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|conventional_long_name = Confederation of the Saukanians
|conventional_long_name = Confederation of the Saukanians
|common_name = Saukania
|common_name = Saukania
|native_name = <small>''Kuchaxa ka Sakhandelen''</small>
|native_name = <small>''''</small>
|image_flag =  
|image_flag =  
|flag_type =  
|flag_type =  
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|capital = [[Kula]]
|capital = [[Kula]]
|largest_city = Kula
|largest_city = Kula
|official_languages = {{hlist|Eastern Saukanian (Kulean)<br>Western Saukanian (Khodanian)}}
|official_languages =  
|regional_languages =  
|regional_languages =  
|ethnic_groups = 93.6% [[Saukanians|Saukanian]] <br> 6.4% Other
|ethnic_groups = 93.6% [[Saukanians|Saukanian]] <br> 6.4% Other
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|religion = 79.4% [[Religion in Saukania|Saukanian paganism]] <br> 10.2% {{wp|Christianity|Christianity}} <br> 6.6% {{wp|Islam|Islam}} <br> 3.8% Other
|religion = 79.4% [[Religion in Saukania|Saukanian paganism]] <br> 10.2% {{wp|Christianity|Christianity}} <br> 6.6% {{wp|Islam|Islam}} <br> 3.8% Other
|religion_year = 2020
|religion_year = 2020
|demonym = Saukanian <br> Saukan
|demonym = Saukanian
|government_type = Confederation of sovereign principalities and republics
|government_type = Confederation of sovereign city-states
|leader_title1 =  
|leader_title1 =  
|leader_name1 =  
|leader_name1 =  
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|calling_code =
|calling_code =
}}
}}
'''Saukania''', formally the '''Confederation of the Saukanians''' or the '''Saukanian Confederation''', is a landlocked country in northwestern [[Thrismari]]. Saukania is bordered by [[Bezuria]] and [[Shirua]] to its south and south-west, and [[Sarocca]] to the north. At 1,116,863 million square kilometers, Saukania is one of the largest countries in Thrismari, though very sparsely populated, with a population of 27.2 million people. [[Kula]] is the largest city and member of the Confederation, serving additionally as its capital. The country is extremely arid, consisting mostly of desert and semi-desert ecoregions, with areas of montane, riparian, and temperate ecoregions in which the vast majority of the population resides.
'''Saukania''', formally the '''Confederation of the Saukanians''' or the '''Saukanian Confederation''', is a landlocked country in northwestern [[Thrismari]]. Saukania is bordered by [[Bezuria]] and [[Shirua]] to its south and south-west, and [[Sarocca]] to the north. At 1,116,863 million square kilometers, Saukania is one of the largest countries in Thrismari, though very sparsely populated, with a population of 27.2 million people. The Confederation is broadly coextensive with the Saukanian physical region, to which the Saukanian peoples (identified by their speaking of the Saukanian languages) are native. It is an arid country, comprised almost entirely of desert and steppe.


Human habitation in Saukania began in the {{wp|Palaeolithic|Palaeolithic}}. Saukania has been home to a number of peoples, the earliest recorded of which settled in the fertile regions of Daskhia, Kugeria, Parharia, and Turoka. It has been a historical battleground between its own native inhabitants, as well as neighbouring Shiruans, Saroccans, Kakish crusaders, and Riamese colonial interests. Modern Saukania traces its history and identity back to the numerous oasis kingdoms and republics in fertile river valleys within the Ghuran Mountains or the [[Laxad river]] basin, controlling overland trade routes through the desert and growing wealthy on commerce and agriculture. Nevertheless, the influence on Saukanian culture by pastoral nomads, mountain tribes, and foreign invaders has been significant.
Human habitation in Saukania began in the {{wp|Palaeolithic|Palaeolithic}}. Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlements centred on the fertile oases that supported irrigation and agriculture gave rise to city-states, which grew wealthy and powerful with their strategic position along overland Thrismari trade routes. Saukania's history is largely defined by wars between rival cities to establish hegemony and collect tribute, and conflict between the settled and nomadic populations of the desert. Modern city-states such as [[Acha]], [[Khodan]], and [[Kula]] have historically been the centre of these tributary empires. Conflict with neighbours beyond the limits of Saukanian civilization is another prominent dimension of their history.


