Kiravian Empire
From Iia Factbook
The Kiravian Empire(Coscivian: Kiravis Imperia) is a vast political union of states, namely Kirav and its many colonies, provinces, dominions, vassals, and other countries, united under the supra-national government of the Empire.
Contents |
History
Pre-Coscivian
See: Pre-Coscivian Kirav It is estimated that homonids have inhabited Kirav since 142 B.E. (Coscivian Calendar). These first peoples belonged to semi-agricultural tribal societies that spoke a variety of languages.
Discovery & Contact
The existance of a land beyond the Aquatic Ocean had been mentioned in Coscivian documents since 52 B.E., and it is now known that Cosciv mariners had experienced chance encounters with the Western Continents years earlier.
The first recorded visit to the West by Cosciv peoples was the landing of an Ískev expedition on the island of Grantland. Archaeological evidence suggests that Ískev and other Valkrev explorers penetrated as far as Ventralia on the Kiravian coast, and may have charted the Central Lakes. The remains of Valkrev outposts have been found at numerous sites in Kirverda.
However, the outposts were ill-fated, and definate knowledge of a Western land was absent until Emperor Caleximander VI commissioned the Seðev explorer Keður Valëkas to locate a land beyond the ocean and claim it for the Empire.
Using island chains and cosmographic equations found by earlier scholars, Valëkas mapped a route to the Western Lands, and successfully landed there a year later, where the city of Valëka is today. He claimed the whole of the new land for the Coscivian Empire. He returned to Coscivia a year later, and re-embarked on five more missions to what was now New Coscivia.
Other explorers began following in Valëkas's footsteps, until nearly all of the Northern Continenet's(Where Kirav & Kirverda are located) eastern portions were mapped.
Colonisation & Settlement
It didn't take long for Cosciv settlers to begin colonising the Empire's newest territory. The first permanent settlement, Avensar, was built at the mouth of the Kiygrav River. The name Kiygrav was soon reformed into Kirav, which soon became the official name of the province.
The Coscivian Empire employed a systematic approach to settlement. All of Soveriegnia that was east of the Frontier Meridian was divided into tyrav, or shires. The Empire built a capital for each tyram and commissioned the construction of some port cities and administrative communities. The rest of the land was to be granted out to syndicates of settlers. Within 30 years of its discovery, Kirav had a population of 840,000 people, and Kirverda a population of 160,000.
Settlers came from all over Coscivia, but particularly large exfluxes came from the Vrytev Provinces(Anglin, Kaldin, Ieurlin, etc.), Northern Coscivia, and the Gërev countries. Many emigrants sought land and a greater degree of clan and familial autonomy.
Trade
During this time, Cosciv traders were active throughout Kirav and Kirverda, exchanging Coscivian manufactures with the natives for animal products, spices, gems, and [in the areas near the Tropical Sea] sugar.
When the Coscivian empire fell, only its colonies of Kirav and Kirverda remained. After much ethnic and religious civil war, the different Kiravian states federated into the United Kingdoms of Kirav. Kirav united with Kirverda, and an Imperialistic process began. The Kiravians and Kirverdans moved quickly across the continent, settling, conquering, and reorganizing the territory into colonies. Then, the Empire expanded into the Tropical Sea and the Western Ocean, seeking out new continents, and building new colonies.
