Saframalani

Republic of Saframalani Template:Saframalani
Flag Emblem
Motto: Peace from God to the People of Saframalani
Modern day borders of Saframalani
Capital and	Safghdad
Recognised national languages	Saframalani, Asahri
Recognised regional languages	Kadish Dwarven, Elven languages
Demonym(s)	Saframalani
Government	(De jure) Unitary parliamentary republic (De facto) Unitary one-party republic
• President	Muammar al-Douri
• Vice President	Ali al-Hashim
• Prime Minister	Mohamad bin Salman al-Hussein
Legislature	National People's Congress
• Upper house	Standing Committee of the National People's Congress
• Lower house	National People's Congress
Establishment
• Establishment of Saframalani Empire	1704
• Saframalani Revolution	1902
Population
• 2022 estimate	82,765,000
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	770,500,000,000
• Per capita	9,309.49$
Currency	Saframalani Dinar (SMD)
Driving side	right

Saframalani (Asahri: صفرامالاني), officially the Republic of Saframalani, is a country in Western Gondwana occupying the territories directly surrounding the Strait of Khaj. The country officially maintains that it is a democratic parliamentary multi-party republic but the country's executive, legislature and armed forces have been under the control of the Sa'athist Party since 1904, many critics of the government refer to the party's rule as totalitarian in nature. The capital city of Saframalani is the city of Safghdad which is also the richest and most populous city in the country, being the nation's traditional capital since the end of the Unification Wars in 1704 and being the birthplace of Saframalani's industrial revolution.

It is the fifth most populous country on the continent, mostly populated by humans with very significant minorities of Dwarves and Elves.

History

Early history (9th century CE - 1702 CE)

Origins of the Saframalani identity (9th-14th century CE)

Much of the ancient history of what is today Saframalani has been over the course of the Safami Dynasty's rule over what are the modern borders of the country. Intense archeological work as well as recovered scripts point towards the fact that the region was much more diverse, though it isn't exactly clear what intelligent species was the most dominant in the ancient period, the Dwarves who have managed to preserve their history, being tolerated by the Safami Dynasty, are believed to be the species that has lasted for the longest time.

Asahri speaking humans are believed to have settled the region sometime in the 9th century CE and have since been the most numerous group of peoples, barring the period of the Ni-rao Empire's rule. These proto-Saframalanis have for a long period of time co-existed with the other species and have forged a particularly strong bond with the Dwarves before and during the rule of the Ni-rao Empire over the region, even developing a Asahri dialect by around 1300 CE of their own that has adopted various characteristics of the local Dwarven languages. Though many proto-Saframalanis and then Saframalanis proper lived in the valley surrounding the Strait of Khaj the true cultural and population centers were located in the mountains around Khaj and on what is the southern coast of modern-day Saframalani where independent princes and kings have resisted the Ni-Rao for centuries, never becoming a part of the Empire.

Decline of the Ni-Rao rule (15th century CE)

The plague that has struck the Orcish population of the Ni-Rao Empire has opened a chance for the Dwarven, Human, Elven and other mountain states to conquer the territories once belonging to the Ni-Rao Empire. With the sale of Reijia to the local lord and rapidly declining imperial authority over the territory of Saframalani. The Ni-Rao have eventually been driven out of the region by the end of the 15th century by the coalition of the mountain states who have conquered the fertile flatgrounds surrounding the strait. The strongest of the Saframalani states was the southern Sultanate of Safghdad, headed by the Safami dynasty that later united the entire region and the centre of state power even in the modern times.

Following the expulsion of the Ni-rao from the land a brief period of peace was brought about as the various states have agreed to confederate under the Khaj League, a very decentralised governmental structure meant to provide a forum for all of the local lords to solve disputes diplomatically and provide mutual protection against a potential return of the Ni-Rao, although the body has largely failed as the memory of the Empire's rule faded and the Unification Wars started.

The Unification Wars (1652-1704)

Main article: Saframalani Unification Wars

The Unification Wars is the name given to the period during which the strongest of the regional states, the Sultanate of Safghdad, has consolidated it's rule over the entirety of what is known as Saframalani. The Safami Dynasty together with the Golden Order, a religious organisation that remained relevant all the way until the collapse of the dynasty's rule, led the people of Saframalani through a 52 years long period of war for unification. The Unification Wars have brought great devastation to many non-Human and non-Dwarven communities as the religious dogma of the Golden Order has enforced the idea of Human superiority over other "unpure" species, in particular the Orcs who the Golden Order eventually hunted to regional exctinction over the course of the wars in order to erase the memory of the Ni-Rao Empire across Saframalani. The Unification Wars are largely considered the most bloody period of Saframalani history and the most intense period of specieism in it's history, with the consequence being the near wiping out of non-Human and non-Dwarven communities across the country's territories.