The modern confederation established itself in the 18th and 19th centuries in response to significant foreign pressure and the risk of subjugation, due to the competing colonial interests of [[Nyalan]] and [[Riamo]]. It is a largely decentralised body, with its constituent states governing themselves according to their own laws. The [[Confederation Council]] serves as the executive of the Confederation, including leaders and representatives of the members.
The modern Confederation established itself over the 18th and 19th centuries in response to significant foreign pressure and the risk of subjugation, due to the competing colonial interests of [[Nyalan]] and [[Riamo]]. It is a decentralised body, with its constituent states governing themselves according to their own laws, but voluntarily ceding independent foreign relations to a corporate representation. The ancient and prestigious city of Kula serves as the Confederation's capital, and is its largest city-state by population.


Saukania is a heavily {{wp|Agrarian society|agrarian}} country with a largely rural population, with its urban centres as the core of industry. Exports of fruits, vegetables, and other cash crops are a major source of revenue, as is the export of finished material goods such as textiles, with [[Saukanian carpets]] being famed throughout much of the world. Tourism to Saukania is common for its historic archaeological sites and unique culture, expressed through its cuisine, art, music, and entertainment.
Saukania is a heavily {{wp|Agrarian society|agrarian}} country with a large rural population and sizeable nomadic minority, with its urban centres serving as the core of industry and culture. Its native population, the [[Saukanians]], are a closely-related yet diverse grouping of people with strong regional and local identities, a history of tribalism, and with profound linguistic, cultural, social, and religious distinctions. Exports of fruits, vegetables, and other cash crops are a major source of revenue, as is the export of finished material goods such as textiles, with [[Saukanian carpets]] being famed throughout much of the world. [[Tourism in Saukania|Tourism to Saukania]] is common for its historic archaeological sites and unique culture, expressed through its cuisine, art, music, and entertainment.


==Name==
==Name==
{{Main|Names of the Saukanians}}
{{Main|Names of the Saukanians}}
'Saukania' is a formation from the noun 'Saukana', an old ethnonym used by the Bronze Age invaders that conquered the area from the previous inhabitants. 'Saukanian', in turn, is formed out of 'Saukania', and is essentially interchangeable with 'Saukana' as an ethnonym. In some sources and records, 'Saukana' is used for the name of the land as well as the people.


Due to the historically disunited nature of the Saukanians, they have often preferred to identify more with the tribe or state to which they feel allegiance, rather than to a concept of a whole Saukania. According to a saying, "A Saukanian is only so when he meets someone who isn't."
==History==
{{Main|History of Saukania}}
===Prehistory and antiquity (before 7th century AD)===
{{Further|Ancient history of Saukania|Archaeological sites in Saukania}}Examination of prehistoric sites in Saukania has yielded an estimation of human habitation as far back as 61,000 years ago. With northern Thrismari a potential candidate for the origin of the human species, prehistoric Saukania may have been one of the first areas early man spread to in a southward peopling of the rest of the continent. Artefacts typical of the late [[wikipedia:Middle_Paleolithic|Middle Palaeolithic]], [[wikipedia:Upper_Paleolithic|Upper Palaeolithic]], and the [[wikipedia:Mesolithic|Mesolithic]] have been discovered in Saukania. A number of sites yielded items from several eras, though the majority were confined to periods of (relatively) brief habitation in certain eras, before being abandoned. Changing climate and the somewhat cyclical expansion and retraction of the [[Western Thrismari Desert]] is likely to explain these differently situated habitation sites, and several sites were discovered in areas of modern Saukania which are sparsely inhabited if at all.


