Sharn is the largest and most populous city in Khorvaire, and potentially on Eberron as a whole. It has a population of roughly 2,118,500 people, with roughly a third of those being human and a sixth of them being dwarves. The remaining population is a blend of every people found across Khorvaire, with halflings, elves, gnomes and goblins all having a significant presence within the city. There is even a community of Kalashtar to be found in Upper Dura, in Overlook.
Sharn also sees potentially the highest throughput of travelers in Khorvaire, with thousands of people passing through the city every day. Even now, refugees from the war are still finding their way to Sharn. It's position on the mouth of the Dagger River makes Sharn an important city, not just for those in Khorvaire, but also for those dealing with Khorvaire's neighbours in Aerenel, Xen'drik or Sarlona.
The geography around Sharn is restrictive, mountains line the coast around it and prevent it from growing outwards. Instead, the city has grown up, leveraging the incredibly large manifest zone to Syrania that it resides in. This manifest zone has allowed the towers of the city to reach miles high, a feat that would be impossible anywhere else, and it has even made it possible to have an entire district that just floats above the city.
Districts
Sharn is a vertical city, and is divided up into five plateaus: Central Plateau, Menthis Platea, Northedge, Dura and Tavick's Landing. Each of these plateaus is divided into districts (horizontally), and wards (vertically). As a general rule, the higher up in the city a district is, the wealthier it's population. Beneath the city, below the Lower Wards, lie The Cogs.
History
Sharn is one of the oldest cities in Khorvaire, with a history dating back to the Dhakaani Empire. The Dhakaani city of Ja'Shaarat (Bright Blade) was the greatest city in the empire, carved into the jagged cliffs and mountains that Sharn is now built above. The Dhakaani didn't build upwards, and Ja'Shaarat was not a city of towers like modern Sharn is. Instead, they built down, creating the networks of tunnels and chambers that form the Depths and The Cogs. As the city grew, the architects of Dhakaan erected gigantic structures above ground that would come to form the foundations of the towers that stand there today. When the Daelkyr invaded Khorvaire, the city of Ja'Shaarat fell into the ruin, and the empire itself followed closely behind.When human settlers arrived in Khorvaire from Sarlona, Malleon the Reaver stumbled upon the Dagger River and made landfall there. From there, his raiders discovered the ruins of Ja'Shaarat and subjugated the goblinoids that still resided in the region. He named the new city Shaarat, based on the stories that the goblinoids told, whilst the goblins themselves referred to it as Duur'Shaarat (Blade of Sorrow). Malleon's people held the region for the next 600 years, and the city of Shaarat somewhat prospered. Eventually, the city was conquered by Bregor Firstking, the ruler of the kingdom of Wroat, who renamed it to Durasharn.
Under the rule of Wroat, Sharn grew even more and the towers began to be built. It was at this point that the city began to resemble the City of Towers we know today, with the dragonmarked houses just starting to find their feet in Khorvaire. With the growing prosperity of the dragonmarked houses, however, came the War of the Mark, and the aberrant dragonmarked flocked to the city of Durasharn, fleeing from the dragonmarked houses who sought to destroy them.
The aberrants couldn't hold the city for long, however, not against the combined might of the dragonmarked houses and the propaganda of House Sivis, which turned the continent against them. The houses laid siege to Durasharn, and it quickly became apparent to the aberrants that they couldn't hold it. The leader of the aberrants, Halas Tarkanan, brought to bear the might of his dragonmark and caused a great earthquake, shattering the attacking armies and the city alike. It was this event that opened up the magma chambers beneath the cities and formed what would become The Cogs.
After becoming yet another ruin, the city of Durasharn was abandoned and shunned. It wasn't until the formation of the Kingdom of Galifar in 0 YK that it would become settled again. Galifar I rebuilt the city and named it Sharn, and poured the resources of the Kingdom of Galifar into it's restoration. With these resources, the city thrived, and became the metropolis that it is today.