Temerian Empire

The temerian Empire is the largest single nation on the continent of Mentralin. It spans over the most parts of the northeastern hemisphere. The dynasty of Emperor Temerian rules as highest general and sovereign from the capital Raveas commanding the eleven legions, which are in turn the foundation of the empires success.
Among its inhabitants, the empire is favoured for improving the overall standards of living by building roads and outposts in even the most backwatered village to foster trade and security. On the other hand the enemies and separatists, who strive for secession, condemn the empires racism: Anyone who is not a citican of the empire which is only possible for those deemed pureblooded human, is a slave or servant at best, without any right for ownership or trade.
The highest goal and purpose of the empire is to unite the inhabitants of Mentralin under a single rulership while wiping "external agressors" from the continent. Thus, it opposes all other nations, like the Free City Federation or even the mentralian Kings, despite the origin of Emperor Temerian I, who founded the empire, himself as one of the many Mentralian Kings.

Structure

Emperor, Tribunes and Legates - The Hierarchy

The temerian empire has a very complex social structure. An interconnection of nobility, officials, like legates and magistrates, citizens as well as slaves and servants act together to make daily life work. As a basic rule, it can be said that nobility has the most rank and power, followed by ranks of legates, who act as representatives of nobility or officials. The senate and citizens as the broad back of the empire have specific beneifts. Non-citizens and slaves have a hard time within the empire, as they are basically barred from taking part in everyday life.

Nobility

As the empire is basically a feudal state, albeit a large one, all the power nominally comes from the High Throne in Raves.
Thus, the Emperor sits atop the pyramid and distributes land, resources and power. In exchange for the mertis granted, the emperor expects his lieges to uphold the law and order of the empire, as well as tributes payed to the throne and martial power in terms of soldiers for the legions. In the realities of daily business, the emperor delegates a lot of the decisions, that do not require immediate attention, like waging war, to the ministers and consuls to resolve. Although these beaurocrats do not have nominal power, it is by this delegation, that, as some citizens put it, it's rather the ministers than the emperor who actually rule.
The tribunes are directly beneath the emperor in terms of political power. They are the first tier of people, who directly receive a portion of land and resources of the emperor. Each of the tribunes gouverns by distributing their share of power among their lieges. Traditionally, each of the provinces is gouverned by a tribune. Additionally there are special tribunates for the legions, trade and taxes, the imperial infrastructure and the judiciary. Rumors has it, that another tribunate, acting as military intelligence to oversee internal and external threats to the empire, exist - but they have been dismissed by the emperor himself. The tribunes are directly selected by the emperor himself and their position can be revoked at the grace of the emperor at any time. Each tribune is able to do as they want with their portion of power granted by the emperor. Though most of them use this wealth to establish their own part of the power system, some build up fewer structures, but sustain them with more power. For example, the tribunate of imperial infrastructure is a very flat organisation, while the tribunate for trade and taxes has an elaborate system of rank and title. It is important to note, that, in this rigid system of power, apart from the senate and his consuls, only the tribunes are allowed to bring forth a concern to the emperor. So, in the end, anyone who wants to bring a matter to the attention of the high throne, has to convince one of the tribunes to bring it to the agenda of the half-yearly Imperial Council.
In the gouvernment of provinces the tribune distributes the land among a variety of nobles. In the eyes of the emperor, they are all of equal rank, summarised as Nobilis. As a result of the fast expansion, the exact titles of a noble is usually the same as it was before the province was added to the empire. This lead to old structures staying intact, which also increased the stability and satisfaction of the emperors vassals, as not much changed for them. The nobilis gouvern over their land usually by leasing it to citizens who take care of it by tilling the soild or establishing towns and cities. They mainly live by the taxes that these citizens pay in return for the lease, of which the nobilis again pay a tithe to their tribunes, who in turn owe a portion of it to the emperor. In the end, the members of the nobilis are in charge of running the daily business of the empire. They are responsible for keeping their land productive and also for keeping it safe. In order to do that, they may invest in building new settlements or trades by decree, while also building up small troops of guards. These guards are very strictly regulated in terms of size, training and equipment in order to prevent any of the nobilis to accumulate too much military power. A real army is only to be kept by the legions of the emperor. This may also lead to any guard, who has too much experience, to be transferred to one of the legions, which usually perceived as an honor and a goal for most captains.