The Unification Wars were also a period of a significant shift away from regionalism towards the idea of a unified nation-state. While the wars were often noted for their brutality, most of this brutality was aimed at other species. The Unification Wars were considered over in 1702 with the victory of Sultan Shaheed I Safami over the Elven princedoms of the Northern Coast of Saframalani and subsequent declaration of the Empire of Saframalani.

Empire period (1704-1903 CE)

Age of prosperity (1704-1814 CE)

The first century of the Saframalani Empire's existence was marked by relative prosperity and territorial expansion beyond the "core" of it's cultural sphere (the modern day borders of Saframalani) and peace being finally brought to the fertile flatlands and resource rich mountains of the country. The extensive period of peace within the heartland and the competent, but harsh, rule of the many Emperors and the religious authority of the Golden Order have allowed for a homogenisation of Saframalani culture and a sense of national unity to develop among most of the human and dwarven population.

The Age of prosperity however saw the continued extermination of many "impure" communities by the Golden Order, with only the Elves of the northern coast being able to preserve some control over their land, having signed a deal with Emperor Shaheed III in 1764 that has allowed them to maintain their identity and land "in perpetuity" as long as they pledged loyalty to the crown. The 1764 Treaty is a source of conflict to modern day as some Elven separatist groups claim that the Treaty gives them the legal right to secede from Saframalani as the Empire no longer exists, therefore there is no crown to pledge loyalty to.

Modern-day borders (Dark green) with past imperial territories (lime)

The majority of the Empire's expansion took place in the northern islands, westwards as well as eastwards and usually had a religious tone, with the Golden Order usually being responsible for justifying the expansion to the general population.

The Lutryne Rebellion of 1814 and decline (1814-1902 CE)

In 1814 a wide-spread rebellion headed primarily by Lutrynes against the Empire's repressive and often genocidal rule against them has led to an Empire-wide rebellion. The period has shaken the Empire to the core and nearly led to the fragmentation of the entire state when the forces of the Lutrynes briefly captured the capital city of Safghdad in 1816. A total collapse of authority was only avoided thanks to the infamous "Khaj Campaign" conducted by Crown Prince Ali that took place along the coast of the Khaj strait and led to the destruction of many Lutryne population centres.

Ultimately the Lutrynes agreed to put their arms down as long as they were granted the right to migrate from the lands of the Empire undisturbed. Many Lutrynes, as well as other non-Humans and non-Dwarves, have gradually started leaving the Empire in the 1800s. Aside from this the Empire has lost most of the past century's territorial gains in the West by the end of the 19th century.

With the rapid decline of Imperial authority since 1814 the Golden Order has also suffered greatly. While the religion itself hasn't become less popular the institution of the Golden Order itself has, with many heresies growing like wildfire over the coming decades. The terminal decline of the Saframalani Empire has finished in 1902 with the assasination of Emperor Shaheed VI.

Modern history

The Saframalani Revolution of 1902

Main article: The Saframalani Revolution of 1902

The collapse of the Empire's authority and the Revolution of 1902 has been credited to be the start of Saframalani's modern period. In 1902, on the 18th of February, a group of military conspirators known as the Free Officers Movement alongside the growing Sa'athist Movement have assassinated Emperor Shaheed VI and seized the State Council building, declaring a Republic. The military coup was welcomed by the population, tired of the brutality and authoritarianism of the monarchy and it's nobility, and many Saframalanis joined in protest and military action against the remaining imperial loyalists.

The Revolution has concluded in 1903 when the Revolutionary Army of Saframalani has defeated imperial loyalists in the field and executed much of the imperial family. Saframalani's society was in a deep state of decomposition and the new Republic was noted to have been extremely internally divided and weak with regional military commanders and rebel groups often ignoring the authority of the newly created Parliament. Many regions, especially northern Dwarven and the Elves of the northern coast, have attempted secession. Much of the population has also grown disillusioned with the Republic within it's first year of existence as many of the hated nobles have seemingly entered the political sphere of the new democratic state.

