Ankh-Morpork is a

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

that is the setting for many

Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, Carlton,2006. book series written by the English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a fl ...

novels by

Terry Pratchett Sir Terence David John Pratchett (28 April 1948 – 12 March 2015) was an English author, humorist, and Satire, satirist, best known for the ''Discworld'' series of 41 comic fantasy novels published between 1983 and 2015, and for the Apocalyp ...

Overview

Pratchett describes Ankh-Morpork as the biggest city in

and its corrupt mercantile capital. Street in Tallinn 2

In '' The Art of Discworld'', Pratchett explained that the city is similar to

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and central

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, but adds that it has elements of 18th-century

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 19th-century

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and modern-day

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He also said that since the creation of ''

The Streets of Ankh-Morpork ''The Streets of Ankh-Morpork'' is a map and brief guide of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork in Discworld, a fantasy series by English author Terry Pratchett. Clute, John and John Grant. ''The Encyclopedia of Fantasy ''The Encyclopedia ...

'', he has tried to ensure that the descriptions of character movements and locations in the books matched the Ankh-Morpork map; this allowed him, and fans of the series, to visualise the story more clearly.

Geography

The name "Ankh-Morpork" refers to both the city itself, a

walled city The following cities have, or historically had, defensive walls. Africa Algeria * Algiers * Ghardaïa * Timimoun Egypt See List of Egypt castles, forts, fortifications and city walls. * Al-Fustat * Cairo * Damietta Ethiopia * Harar Libya *Apo ...

about across, and the surrounding suburbs and farms of its

fiefdom A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

. The city itself lies on the River Ankh, the most polluted waterway on the Discworld, which divides it into the more affluent Ankh and the poorer Morpork (including the slum-like "Shades"). Lying approximately equidistant from the cold, mountainous Hub and tropical Rim, Ankh-Morpork is in the Discworld's equivalent of the

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

zone. Ankh-Morpork is built on black

loam Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–si ...

, broadly, but it is mostly built on itself; pragmatic citizens simply built on top of the existing buildings rather than excavate them out as the river flooded and the

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

grew too high. There are many unknown basements, including an entire "cave network" below Ankh-Morpork made up of old streets and abandoned sewers.

Politics

Leadership

The succession of the Patrician normally occurs by either assassination or revolution. Patricians have been known to resign, but this is very much the exception. Power is, to some degree, shared with the many Guilds and the surviving nobility. They form a sort of advisory city council, with a system of one man, one vote – the Patrician being the "one man" in question. According to ''

The Truth The Truth may refer to: Film * ''The Truth'' (1920 film) starring Madge Kennedy * ''The Truth'' (1960 film) or ''La Vérité'', a French film by Henri-Georges Clouzot starring Brigitte Bardot * ''The Truth'' (1988 film), a Hong Kong trial cri ...

'', as per the city charter, a new Patrician must be elected with the unanimous approval of all Guilds.

Institutions

The primary engines of Ankh-Morpork's economy are the Guilds. There are hundreds of Guilds, for every conceivable profession, from clowns to

butchers A butcher is a person who may slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesale food establishme ...

, and each has its own strictly maintained laws and trading practices. Many Guilds have assumed roles which in real-world cities would be assumed by government agencies, such as the Guild of Historians, comparable to

English Heritage English Heritage (officially the English Heritage Trust) is a charity that manages over 400 historic monuments, buildings and places. These include prehistoric sites, a battlefield, medieval castles, Roman forts, historic industrial sites, Lis ...

City Watch

The City Watch is one of the great success stories. It originally consisted of the Day Watch, popinjays headed by Captain "Mayonnaise" Quirke (rich, thick, oily, and smelling slightly of eggs) and the Night Watch, three unemployable men: then-Captain Vimes, a drunk, Sergeant Colon, whose idea of major crime would be the theft of a bridge and Corporal Nobbs, who has a certificate to prove that he is probably human. The addition of Lance-Constable Carrot was the catalyst for their reform in ''

Guards! Guards! ''Guards! Guards!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the eighth in the ''Discworld ''Discworld'' is a comic fantasy"Humorous Fantasy" in David Pringle, ed., ''The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Fantasy'' (pp.31-33). London, ...

''. The Watch grew under the leadership of Commander Samuel Vimes to become the most modern police force on the Disc.

Assassins' Guild

The Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild was widely considered by the elite to be the best option anywhere for a well-rounded education, regardless of intent to kill. Lord Vetinari received an Assassins' Guild education in his youth. The Guild of Assassins is located in a light, airy series of buildings next to the Guild of Fools and Joculators, which, being a far more sinister building, is often mistaken for the Assassins'. The Guild was headed by Lord Downey.

History

The Assassins' Guild was founded on 27 August AM1512 by Sir Gyles de Munforte as the ''de Munforte School for Gentlemen Assassins''. Sir Gyles was a warrior knight who, during his crusades in Klatch, was intrigued by the Klatchian tradition of professional gentleman assassins, and decided to set up a similar organisation at home, only without the

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

. In AM1576, it became a Guild and changed its name to the ''Royal Guild of Assassins''. The "Royal" was dropped after the "events" of AM1688 (i.e. the Ankh-Morpork Civil War, in which the monarchy was overthrown). Although talented, self-taught women might become members of the Guild itself, until recently the Assassins Guild School itself was a male-only establishment. It is said to be the only school of assassination on the Discworld, though the invention of organized assassination is said to have begun in Klatch, and it is stated in '' Interesting Times'' that there is a small, very select Guild in Hunghung within the

Agatean Empire The Discworld is the fictional world where English writer Sir Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels take place. It consists of an interstellar planet-sized disc, which sits on the backs of four huge elephants, themselves standing on t ...

