Rusana

Rusana, officially the Republic of Rusana is a sovereign state located in southern Alshar. According to the 2027 census it has a population of roughly 54 million people. The population of Rusana is split almost evenly between urban and rural areas, with the capital city of Tabish being the undisputed center of economic activity. Rusana has a land area of 794,582 km2 and is bordered by Corumm to the east, Canpei to the north, [Pukhgundi] to the west and the Taizi Sea to the south.

Rusana has seen human habitation since at least 2000 BC and has been a battleground for several regional powers including the Oduniyyad Caliphate and various Corummese dynasties. During the 16th and 17th centuries the unified Rusani state was battered by invasions from its more powerful neighbors, which caused it severe territorial losses and heavily curtailed its autonomy. As a crossroads of empires its population is composed of a Rusani majority but also is host to various minorities such as the Tauqi and Kassar people and Corummese muslims known as the Yue. Rusana's economy is small and relatively underdeveloped, relying primmarily on the export of raw materials, agricultural products and fishing.

Oduniyyad Caliphate Period
Starting in 809 CE, the expanding Oduniyyad Caliphate began its conquest of the southwestern states of Alshar. The wali of the Bulkawan wilayat, a certain Malik Ibn Harun landed in Pukhgundi with thirty thousand troops and secured the submission and conversion of its rulers to Islam. He reorganized the kingdom into the Alsar Wilayah with himself as governor. Founding the fort of Haras at the eastern edge of Pukhgundi's territory and leaving a small garrison, Malik Ibn Harun continued his eastern march along the coast into the territory of the Kingdom of Lakdu, his army augmented by five thousand levies from Pukhgundi. Ibn Harun then gained the allegiance of the Lakdu vassal king of Sikam, impressing him with the size of his army and the tenets of Islam. Proceeding east and with his army led by Sikam guides, he outmaneuvered the Lakdu army and defeated it at the battles of Lodran and Porus, ending the kingdom's organized resistance. Ibn Harun spent all of 813 conquering the now disunited urban centers of Lakdu. He added the territory into the wilayat of Alsar, tried to supress local paganism and endowed new mosques to help propagate the new faith. Unlike other Audonian nobles, Ibn Harun was an enthusiastic supporter of conversion of local populations despite the diminishment in taxation from dhimmi sources. Ibn Harun next sent spies north and east to ascertain the most advantageous route of expansion for the Caliphate. To the east his spies reported a large empire named Korun, with well guarded border forts and very large armies. To them he sent an embassy promising peaceful intent and offered to continue the yearly tribute that Lakdu had provided, an offer that was accepted. To the north his spies reported a peaceful,pastoral society who lived in small cities with palisades or in temples in the mountains, the agents reported the name of the country as Rungseras. Malik Ibn Harun determined to attack the 'Rungseras tribes' to his north first and dispatched letters back to Bulkawan asking for reinforcements with which to attack Korun after.

On the eve of the start of his invasion in 814, Malik Ibn Harun was recalled to Audonia, probably the victim of intrigues against him due to his martial success and the size of the territory he governed. He considered resisting the summons but relented when his soldiers mutinied and made it clear they would not follow him into rebellion against God's Caliph. In early 815 Ibn Harun's replacement arrived from Audonia, the wali of Umard, Musa Al Ghanim. For his efforts, Malik Ibn Harun was made wali of a smaller province in the Audonian interior and would go on to be arrested and executed in 821 after plotting to kill the Caliph and install Mansur's nephew on the throne. Wali Musa Al Ghanim took command of all Oduniyyad forces and began the campaign with roughly 36,000 troops although he left behind around five thousand under Khamis Muminir to suppress a pagan uprising in Lakdu. Marching north he defeated several forces of Rungseras, amounting to merely a few mid sized warbands. As he marched around the countryside he found no large army to fight but was instead constantly being ambushed and harassed by small groups. Getting word that local monks reported on the movements of his army to his enemies, Al Ghanim directed his force to the White Peak Monastery, which was rumored to house several holy relics revered by the Rungseras people. Al Ghanim approached on the monastery and after finding its gates closed to him, laid siege to it. Ibn Ghanim ordered the setting of mangonels on a nearby hilltop and commenced a bombardment that lasted for three days. Two direct attacks on the gates were repulsed by the monks. A week into the siege the muslims were informed that a large force of at least forty thousand warriors was quickly marching on White Peak and would be upon the besiegers within days.

