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Zurgite Varshan: Difference between revisions
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|largest_settlement_type = largest city | |largest_settlement_type = largest city | ||
|official_languages = [[Hieratic Varshani]] | |official_languages = [[Hieratic Varshani]] | ||
|religion = [[Arzalism]] | |religion = [[Orthodox Arzalism]] | ||
|demonym = Varshani, Varshanite | |demonym = Varshani, Varshanite | ||
|legislature = The [[Dazga]] | |legislature = The [[Dazga]] | ||
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|area_label2 = <!-- label below area_label (optional) --> | |area_label2 = <!-- label below area_label (optional) --> | ||
|area_dabodyalign = <!-- text after area_label2 (optional) --> | |area_dabodyalign = <!-- text after area_label2 (optional) --> | ||
|population_estimate = | |population_estimate = 607,010,625 | ||
|population_estimate_rank = | |population_estimate_rank = | ||
|population_estimate_year = | |population_estimate_year = 2022 | ||
|population_census = | |population_census = 612,144,212 | ||
|population_census_year = 2020 | |population_census_year = 2020 | ||
|population_density_km2 = 94.8 | |population_density_km2 = 94.8 | ||
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|calling_code = +13 | |calling_code = +13 | ||
}} | }} | ||
'''Zurgite Varshan''', historically referred to as the '''Worshipful Realm of Varshan''', was a large country which spanned a vast swath of the central [[Crona|Cronan continent]]. The nation lasted from around 5,000 B.C. until the [[Fall of Anzo]], which marked the end of the [[The Deluge|Deluge]] and the Varshani state. It was, at the time, considered the largest and one of the most powerful nations in Crona and the world. Varshan was a theocratic absolute monarchy, with the leaders having divine status within [[Orthodox Arzalism]], the nation’s sole legal religion. The country was bordered to the southwest by the [[Sea of St. John]]; in [[2020]] to the north by [[Cetsencalia]], [[Quetzenkel]], [[Mid-Atrassic Crona]]; to the southeast by [[Ehemo]], [[Kelekona]], and [[Alstin]]; and to the east by [[Titechaxha]] and [[Telonaticolan]]. | |||
Archaeology indicates that the Varshani lands were inhabited by early humans starting from the Lower Paleolithic period (2.6 Ma–300 Ka). The history of present-day Varshan began with the beginning of the Varshani people around 5,000 B.C., where the Varshani would raid the nearby Umzàg city-state, pillaging and kidnapping in order to please the Arzalist gods according to the founding myths of the Varshani people.. The rise of the Varshani Realm was marked by violent raids and the annexation of major ancient states within Central and Northern Crona. | |||
The Varshani solar calendar has no months because the Moon is their personification of evil. Hieratic Varshani has no grammatical distinction between singular and plural. | The Varshani solar calendar has no months because the Moon is their personification of evil. Hieratic Varshani has no grammatical distinction between singular and plural. | ||
With the [[Fall of Anzo]] in May [[2024]], the Worshipful Realm was abolished. It was replaced by [[League-occupied Varshan]]. For most of its history, and particularly between its destruction of the [[North Songun civilization]] and [[The Deluge]], it was the dominant power in [[Crona]]. | With the [[Fall of Anzo]] in May [[2024]], the Worshipful Realm was abolished. It was replaced by [[League-occupied Varshan]]. For most of its history, and particularly between its destruction of the [[North Songun civilization]] and [[The Deluge]], it was the dominant land power in mainland [[Crona]]. | ||
==Nomenclature== | ==Nomenclature== | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
[[Varshan#History|Varshan]] emerged as the ascendancy of the city of Anzo during an uncertain period of antiquity. Anzo would establish the Varshani state under a system of Zurgs, inaugurating that is now described as "Zurgite" Varshan. The history of Zurgite Varshan is divided into a number of dynastic periods, punctuated by intervening periods of civil war and political decay. | |||
The history of Varshan is divided into a number of dynastic periods, punctuated by intervening periods of civil war and political decay | |||
===XXX dynasty=== | ===XXX dynasty=== | ||
===XYZ dynasty=== | ===XYZ dynasty=== | ||
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===Chazxin dynasty=== | ===Chazxin dynasty=== | ||
====First contact with the Occident==== | ====First contact with the Occident==== | ||
[[Aster's expedition]] in the late 14th century brought Occidental explorers to [[Crona]] for the first time. While the [[North Songun civilization]] and other Cronan civilizations were generally enthusiastic about the potential of trade with the Occident, the unknown of a great and distant foreign power fundamentally shook the Varshani state to its core. Most historians believe [[Arzalism]] definitively took on many of its violent, modern characteristics during this time following centuries of conflict between sun worshippers and death worshippers. | [[Aster's expedition]] in the late 14th century brought Occidental explorers to [[Crona]] for the first time. While the [[North Songun civilization]] and other Cronan civilizations were generally enthusiastic about the potential of trade with the Occident, the unknown of a great and distant foreign power fundamentally shook the Varshani state to its core. Most historians believe [[Orthodox Arzalism]] definitively took on many of its violent, modern characteristics during this time following centuries of conflict between sun worshippers and death worshippers. | ||
