Kehjistan, otherwise called the Eastern Empire, and known in ancient times as Kehjan, is the great empire of the eastern lands of Sanctuary, located along the eastern coast of the Twin Seas, with the emerald jungles surrounding Kurast in the south, and the desolation surrounding Caldeum in the north.
Kehjistan encompasses almost one-third of Sanctuary's eastern hemisphere, and its terrain has changed very little over the millennia. To its south lie emerald rainforests, and with an average of over 400 inches per year, Kehjistan has the largest rainforests in the known world. This huge expanse of jungle feeds the Argentek River, which is the longest, widest river in Sanctuary. Hundreds of smaller rivers and tributaries twist and turn their way through the lush tropical forests until they finally unite with the mighty Argentek. Herbalists and alchemists revere the rainforest environment for its ecological diversity. Until around the Darkening of Tristram, these sages would come from far and wide to study and collect the rare plants and animals that make their homes here.
Kehjistan's north is dominated by desert. It is here that the Borderlands denote its northern border with the Dry Steppes. To the west, Kehjistan is bordered by the Twin Seas, while swamplands lie at its eastern edges.
"Perhaps no other region in the world has been so important to shaping human civilization as Kehjistan."— Deckard Cain(src)
Several thousand years ago, hunter-gatherers found themselves drawn to the lush, fertile rain forests and bountiful game inhabiting southern Kehjistan. But there was something else; Kehjistan's geography was rife with nodes of magical energies, and eventually those with innate, arcane abilities began to sense and recognize these forces, gathering in groups to settle these special areas. Recovered artifacts indicate that by the year Timeline#c.-2300, writing, art, and science had become an integral part of human culture—a period of human history which saw the formation of Kehjan, humanity's first great civilization.
The cultures of Kehjistan formalized the study of magic, which led to the creation of the Mage Clans, the original groups being founded in the jungles of the land, where the nodes of magic had originally been discovered. The growing power of the clans led to the formation of the Al'Raquish, which ruled Kehjan alongside the land's monarchy and trade guilds.
The capital was located at Kurast for some time, until the elite of the city fled to Caldeum when the Prime Evil Mephisto revealed himself. Emperor Hakan I soon followed and kept imperial power centered in Caldeum even when Mephisto fell, as he no longer trusted the Zakarum. He died shortly after, and the crown passed to his son, the child emperor Hakan II.
Known Locations Edit
Although implied to be simply a geographic region, it is revealed in Diablo III and related promotional materials that Kehjistan is actual an imperial state exercising control over both the lush jungles that dominate the core of the eastern continent as well as the drier desert to the north.