Sabnaki

Sabnaki, officially the Dominion of the Sabnaki, is a country in Cusinaut. It is neighbored by the Algosh Republic, Ashkenang, and Iriquona.

The Sabnak people trace their ancestry to some of the earliest prehistoric settlers in Cusinaut from Alshar, with some of the oldest archaeological sites on the subcontinent appearing within Sabnaki territory. A cohesive Sabnak culture began to emerge with the advent and spread of writing during the early medieval period, with a unified Sabnak political emerging by the 1400s. Sabnak writing and language differentiates sharply from that of the rest of Cusinaut, whose writing and language is inspired by cross-Nysdra cultural exchange with Varshan and other places; accordingly, the Sabnak developed a sense of social isolation from the rest of the subcontinent. As an isolationist society, the Sabnak people fought to keep their borders closed to both their neighbors and the Occident, resulting in a series of brutal wars with the Algosh people and later Northern Confederation. In the 18th century, the Sabnak people began to grow, , and other cash crops originally present in the Occident, remaining mostly isolated but funding the state and small economy with highly controlled cash crop exports. This era of Sabnaki is known primarily as the "export society", wherein the Sabnak people managed to maintain independence by becoming a reliable provider of goods to the global market; in turn, the society and state gradually transformed to support this economic model. In the 19th century, the pre-modern Sabnak confederated state was reformed into a centralized state. The Sabnak people voluntarily receded from isolation and joined the League of Nations in the 1950s. After the fall of the Northern Confederation, the Sabnak people resumed their centuries-long skirmishing with Algoquona, the new Algosh state. Within this context, the Sabnak found new allies in the Occident. Throughout the 2010s, the Sabnak state began a rapid period of military and infrastructure modernization while importing Occidental government advisors and cultural materials. It participated in the Final War of the Deluge, fighting against Algoquona and receiving territory at the conclusion of the war. Foreign investment has led Sabnaki to possess one of the world's fastest growing economies. The economic growth has largely outpaced social and political reform, leading to significant domestic political unrest since 2010, with limited efforts towards democratic reform made to improve Occidental ties. Observers have noted a growing becoming increasingly disillusioned with the traditional ruling cliques and planter aristocracy that once held firm control over Sabnak society.

Sabnaki is a member of the League of Nations.

Etymology
The source of "Sabnak" and its associated terminology are unknown, but the term is well attested. It appears in the earliest Sabnak language written record as a general term for persons living within the modern area of Sabnaki. Peipheral references in Varshani sources may reference the "Sabnak" in a source as early as 150 BC, but the context and meaning of the word in this record are debated by scholars.

Sabnaki is unusual among nation-states, as its name is usually rendered as the plural of Sabnak peoples, "Sabnaki", based on the name of the state. While the full name of the state is "Dominion of the Sabnaki", i.e. state belonging to the Sabnak people, the state has no traditional or commonly accepted geographical associated with it. Over the course of the 20th century, "Sabnaki" came to be used in Occidental scholarship and cultural references as a geographical proper noun, and this usage has been increasingly accepted by the Sabnak state itself in diplomatic correspondence. In some Levantine countries and in Caphiria, the Dominion is referred to simply as "Sabnacia".

Geography
Sabnaki sits on the west coast of Cusinaut, ranging from the Pacagine peninsula on the west to the Cusin Valley in the central of Cusinaut. The entire country sits below the Arctic circle, with much of Sabnaki featuring a. Temperatures are mild most of the year with the exception of January and February, which feature fierce winter coldfronts that regularly dip below 0 F. The interior of the country is mostly characterized by highlands surrounding the Cusin Valley, but some of the Valley's fertile lowlands sit within Sabnak territory. In the final peace of the Final War of the Deluge, Sabnaki was awarded an eastern extremity known as the Treaty Corridor, which is a relatively thin piece of territory separating most of Iriquona from the Algosh Republic.

Prehistory to medieval period
Human history in Sabnaki can be traced back to the earliest archaeological evidence of human arrival in Cusinaut from Alshar, with rudimentary fishing implements found from about 20,000 BC.

Modern Sabnaki developed a semi-urban society by around the year 750 BC, with inland agriculture and extensive fishing allowing the growth of an urban corridor along the modern west coast of the country. These population centers did not develop into a fully urban society until well into the 3rd century AD, and for the time the people there largely erected large temporary settlements and migrated within small territories based on whether or not the fish supply in the area was exhausted. Regardless, most of these groups developed into major tribal polities, vying for control of better fishing territories as well as access to important rivers that gave easy access to the rudimentary inland agriculture. The highlands of modern inland Sabnaki were largely dominated by migratory hunter-gatherer tribes rather than agricultural settlers, though these groups appear to have been deeply integrated within the proto-Sabnak trade economy and appear to share largely the same. By the year 100 BC, most of these various groups had consolidated into 10-12 semi-urban coastal groups with various associated inland farming villages and a rotating number of internal hunter-gatherer tribes, ranging from about 20 in 200 BC to 45 in 100 AD.