====Žuqulid Revolution==== | ====Žuqulid Revolution==== | ||
Thirty years after the arrival of [[Paul Aster]], the ruler Žuqul I issued the Great Edict of Žuqul in 1408, though there are significant chronological problems with the timing of this Edicts according to some historians due to the [[Varshani historiography#Žuqul problem|"Žuqul problem"]]. The Edict established the [[Arzalism#The_Death_God|Death God]] as paramount deity within Arzalism rather than [[Arzalism#The_Sun_God|the Sun God]], as the two had previously been co-equal paramount deities. While original Occidental scholarship suggests this was a novelty brought forward by Žuqul alone, new sources available following the [[Fall of Anzo]] have revolutionized Occidental scholarship on Varshan, and a majority now believe that it was the common belief among higher castes for centuries. | Thirty years after the arrival of [[Paul Aster]], the ruler Žuqul I issued the Great Edict of Žuqul in 1408, though there are significant chronological problems with the timing of this Edicts according to some historians due to the [[Varshani historiography#Žuqul problem|"Žuqul problem"]]. The Edict established the [[Arzalism#The_Death_God|Death God]] as paramount deity within Arzalism rather than [[Arzalism#The_Sun_God|the Sun God]], as the two had previously been co-equal paramount deities. While original Occidental scholarship suggests this was a novelty brought forward by Žuqul alone, new sources available following the [[Fall of Anzo]] have revolutionized Occidental scholarship on Varshan, and a majority now believe that it was the common belief among higher castes for centuries. | ||
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The elevation of the Death God required profound changes to Varshani society, military strategy, foreign relations, economic structures, and even the caste system, as Žuqul began to transform Varshani society into a "machine of perpetual sacrifice." | The elevation of the Death God required profound changes to Varshani society, military strategy, foreign relations, economic structures, and even the caste system, as Žuqul began to transform Varshani society into a "machine of perpetual sacrifice." | ||
====Huntocracy==== | ====Huntocracy==== | ||
As Varshan reached what would become its relative economic and military peak in ca. 1400, the era of "[[The Hunt (Varshan)|the Hunts]]" began. While Varshan had warred with its neighbors in south central [[Crona]] since the establishment of the Varshani state, the newfound military dominance of Varshan and political decline of the states of the [[North Songun civilization]] enabled Varshan to begin raiding the North Songun region on an annual basis, with the yearly summer campaigns becoming known by the euphemistic term "the Hunt". At its peak, the Hunt would double the number of slaves in Varshan approximately every ten years, and its effects wrought complete devestation throughout [[Crona]], functionally destroying the ancient [[North Songun civilization]]. The Hunts were almost exclusively large scale raids and did not usually entail the conquest of territory. Gradually, the apparatus of the Varshani state began to transform into an implement to support the Hunt, drastically changing the character of both the state and Varshani society. These changes inaugurated the period known by historians as the "Huntocracy". While the lasting impact of the Hunt relates to slavery, some scholars suggest that perhaps an equal number of individuals were taken from the North Songun for use as human sacrifice as were put into slavery. | As Varshan reached what would become its relative economic and military peak in ca. 1400, the era of "[[The Hunt (Varshan)|the Hunts]]" began. While Varshan had warred with its neighbors in south central [[Crona]] since the establishment of the Varshani state, the newfound military dominance of Varshan and political decline of the states of the [[North Songun civilization]] enabled Varshan to begin raiding the North Songun region on an annual basis, with the yearly summer campaigns becoming known by the euphemistic term "the Hunt". At its peak, the Hunt would double the number of slaves in Varshan approximately every ten years, and its effects wrought complete devestation throughout [[Crona]], functionally destroying the ancient [[North Songun civilization]]. The Hunts were almost exclusively large scale raids and did not usually entail the conquest of territory. Gradually, the apparatus of the Varshani state began to transform into an implement to support the Hunt, drastically changing the character of both the state and Varshani society. These changes inaugurated the period known by historians as the "Huntocracy". While the lasting impact of the Hunt relates to slavery, some scholars suggest that perhaps an equal number of individuals were taken from the North Songun for use as human sacrifice as were put into slavery. In the 1590s, Varshan [[North_Songun_civilization#Aftermath|reorganized the North Songun region]] into several tributaries, ending the period of the massive Hunts; Varshani caste nobles and other private parties would continue the Hunts unabated into the 1700s. | ||
