Almain was an entirely fictional country described by Oscar Goldman as "the richest of the Persian Gulf oil countries".
It was ruled by Shah Ali bin Gazim. A fairly conservative Islamic country, women were compelled to wear veils when in public and could be in a polygamous marriage with a man and up to three other women. The country was in a period of transition from an agrarian society to an industrial one. This transition was paid for by its county's oil reserves, which were seemingly destined to run out in about thirty years. Diplomatically, it wished, under bin Gazim's rule, to be officially neutral in the global struggle for its oil reserves, preferring to let market economics, and not geopolitics, determine its oil prices. This policy had, however, earned its leader enemies, including the country's own prime minister, Hassam. (Jaime and the King)
Deconstructed[]
The name of this country may derive from El Alamein, a city in Egypt well remembered as the stie of the most crucial battle of the North African campaign of World War II.
The critical information for speculating on the location of Almain is Oscar Goldman's comment that Almain is a Persian Gulf nation.
Almain is also idenitified as an oil producing country. It would therefore be analgous to nations such as Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone, a.k.a. Divided Zone [1922-1970] (Real World)
A probable location for Almain would be part of the region that was once known as the Saudi-Kuwait Neutral Zone, or Divided Zone. This would account for Almain's great wealth since this region contains the highly productive Burgan Oil Field.
On Dec. 2, 1922, the Uqair Convention established the Divided Zone. In July of 1965, the governments of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait agreed on the partioning of the zone. This partioning was ratified in January 1970.
Assuming an alternate history that diverges from the real world, the part of the the Neutral Zone that was claimed by Saudi Arabia could have broken away and established independence at any point from 1922. This could account for the unique politics of bin Gazim and his family.