Legates

One of the more recent developments in social structure within the temerian empire is the role of legates. As the empire is growing rapidly, one of the emperors biggest concerns is to retain the centralisation of power. In order to enable this, fast transmission of information and decisions is required. The legates should ensure exactly this. Whenever someone is appointed as a legate, which is usually only for a limited time or task, they are equipped with specific authority to make decisions, as if they were acting as the person who appointed them. As such, as legate is regarded and to be treated as replacement for whoever sent them. This temporarily places them at different level than he or she originated from and thus is a great opportunity to prove their worth.
Depending on their area of function, the ranks of the legates are divided:
Imperial legates are directly empowered by the emperor to speak and enact his will. It is very rare that the emperor appoints one of them and he usually only does, when there is something to do, that he doesn't entrust to one of his tribunes. Far more often, than to act, these legates are sent to observe and report back to the high throne. In this case, such a legate is sent to monitor the proceedings of tribunes and nobles alike. Whenever one of the imperial legates appears, it is seen as a sign that someone has earned the emperors distrust.
The role of Military Legates is a fixed part of the law. Within the Martial Charta their role is discribed to serve as adjutant for the tribune, acting as replacement, for when the tribune is unavailable to make decisions. They are also responsible for the personal security of the tribune and often command the personal guards of their superior. Furthermore a military tribune often handles financials and logistics of the legion. So, very often it is the legate of a legion who actually runs and operates the legion, while it is the tribune, who makes strategic decisions and acts as general in case of battle.
Tax Legates are, as the name suggests, responsible for collecting and transferring taxes from even the smallest hamlet to the tribunate for of trade and taxes. All people, who work for the tribune in the area of trade and taxes, are legates of some kind. The tax legates have an elaborate system of ranks to enable thrade collection. The lowest rank of these legates is named a Assistant Collector and usually a kind of secretary for the Collector, who, supported by a band of guards or mercenaries, travels through his or her district to regularly collect taxes, either in the form of money or kind. The hierarchy of the tax legates is organised by the districts that they are responsible for, which sometimes, but not alway, align with the separation of provinces.
The most recent, and most peculiar, form of legates that formed are legislative legates. Their one and only job is to know the most recent laws of the empire and bring them even to the most remote village. In this function, their word is the law. Whenever one of these legates is around, his or her wording of the Temerian Codex or the Martial Charta overrules any written word. Legislative legates are sent on their journey by decree of the emperor's justice directly and are forbidden from settling down for more than one month. It is their highest duty to know the law and update each other with the latest changes whenever possible. Most of these legates have a high degree of mental training to memorise the codex in its entire wording by heart and as well in order to prevent corruption. These people take on the mantle of neutrality and truth with zeal, which often permits them from interfering with execution of the law directly, seeing themselves as a source of knowledge only. In its entirety, the legislative legates form a very new, but steadily growing caste in its own. Some even joked about them being the new priests of the empire.

Citizens

The large part of people inhabiting the empire are to be counted as citizens. Any citizen of the empire has some vital basic rights granted:

1. Vote in elections for the senate
2. Carry on a trade within and abroad the empire
3. Lease and own land
4. Sue others in case of wrongdoings, as well as represent theirselve when being sued at the court
5. Move freely within the empire
6. Be exempt from certain corporal punishment, especially torture and gruesome methods of execution
7. Marry and found a family
8. Receive free basic education, like reading and writing, general access to education and public infrastructure
9. Pray to and worship any god or spirit without prosecution
10. Be elected as senator when of age

In other words, having the temerian citizenship is the only way to actually take part in daily life. It has to be carefully noted, that these rights are granted to citizens without restrictions of gender. Thus, the Temerian Empire is one of the few nations, where all genders are equal.
In order to receive and keep the citizenship there is a number of codified duties and prerequisites:

1. Only those of human heritage may claim it. This requires predominant Myou'Jin, Alhanian or Andronian blood. This is assesed by scholars and even sorcerers when requesting citizenship.
2. Paying regular taxes
3. Serving within the legion for two years upon reaching adolescence
4. Being able to read and write the temerian trade tongue or learn it within one year.
5. You must not practice or share knowledge of spiritual, celestial or veiled magic.

