The batarian homeworld, former capital of the defunct Batarian Hegemony. Khar'shan is located in the Kite's Nest.
Batarian propaganda claimed that the planet had 15 billion inhabitants and an economy to rival that of the asari. Although the legal slave trade did boost the Hegemony’s profits somewhat, Citadel sanctions left a paper tiger of an empire, one that fought rivals through deniable terrorist actions rather than the wars of its heyday.
Today, Khar'shan is no longer an official capital, but is one of the three most prominent worlds in the Batarian Confederacy, along with Camala and Erszbat.
Flora and Fauna
Raksha: An edible plant.
Khar'shan Snapping Eel
Malatak: An arachnid-like animal, able to build elaborate underground tunnel systems with primitive doors and traps.
Neeru: Animals used as mounts.
Qlygh: large amphibian predators traditionally used by batarian beastmasters.
Sharamik: "Tree Dragons"; their eggs are considered a delicacy.
Taqqa: Like a small reptilian deer; meek and harmless.
Vrodal: A herbivore, known for eating its own dung.
On Khar'shan, most animals have two eyes. The only creatures with four are a handful of apex predators/omnivores (including a very large aquatic and four different aerial ones), including the batarians' closest evolutionary cousin.
Nations
- Bharthat (renowned as a cultural marvel both during and before the Hegemonic Era)
- M'itgah (inludes the town of J'unkora Docks and the city of G'thera)
- Khaljah
- Nalkesh
(See also: Westerlier Coalition)
Locations
- Ar-mazd
- Padeda continent
- Ghola Region
- Abroholos Mountain Range
- Cha'lev Mountains
- Forsk Desert
- Seshat, the capital of Khaljah.
History
Reaper War
For all the rhetoric about the Hegemony's military prowess, their response to the Reapers was uncoordinated. Moments after the information minister took to the extranet and announced that unknown ships were destroying all traffic near Khar'shan, the defense minister declared there was no reason to panic. The planet's comm. buoys were destroyed soon after.
In the rest of the galaxy, which knew only that Khar'shan had been cut off from its neighbors and colonies, speculation on the communications blackout was rampant. A slave revolt or a massive war between the homeworld nations - possibly a war the likes of which Khar’shan hasn’t seen in centuries - were considered the most likely explanations. Although it was well known that the nations on Khar’shan fight each other from time to time to improve their standing in the Hegemony, an extensive world war wouldn’t look good to the rest of the galaxy. If that were unfolding, it was considered possible that the Hegemony could have cut off communications themselves.
Post-War
As the Reapers demolished the planet’s population and infrastructure systematically, one small nation-state was left mostly intact. This traditionally religious and technologically backwards state was left alone only because every other area of the planet posed more of a threat - these farmers and monks using antiquated technology and hand-ploughs survived by chance. In the aftermath of the Reaper withdrawal, the green fields and intact homesteads looked like paradise, and the monks were quick to praise the divine for rescuing them from the apocalypse. A shattered and traumatized remnant of the Khar’shan population saw the monks and their quietly confident ways as a path to salvation, and what was once an almost insignificant faith quickly became a dominant force.
An unusual request
In an unexpected move, the theocracy in power on Khar’shan sent an official request for aid to the Citadel Council. The request centered on disposing of weapons of mass destruction hoarded by the former Hegemony. Due to the speed with which the Kite’s Nest was overrun by the Reapers, those trained and authorized to deploy the Hegemony’s most dangerous weapons were largely killed or indoctrinated before they could be used. In the aftermath of the war several of the governments within the former Hegemony discovered caches of such weapons, but the request by the Khar’shan Ascendancy was the first known attempt to dispose of them.
Sources within the Turian Hierarchy indicated that a team of experts was being assembled and prepared for the first major goodwill mission to the former Hegemony. The team was expected to consist primarily of turians as a precautionary measure.
Trivia
Khar'shan is also the name of a god, the central deity of one of the largest batarian religions. With the name eponymous with the world's name, he is considered to be the world-god, and the father of all life. His dark side and semi-separate incarnation, the god of entropy, night, the underworld and afterlife, is called Khar'ub-ki.
Threads of Note
Pillar of Strength: What is left of Khar'shan post-war?
Ascendant: Life on post-Reaper Khar'shan.
Spice Dilemma: A discussion on how Khar'shan now fares under the Ascendancy, prompted by news that farmers are gambling on luxury crops for export against the wishes of the religious authorities.