Chen-Rusani Wars
Following the disastrous defeat at the Battle of Horoz plain in 860, the kingdom of Ghanim fell into the sphere of the Chen dynasty. Emboldened by the victory at Horoz, the Chen dynasty initiated an invasion of Barpubad intending to gain the southern shore of lake Doyeon. As the Chen marched south in the direction of Barpubad's heartland, their enemy divided its forces into three separate armies, refusing to engage general Qu Hou's larger army in the open. After reducing several fortresses in late 861, Qu Hou marched on the Barpubad capital. The main Barpubadid army finally stood in his way to give battle at the village of Pasdar but unbeknownst to Qu Hou his army was being flanked from the east and the west by the other two formations. The initial battle went in favor of the larger Chen army but as it was close to overwhelming the Barpudadid infantry the auxiliary armies initiated their attack from the rear and eastern flank. The morale of the Chen collapsed upon being close to encirclement and a rout soon initiated. Qu Hou broke free of the trap with a few hundred horsemen and fled north while the bulk of the Chen infantry tried to flee west, only to get bogged down and picked off in the marshes. The defeat at the battle of Pasdar ended the Barpubad expedition and dented Chen military prestige altough Ghanim's own weakened position at the time precluded it taking advantage to throw off its vassal status.

Levantine Exploration
1650-1798 Kiravian explorers were the first "occidentals" to make contact with the peoples of modern Rusana however from their introduction in the 1500s to the establishment of the Martillian Protectorate over the Kingdom of Lakadu it was often overlooked compared to the riches of Corumm. The Ularien Trading Company of Martilles first established contact with the Kingdom of Lakadu in 1616. With Kiravias well established trade with Corumm for far eastern goods the Martilliens negotiated a treaty with the Lakadui to secure ports at first for raiding Kiravian shipping as it passed westerward, laden with Corummese goods but eventually the privateers sought more. They obverved the resentments that the Lakadui held for their neighbors in Barpubad and offered to supply them with mercenaries and to instruct their armies in the lessons learned from the Great Confessional War. Throughout the 1620s and 30s the Lakadui and Barpubadi clashed in minor skirmishes in which the Lakadui became increasingly victorious. While the Levantines did not offer a superiour military product their doctrine of war was so foreign to that part of the world that it proved shocking to the Barpubadi. In a series of violent battles the Lakadui made massive gains into the islands south of Barpubad's coast. These islands long contested between Barpubad and Corumm were captured and an emissary was dispatched to the Emperor's court and a back to the King in Lakadu. In a master stroke the Martillien mercenaries sold the inner ring of islands to Corumm and formally opened relations with that nation, and also demonstrated to the King of Lakadu what could be achieved if he remanded more power to the Martilliens. In this masterstroke the Martilliens secured their future in the region and became friendly with the greatest power in Alshar, Corumm. Whereas the Kiravians were merely traders, the Martilliens offered concrete results to the Imperial Corummese Court. In 1650, the Kingdom of Lakadu was formalized as a protectorate of the Duchy of Martilles. This was only possible by brokering a treaty with the Corummese Court that recognized its sovereignty and promised to support Corumm in the event of an invasion from Barpudad, Ghanim, or the as yet unexplored Tanhai. For as long as the southeast coast Levantines maintained colonies in the area they respected this treaty, one of the only in that time.

With the Great Slavery Revolt on the western shores of Alshar the various colonial administrators had to make a choice as the revolt became a full-scale war, one that the Levantine colonists were losing badly. Would they cast their lot in with their fellow colonists, draining the defensive resources from their own colonies, ignore the plight of their brethren, try to balance both, or abandon their colonial ambitions altogether. The viceroy of Pyrithi Colony attempted to find a balance.

Geography
The climate of Rusana varies from tropical to temperate, with semi-arid conditions in the coastal south. There is a monsoon season with frequent flooding due to heavy rainfall, and a dry season with significantly less rainfall. There are four distinct seasons in Rusana: a cool, dry winter from December through February; a hot, dry spring from March through May; the summer rainy season, or southwest monsoon period, from June through September; and the retreating monsoon period of October and November. Rainfall can vary greatly from year to year, and patterns of alternate flooding and drought are not uncommon. The geography of Rusana is varied but much of it is dominated by the xxx mountain range that begin in the north and cleave through the central area of the nation, with only the coast being relatively flat.

Politics
Rusana follows the traditional republican system with three separate branches; an executive led by a Chief of State, an unicameral legislative and the judiciary represented by the Supreme Islamic Court. The Chief of State is elected through nationwide elections, every five years and has wide powers over military, economic affairs and foreign policy. Legislative power rests with the Rusani National Assembly or Rusani Majles, with each of the country's 150 districts having two seats, renewed by election every three years.

Current Rusana politics are divided between two electoral alliances, the conservative Alliance for Prosperity and the relatively moderate Builder's Alliance supported by most ethnic and religious minorities.

Ethnic Groups
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Culture
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Economy
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