The Hunts are the lasting historical legacy of the Chazxin dynasty. Although they ended by the 18th century, most demographers believe the vast majority of former native-born Varshani slaves in the 21st century are descended from individuals enslaved at this time. | The Hunts are the lasting historical legacy of the Chazxin dynasty. The Hunts Although they ended by the 18th century, most demographers believe the vast majority of former native-born Varshani slaves in the 21st century are descended from individuals enslaved at this time. | ||
====Conquest of the North==== | ====Conquest of the North==== | ||
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With the loss of Brudxaan Province, the centuries old [[Venua%27tino#Polar_Captaincy|Polar Captaincy]] collapsed due to the lack of Varshani access to the Sea of Nysdra. Under threat from [[Daxia]]ese presence in [[Cao]], Varshan was forced to withdraw its military forces from the Polar Captaincy in [[1964]]. | With the loss of Brudxaan Province, the centuries old [[Venua%27tino#Polar_Captaincy|Polar Captaincy]] collapsed due to the lack of Varshani access to the Sea of Nysdra. Under threat from [[Daxia]]ese presence in [[Cao]], Varshan was forced to withdraw its military forces from the Polar Captaincy in [[1964]]. | ||
Coup of the Divines | |||
===Modern interdynastic period=== | ===Modern interdynastic period=== | ||
The modern interdynastic period, sometimes referred to as the "postdynastic period", began with the final fall of the Yun-harle dynasty in [[1970]]. | The modern interdynastic period, sometimes referred to as the "postdynastic period" or as the "Republic of the Priests", began with the final fall of the Yun-harle dynasty in [[1970]] and concluded with the fall of Anzo in [[2024]]. The period was characterized by a mostly non-hereditary succession of the office of Zûrg: of the eight men to serve as Zûrg in the period, only one succeeded his father to the office. Contemporary Varshani cultural observers appear to have viewed the period as being ruled by "dynasties of one man" rather than an abolition of the dynastic period, and many of these transitions occurred by circumstance rather than deliberate effort. Four Zûrgs died relatively young, one appears to have been infertile, and the remaining three were either usurped or deposed at the end of the [[Final War of the Deluge]]. | ||
====Modernization efforts==== | ====Modernization efforts==== | ||
The loss of territory and prestige in the 1960s deeply wounded the Varshani psyche. Once the dynastic civil war had concluded, Varshan in the 1980s and 1990s began to heavily turn to modernization and Occidentalization of its armed forces. | The loss of territory and prestige in the 1960s deeply wounded the Varshani psyche. Once the dynastic civil war had concluded, Varshan in the 1980s and 1990s began to heavily turn to modernization and Occidentalization of its armed forces. Due to its diplomatic isolation, Varshan required an extensive system of money laundering, shell corporations, so-called "talent scouts", and other methods to contract with Occidental experts and bring in Occidental technology and manufacturing capabilities. Foremost among these efforts were attempts to modernize the navy, resulting in a number of Occidental-style shipyards being fully operational by the mid-1980s. Significant amount of [[Second Great War]]-era surplus small arms were imported into the country, and new factories were constructed to refurbish and modernize equipment procured abroad. Domestic arms manufacturing also began in earnest in the late 1980s. Throughout this decade, attempts were made to use {{wp|Varshani_caste_system#Free_Caste|free caste}} labor on an experimental basis. Most of these experiments ended by [[1992]] when protests from various religious authorities and a new ruling Zûrg reinforced the use of industrial slavery. | ||
An unlikely source of significant technical expertise and skilled foreign labor was the [[Veltorine people]], an ethnic group native to [[Sarpedon]]. The [[Veltorine_people#Life_Abroad_Movement|Life Abroad Movement]] relocated many Veltorines from their former homeland, now ruled by [[Caphiria]], to good-paying jobs in [[Crona]], particularly in [[Quetzenkel]] and [[Varshan]]. As the Veltorines were a stateless people, the Varshani government had an easier time procuring their services; the Veltorines could not be sanctioned by the [[League of Nations]], as they had no nation to sanction. The settlement of Veltorines occurred more heavily in Quetzenkel - in the former Brudxaan Province - but they also established a presence in the far northwestern part of Varshan during the 1980s. | |||
[[Enslaved relative scam]] | |||
Clandestine support from anti-colonial powers such as [[Ardmore]] | |||
==Geography== | ==Geography== | ||
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==Economy and infrastructure== | ==Economy and infrastructure== | ||
Varshan | Varshan had a {{wp|command economy}} that differed radically from the global capitalist model, with extensive state ownership and state direction of the economy, the prevalence of slave labour, extremely low social mobility due to politically and religiously entrenched caste hierarchies, and numerous political barriers to foreign trade and investment. | ||
