The Beklan Empire is the fictional kingdom in which Richard Adams' novels Shardik and Maia take place. The empire consists of vassal provinces organized around the central Beklan province, at the center of which is the empire's capital, Bekla. The capital is typically controlled by factions from one of the provinces, and the outermost provinces continuously threaten to break free. A recurring theme in the empire is that of slavery and how it affects the health of a social system. The representative of slaves is the hero Deparioth, whose mother came alive from the Streels of Urtah and who spent his life in a fight for freedom from slavery both personal and institutional.
The lingua franca of the empire is the Beklan language .
Famous quotes containing the word empire:
“It is an immense misfortune to the empire to have a king of such a disposition at such a time. We are told and every thing proves it true that he is the bitterest enemy we have.... To undo his empire he has but one truth more to learn, that after colonies have drawn the sword there is but one step more they can take.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)