Republic of Markut
The Republic of Markut is a large state on the eastern shore of the continent centered around Abkhazias largest metropolis, the city of Markut. The nation is an economic powerhouse as well as a hub of innovation and new political ideas. Many citizens of the realm learned however, that the hunger of the seven armed kraken (a mocking nickname of the mighty capital) is hardly ever sated.
The city of Markut
When Salsedo I. eventually died and his daughter Falima I. took over in 915 AGF, troubles started to rise. The 24-year old new ruler lived a very luxurious life that made her feel distant from her citizens, who had appreciated her futhers more humble nature. Furthermore, Falima failed to pander to the citizens of Markut, Tersinop and was seen as militarily incompetent. Her attempt to break a long-lasting siege of the city of Kuznez by the Empire of Zeprikan by ordering a risky offensive in 917 AGF turned into a humiliating disaster that resulted in the fall of Kuznez and Khania losing all of Yesode west of the Yesode Walls to Zeprikan. This resulted in a mass refugee crisis and food shortages in the city of Markut. At this time, the already high public discontent turned violent as more and more citizens of Markut blamed Falima for their dwindling life standard and the humiliation she had brought to the greatest city of Abkhazia. Falima knew that her fate was sealed when the powerful mage's guild turned on her, locking her in her palace and separating her from her few loyal followers with a powerful abjuration spell. When the doors of the palace were opened to the protesters Falima I. was gone, with the highest mage assuring the masses that she "had been taken care of". To this day, there are many theories about her fate, though so far it remains a mystery.
After disposing their monarch, the protestors founded a senate and declared the Republic of Markut as a formal successor state of the Empire of Khania. The new government cracked down on allies of the former queen, the nobility and wealthy individuals. The republic was to be run as a highly centralized state with the concept of feudalism to be abolished in the whole country. This turned out to be unacceptable to the southern provinces that declared indepandence as the Principality of Greater Tersinop. To avoid a civil war, the senate reluctantly relinquished their claim on the southern provinces.
After the first years of the republican government turned out to be quite tumultuous and occassionally violent, a period of peace combined with another surge in technological and magical advances put the young state on a path to a better future. A path that is fully controlled by the seven-armed kraken.
The entrance hall of the Markut magic academy, one of the most reputable institutions of Abkhazia
The Bridge of Remembrance
Etymology
The Republic of Markut, just like its capital and the river that flows through it, was named after Markut Ayadir, a, potentially mythical, human explorer who first explored Abkhazias eastern coast, long before human civilization had reached it.Geography
The Republic controls much of the previous heartland of Khania around the province of Markut plus the northeastern part of Hod, the eastern part of Yesode and the non-mountainous regions of Dragonrod. As such, the republic controls some of the most fertile plains of the continent and excels at production of grains, vegetables and wine. The numerous streams plowing throw the country are littered with thriving cities where agricultural, but also more and more technical goods are manufactured at high qualities. The city of Markut itself is located at the on the seven-armed delta mouth of the river from which it takes its name, into the Sea of the Sun Birth. This privileged position allowed it to exploit maritime and inland shipping early on to gain extraordinary wealth. This wealth turned the city into a magnet for members of all humanoid races, transforming the city into a pluralistic melting pot. With the masses came also great intellectuals and the most talented magicians who found their way into the "seven-armed city".History
See also Markut Province for history before 875 AGF. Since the city's founding in 120 AGF by early human settlers the favorable location at the mouth of the mighty Markut river and its proximity to high yielding farmlands and the navigable coast of the sea of sun birth benefitted the young settlement and set it up for a miraculous rise. Within mere decades the humans flocking to the east coast of Abkhazia created a vibrant center of trade and culture. The city resisted raids by dwarfen armies, assaults by giants, dragon fires, civil war and years of magic ban, not always with ease though with an inspiring persistence. Since early on, the city turned into a magnet for peoples from all around Abkhazia to find luck in the giant crucible of the seven-armed city. Innovations in technology and especially magic sprung up and turned the metropolis into a beacon of futuristic ideas and ideals. Migrants saw the city as a place where all dreams could come true if only one was ready to put his or her all into it. As such it might come as no surprise that Markut took on the role of the eastern