Provincial Era
By 157 A.V (After Valëkas), Kirav was home to 14 million Coscivian settlers, as well as about 72,000 Khar contract labourers. The lands east of the Aterandic Mountains (Which marked the Frontier Meridian) had been largely settled, and Kalth-Ieurlev pioneers had managed to build small outposts in the Aterandics and some of the river valleys beyond. In 159 A.V., Emperor Carticus XII declared that New Coscivia (Along with other Coscivian posessions) was to be governed as two Provinces, each made up of constituant Colonies. All areas between Morning Brook in the North and the southern border of Anderland in the South, East of the Frontier Line, was to become Kirav. All areas north of Kirav, south of Grantland, and east of Coninent Bay would become Kirverda. Previous to this, the two regions had existed purely as extralegal divisions and cultural areas. Though the New Coscivia provinces were de jure on par with the contiguous provinces in Coscivia, they were often treated as a completely seperate dominion. This is evident in the style of Aquinas II, Carticus's successor:
Sèr Aquinas the Second, by Republican Confidence, Emperor of Coscivis Imperia, King of Koristan, Mortana, and Shakaria, Lord Imperial of Novis Coscivia, the Palm Islands, and Colonies in the Aquaric Ocean, and Defender of all Dominions hence
During this period, an elité began to form of wealthy families with political and economic connections. While most Republicans, Commoners, and lower-class citizens were pushing for the creation of new colonial republics within the two Provinces by way of lifting the Frontier Meridian restrictions, the new overclass lobbied with the Coscivian Empire to make the Meridian permanent, and enstate an oligarchic semi-republican system of government that would place the overclass in charge of the colonies. While Aquinas II, citing the Order of Ignoblility, refused their requests, his successor, Eórus XI granted it. Eórus was facing invasions by the Kharic States and by other non-Cosciv peoples. Known for his preference of realpolitik, he ignored his intellectual advisors and ordained several clans as Viceroys of each Kiravian colony, and one as overall Viceroy of Kirverda.
During the Fall
While the Viceroyalties of the continent were busy exercising their absolute power, across the ocean, Eórus XI's legions were retreating from a disatrous defencive struggle in Ruskia that resulted in the Empire's loss of Ruskia, Baltera, Polskia, Keregula, and other province sin the Empire's Northeast. Eórus himself was killed while defending the provincial capital of Magraia. Empress Dalmatia I failed to prevent the conquest of Northern Coscivia, and was killed when her flagship ran aground in Norska's icy fjords. In 20 years, the Coscivian Empire collapsed.
Amidst the chaos, wealthy Coscivians fled to Kirav, where they were admitted to the Viceroyal clans. However, the economic downturn caused by the loss of the colonial metropole ignited fury amongst the Republican and other classes. Since the Viceroyalties no longer had a higher power to turn to for support, they began fighting betwixt each other for rescources and territory. The predominantly Anglev and Gërev overclass also took th opputinity to opress their traditional enemy groups, paticularly the Ieurlev and Polskev.
Formation of the Confederate Rpublics
On Secondmonth, 22, 238 A.V. , An army of Ieurlev attacked the Ruling Palace of the Marine Viceroyalty, killing all adult males they found. This sparked a chaim of bloody conflicts thoughout the Northeast. In Ventralia Viceroyalty, an Anglev man, his true name unknown to this day, invited representatives to his plantation in the Ateranic Mountains from all the rebel groups under the name Kiravius. There, they drew up a Constitution that declared the Confederacy of Kiravian Republics as a federal, democratic state, similar to the Coscivian Empire in many respects. It also organised the fighting forces of the CRK into the Continental Army. After three years of heavy fighting that killed 18% of Kirav's population, the Viceroyalties were defeated.
The CRK controlled most of the South and was organising new, less self-governing republics in the West. It was enlarged when the Commonwealth of Valway, Republic of Vericasa, United Plantations of Encroft, and the State of Njaska were admitted. The Norheastern part of the country, however, had been organised into a federation of elective monarchies, the United Kingdoms of Kirav, and much of Kirverda had formed into the Kirverdan Union.
However, the experimental Parliaments and frail elective monarchies of the Northeast were, one by one, peacefully replaced with republics, which were in turn absorbed into the Confederacy as the Saviska Governate, Marine Commonwealth, Republic of Métrea, State of Enitrea, Earldom of Writcroft, Liberal Republic of Novis Veldia, Constitutional Republic of Iresa, and the Unitary Authority of Axona. With these and other smaller admissions, all lands East of the Aterandics were controlled by the Confederate Republics of Kirav. Allied and harmless Kirverda kept to the north, and few powers in the region could hope to threaten Kiravian security. Protected by geography and internal peace, Kirav was ready to become a nation.
Nationalist Era
Beginning in the 20870's, Kirav took on, for the only time in its history, a single-nation form of government. Though not a unitary state, the CRK did not control any territory other than its constituant republics, and did not seek to expand tis territoy. This is thanks less to nationalist ideology than to foreign power and lack of recources.
