Insular Salesia

Insular Salesia is a of the Kiravian Federacy comprising two continental islands off the southern coast of Sarpedon.

History
The Salesian Isles first came under the rule of a state civilisation when they were absorbed into the Orthodox Ĥyzantine Empire that controlled the adjacent areas of the Ixnayan mainland. The islands remained in Ĥyzantine hands until the defeat of that empire by the Ramascus Caliphate during the late 20200s. In the early 20300s, Levantine Catholic crusaders recaptured the isles for Christendom before going on to conquer a great deal of the nearby mainland. The islands came under the jurisdiction of the crusader Order of St. James, which continued to govern them long after the fall of the last Crusader outpost on the mainland in 20845.

In 20972, the Order, embattled both financially and militarily, reached an agreement with the Kiravian Federacy, a colonial power in the nearby Sydona Isles, to transfer conservatorship over the islands to Kiravia in exchange for protection and funds. The Order continued to operate on the islands, where it remains a leading provider of health and other social services to this day, in addition to maintaining a sizeable militia. Insular Salesia served as a staging ground for Kiravian intervention in the Absurranian Civil War, which resulted in the formation of a separate Protectorate of Woolzistan on the mainland.

Politics and Governance
Politics in Insular Salesia takes place in the framework of a constitutional republic. Executive power belongs to a High Commissioner appointed by the Prime Executive of the Kiravian Federacy, while legislative power is vested in a High Court elected biennially by open-list proportional representation. The Kiravian government, usually through the High Commission, is primarily responsible for Salesia's foreign affairs, defence, commercial regulations, and law-enforcement, though it has gradually expanded its influence into certain areas of Salesian domestic policy.

While it is considered a federal subject and a "place subject to Kiravian jurisdiction" for the purposes of Kiravian constitutional law, Salesia is neither a state, integral territory, nor possession of the Kiravian Federacy, remaining a separate though non-sovereign entity under international law. Salesia does not pay Federal taxes (though Kiravian nationals resident in the islands must pay Federal income tax), nor are its inhabitants extended Kiravian nationality (they are instead classed as "Kiravian-Protected Persons" and issued special passports unique to Salesia). However, Salesia does form a single customs and monetary zone (both the Salesian scudo and Kiravian saar are legal tender) with the Federacy, and it has become subject to most Kiravian federal economic regulations. Salesia issues Kiravian-style internal passports to its residents, both Kiravian nationals and otherwise, as identity documents, which can be used by non-nationals to travel to the Federacy visa-free for up to 90 days.

Society & Culture
The Salesian Isles have a diverse population belonging to several distinct ethnoreligious communities. Arab Christians make up the largest share of the protectorate's population, tracing their ancestry to the original inhabitants who converted to Christianity under Ĥyzantine rule, as well as to later waves of Christian émigrées from the mainland. They are divided among the Ixnay Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Coscivian Orthodox communities, with Ixnay Orthodox Arabs being the largest of the three. While the Coscivian Orthodox Arab community was historically quite large, as Coscivian Orthodox adherents fled unrest from the mainland to friendly Coscivian rule in Salesia, changes to the Kiravian immigration code in 21178 that gave Coscivian Orthodox Arabs higher priority in the Federacy's point-based immigration system encouraged many to leave the islands and settle in Great Kirav.

Muslim Arabs of varying denominations also have a significant and growing presence in Salesia. Halawi Muslims account for two-thirds of the Muslim population (although Sunni Muslims regard the Halawi as pagans), with most of the remainder being Sunni. There is one Shi'a mosque on each island, serving the smaller Shi'a minority.

The Levantine community, descended from members of the Order of St. James and other crusaders expelled from the mainland, are a large and influential group in Salesia, occupying many important positions in business, civil society, and the civil service. They are typically Latin-speaking and trace their ancestry to Urcea and MexSpain. Devout Roman Catholics, they are endogamous and continue to cultivate a noble and martial culture that identifies strongly with the crusades responsible for their ethnogenesis.

There are also many people of Coscivian cultural background who have settled in Salesia over the centuries, including administrative and military personnel, merchants, Deep South Coscivians from the Sydona Isles, Arab Coscivians from the continent, retirees, and others.