empire's capital during the split Abkhazian empire period of 862 - 875 AGF, where after the destruction of Gebra, the city strived to become the new capital and center of the united Abkhazian empire. Despite this ambition, these years are now seen as a dark time in the city's history as the horrors of the Night of Khanian Steel in in 865 AGF and the subsequent chaos and magic ban destroyed much of Markuts advanced magic tradition and arcane knowledge. As this period dramatically ended with the Wrath of Gods in 875 AGF and all Lopesas of Ruard's line lost their godly ruling mandate, the city was shortly stunned and disoriented. The commanders of the Markut city guard shortly seized power for a mere few days. Seeing their opportunity, two Khanian generals, the dwarf Moruk Bronga and the human Salsedo el'Occa both marched their armies onto the city to claim the throne for themselves, clashing in the vicinity of the metropolis. The church of Iomedae declared a protection zone around the city which mostly shielded the civilian population from the ensuing battles. The paladins of Iomedae were also slowly but surely joined by clerics and arcane mages that had spent years in hiding or at least under strict prohibition to utilize their powers. The effective way how these magic users, who the population had been taught to see as dangerous traitors, protected the city, plus the sudden realization that both battling armies in front of their walls had magic users on their side, thereby revealing the obvious lie of Ruard that his armies had ceased to use magic in battle as it represented an evil practice, slowly started to change more and more people's mind about magic users and the practice in general. When Salsedo el'Occa eventually emerged victorious from the bloody infighting he demanded the city to open its gates to which the defenders agreed under the condition that the magic ban were to be lifted and that the citizens of Markut would have special privileges and a degree of autonomy. El'Occa agreed to these terms and took on the role of new emperor of Khania, while his opponent Moruk Bronga was left to rot in a prison cell, an act that immediately startled separatist movements from dwarfen clans in Dargonrod and the Collossus Mountains. El'Occa, a son of Markut himself, quickly understood how to keep the city loyal and use this to his advantage to keep Khania more united than its western counterpart managed at the same time. Despite these efforts, the empire soon had to give up its claims to the mountainous dwarfen regions due to a major rebellion, led by the clan of Bronga. Furthermore, the newly emerging Empire of Zeprikan seized parts of Tibered and Ardir and kept pushing east in several assaults. Theocratic separatist movements took control of Rayfort and Tigeras (leading to the formation of Soleriant) and the cities of Tyconteroga separated to form an unaligned confederation The Five Titans Of Tyconteroga.Politics
The political system of the republic is different from any other state as its main ruling body is a senate, made up of a staggering 815 senators, one for each year that the greatest city that ever was or will be existed. As a consequence, every new year a new senator’s seat is added to the ruling body, an event that is celebrated as the republic’s most important holiday. The 815 senators are voted on by all adult citizens of the city of Markut once every 5 years in a complicated magic voting system that is run by the guild of the Bleeding Blue Eye Mages. While this system in theory treats every person’s vote as equal, it is no secret that the city’s powerful guilds have significant influence on the formation of power blocks. Perhaps more significantly, the citizens of the way greater realm that is controlled by the Republic of Markut do not have any political participation.Culture
The citizens of the metropolis of Markut generally take great pride in their city’s innovative and progressive character and often like to remind every outsider of this fact. In the seven-armed city most people hold the firm believe that hard work gives anyone a chance in their egalitarian society, a claim that conveniently ignores some power realities within the city but visitors would be advised not to start an in-depth discussion about this aspect with a local. Children in Markut are generally raised with a similar egalitarian though competitive mindset and education is seen as something very valuable, leading to a high standard but also fierce competition amongst the young generation. Almost every kid strives to pass the tests to be allowed to join into one of the city’s powerful technocratic or magic guilds which is seen as highly honorable. When meeting citizens of Markut (the city, not necessarily the republican realm) they usually seem rather brusque, opinionated and a tight bit arrogant to the foreign eye. However, most of the continent treats them with a mixture of envy, dislike but also curiosity, because… who knows! That person might know things that we have never even seen in this part of the world! A high expectation, that the average traveler from Markut would most likely not live up to.
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