The CRK claimed an undefined border somewhere in the Aterandic Mts. (The Cosciv settlements west of them, except in Kirverda, had long since been abandoned.) To the west of the mountain range, most of the native tribes had beeen hegemonised under the city-state of Drail in the far West. Drail's High Counselor, who determined the city's cultural doctrine, declared that the 'tribes' of Coscivs and Khars that occupied the East Coast were invalids who had commited heinous crimes against the native peoples of the Northern Continent, who were considered to be the world's master race.
Though Drail and its subordinate tribal states were technologically inferior, they had the benefits of manpower and suicide-warfare philosophy. The new nation did not yet have the will to begin a new war.
During the National Era, Kirav began to prosper economically, with its GDP multiplying by an estimated 400%. It also began building ties with nearby nations. Kirav and Kirverda signed a Blood Alliance pact, which bound them as inseperable allies. Embassies and trade relations were set up witth Almagnia, Dapola, Mance, and Saliera. The National Era was also witness to the Coscivo-Kiravic world's discovery of the electronic computer, telecommunications, aviation, and other innovations.
The CRK's government was organised as a federation. Each State, or constituant body, sent a Senator to represent it in the Confederate Senate. The Senate passed funding and legislative laws, while the Praetor, or executive, presided over the Senate, and wielded arbirary power in many matters. Voting became available to not only the Upper and Republican classes, but also to the aptly named Democratic class, and persons of lower status.
Immigration may have been the most important occurance of the National Era. Economic depression plagued the remmanents of Coscivia, driving thousands of Coscvians a year over the Aquatic to rebuild their lives in their civilisation's postcolonial lifeboat. It is estimated that between the CRK's founding and the ratification of the Imperial Statute, 14 million Coscivian immigrants arrived in Kirav, and 2 million in Kirverda.
In the late National Era, economic and population expansion began to create a space crisis, a hunger for land and rescources. New immigrants and native-born Kiravians alike wanted more land to call their own. The people of Kirav could not ignore their heritage any longer. They had been brought to their homeland's shores by a great Empire. They would now become one themselves.
Statute & Empire
In [date], the Kiravian Senate passed the Imperial Statute, possibly the most important peice of legislation in Kiravian history. The document ordered expansion into the West until the entire Northern Continent was under Kiravian Control, and pronounced unification with Kirverda (though whether Kirverda fully consented is disputed by many of that country's nationalists to this day). It also mandated that Kiravian colonies be created in the lands beyond the continental margin. The articles of the Statute elevated the Kiravian government to that of a supra-national entity that would hold ultimate sovereignty over an array of subordinate states as it is today.
The Kiravian population, held back by the migratory dam of the Aterandics, spilt out into the Western areas of the continent. Instead of obliterating or copletely displacing the Aboriginal inhabitants, Kiravian settled alongside them, and gave them secondary citizenship. More civilised tribes like the Sekawa (who had developed a Coscivian-based writing system and semi-republican government) were actually admitted to the Empire with full rights. This mixing of peoples is responsible for the 30% of Kiravian who claim mixed Cosciv-Aboriginal ancestry.
Immigration from Coscivia fueled the industrial economy, and pushed more and more Kiravians westward.
The first overseas colony, Pelagonia, was established in 21045, and admitted to the Empire in 21053. One by one, the temperate island chains of the Pelagic Ocean were settled by Kiravians.
Pre-Modern Era
By 21000, the Empire had grown to posess colonies, intendancies, and other sovereignties on multiple continents. Patriotism became very much a part of Kiravian culture in this period, giving rise to anthems such as Kiravis Drámuv and There Flies our Star.
Also during this period, the idea of Kirosocialism was developed. Welfare and publicly-funded education, health, transport, and cultural programs were put into effect in many parts of the Empire, and the Imperial government began taking a supervisory place in foreign trade. The Imperial economy experienced little growth during the period, but the standard of living rose greatly.
Modern Times
The Pre-Modern Era ended when Kexarin Raincedar was sworn in as Emperor. He opened contact with the world at large, and pressed on with colonisation efforts. During the course of his Imperacy, Raincedar de-socialised many KE institutions, implementing a controlled-capitalism approach. Kiravian diplomacy gained many important allies under Raincear, including Alacea, the Echo Islands, and Pictland. After the Empire emegrad from the Bloody Sunday War in Echonia, Raincedar resigned.
