Korlic culture is easily separated into two distinct types, that dominated by Ivinian influence and that which is not. For more than 200 years nearly half of the Korluim have been subject to Ivinian overlords. While the Ivinians have been partially acculturated and have adopted some Korlic customs, mostly they have kept a strong sense of ethnic identity. During this same period the religion of Ziryabism was founded and came to dominate the lifestyle and beliefs of most Korluim outside of Ivinian rule. Ziryabism and Sarajinism were directly at odds with each other and consequently Ziryabism has made fewer converts and had less effect on the lifestyle of those peoples subject to Ivinians. While the language of the two groups of Korluim is the same and while they share many customs, the simple fact of Ivinian rule has led to a strong divergence. Areas which have fluctuated back and forth between Ivinian and Isynen rule show a mixture of features of both.
The Korlic cities are old and their civilization was well-established when the Ivinians first arrived. Korlic society had been literate for more than 400 years, boasting a tradition of written history and literature which was very impressive. While the general populace was illiterate, essentially all of the wealthy and nobility read and owned books. The Empire of Hepeker was fairly peaceful, prosperous, and used a simple bureaucracy to run its government. Slavery was a common institution but it was reserved for foreigners; fellow Korluim were always free. In comparison the Ivinians invaders seemed brutal, primitive savages and their ferocious assault quickly overwhelmed the native Korluim.
The Korluim who found themselves subject to the invaders saw an immediate change in their way of life. Almost the entire class of nobility was either killed or sold into foreign slavery. Many commoners became slaves on their own soil, serving the new Ivinian masters, and most of the rest became half-free clients of Ivinian clans. Ivinian rule was harsh and its system of vendetta law was foreign to Korlic sensibilities. That the laws did not apply equally to Ivinian and Korluim was also strange. The new kings taxed the Korluim heavily and viciously suppressed any hint of revolt. Many Korluim fled to Isynen and its territories but those who could not were left to persevere as best they could.
Most Korluim have stayed hostile to their Ivinian overlords and consequently the two populations have stayed fairly distinct. A few new clans, mixtures of Ivinians and Korluim, have formed which show a mixture of both societies, but even these are more Ivinian than Korlic. Most of the Ivinian population is bilingual but most of the Korluim population steadfastly retains its Korlic Numer. Ziryabism was introduced to Korlua by TR 520 but its worship was quickly suppressed by the ruling Ivinians. Ziryabite worship has survived but must remain hidden and cannot outwardly effect the people's lives. Religious persecution has been a regular part of life in Ivinian Korlua. This too has helped maintain the gulf between Korluim and Ivinian.
Under Ivinian rule the commoners of Korlua have been forced into a deeper poverty than they knew before. Wealth tends to stay starkly concentrated in the hands of the rulers and the lives of the majority are drudgery. The original Korluan bureaucracy was removed and the Ivinians imposed a system of clan organization, similar to their own. Where clans did not exist the Ivinians 'created' them by fiat, usually by defining an existing community as a 'clan'. Korlic clans function much as do thrall clans in Ivinia, though a very few have been granted the status of free client clans. These clans are universally hated by other Korluim as 'collaborators'. Almost no avenues to advancement are open as the Ivinians will not allow non-Ivinians to own a ship larger than a fishing boat, heavilytax all trade by non-Ivinians, and the government is run nearly entirely by the current ruling clan. A few Korluim have managed to find positions as housecarles with one of the ruling households, leading to the founding of joint Ivinian-Korlic clans, but this seems to be the only real path to greater wealth.
The situation under the Ziryabite rulers of Isynen is quite different. The simple bureaucracy of the Empire of Hepeker has survived intact. It provides an efficient and fair method of taxation which spreads the burdens of running the government across the entire community. Households are grouped by fours and each group must provide two foot soldiers or one mounted soldier with full equipment or its monetary equivalent. These taxes can be paid either in kind or coin. In addition, the Ziryabite hierarchy collects a tithe in kind which it uses to support itself and the Ghaziyen.
The Empire of Hepeker had a strong mercantile tradition which has survived the transition to Ziryabism. Korlic merchants and sailors trade extensively with Dalanya, Menema, Trierzon, Palithane, western Azeryan, and occasionally as far away as Karejia. Ivinian-Korluan piracy has damaged this trade but certainly not eradicated it. The cities of the Korluim are prosperous, bringing in substantial income through trade tariffs and exporting local goods.
Each city is ruled by an official, the Ta'Vazar, the 'under-Vazar', who serves for life. When the Ta'Vazar dies his replacement is elected by the heads of the major families in the district. Isynen is governed by its Vazar who is elected by the various Ta'Vazaryen. The Vazar's control over the Ta'Vazaryen is actually quite loose and informal. In general they work well together towards common goals but occasional conflicts do cause problems.
The Ta'Vazaryen, and the Vazar, each head a small local bureaucracy which administers the local government. Each city maintains a small office devoted to finance, an office which oversees trade and commerce (in coastal cities this overlaps with the harbormaster), and a judge. The position of judge is almost always filled by a member of the Fada'ilyen.
The life of the common people is actually quite good. The vast majority are prosperous peasant-farmers, working the wetter coastal lands and occasionally out into the steppes. The remainder are mostly craftsmen, scattered between the cities and the countryside.Prosperous merchants and seaman make up a substantial minority.
Surprisingly, most adults are literate and educating children is taken seriously. Most adults own a copy of at least the basic Ziryabite scriptures and the more prosperous may own one or two works of commentaries. Books are highly prized as guides on the spiritual path. The Empire of Hepeker had a strong literary tradition and a few of these works have survived. Occasional Fada'ilyen have made copies and so these works still circulate. Group readings of old romantic novels is a popular evening activity in many communities. Such books are considered community property and are neither bought nor sold. Instead they are occasionally traded, from one community to the next, and in this way these works circulate through the entire area. The Fada'ilyen also value historical knowledge of the community of Ziryabism and historical/moral treatises are common works. These too are commonly read aloud and are traded between communities.
Traditional Korlic culture was polygamous, but Ziryabism has tempered this. Only the wealthiest of the nobility have multiple wives and this is considered a privilege of rank. By tradition all others are monogamous, though this is not defined by law. However, slave concubinage is very common among the wealthy, both noble and non-noble. By Ziryabite law no Ziryabite believer may be kept as a slave and so foreigners mostly fill this role. The children of concubines are often raised alongside 'legitimate' children and educated as Ziryabites, which of course means that as adults they are free. Such individuals have only marginally lower status than the freeborn and many have become quite wealthy or reached positions of substantial power. Offspring of non-Ziryabite offspring are even occasionally chosen for the Ghaziyen, though never for the Fada'ilyen.