Frawartish Partitawa

Frawartish Partitawa
Personal details
Born	(1858-03-21)21 March 1858
Died	25 December 1946(1946-12-25) (aged 88)
Political party	The Friends of the Constitution
Profession	Poet, Scholar, Revolutionary, Politician

Frawartish Partitawa, also known internationally as Phraortes, was a political figure in Shirazam who is counted among the "Heroes of the Republic" with the title of Mardumsolore Adamat, "Father of Democracy" for his work in establishing the political and scholastic cadre of the Fourth Republic' Constitution.

Biography

Early life

Born in 1858 in Khersig in a family of Skadians notaries. Originally his parents lived in Shirkal but were involved with the city's parliament and the failed project of a First Republic of Shirazam which led to his family fleeing the capital for Khersig. Nonetheless, his father was arrested a year after his birth and his mother returned to Shirkal where she made a living as a private teacher with the help of her eldest son and Frawartish' elder brother who took job as a construction worker. Frawartish himself would go through the Zilungese' controlled public education but with his mother' own additions. Thus he became able to read and speak in both phal skad and Skadian. In his teenage year he began working as an assistant for a publisher. He moved temporarily to Zilung Chen, from 1870 to 1874, to work as a journalist and returned to Shirkal afterward to become his newspaper editor. Disagreements on the direction of the journal led to Frawartish departing in 1876 to create his own newspaper, the "Lion's Voice", which quickly became famous for pushing the limits of what the Zilungese censorship could tolerate. Under the pen-name of "Phraortes", Frawartish became the most infamous member of the informal Lion's Clique: publishers, editors, and printers who promoted nationalism, independentism, sovereignism, and Ayar culture in their works and productions. Frawartish, alongside four other unofficial leaders of the clique, would be arrested in 1880. It's in prison that he finally met in person Morningstar a poet and author he had helped publicized. It's supposed that Frawartish was introduced into the Long Hand at the time, but no definitive proof exist. Legends say that the future "Father of Democracy" shared a cell with the equally young Roxolan before the latter escaped but there's no concrete evidence backing this story either.

The Second Republic

In 1888 Batraz Khan Shazadeh and his Front for an Ayar State launched their coup in Shirkal, taking over the city and proclaiming the foundation of the Second Republic of Shirazam. Prisoners in the capital's penitentiary, including Frawartish Zavir Khakestari, were liberated by the insurgents. Frawartish adhered to the FAS and resumed printing the Lion's Voice no longer constrained by the Zilungese censorship. But in 1890, he left the actual management of his medias, publishing house, and printing press, to one of his collaborator and joined Zavir Khakestari as his cabinet' secretary. Frawartish would never hide his fascination for the ex-magi and always placed him above men such as Batraz or Roxolan. His proximity to the man helped him refine his approach to politics and gain a practical experience of it whereas before he had mostly worked with thinkers, scholars, and ideologues which had given him a broad scholastic and intellectual knowledge tending toward utopism. Ultimately, Frawartish and his patron Zavir ended up in disagreement over the burgeoning Republic. The Prime Minister was mostly concerned with the pragmatic reality of maintaining the balance of power and the cohesion between the various revolutionary movements that formed the Republic and had devised an Oligarchic system that suited the situation. Either by cynicism or true belief, he desired to create an Oligarchic system in which "The revolutionary classes" and their representatives maintained their dominance as they had proved their dedication to the Shirazamite cause. Frawartish idealism meanwhile pushed him toward a radical conception of Democracy and he began working tirelessly with other scholars and political thinkers on a system capable of guaranteeing the people's freedom and political power. In 1894 Frawartish quitted his position as secretary and returned to journalism. From 1895 to 1912 a "Democratic Wing" of the FAS would coalesce around him, opposed mainly to the increasingly Autocratic Batraz and the various other Warlords who led the Republic such as Third Marshal Roxolan.

The Third Republic

Frawartish would always refer, both in his texts and his speeches, to the years after Zavir Khakestari's death as the "Black Years". Batraz Khan Shazadeh, no longer checked by his Prime Minister, accumulated all powers in his hands and removed rivals and critics alike. Roxolan was forced to flee Shirkal and the "left-wing" of the party was disempowered through various administrative and legal means alongside threats, blackmails, and other pressure tactics. Frawartish would long after and organise a reunion with other disillusioned and threatened Democrats. They met in the Mithrakhaneh of the Ghordir neighborhood. As a pun on the name (Ghordir means "Small Hill" in Skadian), they became known as "The Mountain" or "Mountaineers".

1912, the Year of Slings, saw the destitution and execution of Batraz, the dissolution of the Assembly, and the proclamation of a new Republic. The Third Republic was a military regime, led by the General Quartet and Roxolan. The Democrats continued to be excluded from meaningful political life and were forced into scholastic, intellectual opposition to the Warlords. The Mountain was specifically excluded from initatives such as the Constituent assembly and other institutions.

Despite a lack of office, Phraortes continued to promote Democracy as a viable alternative to the General Quartet's regime. The Mountain's efforts were able to create a strong base of power among Shirazam' Householders (farmers who own the land they cultivate) which had previously been the Generals' main supporters. It's notably the March of the three thousands Householders on Shirkal which convinced Roxolan to step down as President. Despite given the opportunity to form their own government, the Three Thousands called for Frawartish to write a new constitution and stepped down after validating the project.

The Fourth Republic

To consolidate their network, the now legal Mountaineers and the Three Thousands united in a new party: the Friends of the Constitution. 200 of the Householders were selected to serve in the new assembly while 99 Deputies were elected to represent Shirazam' new constituencies. 100 of the Householders were replaced the year after, and then the last 100 the following year. The 72 years old "Phraortes" was now the leading figure of Shirazam. His party, over the three years, having won 198 seats out of 299, became the largest political party of the country. The second largest was Roxolan diminished but well established People Rally Party with 21 seats.