Irasur Seawind was sworn in two months later. He continued Raincedar's capitalisation and involvement in world affairs. The Imperial economy grew exponentially, reaching its present strength. Seawind adopted a semi-mercantilist policy concerning world trade, and established free-trade and nonagression pacts with numerous nations. He was also concerned with finding new markets for KE goods, and using noncolonial measures to gain rescources. Despite his seemingly postcolonial nature, Seawind's Imperacy oversees, and continues to oversee the establishment of colonies. In addition to politically-controlled settlements, the Raincedar-Seawind times have seen the creation of Kiravian expatriate communities in Prycuse, Yanitaria, the Echo Islands, Logan & Ky (later deported), and West Scandia.
Politics
The Kiravian Empire is a Federal Civilocracy.
Imperial Executive
The head of the government is the Emperor, who is elected by a Clan Council. The office of the Emperor has no term limits or competitive elections. He serves until he retires, or another candidate is chosen.
Under the Emperor, there is a vast organization, simply reffred to as the Imperius, which is comprised of the formal Government, the Service, and the Military. These offices are chosen through promotion, election, or another variety of means. The Imperius handles such matters as Defence, Science, Economics, Environmental Stewardship, Taxation, Colonisation, and other tasks crucial to the Empire.
Imperial Legislature
The Kiravian Empire is unicameral,with a single legislative body: The Imperial Senate.
The Senate is composed of Senators from Kirav and nearly all of the colonies. There are also Senators representing the Military (See: Kiravian Military Citizenship), and Overseas Kiravians. Observers and non-voting representatives come from some of Kirav's Freely Associated States.
The Senate is nonpartisan, and the Chancellor is appointed by vote rather than by a ruling party.
It has the power to declare war, maintains complete jurisdiction over Imperial finances and taxation, must approve treaties, and votes on many other pieces of legislation thet are wholly are partly deemed independent of Imperatorial power.
Colonial & Provincial Government
The Empire's sovereignties have various methods of governance. Colonies have a variety of political systems, and varying degrees of autonomy. Two distinct classes can be made, though: Self-Governing colonies and Pratorial colonies. Self-Governign colonies, which include Self-Governing colonies, Autonomous Colonies, Autonomous Sovereignties, and Sovereign Colonies, have the power to make their own internal laws. Sovereign and Autonomous colonies and sovereignties have no Imperial interference in their internal affairs, while Imperial involement in Self-Governing colonies is minimal. Most colonies, however, are Praetorial, and are so called because their governmental power is derived from the Praetor, an Imperial official responsible for managing the Empire's posessions. Praetorial colonies, despite what one might assume, do othen have great degrees of local rule. This is due to the many methods in which Governors are chosen and how much power they have.
Non-colonial posessions (Territories, Dependancies, Governates, Administrates, Insular Areas, etc.) have less governmental independence. Governates do have a very small measure of de-facto autonomy, but are immediately privy to Imperial demands. Insular Areas, being typically uninhabited, are governed directly from Kartika.
Demographics
Religion
Kirav is a demographic enigma upon the "developed", "Western" world.
99.9% of the entire Empire is religious, and 70% believes in God, a God, or Gods. Unlike most developed nations, the Empire is not, nor is showing any sign of becoming a secular society.
Most Kiravians are Coscivian Theists or Christians. Nontheists, Universists, Humanists, Unitarians, Spiritualists, Universalists, and other such beliefs make up a sizeable percentage of people in mainland Kirav, and in Xirya. Aboriginal Kiravians practice a form of Universism (with some shamanistic elements that have mostly been eschewed over the years), and Dorian native Xiryans have a Deistic belief system, some of whom practice an associated religion. Iranic and Dharmic faiths such as Sikhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, and Hinduism, are practiced by Indo-Aryan immigrants, and have found some Coscivo-Kharic converts. 0.1% of Imperials are Agnostic or Skeptic, and 0.001% of Imperials are Atheist. Terranism is a growing faith in several colonies.
