Shakar: Difference between revisions

 

For the overwhelming majority of its history, it has been inhabited by nomadic hunter gatherers. It has the last area of prehistoric Packilvania to transition to sedentary settlements and agriculture. Given the high number of people who rely on nomadic pastoralism, historians have argued that the transition is not yet complete. It was among the last to break out of the stone age.

 

The province's Tumarid Highlands were the site of a civilisation known as the Tumarid civilisation which spanned over 3,000 years and ended around 300 CE. There are many ruins of pyramids made of stone. These large structures were burial mounds for their ancient rulers and they are believed to have practiced a polytheistic religion which include sentient sacrifice. Their rulers, known in modern [[Packilvanian]] as ''muFareeh'' were treated as deities on Urth. Their history is divided into 6 dynasties.

 

Most notably is the Shulamid dynasty which is believed in Packilvanian mythology to have kept the Yehudan people as slaves for over a 100 years before they were liberated by an Esma of Noi and led to Ashura where they founded the Kingdom of Yehudah which evolved to the Kingdom of Bakil from which the [[Iktanite dynasty]] originated. While the mass migration of people from the Tumarid civilisation during the reign of the Shulamid dynasty is known, it is unclear whether the Yehudan epithet applied to an ethno-religious group or all migrants who fled the historically known bronze age collapse that marked its end.

 

Shakar remained inhabited by nomads and small city states in the Southern Oasis Belt and the Tumarid Highlands. The Rabadim civilisation emerged for a brief period as people began to settle the Shakar Mountain valleys. That civilisations collapsed due to disease and drought however they left behind massive stone carved structures in the mountains caves. Their advanced masonry seems to have been known by the Kingdom of Bakil, suggesting that their collapse was around 600 CE.

 

 

Shakar is bordered by [[Musetszna]] to the north, [[Jumhurikesh]] and [[Ashura]] to the east, [[Ukanar]] and [[Kharyat]] to the south and [[Mekedesh]] to the southeast. It is the largest province by surface area in the country followed by Jumhurikesh. It is dominated by cold desert in the north, the hot desert in the south and the Shakar Mountains in the interior. The cold desert in the north has the second-lowest recorded temperature in the country at -10°C following - -20°C in the Jumhur Mountains. The second-hottest recorded temperature in the country is in the Shakar hot desert at approximately 49°C. The province receives less than 10mm of rain every year and it typically only rains sporadically.

 

The province has several oases in the south around which most of the province's population is concentrated. The province has significant reserves of fossil fuels, rare earth and ferrous metals, and precious and semi-precious stones. The province has 1% agricultural land, most of which is cultivated for wine grape production and around 3% of the land serves as pastoral land for agriculture. Most of the arable land is concentrated in the far south which is separated from the hit desert by the Tumarid Highlands. Although Shakar is often seen as lacking biodiversity, it has the largest concentration of endemic succulent plant species in the country. There are many species of antelope, desert foxes, jackals, vultures, hyenas, meerkats, mongoose, aardvarks, rattlesnakes, puff adders, rock lizards and other animals. The province suffers from water stress, dust and sand storms during the Harmattan season, and frequent droughts.

 

The Province of Shakar is governed by Governor Tubida who was appointed by Sultan [[Thumim V]] in his capacity as the Regent and [[Crown Prince of Packilvania]] in 2022 following the resignation of Prince Sajahal. As the other [[Administrative divisions of Packilvania|provinces of Packilvania]], the Governor appoints the Premier and the Provincial Council of Ministers which executes and proposes legislation. The power to make laws over issues shared with or granted exclusively to the province lies with the Provincial Legislative Council and the Provincial Consultative Council. Shakar has the fewest number of municipalities which have received a clean audit from the Office of Financial Discipline. It has the largest amount of government income and resources lost to misexpenditure (corruption and waste) at around 21% of its budget.

 

Law and order in the province remains relatively small and the province has a below average level of organised crime although illegal intimate relations remain the highest in the country and it is the largest exporter of intoxicating substances in the country due to its high production of poppy plants. The province has the lowest tax collection in the country with only 5% of the population paying income taxes. It has the highest dependence on transfers from the Imperial government at around 50% of its annual budget with the rest coming from fossil fuel royalties.

 

Most of the population of Shakar subsists on animal husbandry and reside in rural areas through sedentary settlements or nomadic tribes. As such, over 45% of the Shakar population live below the national poverty line. However the number of people living over the international poverty line is negligible. Unemployment figures for Shakar are very difficult to ascertain as most of the population is involved in the informal economy which is believed to comprise over 35% of the economy. The province has the lowest labour participation rate especially among women in the country and unemployment is estimated to hover around 20% to 30% of able-bodied work-seeking adults. The province has the highest reliance on remittances from family members working in other parts of the country, at about 17% to 25%.

 

Rail infrastructure is concentrated toward the transport of minerals and fossil fuels. The province is the origin of the highest-volume pipelines in the country. The Sharkol International Airport is the largest airport in the province.

 

The province has the highest population of [[Akuanism|Akuanists]], most of whom are concentrated in the Tumarid Highlands wine-growing region, at 2% of the population. Shakar is the least densely populated province on average, although 60% of its population is concentrated in the far south on in the Southern Oasis Belt and the Tumarid Highlands. The rest of the population is disbursed in mining towns or living nomadic lifestyles in the deserts. The population has the highest fertility rate in the country at 5.6 children per woman. The population has the highest instance of underage marriages at 4.5% of marriages and the Shakar government has not introduced regulations banning the practice. The population has the highest infant mortality rate in the country at 4.5 births per 1,000 births, the highest rate of mother to child immune deficiency viral transmissions and the lowest life expectancy in the country at 65 years of age.