==Geography and climate==
Permanent habitation and [[wikipedia:Agriculture|agriculture]] in prehistoric Saukania is not detectable until the beginning of the [[wikipedia:Neolithic|Neolithic]] around 11,000 years ago. As with prior eras, Saukania's climate and ecoregions were likely quite different than they are today, as a number of ancient Neolithic sites are located in what are presently fairly inhospitable regions of Saukania. Other presently inhospitable regions have yielded little-to-no evidence of prehistoric habitation. The agricultural development of Neolithic Saukania have been associated with a population termed [[Early Northern Thrismari Farmers]] or ENTF, a somewhat diverse yet related genetic grouping of people who gave rise to numerous successive archaeological cultures across the Neolithic period. Traces of [[wikipedia:Hunter-gatherer|hunter-gatherer]] populations have also been detected, potentially conserving older Mesolithic subsistence strategies before gradually being forced out or assimilated into the ENTF cultures. ENTF cultures over the Neolithic period include the [[Lower Laxad River culture|Lower Laxad River Culture]], the [[Sharp Angled Pottery culture|Sharp Angled Pottery Culture]], the [[Keledan culture|Keledan Culture]], and the [[Mardan-Turana Cultural Complex]].
{{Main|Geography of Saukania}}
[[File:Isukvillage.jpg|thumb|right|The village of Isuk in the [[Sakbia valley]].]]


At 1,116,863 square kilometers, Saukania is one of the largest countries in Thrismari by total land area. It is however extremely arid, and supports a relatively small population. Most of Saukania lies within the [[Western Thrismari Desert]], the largest of the continent's four deserts. The south and west of the country are less arid, though still dominated by semi-desert areas, interspersed with montane grassland, riparian woodland, and temperate forest. The Ghuranian Mountains form a major natural boundary to the southwest, covering the border with neighbouring [[Bezuria]], and much of the border with [[Shirua]]. The foothills and valleys of these mountains are well populated, irrigated by innumerable streams and rivers descending from the snowmelt in summer.
===Middle ages (6th - 16th centuries)===


Arcing through the desert in an easterly and then southerly course is the [[Laxad river]]. This river feeds a number of major oases located in otherwise largely inhospitable desert conditions, supporting stretches of woodland and providing irrigation for many hectares of farmland and grasses for pasture. At its mouth it empties into the [[Argan Sea]], an inland body of water that is the centre of Saukania's endorheic basin, located at the extreme southeast of the country. The Laxad's source in the northern Ghuran is one of the most fertile areas of Saukania, formed from the two major tributaries of the [[Jagar river|Jagar]] and the [[Kergan river|Kergan]]. It is joined midway through its arc by Saukania's second most vital river, the [[Turora river|Turora]], providing a smaller yet still invaluable region of farmland and pasture. These rivers are invaluable for Saukania's primarily agricultural economy, with droughts and climate stress placing many rural communites under extreme pressure.
===Modern era (16th century - 1950)===


[[File:WesternThrismariDesert.png|thumb|left|A photo of the Western Thrismari Desert at sunrise]]
===Contemporary Saukania (1950 - present)===


Saukania's populated urban centres also lie on these river routes. Kula, the largest city and the Confederation's capital, is located on the left bank of the Laxad as it empties into the Argan. Khodan, Saukania's second largest city, is located in the mountains by the Kergan. Founded as defensible locations in fertile, irrigated oases and valleys, these cities have grown considerably in modern times, though much of the country remains rural.
==Geography and climate==
 
{{Main|Geography of Saukania}}Saukania has an area of 1,116,863 square kilometres (431,223 sq mi), and is one of the largest countries in Thrismari by total land area. It is a dry and landlocked country, bordering [[Sarocca]] to the north, [[Shirua]] to the west and southwest, and [[Bezuria]] to the south. Though the country has no outlet to the sea, Saukania comprises approximately half of the coastline of the inland [[Argan Sea]].
Rainfall is extremely limited, occurring mostly in the high Ghuran mountains, where summer heat releases it into the Laxad and Turora.


