Derkein

Captured humans are taken to the Ape City

Thade's army sets out from the Ape City

Derkein is the name of an ape-dominated city-state, on the planet Ashlar, where the ruling Ape Senate is based, and has its own grand Ape Army. The entire city was built on a hill. The higher one traveled in Derkein, the better the neighborhood and living conditions in that particular sector. This is the city to which Leo Davidson and the other humans captives are taken after he crash-lands on the alien planet. He soon escapes with the help of Ari.

Notes

• In the first treatment of William Broyles' story, Derkein is the name of the dominant empire of Ashlar, its political, social and architectural structures based on those of the Roman Empire. In the first draft script of the film, Thade's military victory parade is compared to a mixture of ancient Rome and the Nuremberg rallies. Derkein is described as having the glistening marble structures of a classical city, unlike its appearance in the finished movie.
• No name was given on camera for the city of apes in the final 2001 film. However, the production artwork identifies the ape city as "Derkein". The name reappears for the ape city in the Dark Horse Comics series based in the same world of Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes.
• Derkein appears to be derived from a Greek word which gave the English word "dragon", and can also mean "seeing clearly".

References

From Aldo to zira lexicon of the planet of the apes a comprehensive encyclopedia