Race
In the Empire, 70% of the population is of the Cosciv race, a tall, light-skinned people originating in Coscivia, Tiburia, North Ambaratha, and outlying areas of said regions. 10% are of the Khar race, descended from the Khar Empire of the Sinjal Ocean. The remaining 20% is made up of Indo-Aryans from Tartarystan, various non-Kiravians, Italo-British Londinian refugees, and many Caoi.
Ethnicity
Kiravians are less classified by race than they are by ethnicity.
In Kiravia, ethnic groups have reatined their identity through language, customs, values, culture, music, and association, rather than assimilating into racial groups.
Most Kiravians belong to ethnic groups based upon their ancestry in Coscivia. There are various supra- and sub-groups within these.
Others belong to ethnic groups greated by their dipsersal into Kirav, like the Keorgev, Kaskev, and Candev.
Some ethnic groups are based upon philosophy, lifestyle, and language like the Kalistav.
"National" ethnic groups are a small portion of the population that claims ethnicity and/or ancestry in their home province. Ethnic "Kiravians" and "Kirverdans" that have emigrated to the colonies are typically categorized differently.
Ethno-Religious groups are rare, but do exist. "Terranist" is considered an ethnic group by the Demography Bureau of Mesoarbourea. Many Jewish and Muslim citizens report their ethnicity as such.
Tribal groups are often considered equivalent to ethnicity.
Nationality
Nationality is a pertinant social issue in the Empire.
Because of the imperialist nature of the supra-state, national identity is difficult to establish, from the level of the individual, to that of the whole Empire.
Outside of the Empire's borders, a "Kiravian" is anyone who is a KE citizen, metic, or naional. However, within the Empire, a "Kiravian" can refer to a multitude of groups.
In Kirav Proper, Coscivo-Kharic people are considered exclusively "Kiravian". Kirverdans do not domestically consider themselves Kiravian, but in the Colonies, they are often identified as such.
In the colonies, the settler populations are reffered to as Kiravian. However, in some colonies with native populations, natives who have "Kiravised", that is, assimilated into Kiravian culture, are regarded as being Kiravians. Usually, these groups begin as similar to Coscivo-Kharic Kiravians in some form, which leads to acceptance by the settler community. For example, the Assyrian ethnic group in Mesopotamia, because of their Christianity, were gradually included into the settler population, adopting a Coscivian-based creole of their traditional language.
Culture
The Kiravian Empire contains a complex aggregate of many different cultures, but most are based off of Coscivo-Kharic culture.
Values
Traditional Kiravic culture values family, self-sufficiency, devotion to faith, intellectuality, and loyalty to one's clan.
Society
Familial Structure & Gender Roles
Kiravian society, similar to Bronze Age Northwestern Europeans, is patriarchial. The father serves as the head of each family, and often is the sole authority on familial decisions. Kiravians keep in close contact with their extended families (blódtriba in Coscivian), and decisions for these are made by either the oldest common male ancestor or, in his absence, a council of the oldest generation.
When a woman marries, she relinquishes ties to her birth clan, and becomes part of her husband's. Oftentimes, she becomes part of his ethnic group or tribe as well, though she is never considered a full member of the Blódtriba. Some women who do not wish thus enter into a Subimarituv, or common-law marriage.
Clans
Kiravic society contains thousands of different clans. Clans are groups of two to three-hundred extended families that have traditional alliance to each other. Clans transcend ethnicities, religions, and occasionally races, because it is possible for a father to detatch his family from his Blódtriba, which is somethimes (though not nearly always) done to enter into a different clan.
One's clan is of social, economic, and political importance. Clans provide a welcoming environment where one has access to between tens and thousands of friends and contacts. Also, they serve as a common repository of wealth which can be helpful for new couples and buisnessmen within the clan. Traditionally, clans would act as a communal economic structure, and this is still practice today amongst some ethnic and social groups. The Kiravian Emperor is elected by a Clan Council, the members of which are elected by their respective clans.
Customs
Kirav's unique culture has made for a unique customary environment. It has caused some difficulty in society (what one group feels is a compliment might be considered abhorrently rude to another), but overall, Kiravian custom is viewed as natural and superior to that of foreigners by Kiravians themselves.
Dress
Kiravian dress is unique to the Empire, though expatriate communities are inadvertantly increasing its popularity elsewhere.