==History==
The country lies between longitudes 43° and 59°W and latitudes 22° and 32°S.
{{Main|History of Saukania}}
===Prehistory (Palaeolithic - c. 4th century BC)===
{{Main|Prehistory of Saukania}}
Anatomically modern {{wp|Early modern human|''Homo sapiens''}} are known to have arrived in what is now Saukania as recently as 32,000 years ago, with inconclusive evidence of earlier ''H. sapien'' and other {{wp|Homo|''Homo''}} genus habitation stretching back many more thousands of years. Most of this evidence comes from southern Saukania, as the sand dunes of the northern desert leave little trace. {{wp|Agriculture|Agriculture}} is thought to have begun at a limited level around 8,000 years ago, giving rise to sedentary communities who eventually developed metallurgy, producing {{wp|copper}} and later {{wp|bronze}} artefacts, known as the [[Geometric Band Culture]] (GBC).


===Ancient history (4th century BC - 7th century AD)===
==== Physical geography and georegions ====
{{Main|Ancient history of Saukania}}
Saukania has a diverse physical environment. The relatively flat, desert topography that comprises the majority of Saukanian land area gives way in the south to grassland and shrub-steppe, and then to the forest-steppe foothills of the Ghuran Mountains and the montane grasslands and shrublands of the mountains proper.


===Feudal Saukania (7th - 15th centuries)===
The vast [[Western Thrismari Desert]] dominates the northern and central portion of Saukania. There are a few large [[wikipedia:Erg_(landform)|ergs]] in the Saukanian region of the desert trending north, while much of the desert is comprised of [[wikipedia:Desert_pavement|desert pavement]] and bare rock.
{{Main|Saukanian Medieval Age}}


====The Crusader War====
In the south and south-west of the country is the [[Saukanian steppe]], forming a wide U-shaped arc. Receiving more rainfall than the desert to the north, the steppe is comprised primarily of grass and shrub, with some forest steppe interspersed. This forest-steppe is more abundant along riparian zones formed by the rivers that descend from the Ghuran Mountains, and in the foothills of the mountains themselves. The elevation rises from the broadly flat surrounding landscape at the foothills and up to around 3500m at the mountain range itself. This area is known as the [[Saukanian uplands]] or highlands. Montane grass and shrublands replace the temperate steppe regions as the elevation increases.


===Early modern history (15th - 18th centuries)===
==== Climate ====
{{Main|Early modern period of Saukania}}
TBA


===Modern history (18th century - present day)===
==== Environmental issues ====
{{Main|Contemporary Saukania}}
A fragile ecological area, Saukania faces a number of major environmental problems, such as land degradation in farmed areas and increased desertification. These issues are felt most keenly by the country's nomadic population, who face losing pasture land to encroaching dunes or harsher desert conditions which they need to graze their herds. Deforestation of Saukania's already limited supply of wooded areas is also a major concern.


==Demographics==
==Demographics==
Line 102: Line 96:
===Ethnicity===
===Ethnicity===
{{Main|Ethnic groups in Saukania|Saukanians|Nomads in Saukania}}
{{Main|Ethnic groups in Saukania|Saukanians|Nomads in Saukania}}
Ethnic Saukanians are the largest group in Saukania, representing over 93% of its total population. Minority groups include Shiruans, Saroccans, and Bezurians. Ethnic Saukanians identify themselves and one another by use of the Saukanian language, through common bloodline and heritage, and, to a lesser extent, participation in their polytheistic and animistic religion.
Saukanian identity is divided, however, as members of its four constituent polities identify more strongly with their regional identity. There are cultural and linguistic differences between the Arimazi, Kanthali, Lukarani, and Tukari, though they are conscious of and accept a shared Saukanian heritage. Nevertheless, some observers have considered the four groups to be ethnic groups in their own right.


