The Khazigiri Empire
The confederation of semi-independent nations of the Khazigiri Empire form the largest political unit on the Orbis. Born out of a new religion and its revolt against the doddering remnants of the old Cumaean Gods and Empire, Khazig and its patron nations have given a lasting stability and common defense against global threats for nearly ten thousand years.
Structure
Political Structure
Strongly Heirarchical based on noble inheritance through the oldest child (male or female). The Governmental structure is a template repeated at many levels, consisting of a higher-ranking official, a council made up of all members of the next lower rank, and an advisory group made up of the top ranking religious leaders at that level. At the highest iteration, the Empire is ruled by the Autarch, who is the supreme, semidivine ruler of and theoretical/philosophical owner of everything in the empire. His advisory council is the Table of Kings and Queens, made up of the highest hereditary ruler of each member country and the Governor of Khazig, who is the Autarch's heir; Khazig, as the seat of the Autarch, has a governor rather than a king or queen. In actual practice, the rulers remain in their own county and appoint a cabinet of ambassadors to act on their behalf before the Autarch. The Autarch's religious council are the Heirodules, the five High Priests of the Basilidean Celestii Magni faith. The Heirodules 'appoint' the Autarch, which in practice means they authorize the validity of his inheritance. Though in the past this has led to wars over inheritance, in modern times it's a presumed rubber stamp. Likewise as one drops from the top level to the level of the King or Queen of a nation, the template is repeated; the sovereign works with a council of nobles who are the next rank of marque - dukes and duchesses - as well as a religious council of bishops. As one descends the ranks, the dukes have a council of leading noble families (counts, barons and the like) and the priests of the church parishes in their Duchy. The counts rule typically over the area of a county, though in modern times this title is rare, and barons typically over a similar-sized subdivision or an even larger parcel where the lands are open and wild. The religious advisors at these deeper levels take on more and more of a populist role, representing those of common rather than noble birth, and since most of the political effects take place at a local or county level rather than at higher levels, the average person active in their parish with the ear of the local priest does have a significant say in matters of public importance. However at all levels, the autocrat can ignore the advice and wishes of their councils - often at their peril in practical terms, but legally - and those at higher levels can call for an audience with any subdivision beneath themselves, such that the King of Naarod might demand an audience with only the barons or only the religious authorities of Zauzet rather than all his Dukes, including Zauzet.The Feudal Obligations
Balancing against the dictatorial freedom of the ruler in his or her domain is his or her feudal obligation to the lord above them in the heirarchy. Land and access to Imperial services and trade licenses are granted in return for fealty, the promise of troops and arms, and a significant cut of the Lord's collected tax money and payment in kind; the idea of royal inheritance is strong, but in many ways this is a very transactional rather than divinely ordained rulership. When noble families can no longer meet their obligation, they are replaced by royal edict before it threatens the ability of their liege lords to meet their own obligations higher up the chain. No one makes an appeal to 'noble right' or 'divine ordination' because the inability to pay demonstrates that one is not much of a noble and no longer divinely ordained. Successful merchants are therefore highly likely to move into true nobility in this way, and an unintended benefit is that successful merchants are incentivized to settle in towns with struggling nobles because they have a real shot at replacing them within a few generations, if they remain successful.Culture
Khazigiri culture has migrated a great deal over the years, as one might expect in a ten thousand year empire, but certain key elements that make up the Khazigiri 'personality' have remained constant.
- Only mild class distinction between nobility and commoner. While in many countries, those without provable noble birth have few rights, in the Empire the common and merchant classes are respected and protected to a great degree, though the mobility of skilled commoners is restricted based on the permission of their barons. In most establishments the noble and common classes can intermingle freely, with only a small portion of the Imperial Capitol (The Cloister) limited to access by nobility only.
- Respect for and acceptance of Magic. Both divine and arcane magic is practiced freely in the Empire, with few restrictions. Necromancy is criminal but not automatically considered worthy of the death penalty; fines and prison workhouse punishment are the usual fees and a blind eye is turned on any and all 'positive' necromantic effects like resurrection and reincarnation spells.
- Equality of religion and civic duty. While the Autarch is theoretically a semi-divine figure, devotion to one's faith does not supersede devotion to one's barony, duchy, king or autarch - and vice versa. Religion, like most things, is undertaken in an eminently practical way in the Empire. Excessive religious fervor is not seen as a positive, even out in the sticks.
- The days of conquest are long over. The Empire has had several expansionist periods under long-ago Autarchs, but for the most part has grown by petition rather than on the point of a spear. Countries apply to join; they are not conquered. In earlier eras both Toz and Minon were inside the borders of the empire, but both achieved their independence and split off without additional bloodshed - though other wars between the empire and those nations have occurred. The Khazigiri temperament encourages one to be satisfied with what one already possesses and to not go looking for fame and conquest for their own sake.