Sabnak culture emerges
The distinguishing event in the history of the Sabnaki occurred over the course of the years 450 and 950 AD, when a writing system began to emerge from the peoples living around modern Tsaile. Most historians believe that the Sabnak alphabet began as a rudimentary tally system on small wooden blocks used for trade. Accordingly, most scholars believe the Sabnak Alphabet emerged as a commercial shorthand that was used between traders in the coastal cities that later found use in political and artistic settings. The first archaeological evidence of literature among the proto-Sabnak dates to around 950 AD; it details the life and times of a man called Menla, the ancestor of the author. Scholarly consensus indicates that the Menla Saga was a long-standing oral tradition among his tribe that had been recorded using what was previously commercial language, and most scholars believe the very earliest form of Sabnak literature was simple codification and recording of long-extant oral traditions. By around 1050 AD, significant political and social interaction occurred via written record. The advent of writing and literature allowed the tribal peoples of modern Sabnaki to relate with eachother in ways not previously possible, building a sense of closeness and commonality between them. The availability of written family sagas allowed their proliferation and widespread adoption. By 1150 AD, most of the peoples living in modern Sabnaki shared the same written language, a shared literary history, and a growing sense of similarity between themselves not shared by other neighboring peoples. Consequently, an identifiable "Sabnak culture" emerged by around 1200 AD out of the various proto-Sabnak peoples.

While the Sabnak were not unique among the peoples of Cusinaut in developing writing, most linguists and historians agree they are the only people in Cusinaut to have independently developed writing, given that most other Cusinaut language alphabets borrow significantly from the common tradition of Varshan and the North Songun civilization that filtered north through the Nysdra. This unique literary style contributed later to the sense of alienness that Sabnak people felt from their Cusinautic neighbors, an alienation that would eventually result in the establishment of an isolationist society.

Sabnak state established
Although the Sabnak people had always shared a similar culture, the growth of neighboring rivals precipitated the establishment of a confederated government. The rise of the power of the Algosh people among others in Cusinaut presented military danger to the Sabnak people. According to Sabnak histories, the ruler of the modern city of Tsaile, a man called King Sání, called together the other Sabnak cities and tribes to a major meeting at Tsaile. According to the traditional version, Sání made an impassioned plea for the Sabnak to band together against their enemies, lest they all be destroyed. In a dramatic show, Sání locked the doors and brought in his forty daughters, marrying all of them to the various notables and tribal leaders on the spot, creating the dynastic connections necessary for the establishment of the Sabnak League. Most historians believe this tale is a legend, but Sání was a real historical figure and is believed to have been the first leader of the Sabnak League, formed in around 1420 AD. For the next four centuries, the Sabnak League would bind together the Sabnak people into a loose confederation which entailed common defense and, increasingly, an open internal trade market.

Algosh wars
Beginning in the late 1400s, the Sabnak people engaged the Algosh people in a series of wars that would last until the 17th century and the foundation of the Northern Confederation.

It is believed that a very large number of those captured on both sides in the various Sabnak-Algosh wars were sold into slavery in Varshan, usually through slave markets on the Seneca Islands. A 2031 genetic test reported that at least 5% of all former slaves in Varshan's west coast region had at least one ethnically Sabnak or Algosh ancestor. A legend reports that a group of captive Algosh and Sabnak slaves on the islands broke loose of their captors and continued fighting one another, but its unclear if the so-called "Battle of Sakanoma" is based on history or was a later invention.

Rise of the Export Society
Although the Sabnak were relatively unaffected by Aster's expedition as it opened central Crona to the Occident, by the late 1600s and early 1700s, the leaders of the Sabnak League grew increasingly concerned about the presence of the militarily powerful foreigners increasingly seen in and around Cusinaut on a yearly basis. Due to their animosity with the neighboring Algosh people, local alliances or membership in the hated Northern Confederation were not an option, so the Sabnak League developed a different approach. The decision was made to open one city, Lichai, to Occidental trade, intending to provide large numbers of goods to the Occidentals for relatively low cost in exchange for gold and weapons. Through negotiation, it was determined that Sabnaki's best contributions would be and, and prominent Sabnak leaders began to build private plantations to grow and harvest these crops for export. The nation's output was relatively small at first, but by 1720 political and social leaders began to fully transition the country into an exporter, creating both social and political institutions to help facilitate the growth and sale of these goods. This process created what was known as the "Export Society", a new set of institutions in Sabnaki that eliminated many of the remnant migratory tribal lands and massively enriched a small class of planters, who became the leading economic clique in the country by 1800.