===Language===
===Language===
{{Main|Saukanian language}}
{{Main|Saukanian language}}
Saukanian is an Oskuri language that takes its name from the Saukan tribes. The only surviving member of the Oskuri language family, Saukanian itself has branched out considerably over the centuries it has enjoyed dominance as the primary language of the four federations. It is itself increasingly considered to qualify as a group or small family of languages, as Saukanian dialects between and within the federations are increasingly varied enough as to make various tongues largely unintelligible to one another.
Use of the Saukanian language is considered an essential but not alone qualifying demonstration of Saukanian ethnic identity. While foreigners who know the language are not accepted on that basis alone as a Saukanian, there is a commonly held feeling that a blood Saukanian who does not know the language is not really a Saukanian. As use of the language is a sign of ethnic identity and pride, Saukanians are somewhat reputed for their reluctance to speak to foreigners in any language except Saukanian. Rudimentary knowledge of Common is fairly widespread in Saukania, though fluency is much less prevalent, and concentrated primarily among the social elite.
The Saukanians regard other languages as lesser to their own, and a common insult for "barbarians" or those who do not speak Saukanian translates roughly as "dirty-tongued"
===Religion===
===Religion===
{{Main|Religion in Saukania}}
{{Main|Religion in Saukania}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb=right
|caption= Religion in Saukania (2020 est.)
|label1= [[Religion in Saukania|Saukanian paganism]]
|value1= 79.4
|color1= darkred
|label2= {{wp|Christianity}}
|value2= 10.2
|color2= lightblue
|label3= {{wp|Islam}}
|value3= 6.6
|color3= green
|label4= Other
|value4= 3.8
|color4= white
}}
===Major cities===
===Major cities===
{{Main|List of major cities in Saukania}}
{{Main|List of major cities in Saukania}}
Line 138: Line 106:
==Government and politics==
==Government and politics==
{{Main|Government of Saukania}}
{{Main|Government of Saukania}}
The Saukanian Confederation is an alliance of four sovereign federations; the Arimazi, Kanthali, Lukarani, and Tukari. Each federation is independent, passing its own laws, possessing its own military, electing its own leaders, etc. The core of the modern alliance is the [[Treaty of Confederation]], an agreement signed by the leaders of the four federations in the 19th century to come to the defence of any signatory if attacked.
The four federations have a relatively uniform political system, derived from their common heritage. Essentially aristocratic republics, the Saukanians hold elections to determine their leaders, though these elections are not what international norms would classify as "free and fair". Each of the four federations is led by a magistrate called an ''uhtris''.


===Administrative divisions===
===Administrative divisions===
Line 149: Line 114:


==Culture==
==Culture==
{{Main|Culture of Saukania}}
{{Main|Culture of Saukania}}Saukanian culture is dictated significantly by lifestyle (whether sedentary or nomadic) and region (the influence of a particular city-state). While Saukanians do share many common cultural features, the specifics are highly variable. The family is the pillar of Saukanian society. Indeed, its city-states regard themselves as comprised of families, rather than of individuals. The family and its wider clan are older institutions than the city-states by far, and continue to hold a sacrosanct status that leaves many legal and formal responsibilities to kinship dynamics which in contemporary societies have been subsumed under the state. Saukanian families are patriarchal. In Saukania's many thousands of rural villages, families typically occupy mudbrick or stone houses, sometimes in compounds where extended families may live in several connected dwellings. Villages typically have a headman, the patriarch of the most influential or respected family. The rural population is overwhelmingly involved in agriculture, either growing crops or involvement in animal husbandry, with both subsistence and cash enterprises. Nomads frequent villages often, purchasing or trading for locally grown crops and manufactured goods, in exchange for wool, milk, and meat harvested from their flocks. Families are united in marriage, which is considered the exchange of a woman as the basis of alliance. The groom is expected to pay the bride's family. Wives are expected and raised to obey their husbands. Villages are often genealogical units unto themselves, populated by a small number of large, related families.
Saukanian society is highly conservative, as Saukanians are suspicious of foreigners and foreign ideas. Tradition is central to their religion and way of life. The traditional code of conduct, [[Larin mefinaeun|larni mefinaeun]], is fundamental to Saukanian society. Its basic tenets include {{wp|Hospitality|hospitality}} for guests, bravery for men, modesty for women, and the necessity of {{wp|Feud|vengeance}}. Family is a pillar of their society, and Saukanians have a great concern for personal and familial honour. They are strictly {{wp|Patriarchy|patriarchal}}, and women adhere to an ideal of seclusion called [[Karsavis|karsavis]].
 
