Grand Duchy of Canyndor
The Grand Duchy of Canyndor is an absolute monarchy that resides within the south-eastern edge of the Central Kingdoms. Though only holding the title of Grand Duchy, the realm is vast and larger than most of its peers. The capital of the Grand Duchy for which it is officially named, Canyndor, is a large city built around a rocky crag upon which a great castle stands, situated upon the River Yarrow. The city is protected from the north by the Dorian mountains for which the colloquial name of the region, Doria, is derived. To the south the Grand Duchy extends to the foot of the Sarranid and Palantar mountain ranges, to the east it stretches to the Dardunians. To the north, the Redcrest Mountains mark the end of the realm, and finally to the west where the Kala River meets the Bryn the realm extends no further.
The land of Doria was once much more sparsely populated, in the Age of Peoples Formation the valleys of Doria would be populated by several different tribes of people who would live amongst the valley slopes and riversides in the south and primarily along the Tora river in the north. It would only be after trade became well established both between the tribes of these lands and those further afoot that populations would begin to swell and settlements would become more permanent and elaborate. This was especially compounded by the evidence of mass migrations between the 33rd and 47th centuries. Doria itself would still be split into several factions until the 55th century when the great King Altti "the Silver King" would unite the lands of the modern-day Grand Duchy (excluding Randleton) and the Dales.
Doria would eventually enter into Confederation with its allies in the central kingdoms in order to ensure the defence of the members from the powerful Empires of the Runic, Amaria and Volnic. This loose union would eventually become ever more centralised, the King of Durabryn gaining much power and influence during this period. Eventually, this would see the Kingdoms of Durabryn and Sarbrynia become joined in a royal union of their King, who in turn would subjugate and influence the other states of the central kingdoms to be his vassals, and so the Brynic Empire was established.
Doria was split in two by Emperor Rewarhry "Knife-Tongue", who considered the kingdom too large to be ruled by a single vassal, resulting in the establishment of the Grand Duchy of Canyndor and the Duchy of the Dales. The Grand Duchy would largely remain similar in terms of its administration and internal borders, however, previous Duchies became Surcounties, Counties became provinces and the lower divisions now became less prestigious in the eyes of the many minor nobles who held them, this period would see a great shift in status and wealth from the lower castes upwards.
Structure
The Grand Duchy is an absolute monarchy meaning that the Grand Duke has absolute control over the executive decisions to be made. However, there is a great deal of delegation within the Grand Duchy wherein the Grand Duke relies heavily on a hierarchy of official and administrators who are responsible for everything from defence to the collecting of taxes. Most of these subservient roles are held by the noble landowners of the realm, they form the landed class who hold the titles of Surcount, Proviss and Lord. Below these prominent landed titles may be smaller fiefs of freemen and rented lands. The allocation of the Surcounties with the Grand Duchy has long been a source of much controversy and conflict within the political class. Traditionally there are traditionally twelve surcounties that make up the Grand Duchy, including the more recent addition of Randleton, this brings the total to thirteen. This includes the Royal Surcounty of Canyndor which by default is always held by the ruler of the Grand Duchy, however, the Grand Duke often holds title to other surcounties simultaneously. The Surcounty of Pilkala is also traditionally a Royal Surcounty, with the surcounties of Anttula and Eidehn which neighbour Canyndor, also having been previously held by a Grand Duke. This is where the problem arises, how many Surcounties would grant the Duke too much power? Four surcounties has often been touted as the maximum titles a Grand Duke could hold simultaneously, though it is also correct to say that not all Surcounties are equal. This matter, as it may always be, is an ongoing matter.