On some occasions the emperor has granted a citizenship to someone who did not meet all of the required prerequisites or exempted individuals from their duties to pay taxes or serve the legion. This happens specifically for people of diplomatic interest, like emisarries of other kingdoms, or for very valueable people, that the emperor has a personal interest in. In case of diplomatic citizenship it is usually only granted temporarily.
On the other hand, not everybody, who does not have the temerian citizenship is automatically outlawed or a slave. As long as they are at least basically of human decent and behave according to the laws of the Temerian Empire, they just face very inconvenient repercussions, that make it near impossible to stay longer within the empire. For example, any border patrol or guard may prevent their journey and they may not sell goods, while buying is usually not a problem.
Citizenship is taken very siriously by officials and within the inner provinces as it is the basic foundation of the success and conveniences of the empire. More rural locations, as well as recently annexed provinces usually have a more relaxed view on these matters, especially when the new way of living is not yet natural to them.
The senate has a special role. It is staffed by selected citizens. In general it is the responsibility and authority of the tribune to select a senator, who will represent all citizens of the according province. Sometimes this is done democratically, while very often the tribune directly selects a trusted citizen. In some areas it has become a custom to select senators from a number of specific families, making it nearly an inherited post. Being chosen as senator can be life-chaning, as they receive all their expenses reimbursted from the empire and are relocated to the seantors quarters in the city of Raveas with their families. This has been introduced in order to reduce corruption, but in reality has just shifted it towards the elections.
The purpose of the senate is to represent citizens before the emperor on the one hand, and deal with lawmaking and some tasks of administration for the civil population. As a tradition all senators gather at least twice a month in the Halls of Wisdom in Raveas to discuss pressing matters and decide on changes to the law or even act as highest instance for civil justice. Also, at least once a quarter of the year, the emperor himself hears the pleas of the senators of which he often times grants pardons or shares his opinion on civil matters. Thus, the senate plays a vital role within the empires social structure as it connects nobility and citizens directly.

Slaves and Servants

Contrary to what one might suspect, slaves and servants rarely face a lot of disgrace in their life. First, there is a distinction between these groups to be made:
Servants are usually citizens of the empire who forfeited their direct citizenship and put themselves under (limted) control of another citizen. This is usually, but necessarily, a temporary situation. For example, this happens due to a debt that cannot be payed off, or for children, who are not of age. Although the emperor does not approve of this as he favours equality, it became a custom for some families, that only the leader of the family is the only citizen, while all others are servants. Commonly this is found in provinces, where patriarchy was the norm before the empire.
While servants are under the command of their citizens, they receive a wage, or at least upkeep. Also they have a right to physical integrity, making corporal punishment a rare occasion. Also a servant may either be released or pay off their debt and take on citizenship as a result, for example, when they come off age.
Slaves on the other hand are not as free as servants are. They are at the liberty of their masters, except for unduly harm, which is a very broad term. Another law that prevents extremes is, that a master is responsible for the deeds of his servants. As a result, only trustworthy slaves may leave the homesteads of their masters, while others are confined more closely.
It is very uncommom that someone who could claim citizenship becomes a slave instead of a servant. The most known example for a situation where an ex-citizen became enslaved was due to crimes committed against their new master. As a result, most slaves are either criminals or not human enough for the officials to become citizens, or are captured as prisoners of war.
The life of a slave varies heavly, depending on their master. In rural areas, they are used to harrow the land and do the hard work, while in more urban regions it is also common th use slaves for entertainment of guests and do the work nobody else wants to do, like cleaning the sewers.

Law and Jurisdiction

One of the major achievements of the empire is a uniformity of the law. Throughout all its provinces there is one and the same code of law, that all citizens of the empire are subject to. The Temerian Codex rules all the basic aspects of the daily life while the Martial Charta regulates everything else.