The urban centres of the city-states are the heart of Saukanian industry and political life. The rate of urbanization is growing, as younger people from the rural regions of the fertile oases migrate for work. Some nomads too are abandoning their lifestyles in favour of living and working in cities, while some groups stay for a while before moving on again. The city-states are the heart of Saukanian culture, producing large amounts of goods, jewellery, textiles, and art, as well as being centres of cuisine and music. Public life and presentation is important in the city-states, and Saukanians are conscious of their image and reputation. Honour, valued as reputation and standing, is very important to Saukanians both individually and as part of their corporate units; family, clan, tribe, etc. Saukanian tribal identities have endured for many centuries, more or less unchanged in their respective regions. Typically these identities are coextensive with dialects of the regional language, particular customs, as well as place of origin. As with familial descent, tribal identity is reckoned paternally.


Rural and urban Saukania differ in their particular customs, as rural Saukanians live a harder life in the desert, steppe, and mountains closer to their traditional roots. Customs also vary between regions of Saukania. Sedentary Saukanians again differ from nomads, whose pastoralist lifestyle herding sheep, goats, and camels from oasis to oasis has resulted in a unique expression of Saukanian identity.
===Social structure===
===Social structure===
{{Main|Social structure and class in Saukania}}
{{Main|Social structure and class in Saukania}}
{{Further|Women in Saukania}}
{{Further|Women in Saukania}}
Saukanian social status and class is a multipolar hierarchy involving multiple and overlapping statuses, resulting in a complex development of self and group identity. In the four federations, where the class systems are more or less uniform, there are five primary categories by which an individual's status is determined: ancestry, age, gender, citizenship grade, and wealth census rank.
The origin of these distinctions arises out of the agricultural tribal city-state traditions of ancient Saukania, which, owing to modern Saukania's largely agrarian economy, has not substantially changed in that time.


===Honour===
===Honour===
{{Main|Larni mefinaeun|Karsavis}}
{{Main|Sharaven|Karsavis}}


===Clothing===
===Clothing===

Latest revision as of 19:47, 15 May 2024

Confederation of the Saukanians

'
Seal of the Confederation of Saukania
Seal of the Confederation
Location of Saukania in Thrismari
Location of Saukania in Thrismari
Capital
and largest city
Kula
Ethnic groups
(2020)
93.6% Saukanian
6.4% Other
Religion
(2020)
79.4% Saukanian paganism
10.2% Christianity
6.6% Islam
3.8% Other
Demonym(s)Saukanian
GovernmentConfederation of sovereign city-states
LegislatureConfederation Council
Area
• Total
1,116,863 km2 (431,223 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate
27,214,000
• Density
24.3/km2 (62.9/sq mi)
Date formatdd-mm-yyyy
Driving sideleft
Internet TLD.sg

Saukania, formally the Confederation of the Saukanians or the Saukanian Confederation, is a landlocked country in northwestern Thrismari. Saukania is bordered by Bezuria and Shirua to its south and south-west, and Sarocca to the north. At 1,116,863 million square kilometers, Saukania is one of the largest countries in Thrismari, though very sparsely populated, with a population of 27.2 million people. The Confederation is broadly coextensive with the Saukanian physical region, to which the Saukanian peoples (identified by their speaking of the Saukanian languages) are native. It is an arid country, comprised almost entirely of desert and steppe.