Early Sa'athist period (1904-1930)

Main articles: Sa'athist Party, 1904 Coup d'etat, Saframalani Civil War (1904-1908), Green Terror

Motivated by the preservation of Saframalani's national and territorial integrity the Sa'athist movement has launched a military coup d'etat under the leadership of General Abdel al-Saidi, the founder of the Sa'athist ideology, with many of the FOM officers joining their ranks. The Coup d'etat ended with the abolishment of the 1902 constitution, implementation of martial law and a period of civil conflict and revolutionary terror. Generally known as the Saframalani Civil War the 4 year period of conflict saw significant conflict across the entirety of the nation, although primarily centred around the north where traditional centres of dissent from the central power of Safghdad were located in. Among the most notable events were the declared separations of the Northern Elves and the Kadish Dwarves from the greater Saframalani, the two separatist states formed an alliance to resist any attempts at their subjugation by any of the actors of the Saframalani Civil War. Another very important and impactful rebellion against Sa'athist rule was the rebelion of the Golden Order who organised a Jihad (Holy War) against the secular Sa'athists on the eastern bank of the Khaj Strait, with the Army of the Men of the Golden Order threatening to take over Safghdad during the opening months of the civil war before being repelled by the forces of the newly founded Republican Guard. The third, and perhaps the only successful separatist movement of the civil war, was the coalition of forces responsible for the breaking away of the "Eastern Borderlands" (الحدود الشرقية), one of the Empire's earliest conquests and an important source of agricultural production.

The period of Revolutionary Terror, also known as the Green Terror (as the colour green represented the Sa'athist Party), was a large-scale campaign of terror against the opposition to the Sa'athists that took place during the period of the Civil War and for a short time after it was considered as concluded. The Green Terror started shortly after the suspension of the 1902 Constitution by the Sa'athist Party and the Revolutionary Army. The terror was a directed effort at suppressing and destroying any form of organised resistance to the rule of the new military junta, though a disproportionate amount of the terror was applied against the nobility, clergy and the landlords who also saw most of their wealth redistributed. The death toll is hard to estimate due to the state's continued prevention of research into the topic though it is believed to be anything between 100,000 and 200,000 in the non-separatist ideas. The worst of the terror was seen in the Kadish Dwarven and North Elven regions where the continued and persistent resistance of the locals led to the reign of terror lasting far longer and being even more oppressive than in the rest of the country, some estimates say that the death toll in these regions could be up to double of the rest of the country's combined total death toll. The majority of the "silencing operations" were undertaken by the Ministry of Public Security's internal troops, then known as the People's Armed Militia, which is nowadays known as the People's Armed Police and serves a wider gendarmerie role.

While the civil war has very clearly been won

After the end of the Green Terror and the Civil war Saframalani entered a stage of reconstruction and rapid industrialisation. Early Sa'athist rule could be described as very similar to the Imperial order as it was still highly authoritarian, led by a military junta. Forced secularisation, gender emancipation and shift towards nationalism and a cult of labour and science also took place during this time. The period of military rule has started to end in 1928 when a new parliament, the National People's Congress, has been created. The early period of Sa'athist Rule has ended in 1930 with the abolishment of the Revolutionary Command Council, the military-led executive body, and the transfer of power to the reinstated office of President and a new executive body known as the Central Committee.

National Rejuvenation period (1930-1980)

The National Rejuvenation period is the period of rule of the second and third generations of Sa'athist leaders. It was a period marked by rapid modernisation of Saframalani's industrial base, implementation of the first Five Year Plans and very significant shifts in Saframalani's socioeconomic structures, with a nascent middle class appearing and rapid urbanisation taking place. Significant shifts have also been made in regards to the administration of the Elven coast and Kadish Dwarven territories, both of which have received the status of Special Administrative Regions in 1932. The SAR have received the right to appoint their own regional governments and possess their own seats within the National People's Congress.

The National Rejuvenation period was marked primarily by rapid technological progress. Throughout the 1950s and 1960s Saframalani developed domestic military-industrial complex, aviation, modern shipping and industrial machinery sectors and generally diversified it's economy. Aviation became a particular pride of the nation to this day, with the Sa'athist Party marking the creation of the Air Force and Saframalani airline companies as being one of the great accomplishments of their Revolution. While generally not the most technologically advanced aviation sector the Saframalanis have created many lines of successful combat aircraft adapted with relatively low maintenance hours required and short take off and landing strips which was a necessary capability for the Air Force due to the mountainous topography of the nation.