Basic dress for a male usually consists of a tunic, trousers or a kilt, though in modern times, the latter is worn only by some ethnic groups, and boots. Robes, capes, cloaks, overcoats and the like are often worn, particularly in the cooler climates. Sweatshirts are worn by the youth, workers, and by other persons for informal situations. A belt is considered a proper addition for formal settings, and is mandated by some ethnic groups.
Variants of the above dress apply for application and for the customary background of the wearer, and styles and materials are of course unlimited. For very formal occasions, the "tuxuedo-equivalent" is a black robe with silver ropework, the exception being military personnel who wear their dress uniform.
Women's dress usually consists of a long skirt(shorter for youth and warm climates), and a conjoining or independant tunic. Ropes and belts are acceptable for both formal and informal occasions, but are used for decoration rather than support. Sandals are the traditional and predominant form of footwear, but women do wear boots in colder weather and climates. For formal social occasions, women wear what would be considered 'conventional' Western formal dresses.
Women during formal government or buisness functions wear a grey version of their normal dress.
Amongst some groups, a shawl is wrapped over the head and shoulders for warmth or protection. Kirav's small Muslim community uses this as an equivalent to the burkah.
Plaid is a very popular pattern, and is incorporated into many Kiravian textiles. Distinctively, hats are not worn, in preference to a hood. Ties are not a feature of Kiravian apparel, but some in occupations that would merit a tie in Western cultures use a plaid scarf that is tucked into the tunic, somewhat similar to an ascot, instead.
Cuisine
Diet
Kiravic cuisine is viewed as simpler than that of most other cultures, especially in its presentation, but it does have a certain character of its own.
Few fruits grow naturally in Kirav's climate, so although it has been added through colonial cultivation and cultural exchange, fruit is largely absent in the traditional Kiravian diet.
Meat is an important feature, usually the centrepiece of a Kiravian meal. Meats of a bovine extraction are considered the highest form and are to be eaten first [see Dining Customs], followed by venison, which is in turn followed by pork, goat(popular in Kiravia), and mutton, and then by fowl, proceeded by fish and then dried or processed meats.
Bread is the mainstay of Kirav's nutrition, created from the various grains native to Kirav or imported from Coscivia. White bread, through cultural peculiarity, is considered superior to whole grain. It comes in various forms of both recipie and physical presentation, due to the originality of traditional Coscivian bakers and of newer loaves concocted in Kirav and the colonies. Bread is served at nearly every meal.
Starches are prominent, as are green vegetables, as secondary parts of the Kiravian palate. Potatoes, asparagus, onions, leeks, celery, cabbages, sweet poatatoes, beets, turnips, carrots, and gourds/squashes (culinarily Vegetables in Kirav) are the most popular.
Cooking
With the exception of breads, which are of course baked, most cooked foods in the Kirosphere are prepared by grilling, boiling, frying, stir-frying, or broiling. More modern chefs have experimented with steam- or char-cooking methods as well.
Dining Customs
As the Indo-Aryan immigrant Rajid Abdjad remarked upon his arrival in Saar-Forestgreen, "Concerning food, the only thing we have in common with the Kiravians is that we eat at a table."
Mainstream Kiravian culture accounts for five meals a day: Bórydfâr (Breakfast), Nánfâr (Eaten at mid-day), Prinháfâr (Eaten in the afternoon), Êvufâr (Dinner), and Noctfâr (Night-meal). Some customs also include tea-times and intermediate meals.
Kiravian plates are typically square or rectangular, rather than round, and are made out of various materials: Wood, China, Crystal, Alloys, as opposed to the predominance of porcelain in Western cultures. As an interesting note, Kiravian forks are typically three-pronged. When a table is set, the cup or glass and dining utensils are placed on top of the napkin (Fork on the left, knife on the right), which is in turn placed atop the plate.
Art & Music
Visual Arts
Sculpture, Metalworking, Jewelwork, and Painting have a long and rich history in Kirav. Sculptures were often commissioned by clans and public bodies as both decorative and symbolic pieces, which lead to Classical-like sculture being the predominant style. Abstract and interpretive sculture has recently become popular.
Kirav's breathtaking natural beauty has provided scenery for the most famous and iconic genres of Kiravian painting: Landscapes.