Human habitation in Saukania began in the Palaeolithic. Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlements centred on the fertile oases that supported irrigation and agriculture gave rise to city-states, which grew wealthy and powerful with their strategic position along overland Thrismari trade routes. Saukania's history is largely defined by wars between rival cities to establish hegemony and collect tribute, and conflict between the settled and nomadic populations of the desert. Modern city-states such as Acha, Khodan, and Kula have historically been the centre of these tributary empires. Conflict with neighbours beyond the limits of Saukanian civilization is another prominent dimension of their history.

The modern Confederation established itself over the 18th and 19th centuries in response to significant foreign pressure and the risk of subjugation, due to the competing colonial interests of Nyalan and Riamo. It is a decentralised body, with its constituent states governing themselves according to their own laws, but voluntarily ceding independent foreign relations to a corporate representation. The ancient and prestigious city of Kula serves as the Confederation's capital, and is its largest city-state by population.

Saukania is a heavily agrarian country with a large rural population and sizeable nomadic minority, with its urban centres serving as the core of industry and culture. Its native population, the Saukanians, are a closely-related yet diverse grouping of people with strong regional and local identities, a history of tribalism, and with profound linguistic, cultural, social, and religious distinctions. Exports of fruits, vegetables, and other cash crops are a major source of revenue, as is the export of finished material goods such as textiles, with Saukanian carpets being famed throughout much of the world. Tourism to Saukania is common for its historic archaeological sites and unique culture, expressed through its cuisine, art, music, and entertainment.

Name

History

Prehistory and antiquity (before 7th century AD)

Examination of prehistoric sites in Saukania has yielded an estimation of human habitation as far back as 61,000 years ago. With northern Thrismari a potential candidate for the origin of the human species, prehistoric Saukania may have been one of the first areas early man spread to in a southward peopling of the rest of the continent. Artefacts typical of the late Middle Palaeolithic, Upper Palaeolithic, and the Mesolithic have been discovered in Saukania. A number of sites yielded items from several eras, though the majority were confined to periods of (relatively) brief habitation in certain eras, before being abandoned. Changing climate and the somewhat cyclical expansion and retraction of the Western Thrismari Desert is likely to explain these differently situated habitation sites, and several sites were discovered in areas of modern Saukania which are sparsely inhabited if at all.

Permanent habitation and agriculture in prehistoric Saukania is not detectable until the beginning of the Neolithic around 11,000 years ago. As with prior eras, Saukania's climate and ecoregions were likely quite different than they are today, as a number of ancient Neolithic sites are located in what are presently fairly inhospitable regions of Saukania. Other presently inhospitable regions have yielded little-to-no evidence of prehistoric habitation. The agricultural development of Neolithic Saukania have been associated with a population termed Early Northern Thrismari Farmers or ENTF, a somewhat diverse yet related genetic grouping of people who gave rise to numerous successive archaeological cultures across the Neolithic period. Traces of hunter-gatherer populations have also been detected, potentially conserving older Mesolithic subsistence strategies before gradually being forced out or assimilated into the ENTF cultures. ENTF cultures over the Neolithic period include the Lower Laxad River Culture, the Sharp Angled Pottery Culture, the Keledan Culture, and the Mardan-Turana Cultural Complex.

Middle ages (6th - 16th centuries)

Modern era (16th century - 1950)

Contemporary Saukania (1950 - present)

Geography and climate

Saukania has an area of 1,116,863 square kilometres (431,223 sq mi), and is one of the largest countries in Thrismari by total land area. It is a dry and landlocked country, bordering Sarocca to the north, Shirua to the west and southwest, and Bezuria to the south. Though the country has no outlet to the sea, Saukania comprises approximately half of the coastline of the inland Argan Sea.

