Caldeum

Caldeum concept art.

Caldeum is a second town confirmed to be in Diablo III. It has been known as an enormous trading centre only recently occupied by the Kehjistan government following the fall of Kurast. Caldeum was originally ruled by the Trade Consortium Council, but Emperor Hakan united the city under his banner, before he became ill.

Caldeum can also be seen in the world map.

Caldeum hosts both the Vizjerei mage clan as well as the Yshari council of sorcerers. Under the Yshari Sanctum, some sort of infamous chambers called the Bitter Depths can be found.

It remains to be seen how Blizzard is going to capture the "trade capital of the entire world" in-game, as it would be substantially larger than any of the act towns seen in the previous games.

Background

Abd al-Hazir's second entry of his collected writings there is a mention of Caldeum. It culminates the recent activity in the area:

"Caldeum was once the proudest city in all of Kehjistan, the trade capital of the entire world. Caldeum was never seen as the heart of the empire, even though it rivaled Viz-jun, and later Kurast, in size, and those who called Caldeum their home liked it that way. -- Let Kurast see itself as the center of the world, they would say. We'll keep our free exchange of goods, currency, and ideas, thank you very much.

I was initially dubious when the emperor of Kehjistan emerged to confront this quickly deteriorating situation. But the charm, leadership, and intelligence that he brought to bear as he quickly resolved the conflict between our council and the Kurast nobles were nothing less than masterful. When the people fully supported him in his role as our emperor, I saw this achievement as nothing short of a miracle. Though we had always been part of the empire of Kehjistan, and therefore under his rule, we had always behaved as if we were a free entity, beholden to no one but ourselves. It truly seemed at the time that catastrophe had been averted, but now it has become all too apparent that it was merely hidden beneath a thin veneer of civility.

-- This veneer began to shred when Emperor Hakan became ill. His influence started to wane, and the mood in Caldeum changed with his health. As he got worse, so did our once fair city.

When he died and his ineffectual child heir took the throne, Caldeum began to circle the abyss. Our list of ills seems never-ending: the state of our downtrodden and the slums they are forced to live in, our incompetent leadership, the re-emergence of the intolerant Zakarum, and their quarrels with our mage class... I could go on for pages.

It is all too much for one to bear, really."

Media

There is a wealth of Caldeum images and concept art in the Image Gallery.

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