Temerian Codex - Civil Law

Primarily, the Temerian Codex regulates who is allowed to own land, slaves or goods and also which circumstances are to be met to trade as merchant or sell their service as craftsman. The most important passages of the Codex deal with taxes, which includes market rights and toll regulations, that all citizens have to pay as these serve as the major source of income for empire and are used to fund all military and civil services.
It has to be pointed out especially, that the Temerian Codex is only applicable for those, who are acknowledged citizens regardless of their age or gender. So it is no wonder, that the first chapter of the codex exactly details who may or may not be recognised as citizen. Usually this only applies to pureblooded humans, who have claimed permanent residency within the boundaries of the empire. The only exception for anybody else to become a citizen is to join the ranks of the legion.
Rights of slaves and servants are regulated via a special charta that does actually put them under the full liberty of their owners. In turn the owners are responsible for protecting their slaves from unduly harm and also rules that the owner of a slaves is to be hold responsible for all the wrongdoings any slave commits while in the service of their liege.
All these affairs mention above fall under the area of civil rights and are defined and ammended by the senate. The senate itself is a representation of the citizens of each province, who are responsible dealing with the daily business of gouvernment. Any citizen can be elected to act as senator for his or her province and it is the responsibility of the gouverning tribune of the according province to decide who will represent the province in turn. Some of the tribunes prefer to directly select their representatives, while in other provinces it has become a custom to democratically vote in an election. There is no specific timefrime for which a senator is appointed. It has happened before, that some tribunes recalled their senators after a few days or weeks, when they did not act in their interest. The number of senators is fixed to 312, while the number of senators that a province has to dispatch depends on the number of citizens that the census, conducted every three years, has established.
Since the rule of Emperor Temerian II, traditionally all senators and their closest family members are relocated to reside in the city of Raveas, within the senators disctrict, close to the senate. Their housing, servants and cost of living are taken over by the empire. This has been institutionalised to reduce corruption and also to let all members of the senate discuss on par with each other. All revenue that a trade or land of an appointed senator generates is automatically claimed by the empire in return.
Any law that the senate passes usually takes effect within thirty days, except when the emperor himself vetoes, which is handled by martial law.

The Martial Charta - The Emperors Law

It seems as a strange fact, that is rooted in the genesis of the empire, that anything, that is not ruled by civil law automatically falls into Martial Law. Thus, the martial law of the temerian empire covers not only structures and punishments within the military, but also the formal constitution, that describes how the empire works.
It is to be noted though, that, at least on paper, the emperor does not rule arbitarily, but it is exactly this charta of martial law that defines how he should act. As a result, the charta of martial law, does not directly work as legislative document, but rather as a handbook on how the empire has to be operated, edited by the emperor himself.
Most noteworthy points of the martial law describe the eleven legions and their responsibilities, as well as the responsibilities of the tribunes ruling over the provinces. Anything, that the emperor deems important or worthy may be subjected to the martial charta. This happened previously under Emperor Temerian I as he ordered the legions to build the vast network of roads that were the foundation for the military and economic success of the empire. Usually this would have been subject to the civil law, but is now the only part of infrastructure laws that are directly decided by the emperor or his legates.
Also of special interest is the third appendix to the martial charta. It deals with exact regulations which magic may be practiced, and which kind of magic is punishable, usually by death. The third appendix is often discussed and brought up by the emissary of the Black Citadel as, in its current reading, forbids casting any kind of magic, except those linked to the chthonic and visceral sources.

Distribution of the Laws

As the empire grew rapidly within the last years, one of the major concerns of the legislative body is to distribute the latest updates to the Temerian Codex or the Martial Charta within the empire. Just recently, within the last ten years, it became the duty of a number of specific legislative legates to travel through the empire and distribute the latest laws. They came up with a pretty complex system to keep track which version of the codices are the newest.

History

tbd

Demography and Population

tbd (generally good standards of living due to imperial infrastructure and medical knowledge, ca. 70% human/myou'jin/alhanian/few andronians, most parts as farmers in rural areas, trades and guilds in citizes, ca. 70/30 rural vs. urban)

Military

tbd (legions and guards)

Religion

tbd (freedom of religion, atheism of the emperor)

Trade & Transport

tbd (esp. trade with other nations, as non-citizens must not trade within the empire, sea trade with annwyn and Al'Mahun)

Education

tbd (generally good, due to public schools, academy of algeas for philosophy and magics, castle osgariath for military and tactics)

Infrastructure

tbd (imperial infrastructure, highways, sewages, water system, ...)

Quae membra divisa! - Unite what was devided!

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Capital

Raveas

Demonym

Temerian

Leader

Emperor Temerian III

Head of State

Emperor Temerian III

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Power Structure

Feudal state

Legislative Body

Senate (civil rights), the Emperor (everything else)

Judicial Body

Nobility (for capital crimes), civil courts