The country lies between longitudes 43° and 59°W and latitudes 22° and 32°S.

Physical geography and georegions

Saukania has a diverse physical environment. The relatively flat, desert topography that comprises the majority of Saukanian land area gives way in the south to grassland and shrub-steppe, and then to the forest-steppe foothills of the Ghuran Mountains and the montane grasslands and shrublands of the mountains proper.

The vast Western Thrismari Desert dominates the northern and central portion of Saukania. There are a few large ergs in the Saukanian region of the desert trending north, while much of the desert is comprised of desert pavement and bare rock.

In the south and south-west of the country is the Saukanian steppe, forming a wide U-shaped arc. Receiving more rainfall than the desert to the north, the steppe is comprised primarily of grass and shrub, with some forest steppe interspersed. This forest-steppe is more abundant along riparian zones formed by the rivers that descend from the Ghuran Mountains, and in the foothills of the mountains themselves. The elevation rises from the broadly flat surrounding landscape at the foothills and up to around 3500m at the mountain range itself. This area is known as the Saukanian uplands or highlands. Montane grass and shrublands replace the temperate steppe regions as the elevation increases.

Climate

TBA

Environmental issues

A fragile ecological area, Saukania faces a number of major environmental problems, such as land degradation in farmed areas and increased desertification. These issues are felt most keenly by the country's nomadic population, who face losing pasture land to encroaching dunes or harsher desert conditions which they need to graze their herds. Deforestation of Saukania's already limited supply of wooded areas is also a major concern.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Language

Religion

Major cities

Government and politics

Administrative divisions

Military

Culture

Saukanian culture is dictated significantly by lifestyle (whether sedentary or nomadic) and region (the influence of a particular city-state). While Saukanians do share many common cultural features, the specifics are highly variable. The family is the pillar of Saukanian society. Indeed, its city-states regard themselves as comprised of families, rather than of individuals. The family and its wider clan are older institutions than the city-states by far, and continue to hold a sacrosanct status that leaves many legal and formal responsibilities to kinship dynamics which in contemporary societies have been subsumed under the state. Saukanian families are patriarchal. In Saukania's many thousands of rural villages, families typically occupy mudbrick or stone houses, sometimes in compounds where extended families may live in several connected dwellings. Villages typically have a headman, the patriarch of the most influential or respected family. The rural population is overwhelmingly involved in agriculture, either growing crops or involvement in animal husbandry, with both subsistence and cash enterprises. Nomads frequent villages often, purchasing or trading for locally grown crops and manufactured goods, in exchange for wool, milk, and meat harvested from their flocks. Families are united in marriage, which is considered the exchange of a woman as the basis of alliance. The groom is expected to pay the bride's family. Wives are expected and raised to obey their husbands. Villages are often genealogical units unto themselves, populated by a small number of large, related families.

The urban centres of the city-states are the heart of Saukanian industry and political life. The rate of urbanization is growing, as younger people from the rural regions of the fertile oases migrate for work. Some nomads too are abandoning their lifestyles in favour of living and working in cities, while some groups stay for a while before moving on again. The city-states are the heart of Saukanian culture, producing large amounts of goods, jewellery, textiles, and art, as well as being centres of cuisine and music. Public life and presentation is important in the city-states, and Saukanians are conscious of their image and reputation. Honour, valued as reputation and standing, is very important to Saukanians both individually and as part of their corporate units; family, clan, tribe, etc. Saukanian tribal identities have endured for many centuries, more or less unchanged in their respective regions. Typically these identities are coextensive with dialects of the regional language, particular customs, as well as place of origin. As with familial descent, tribal identity is reckoned paternally.

Social structure

Honour

Clothing

Architecture and art

Music

Cuisine

Sport