Altara is a fictional country in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time fantasy series.
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Altara is located between Illian and Amadicia. The river Eldar forms its western border.
The nation is not united and often some nobles have more power than the King or Queen. Its capital, a port, is Ebou Dar, located in the south. The banner of Altara is two golden leopards on a field checked four-by-four in red and blue.
Recently the Seanchan conquered Ebou Dar and the southern part of Altara. They allowed the queen at the time, Tylin Mitsobar, to remain on the Throne of the Winds as a client queen. Shortly afterwards, though, Tylin was killed by a Gholam and her son Beslan Mitsobar has since ascended to the Throne. Before his ascension, Beslan was engaged in anti-Seanchan activities in Ebou Dar. Following events in The Gathering Storm, Beslan has sworn his loyalty to the Seanchan and was subsequently placed on an even footing with Seanchan nobility.
Ebou Dar celebrates more festivals and feastdays than any other city on the map. Even so, it is a wild and dangerous place, especially in the Rahad, where the poorer classes live. Outside the city, the country consists of inhabitants who associate themselves with a particular town or lord rather than the Queen or Altara.
Women in Altara are dominant, especially in Ebou Dar. In fact, in many situations an Altaran woman has the right to kill a man unquestioned. Knives and swords are an important part of Altaran life. Both men and women fight duels over trivial disputes, often with fatal results. Altaran women carry marriage knives, which serve both as a formal way to broadcast marital status (its color and decorations describe marital and motherly status), and a way to deal with their men.
Salidar is a small village in Altara on the border of Amadicia. Abandoned and forgotten till recently, it is the place the Rebel Aes Sedai flee to after Siuan Sanche is deposed and Elaida is made Amyrlin. The secret location of the Rebels was hidden in a play on words, "Sallie Daera". The location is chosen for symbolic as well as practical reasons; it is the birthplace of the Blue Ajah Aes Sedai who replaced the last Red Ajah Amyrlin before Elaida, and its proximity to the Whitecloaks in Amadicia makes it appear unsuitable to anyone happening to look for them.
Salidar serves as a gathering point for the rebels while they decide what to do next; while some suggest making peace with the White Tower and returning under Elaida's rule, most support establishing a parallel structure. They raise their own Amyrlin, Egwene al'Vere, and convene their own Hall of the Tower. A number of other significant events happen here as well, including Nynaeve al'Meara's discovery of how to Heal a person who has been cut off from the One Power.
In the year 957 NE, the Children of the Light invaded Altara. They were opposed by Altara, Murandy and Illian. Eventually the Whitecloaks were pushed back, and the war became known as the "Whitecloak War." To the Children, the time is known as 'The Troubles'.
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