances, they may even go to war accompanied by a '''Sandglass of Time''', an arcane time-manipulating construction of glass and sand created by Sultan Jaffar.

Special characters invented by the WAP for the Araby forces are:
* [[Khalil Al-Zahir]], the current Great Sultan of Araby.
* [[Sultan Jaffar]], the legendary Despot of Araby.
* [[Salah Ad-Din]], a famous historical general known as The Sword of The One.
* [[The Golden Magus]], a sea-faring master sorcerer known as the Sultan of the Seas.
* [[Layla Bint Suraya]], an Araby princess who years to be a general to equal Salah Ad-Din.
* [[Ottokar Mehmed Agha]], Commander of the First Janissary Division.
* [[Abdul Alhazred]], the legendary Mad Sorcerer.
* [[Sindibadu]], one of the most famous corsair captains of Lashiek.
* [[The Prince of Thieves]], a mysterious man known as the greatest thief in Araby.
* [[Malik Ibn La'Ahad]], a Master Assassin of the Hashishin.
* [[Khar-mel]], a particularly famous female djinn.

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Arabyan People.png|Arabyans.
Orfeo and Alkadi Nasreen.jpg
</gallery>

==Links==
* [[Warhammer_Army_Project/Araby|Arabyan fandex]]

{{Regions and areas of the Old World}}