- Once roused to anger, the opponent must be annihilated. In the defense of borders or suppression of ill-fated rebellions, the Empire's judgement is swift and terrible. An outsider might argue that thee two hundred years of the War in the West goes against this principle, and may even signal a weakening of the Empire, but this would be an incorrect reading as that war is being conducted thousands of miles beyond the Empire's actual borders, in maintenance of a treaty with the nation of Utheria for guarantees of protection. Which leads to the next point:
- Make few deals, and honor them. The Khazigiri do not like to extend themselves into too many different engagements and obligations, but those they choose to make, they honor and fulfill.
- When in doubt, be tolerant. The ability to set aside stereotypes, feuds and prejudices has contributed perhaps more than any other single factor to the success of the Khazigiri model. While outsiders and non-celestii worshippers in rural areas may be met with cool responses from the locals, this is understood as a failing, not a strength, and pitchfork-armed mobs lynching the hateful other is a great rarity in the Empire, while its quite common in places like Elinia and Cekic. Khazigur and Naugor both are such massive and wealthy cities because of their openness and tolerance for all types of beings, as long as no other laws are being broken, and those laws are administered with admirable evenness and egalitarianism across the empire, on the basis of merit; not appearance, belief, sexuality, or economic status. Certainly there are exceptions, but these are the qualities that parents strive to instill in their children.
Public Agenda
Stability and the longevity of the Empire and the Imperial way of life are the primary goals. In practice this means that the Empire is not interested in expansion, but is supremely interested in defense, and in responding to any significant problem long before it poses an existential threat. While the public face of the empire is to stand as a beacon for goodness and law, in practice one doesn't maintain a ten thousand year empire without employing some brutalities and compromises behind the scenes. These include illicit pacts with the Steel Reciters in lieu of an assassin's guild, as the concept runs contrary to the wholesome character of the Empire itself, as well as relying on a council of (good?) liches to maintain the treasury and currency stability of the empire. Elves can't be trusted and humans are like mayflies, dying so quickly and so often that they can never build anything stable (and the turbulence of the financial state of human kingdoms like Minon and Cekic attest to this truth).
Assets
An Empire is predicated on the ability of its Military to exert its will on its would-be enemies, and the Khazigiri Empire is a massively well-equipped military force with a separate land army, naval forces and air forces, mostly Griffon mounts carried on one of five major naval platforms; land-based air squadrons tend to be small skirmishing bands. Maintaining and funding this force including the support elements such as fortresses, horses, food and other supplies and personal gear takes up a significant proportion of the budget. Civil infrastructure - primarily roads as well as water pipes, sewer tunnels, and secure national banks - takes up the next largest portion of Imperial money. Much of the details inside individual counties and regions is left up to the nobles over those legions, but they are able to draw from Imperial treasury money for projects with a benefit larger than themselves and their own lands.
Private ownership of structures, materials and things is a widespread given, but the physical land itself is considered a possession of the Autarch, and taxation is based in large part on property tax rather than income. A secondary tax that reaches all but the poorest individuals is the banking tax, by which all banked money is considered available to the Autarch, in addition to the money specifically in the Imperial treasury, but for practical purposes a small fee of 1 gold piece for every thousand is assessed each month by the banks and allocated to the royal treasury. A person earning an average wage only makes 30 gold in a month, and this amount would still be assessed a percentage tax; as such, many of them keep their money off the books and out of the banks, which has some disadvantages but is permitted, most of the time, by most lords of the realm. At the same time, large accounts accrue interest, which varies, so some accounts will appear to be a push or gain rather than lose money, but only accounts above 5000 gold are eligible. Banking laws are, not surprisingly, Byzantine in their complexity. It is widely speculated that one or more immortals are actually at the helm of financial policy, as the treasury of a ten thousand year empire is far beyond the ability of mortals to manage; perhaps long-lived elves are employed in what only appears to be an immortal fiscal management strategy.
History
As the late-stage Cumaean Empire contracted in fits and starts across the globe, and as the Celestii Magni faith swept away the worship of the old earth, sea, sky and mountain gods of the Cumaeans, in the province of Gaz Agaea a true rebellion took form against both the old government and its old, legally mandated faiths, and the far western capitol of Cumae was too far away to put it down before the weight of arms and popularity had cemented the rebels' control over their own province. The province was renamed 'Khazig' to better match their pronunciation, and from the east coast a mighty liberating force rose up to free the rest of the world from what remained of the dark and fallen late Empire of Cumae. In actual practice, most lands merely exchanged one ruler for another as they had no native systems of governance beyond the inherent stability of the feudal system.