. The unwillingness of the Assassins' Guild to accept contracts that might undermine the city led it to suspend contracts on both the Patrician and the Commander of the City Watch. This led to the rise of unlicensed assassins such as the banshee Mr Gryle in ''

Going Postal ''Going Postal'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 33rd book in his '' Discworld'' series, released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, ''Going Postal'' is divided int ...

'' and Mr Pin and Mr Tulip of the New Firm in ''The Truth''.

Currency

The AM$ (Ankh-Morpork dollar) is equal to 100 pennies (pence). The AM$ is reputedly the hardest currency outside of the

. A dollar coin is the size of a Venetian sequin, and although theoretically made of gold the metal has been adulterated so many times that, according to '' The Discworld Companion'': In ''

Making Money ''Making Money'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, part of his ''Discworld'' series, first published in the UK on 20 September 2007. It is the second novel featuring Moist von Lipwig, and involves the Ankh-Morpork mint ...

'',

Moist von Lipwig Moist von Lipwig is a fictional character from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. A "reformed con-man" who is one of the major characters of the series, von Lipwig is the protagonist of the novels ''Going Postal'', ''Making Money,'' and ''Ra ...

, as deputy chairman of the Royal Mint of Ankh-Morpork (acting under authority of the actual chairman, a small dog named Mr. Fusspot), sought to take Ankh-Morpork off of the gold standard and make the Ankh-Morpork dollar a

fiat currency Fiat money is a type of government-issued currency that is not backed by a precious metal, such as gold or silver, nor by any other tangible asset or commodity. Fiat currency is typically designated by the issuing government to be legal tender, ...

backed by the economy of the city. And, inspired by the Ankh-Morpork citizens using stamps as currency, he introduced banknotes for multi-dollar denominations. ''Making Money'' "has often been highlighted as an example of Pratchett’s perspicacity, thanks to its superb depictions of the precarious unreality of banking systems."

Real-world connections

Ankh-Morpork was twinned with the town of

Wincanton Wincanton ( or ) is a town and electoral ward in Somerset, southwest England. The town lies off the A303 road, a main route between London and South West England, and has some light industry. In the 2021 census the civil parish had a populatio ...

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

, in the south-west United Kingdom on the spherical

planet A planet is a large, Hydrostatic equilibrium, rounded Astronomical object, astronomical body that is generally required to be in orbit around a star, stellar remnant, or brown dwarf, and is not one itself. The Solar System has eight planets b ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

(known in the Discworld books as Roundworld) on 7 December 2002. The town is home to a shop called "The Discworld Emporium", which also doubles as an "Ankh-Morpork Consulate" according to the shop sign. However, for legal reasons, the twinning was not officially displayed on the road sign. Fans, however, added stick-on notices to some of the signs. In 2009, this was changed, and a new town sign prominently declaring the twinning with Ankh-Morpork and other Roundworld places was erected. Several streets in a new housing development in Wincanton have been named after Ankh-Morpork Streets, including Peach Pie Street and Treacle Mine Road. " Discworld: Ankh-Morpork" was published as a board game in 2011.

Fiction connections

Many details of Ankh-Morpork appear to have been inspired by

Fritz Leiber Fritz Reuter Leiber Jr. ( ; December 24, 1910 – September 5, 1992) was an American writer of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Along with Robert E. Howard and Michael Moorcock, Leiber is one of the fathers of sword and sorcery. Life ...

's fictional city

Lankhmar Lankhmar is a fictional city in the ''Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser'' stories by Fritz Leiber. It is situated on the world of Nehwon, just west of the Great Salt Marsh and east of the River Hlal, and serves as the home of Leiber's two antiheroes. ...

(although Pratchett has said "I didn't – at least consciously, I suppose I must say – create Ankh-Morpork as a takeoff of Lankhmar"); John D. Rateliff notes that Leiber's characters "the Gray Mouser and Fafhrd guest-star in the very first Discworld story, ''The Colour of Magic'', under the pseudonyms of The Weasel and Bravd".

Notes

References

*Pratchett, Terry (1983). ''

The Colour of Magic ''The Colour of Magic'' is a 1983 fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett, and is the first book of the ''Discworld'' series. The first printing of the British edition consisted of only 506 copies. Pratchett has described it as "an attempt to ...

''. Colin Smythe. *Pratchett, Terry (1989). ''

''. Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry & Briggs, Stephen (1993). ''

''. Corgi. *Pratchett, Terry (1993). '' Men At Arms''. Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry (1996). '' Feet of Clay''. Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry (1997). '' Jingo''. Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry (2000). ''

''. Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry (2002). '' Night Watch''. Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry & Briggs, Stephen (2003). '' The Discworld Companion'' (3rd ed.). Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry & Pearson, Bernard (2004). ''

The Discworld Almanak ''The Discworld Almanak'' is a spin-off book from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' novels, in a similar format to the Diaries and '' Nanny Ogg's Cookbook''. It was written by Pratchett and Bernard Pearson and published in 2004. The book take ...

''. Doubleday. *Pratchett, Terry & Kidby, Paul (2004). '' The Art of Discworld'' . Gollancz. *Pratchett, Terry (2004). ''

''. Doubleday. *Pratchett, Terry (2005). ''

Thud! ''Thud!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 34th book in the ''Discworld'' series, first released in the United States on 13 September 2005, then the United Kingdom on 1 October 2005. It was released in the U.S. three wee ...

''. Doubleday. *Pratchett, Terry & June (2007). ''

''. Corgi.

External links

Discworld & Pratchett Wiki

The L-Space Web
possibly the definitive Discworld web site
Ankh-Morpork Anthem
performed by the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. {{Discworld Discworld locations Fictional city-states Fictional elements introduced in 1983 de:Figuren und Schauplätze der Scheibenwelt-Romane#Ankh-Morpork