Aside from restoration of a civilian administration many other important political reforms took place, including a limited form of democratisation as some of the previously banned opposition parties have been allowed back into politics, though they are often refered to as satellite parties by critics of the Saframalani government. Political repression and especially economic interference into the economy has gradually, but rapidly, decreased as time went on though there is still a significant amount of planning that went into particular sectors of the economy that were considered as strategic. The reforms that took place in the 1970s under the leadership of Izzat Ibrahim al-Hussein has ended the era of lifetime Presidents, implementing a term of 5 years and a 2 term limit in 1980 which is generally regarded as the start of the modern period in Saframalani.

While the period was generally peaceful the continued conflict between the Elves and the central government still persisted, with the start of a decades long insurgency in 1978 following apparent interference of the central government in local elections. Transfers of power between Presidents was also often somewhat violent, with purges and other major upheavals still being common during changes in leadership until the reforms of Izzat Ibrahim al-Hussein.

Modern period (1980 onwards)

The modern period of Saframalani history has generally been noted as a golden age in Saframalani's history, largely peaceful aside from the still ongoing elven insurgency. The political, economic and domestic scenes of Saframalani has generally been regarded as stable especially when put against the past periods. Through continued investment and successful policy the state was able to begin the development of a high-tech sector, especially in regards to medicine and industrial automation technologies. The pace of development picked up especially during the start of President Muammar al-Douri's reign in 2015, with his focus on scientific advancement and encouragement of innovation bearing fruit during the 8 years of his rule.

There has been some controversy regarding the current government's comments in regards to the imperial past of Saframalani with a notable return towards a nationalist, expansionist rethoric over the last few years, backsliding in the already meager democratic processes and increasing defence spending with some critics worrying that the Saframalani government might be preparing for potential conflicts in order to return the state's influence over it's "traditional" spheres of influence, especially the breakaway Eastern Borderlands.

Geography

Physical geography

Saframalani is a state located in Western Central Gondwana and lies on both shores of the Khaj Straits with either side having roughly the same territorial extent. The nation enjoys easy access to both the Sea of Gondwana and the Northern Sea leading into the Pacific Ocean. Much of the country's topology consists of hills and mountains and many of the historical population centres have been located in the highlands though their importance and populations diminished with the domination of the Khaj Strait by proto-Saframalani Kingdoms following the withdrawal of the Ni-rao from the region.

Much of the country's population is located in the south, close to the traditional heartland of the Saframalani Empire around the capital of Safghdad. The southern regions of the country have usually been more densely settled due to their less harsh climate, more plentiful rainfall thanks to regular monsoons from the Sea of Gondwana and the generally more fertile lands located there.

Most of the country is dominated by a mix of dry and wet tropical climate zones, with the exception of the southern coastline which is dominated by the tropical monsoon climate type and some of the deep interior being classified as a semi-arid or semi-desert climate zones.

Government and politics

The Republic of Saframalani officially calls itself a unitary parliamentary multi-party republic, however it is widely accepted in academic circles that since 1904 the state is an authoritarian one-party republic, even after the restoration of the parliament in 1928. It is governed solely by the All-Saframalani National Front, also known as the Sa'athist Party with several legal minor satellite parties representing the acceptable level of opposition within the constraints of the political system created by the Sa'athist Party. Furthermore the current constitution of Saframalani declares the state as inherently socialist with strong ties to the idea of democratic centralism, which serves as a tool to represent the will of the people through the National People's Congress and it's Standing Committee.

There are three levels of government in Saframalani - local, provincial and national. There are also two autonomous republics in the Northeast of the country that serve to give a degree autonomy to the Kadish Dwarves and Elven nations of the northern coast.

The Sa'athist Party

Main article: Sa'athist Party

As outlined in the current constitution the Sa'athist Party, also known by it's official name of the All-Saframalani National Front, is the supreme party that directs and leads the nation. For most of the nation's modern history the top echelons of power were held exclusively by the representatives of the Sa'athist Party, with a few minor exceptions during the National Rejuvenation Period. The restored parliament - the National People's Congress - is technically a body of the Sa'athist Party itself, the highest ranking of the party bodies aside from the Central Committee which represents the President's cabinet.