Assets
Mints and Coinage
Within the Grand Duchy, there are currently six official mints that are permitted to fabricate the coinage of the realm, of these, only the mints at Canyndor and Ilpamett are permitted to fabricate Hop and Kulta coins due to the strict rules on minting gold coins. Despite this limitation, all higher denomination coins tend to be minted in Ilpamett due to the secluded nature of the settlement and the lesser risk of thievery and wastage. All of the mints are permitted to fabricate coins of the Kupar denomination and lower, these mints being located at Canyndor, Pilkala, Rydant, Sjolund, Ilpamett and Randleton. Both mints at Canyndor and Pilkala are traditional royal mints that have been under the personal control of the monarch for millennia, while the mints at Rydant, Sjolund and Ilpamett have their origin in gift to the vassals of the monarch sat at Canyndor, a bid to keep order within the realm. The mint at Randleton is the newest of the lot, as Tapani VII would conquer the province of the Randles from Kingdom of Redoria and place a mint their under his new vassal Armas Torajoki to help spread his influence within the region, the mint became a de-facto royal mint when Armas Torajoki assumed the throne as Armas IV.Demography and Population
The population of the Grand Duchy is concentrated along its major rivers and their tributaries in the Tora, Tula, Tila and Yarrow. Major Settlements such as the capital Canyndor, Rydant and Sjolund become areas where a vast amount of land become the property of the upper noble classes and thus the common folk become more centralised within these cities. Outside of the river valleys, smaller concentrations of settlements can be found in the uplands and mountainous regions as well as in the great forest around Ilpamett.Â
Despite the greater than the average number of populous settlements in the Grand Duchy, the majority of the population still live within smaller rural settlements and are tied to the land under their feudal lord.
Military
The military of the Grand Duchy is one of the more organised military structures within the Central Kingdoms, having formed into its current state soon after the royal civil war in which the populous was heavily divided between the two factions and so it became difficult to establish the loyalties of communities and individuals. This led to the more advanced form of organisation and professionalism found in the Dorian military as well as other Central Kingdom states which adopted this model or a form there of. This new strucutre would be split into two levels, the upper one of which was populated by powerful noblemen and who would assume the roles of Marshals and Generals commanding Armies, Corps and Divisions. This upper level would also consist of less prominent noblemen whom would have command over smaller units within the structure, down to the level of a battalion which a Knight would command at the rank of Major. The lower of the two ranks consists more prominently of common folk who, if proven to be highly competent, can reach the rank of Captain and have control of a section within the army structure (roughly 100-150 men). Within this lower teir lies the greatest amount of variance in rank and speciality, the lowest rank of Draftsmen being held by those who are compelled to join the military during times of war. Above this will be hired mercenaries, who unlike all other members of the military, are not subject to documentation, and whose pay will vary greatly upon ability and need of their services. List, above this, are the lowest rank of enlisted soldier who are commonly used as the fodder of armies and bulk of garrisons. They are typically young and inexperienced and are often tasked with simple duties such as local enforcement and guarding lower priority locations. Above this rank is that of the Guardsmen, simply more experienced and trusted soldier promoted from Listmen who are responsible for sentry duties, speciality roles and guarding of higher priority locations. Though of higher rank, Guardsmen do not, however, have any official power over Listmen.
Agriculture & Industry
The Grand Duchy primarily produces a vast amount of crops, iron and salt. Due to the valleys that Doria primarily inhabits, it is home to great expanses of fertile soil which is used by the population down to an acre. The only significant area of the grand duchy not used as farmland is by the near-convergence of the Tula and Tora rivers where a large forest dominates the landscape. The mountains of course are used instead for mining purposes as well as for sparse livestock. The Grand Duchy had developed and continued to use a specific form of organisation regarding agricultural practices called the Row System, wherein this system fields are spread out from a long and often somewhat straight road. This road is often accompanied by irrigation ditches and tends to pass through at least one hub settlement for which the row is often named after.
Founding Date
6604
Type
Geopolitical, Archduchy
Capital
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Dorian
Leader
Leader Title
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Currency
Kulta - golden coin
Hop - large silver coin = 1/2 of Kulta
Kol Kupar - large silver coin - 1/3 of Hop
Kupar - medium silver coin - 1/4 of Kol Kupar
Penny - copper-nickel alloy - 1/14 of Kupar
Pip - bronze coin - 1/7 of Penny
Small Pip - bronze coin - 1/4 of Pip
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
- Grand Duke of Canyndor
- Katturi of the Arms
- Katturi of the Banners
- Katturi of the Hall
- Marshal of Pilkala
- Sergeant
- Surcount of Anttula
- Surcount of Ashcastle
- Surcount of Eidehn
- Surcount of Ilkweir
- Surcount of Ingus
- Surcount of Kilncross
- Surcount of Pilkala
- Surcount of Randleton
- Surcount of Rydant
- Surcount of Siltala
- Surcount of Sjolund
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Comments