The three main phases of the Khazigiri Empire:
- The Early Khazigiri Empire: 2548 - 6402 ADE
- The Classical Khazigiri Empire: 6403 - 11202
- The Common Era: 11203 - present (12090)
Early Khazigiri Empire
From the founding in the early spring of 2548 through the end of the Liberation and the joining of Pilaan with the rest of the Empire in 6402. While wars of various sorts in support of various interests continued, and are still being waged to this day, this was the last of the territorial expansion by conquest and acquisition.Classical Khazigiri Empire
From the end of the Pilaani merger in 6403 through the period where the religious power of the Heirodules and priests exceeded the political power of the actual rulers, who were outright puppets of the religious heirarchy of this time period. It ended in 11202 after the last war of succession waged unsuccessfully by the Heirodules in support of a younger son against the older daughter and rightful heir. The dramatic self-crowning of the Autarch (literally, 'self-ruler') Berenike VI in the Pan Celestial Cathedral to the acclaim of the people, as she faced them while standing with one foot on a rail over the stacked bodies of five dead Heirodules, with her humiliated younger brother in chains in the gallery, ended the classical age and the time when the church had significant political power in the country. The Church remains critically important and holds enormous sway over the minds and hearts of the people today, but it remains totally secondary to the Autarch politically and has no specific legislative or judicial role any longer, other than the entirely ceremonial crowning of the Autarch on his or her ascension. Where it could once demand whatever it wished, now it must accept whatever it is told, if the two are ever in conflict.The Common Era
The relatively short span of time since the suppression of the Heirodules until today is referred to as the common era, a reflection not only of the fact that it constitutes commonly known 'modern' time, but also because the common person enjoys more political freedom and personal mobility than he or she has in most of world history. The ascendancy of the mercantile classes is credited - or blamed, depending on the perspective of the person asked - on this broadening and even democratization of political power, though it is seen mostly among the wealthiest of the commoners who outrank the poorest of the aristocracy in both the social and political arena, which has not always been the case throughout history. Noble birth is still a prerequisite for political authority in some segments of the Empire, but Barons and even Dukes from the commoner class are not unusual in Khazig itself. Pilaan has always been more egalitarian, but even there, descent from a recognized pirate lordship is not a necessity for wealth, power or influence any longer.Territories
The Nations of the Empire, from North to South, and West to East:
- Naarod
- Khazig
- Venen
- Arac
- Khafra
- Pilaan
Foreign Relations
Generally the Empire is well regarded and on good terms with other nations, though three nations have slightly more adversarial relations.
Toz has been everything from a mentor and beloved member state to a brutal and bitter enemy, and the weight of years has favored more negative than positive. Currently the best description is rival; though Toz cannot hope to match the sheer size or power of the Imperials, it has always sought to outdo them in its nobility, chivalry, and charity, as well as in its dedication to its gods who are not Celestials, but other divine beings said to physically live inside Tozzite temples. It is a strongly dualist country which is also at odds with Imperial perspectives.
Minon and its puppet state Ysont are the chief Valentinian nations, and while both they and the Empire are broadly followers of the Celestii Magni, each regards the other denomination within the faith as borderline heresy. Minon is also bitter about needing to wage war against the mindless evil hordes of Mlastina with only Ysont as its ally, feeling that Mlastina is a much bigger threat than distant Kylma, where the Empire has sent all its foreign legions.
Kylma is in open war against the Empire, a distant but significant threat. The Kylmen are largely a shapeshifter race that has risen up against its human/elven masters, as it no doubt should have, but under the influence of a self-styled wererat demigod, has gone on to invade and essentially conquer Utheria and infect virtually all its citizenry by force with one or another strain of lycanthropy. Likewise it forcibly infects every prisoner unfortunate enough to fall into its hands in battle, and it seeks to eradicate Gazaf heritage and turn all sentients into lycanthropes, or corpses. Though Utheria was not a member state, and Kylma is literally on the other side of the world, the Empire long ago understood that waiting until the Lycanthropes are close will be far too late to stop them. As it is, the longer the war lasts, the less likely it is that the Empire can ever win the fight.
When you rule yourself, you rule the world
Founding Date
2458ADE
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
The Celestial Empire
Demonym
Imperial
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Transnational government
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Gold and partially gold coinage.
Basic coin is the crown, worth 1 gold piece, and the lion, a platinum piece worth 10 gold. Individual countries also mint their own coinage and exchange it for use inside their borders.
Legislative Body
The Table of Kings composes the Imperial legislation, usually, and the Autarch ratifies or rejects it. The Autarch can also rule by fiat. The same holds true at the lower levels of the organization, with the council of dukes acting as a legislature for each king, and the Counts' Council creating legislation for each duke, etc.
Judicial Body
Theoretically, the church, though civil judges are appointed at all levels from the ranks of the aristocracy, generally the younger sons and daughters with civic ability but no real path to rulership.
Location
Controlled Territories
Manufactured Items
Related Items
Related Ethnicities
Comments