Battganuur

Late modern era
Following the departure of the Burgundian West Punth Trading Empire from the region in 1836, the tribes of modern Battganuur fractured back into their pre-colonial divisions. Having little in common and less in shared interests they became minor, hostile states.

Contemporary era
The area was a backwater until the 1950s when Sheik Hassan bin Walid bought two archaic airplanes from the Burgundians and established himself as the dominant military power in the region. Bolstered by his own successes in August 1958 he took his fight to the Umard Republic and tried to capture a key border fort. His goal was to establish himself as a leader in the region by going up against a larger nation and winning a quick victory. The operation bogged down immediately and the Umardi army was able to shoot the two planes out of the sky. Bin Walid appealed to the Burgundians for more materiel, which they begrudgingly provided. The Burgundians primarily wanted to avenge a grudge from the Great War when the Umard Republic invaded and occupied Ayermer. They delivered 6 bombers and 18 fighter aircraft in return for mining rights in the Awsad Wadi Mesa territory. The planes turned the tide and the fort was decimated but there was nothing left to occupy. Skittish to push further in to the Umard Republic, bin Walid returned home and built a massive fort on the inside of his border with long range artillery from Paulastra to prevent the Umard Republic from rebuilding their fort in the same location. He was lauded as a hero of Sunni Islam for keeping the Shia Umardis in check. In 1962 the Sheik united all of the tribe between the Umard Republic and Yanuban to form the United Tribes of Battganuur, a confederation of tribal leaders under his stewardship. The state was a loose formation that primarily arbitrated grievances and conducted foreign policy on behalf of the tribes. It did not collect taxes but instead each sheik paid tribute to the Emir, Hassan bin Walid.

The United Tribes were rocked in 1973 when a communist uprising in the central tribal area of Barsa. The sheik was murdered and the two largest population centers formed communes. Leader of the communes Yashwa Ali Saif, decreed that the United Tribes was open to any other communists fleeing from [[Operation Kipling and that they would be able to seek a new life in the communist utopia called, Wallia.

Operation Kipling
Main article: Operation Kipling

Already taxed by three ongoing military operations, the Burgundian Security Forces were slow to respond to the United Tribes cry for help. The Emir’s gathered a militia of loyal sheiks and engaged the communes for months in a back and forth skirmish that determined no clear victor. In January 1975 the Burgundian Security Forces finally committed to deploying ground troops to Battganuur. The 4th Parachutist Regiment of the Pukhgundian Gorkha Rifles was dispatched to support the Battganuuri militias and to coordinate the military effort. Finding the Burgundians domineering and condescending, the Emir determined to use them as little as possible. Having lost 85 men in three weeks the parachutists became enraged with the emir and began searching for disenfranchised sheiks to stage a coup. They found Sheik Jamal Amil al-Sharki to be the primary detractor and offered their services. Fearing that they might turn on him too, he instead asked them to try his men to conduct on a coup of their own. Three months later al-Sharki’s men were deemed trained enough to overpower bin Walid’s guard and Sheik al-Sharki was confident he could carry the other leaders with him. Leaving the Pukhgundian Gorkha Rifles to address the communists the al-Sharki faction set a coup in motion. Killing bin Walid in the first minutes of the coup those sheiks not loyal to al-Sharki were rounded up and imprisoned. Following a small engagement loyalist forces the couping militia subdued bin Walid’s force and executed the officers unwilling to take a loyalty oath to al-Sharki who subsequently named himself Emir. The following week saw nationwide reprisals and a driving focus on coordinating an offensive against the communist threat. The Burgundian Royal Air Service seconded a bomber squadron to the United Tribes and a combined arms assault leveled both communes, killed all those within and razed the structures. Yashwa Ali Saif, having been tipped off, escaped the slaughter and found safe passage to Pursat to continue his struggle. While his life was spared, not “going down with this people” made his lose credibility in the communist movement so his efforts were not as pervasive after that point.

For the remainder of the 1970s the Burgundian Security Forces maintained a presence in Battganuur as a peace enforcers while al-Sharki continued to consolidate his power.

Globalization
Following the conclusion of Operation Kipling and the withdrawal of Burgundian forces, the United Tribes faded back into global obscurity. Al-Sharki focused the rest of his reign combating coup attempts and being generally heavy handed. He created a formal military in 1982 and used it as his personal police force. Finally killed in 1995, al-Sharki, was replaced by his cousin Sheik Ramal Qeshi bin Jahaan. Emir bin Jahaan was a moderate and stopped the reprisals and disbanded the secret police. He was widely loved by the people and despised by hardliners and traditionalists. In 2009, he restructured the government to become the Emirate of Battganuur, disbanding the United Tribal system and introducing limited suffrage, for married men who owned land. A minor revolt of the sheiks was put down by his son Col. Faisal bin Jahaan and the country slowly embraced a constitutional monarchy with some democratic trappings. In 2028 Emir Ramal Qeshi bin Jahaan died of a heart attack and his son Faisal succeeded him to the throne. Considered a local hero of democracy he has been criticized in the foreign press as a human rights abuser and a heavy handed ruler. His anti-corruption campaign from 2029-2031 resulted in 483 incarcerations, many of whom were then tortured and either coerced into exaggerated confessions of died in detention. These are commonly thought to be vaguely disguised attempts to remove the new emir’s rivals and to settle personal grudges from his days in the army. He is known for shutting down news stories that are not favorable and for limiting and monitoring the phone and internet usage of the Battganuuri people. Despite these reports the country continues to increase its engagement in global politics and trade markets. Under his rule over the last three years, the GDPPC of Battganuur has risen from $828 to $1220. Many economic commentators point out that this is not evenly distributed and that they wage gap between the rich and poor has increased 120 times in the same time. This is seen as apocryphal considered the Emir’s earlier efforts to “purge the very heart of Battganuur of its vile corruption.”