The base of the Varshani economy | The base of the Varshani economy lay in extractive industries such as agriculture, mining, hydrocarbon drilling, and lumbering, which relied almost exclusively on slave labour and the forced labour/serfdom of non-slave metics and subject peoples. Varshan controlled massive deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, iron, industrial diamonds, and various other minerals, as well as enormous timber reserves. Almost all agriculture occurred on large estates called ''okozi'', most of which were owned by the Varshani nobility and gentry, the temple system, or the state. | ||
The Varshani real estate market was tightly constrained. Under Varshani law, all land ultimately belonged to the Zûrg on behalf of the gods, and an estimated 35% of the country's land was directly owned by the state. Most productive agricultural land belonged to the landowning noble and gentry classes, with most of the remainder belonging to the temple system. Smallholds and family farms were extremely rare and existed only in the most marginal parts of the country, having been competed out of existence by slave plantations. | The Varshani real estate market was tightly constrained. Under Varshani law, all land ultimately belonged to the Zûrg on behalf of the gods, and an estimated 35% of the country's land was directly owned by the state. Most productive agricultural land belonged to the landowning noble and gentry classes, with most of the remainder belonging to the temple system. Smallholds and family farms were extremely rare and existed only in the most marginal parts of the country, having been competed out of existence by slave plantations. | ||
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The Warriors of Varshan come from a longstanding fundamentalist current within Arzalism that believes that Varshanite society has strayed from authentic Arzali beliefs. They believe that unrestrained, sadistic violence is the only true virtue and that predatory warfare is the only acceptable occupation for free men in the eyes of the Death God. They are TopVarshanite racial supremacists, and only allow TopVarshanis into positions of religious or political authority. Nonetheless, they believe that men who do not heed the Blood God's commands and live by predation deserve slavery or dishonourable deaths, regardless of race or ethnicity. Arzali fundamentalists believe that Varshani society has strayed from the true meaning of Arzalism over the past several centuries and has been only selectively obeying Arzali tenets in order to develop a centralised state society and a market economy. As such, most fundamentalists believe that some or all of the Zûrgs of recent centuries have been illegitimate (Arzali Sedevacantism), and they reject the worship of God-Kings and all God-Emperors except for the first one and the one who made the Death God top dog. They believe that organised state militaries are heretical and a corruption of holy warfare, believing loosely-affiliated bands of predatory warriors to be the only type of fighting unit sanctioned by the Death God. Nonetheless, like all free Varshani males, fundamentalists were required to serve in the Varshani military, and which they chose to use as an opportunity to develop their combat skills and religious knowledge. | The Warriors of Varshan come from a longstanding fundamentalist current within Arzalism that believes that Varshanite society has strayed from authentic Arzali beliefs. They believe that unrestrained, sadistic violence is the only true virtue and that predatory warfare is the only acceptable occupation for free men in the eyes of the Death God. They are TopVarshanite racial supremacists, and only allow TopVarshanis into positions of religious or political authority. Nonetheless, they believe that men who do not heed the Blood God's commands and live by predation deserve slavery or dishonourable deaths, regardless of race or ethnicity. Arzali fundamentalists believe that Varshani society has strayed from the true meaning of Arzalism over the past several centuries and has been only selectively obeying Arzali tenets in order to develop a centralised state society and a market economy. As such, most fundamentalists believe that some or all of the Zûrgs of recent centuries have been illegitimate (Arzali Sedevacantism), and they reject the worship of God-Kings and all God-Emperors except for the first one and the one who made the Death God top dog. They believe that organised state militaries are heretical and a corruption of holy warfare, believing loosely-affiliated bands of predatory warriors to be the only type of fighting unit sanctioned by the Death God. Nonetheless, like all free Varshani males, fundamentalists were required to serve in the Varshani military, and which they chose to use as an opportunity to develop their combat skills and religious knowledge. | ||
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[[Category:2023 Award winning pages]] | |||
[[Category:IXWB]] | [[Category:IXWB]] | ||
[[Category:Crona]] | [[Category:Crona]] | ||
[[Category:Varshan]] | [[Category:Varshan]] | ||
[[Category:Historical countries]] | [[Category:Historical countries]] | ||