Land seizures
As part of the overall plan to Occidentalize the nation's economy, Autocrat Maitsoi Taphanso implemented a policy in 2018 to seize plots of land for the construction of major infrastructure, such as highways in exchange for half of fair market value. This program inevitably put the government and ruling classes in opposition to the nation's powerful planter classes, as their cash crop farms occupied the vast majority of the land area in the interior part of Sabnaki. Several attempts were made by leading planters to end the policy, but by 2024 it was clear these efforts had failed. In response, about a third of the Council of Ministers and the Chief Minister, aligned with the planters and owning large plots of lands themselves, resigned in protest. This had the effect of both alienating the planter class from the political ruling elite Tsailists but also practically removing the influence of the planters in government. Accordingly, between 2025 and 2030, the rate of land seizures accelerated, except many of these lands were auctioned off to private Sabnak economic interests or even to foreign investers, deeply angering the planter elite. This divide set the administration of Autocrat Taphanso and the planter elite on a political collision course in the 2030s.

Government
Sabnaki is an republic, with most governing authority established in the nation's chief executive, a position usually translated as "Autocrat". The Autocrat nominally shares responsibility of governing with the Council of Ministers, comprised of the various ministerial heads he appoints, an the Urban Council, which seats proportionally represented elected officials of the forty largest cities, towns, and villages. The Urban Council nominally holds significant budget oversight, but membership is largely considered to be an honorary post marking one out for future responsibilities within the public ministries. In practice, most observers have noted that Urban Council membership is mostly restricted to the historic planer aristocracy or individuals with ancestral ties to former government or military leaders. The Autocrat and Urban Council members are elected to non-fixed terms of office, with 7-9 years usually elapsing between each Urban Council election. Autocrats may hold elections to end their term, but this practice is rare, and usually elections for the office of Autocrat only take place on the death of the sitting Autocrat. Despite these limits, the League of Nations has observed elections in the country to be "mostly fair", with limited instances of voter suppression but also limited opportunities for Sabnak people to vote.

Sabnaki has been described as an, in which non-Sabnak individuals are traditionally viewed as transients with limited civil, political, and economic rights.

Culture
Sabnak culture is ancient and well documented due to the Sabnak people's relatively early adoption of writing by Crona standards. Sabnaks are mostly described as extremely as a result of their historical position of isolationism.

Since the beginning of the major growth of the economy in the 21st century, Sabnak society has been largely divided into four distinct groups. The two elite groups are the political and military elite (the so-called "Tsailists") and the planter class. The Tsailists are a small group of interrelated families who have exercised the majority of political and military control of the country since the establishment of the Autocracy in 1840. They descend from prominent tribal leaders and generals that existed at that time. The planters, meanwhile, are the small group of economic elites who made hereditary fortunes from the growth of s, though their economic clout has gradually waned with the Occidentalization of the economy. Their influence has waned in favor of the middle class, the urban-dwelling beneficiaries of the economic growth and transition to an urban, Occidental-style economy. The last social group are a group collectively referred to as "peasants", though they really possess both rural smallholding subsitence farmers as well as the working poor of Sabnaki's growing cities. The political and economic tension between these four groups has led to increasing social instability since the dawn of the 21st century.

Literature
The Sabnak culture has a long historical relationship with literature, ranging back from the first written accounts of oral traditions recorded in the 10th century.

Religious Demographics
M'acunism is the dominant religion in Sabnaki. Unlike most of the other indigenous nations of Cusinaut, the Catholic Church and other major Occidental religions do not have a major presence in Sabnaki, and accordingly the cultural place of M'acunism in Sabnaki remains the strongest of any place where M'acunism is the official religion. The isolationist nature of the country until recent decades, combined with the lack of legal protection for foreigners, made the country extremely difficult for missionaries to access. Only recently have Catholic missionaries been able to begin work in the country after investment agreements with Occidental countries like Urcea specifically require physical protections for missionaries. Additionally, a small Christian population was extant in the lands annexed by Sabnaki from Algoquona. Accordingly, the vast majority of the small Christian population in the country belongs to the Catholic Church. A very small portion of Sabnak Christians belong to the College of Levantine Churches.

Economy
The economy of Sabnaki was traditionally based on subsistence agriculture, with a few actors in the economy growing on very large estates for export; these cash crops represented the majority of Sabnaki's trade revenue. Since the dawn of the 21st century, however, the construction sector has been the largest part of the Sabnak economy as major infrastructure continues to be built across the nation. These large projects, connecting villages and cities with modern highways and railways, were first funded with foreign aid but since 2025 have increasingly had private and domestic government capital funding construction. With construction has come new retail and real estate sectors, as cities have grown steadily since 2002 requiring homes and consumer goods. As the economy has shifted from rural agriculture to urban life, the GDP has doubled in approximately 20 years, with its 2030 GDP PC of $17,296 dwarfing many of its neighbors. The economic transformation has largely disrupted the traditional "big planter" class as the government has repossessed parts of the massive estates once common throughout the country, decreasing overall cash crop exports as the agricultural sector has declined. The discovery of major uranium reserves in the Cusinaut interior has also led to the creation of a major mining sector.

The Sabnak economy is mostly deregulated in order to encourage continued economic prosperity.