The Sa'athist Party guiding principles are Saframalani Socialism, Saframalani Nationalism, Republicanism, Secularism and Social Progressivism. While the Sa'athists are generally regarded as the most progressive regime in Saframalani's history it can still be regarded as quite conservative when compared to other states on Urth.

Government

The Saframalani government system adheres to the separation of powers principle with the executive branch being represented by the Central Committee and the President, the legislative branch represented by the bicameral National People's Congress and the judiciary represented by the various courts of the Republic. Seniority plays a big role in one's political career.

Executive Branch

The executive branch of the government is represented primarily by the President, who is also the General Secretary of the National People's Congress' Central Committee which is considered the Saframalani equivalent to a cabinet and the ultimate decision-making body within the Saframalani government. The various ministries of the government are subservient to the Central Committee. The General Secretary of the Central Committee (usually the President of the Republic) and Premier are elected by the National People's Congress. The candidacies for these positions are presented by the lower house of the National People's Congress from among the senior members of the upper house, so the Standing Committee and then voted upon first by the lower house and then approved by the upper house.

Once the Premier and the General Secretary (President) of the Central Committee are elected they convene to appoint the rest of the Central Committee which includes Ministries, the Vice-President as well as the heads of special government commissions created by the Central Committee, i.e. the National Security Commission. The Central Committee can veto any legislature with the approval of the President, such decisions can be questioned by the NPCSC or the Supreme Court but that happens very rarely.

Legislative Branch

The National People's Congress is the supreme legislative body in the Republic and is generally regarded to as the highest government body in the entire country housing within itself the Central Committee, the Standing Committee as well as the lower house of the National People's Congress, which is refered to as just the National People's Congress.

National People's Congress Standing Committee

The NPCSC is the upper house of the parliament. It has a total of 140 seats with the Sa'athist Party currently occupying 120 of them, 10 being permanently reserved for representatives of the two Autonomous Republics and the rest being occupied by non-party politicians. The NPCSC is responsible for approving and amending the legislatures voted upon by the lower house before moving them on to the Central Committee. Seats in the NPCSC are distributed based on seniority though it is generally considered poor practice to occupy the seats for much longer than the legal retirement age (70 years old), with many politicians being forced to retire by the party afterwards in an effort to prevent political stagnation.

National People's Congress

The NPC, reffering to the lower house of the parliament, is the body responsible for creating and voting on laws, lists of candidates for the Central Committee every 5 years and generally providing advice to the Standing Committee and Central Committee. There are a total of 420 seats in the lower house, with 40 of them being reserved for the two autonomous republics. The political make up of the lower house is generally more varied with 328 seats being occupied by the Sa'athist Party, 40 being reserved for the Autonomous Republics and 52 currently being occupied by the various independents and legal minor parties.

Judiciary

The judiciary system in Saframalani is organised as follows:

1. The Supreme Court of Saframalani (Incl. the Constitutional Tribunal)
2. Provincial Courts
3. Local Courts

There are also Military Courts which are attached to regional command structures, labour courts which operate on both local and provincial levels and are responsible for solving labour related non-criminal cases and also religious courts which concern primarily disputes between religious bodies as well as handling reports of dangerous cults.

Economy

Saframalani currently operates a mixed socialist market economy, though more often described as a state capitalist economy. Many "strategic" sectors of the economy, like the aviation industry, information technology companies, medical technologies companies and energy resource companies, are operated either by state owned enterprises or by so-called "National Champions" which are large private corporations closely tied to and supported by the government, though more often it is the latter. According to official statistics at least 70% of the Saframalani economy is currently privatised.

The economy is generally oriented towards manufacturing, with low-value manufacturing being dominant throughout the mid-20th century and being gradually surpassed in value by high-tech manufacturing primarily in industrial automation, medicine and aviation throughout the 1990s and into the 21st Century. This shift towards high value manufacturing is still ongoing and has significantly picked up pace since the first term of office of President Muammar al-Douri and his technocratic policies aimed at transforming the Saframalani economy.

While the economy is driven by market demands, these demands themselves are often "corrected" by the Central Committee, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ministry of Economy and Ministry of Finances that are responsible for creating a "Five Year Plan" every 5 years. These "Five Year Plans" serve to give recommendations and targets for provincial governors and other actors within the government and Saframalani's business world to steer growth in strategically important areas of the economy.

Demographics

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Culture and religion

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Military

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