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


==History==
==== Physical geography and georegions ====
{{Main|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.
===Prehistory===
{{Further|Prehistory of Saukania|Archaeological sites in Saukania}}
Human presence has been confirmed in Saukania as far back as the {{wp|Middle Paleolithic|Middle Palaeolithic}}, proven by a number of ancient archaeological sites. Continued human habitation in Saukania commenced between the 9th and 7th millennium BC, agricultural communities that flourished in and around Saukania's southwestern valleys of the [[Ghuran Mountains|Ghuran region]] and along the banks of the Laxad and Turora rivers, the main cradles of Saukanian civilization.


The fertile zones of Saukania became home to a number of advanced metallurgical cultures beginning in the {{wp|Chalcolithic}}. Among these are the [[East Laxad River Culture]] (ELR), [[Kazekhal culture|Kazekhal]], [[Black Line Pottery culture]] (BLP), and [[Orun]], which lasted until the rival of the ancient Saukanians.
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.


===Ancient Saukania===
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.
In the late 3rd to early 2nd millennium BC, immigrant populations of [[List of ancient Saukanian peoples|ancient Saukanians]] began arriving in northeastern Saukania, bringing with them a distinctive new material culture (typified as the [[Asanz culture]]), language, and genetics. Replacing and mixing with the ELR culture, layers of destruction are found with increasing regularity at various archaeological sites deeper into the 2nd millennium BC, as the newly hybridized Saukanian tribes began pushing both up- and down-stream of the Laxad towards the Ghuran Mountains and the Argan Sea. All the rival cultures were conquered and assimilated, producing regional variation among the emerging dominant tribal groups. A number of tribes pushed beyond the Ghuran, which has traditionally been the limit of Saukanian influence, settling on the western slopes to raid and plunder ancient Shirua.


From the 12th century BC, Saukanian tribes feature predominantly as antagonists in neighbouring, coastal civilizations' records. Eking out a desert existence in small farming villages and pastoral herding, many Saukanians turned to raiding to support themselves. Many Saukanians found themselves in the mercenary service of more advanced powers, recruited for the value of their hardy, desert lifestyle and skill at arms. A general warrior element that had predominated among the tribes began to crystallize into a proper warrior elite.
==== Climate ====
TBA


By the 7th century BC, a state system had conclusively emerged among the Saukanians. Villages in rich oases grew into each other, forming single towns and eventually cities, fortified and protected against their neighbours and rivals by great walls. Small tribes unified under powerful leaders who became kings of these nascent states. Raiding behaviour continued under a more organised and disciplinarian approach, and the Saukanians now had arms and armour equal to anything fielded by their former employers and targets. [[Acha]], [[Khodan]], [[Kula]], and [[Sardasar]] emerge in this period as prominent, populous states.
==== 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.
===Middle ages===
 
===Modern era===
 
===Contemporary Saukania===


==Demographics==
==Demographics==
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===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 Saukanians are a segmentary society. A village against village, valley against valley, tribe against tribe, state against state, and nation against nation. Saukanians have a hierarchy of overlapping identities whose importance varies per social situation. Saukanians only generally consider themselves such in situations where they are confronted with foreign, non-Saukanian elements or representatives. At other times, they identify more strongly with the state and tribe to which they belong. The four regions of Daskhia, Kugeria, Parharia, and Turoka factor into this identity too, grouping tribes and states at a level that is beneath Saukanian.


===Language===
===Language===
{{Main|Saukanian language}}
{{Main|Saukanian language}}
Modern Saukanian is the most widely spoken language in the Confederation. It is not to be confused with the [[Saukanian languages]], the family to which it belongs. Modern Saukanian, usually shortened to just Saukanian, descends from the Parharian language, one of the early branches of the original Saukanian language. Parharian came to replace the other varieties of Saukanian starting from the 16th century, owing to the renewed prestige and power of Kula, the dominant kingdom of Parharia particularly and Saukania generally. Its eventual place as capital of the Confederation increased the prestige of the Kulean dialect of Parharian, leading to it becoming nearly ubiquitous. This new Modern Saukanian subsequently differentiated into two dialects, Kulean and Khodanian, or East and West respectively.
Other Saukanian languages continue to be spoken by various communities, holdovers from the more diverse linguistic period of Saukanian history. This is more common in the highland regions of Ghuran, among the nomadic communities of the desert pastures, and variously isolated rural communities. In most cases, these people speak both Modern Saukanian and the local surviving ancestral dialect. In areas where these have disappeared, elements of them survive through loanwords and various grammatical contributions to Modern Saukanian. Kulean and Khodanian have many sub-dialects in their area of influence, as well as dialects that do not often neatly fit into either category.
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}}The native religion of the Saukans has not only endured but thrived as the majority religion despite, or perhaps in response to, various foreign invasions by representatives of [[wikipedia:Christianity|Christianity]] and [[wikipedia:Islam|Islam]], such as the Shiruan Kakish crusaders. Nevertheless, Islam and Christianity have acquired followings among some native Saukans. The majority of each has its primary follower base in the urban centres of Saukan civilization, though other demographics have greater or lesser representation of these religious minorities.{{Pie chart
{{Main|Religion in Saukania}}
|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
}}The internal divisions of each religion also feature in Saukania. While most Saukan Christians are [[wikipedia:Catholic_Church|Catholic]], some are [[wikipedia:Protestantism|Protestant]], while others still follow a form of [[wikipedia:Religious_syncretism|syncretic]] [[Saukan Christianity]] that shares theological features with [[wikipedia:Arianism|Arianism]]. Among Saukan Muslims, [[wikipedia:Sunni_Islam|Sunni]] is the leading denomination, with [[wikipedia:Shia_Islam|Shia Islam]] having a follower count in the low hundreds. [[wikipedia:Sufism|Sufi]] schools are something of a commonality in Saukan Islam, representing a radical break from the worldliness that permeates Saukan religiosity and the syncretic developments within Saukan Christianity and Islam.
 
Saukan religion itself is classified as a type of paganism. An animistic polytheism, it lacks any concrete name since its form is that of an ethnic religion. Most Saukans worship a shared collection of deities and concepts of natural forces, though emphasis on particular deities or ideas notably varies from locale to locale. Sacrifice and ritual are essential to the Saukan religion. Priests are drawn from certain elites families in the Saukanian cities and tribes, who claim a genealogical and mythical right and responsibility to maintain the customs set down in the mythical age (the nebulous time period in which the events of Saukan mythology are said to have taken place). At the bedrock of the Saukan religion is the domestic cult. Ancestor worship is the first religion of the Saukans, and their ritual practises for worshipping higher deities are understood to be modified rites for the honouring of the dead. The male head of the family serves as its priest in these affairs, with ritual knowledge and practised passed down paternally. These affairs are private, untouchable by any authority, attesting to their antiquity and their preceding of the more organised, state-sponsored cults.
 
Among the deities of the Saukan religion are Tanmes; the most revered god and lord of the sky, Zadohr; a warrior-herder deity and patron of oaths and contracts, Gedona; an earth fertility goddess, Sohthar; lord of the underworld, and Itix; goddess of beauty and pleasure. Many other deities major and minor populate the Saukan pantheon. Some are regionally bound, having no cult or worship outside of a particular city-state, rural district, or even village, while others are considered "Pansaukanian", and honoured by most or all Saukans. Saukans believe the world was fashioned out of a primordial material, but not "created" ''ex nihilo'', and that the world will eventually return to this homogeneous and indistinct state before being refashioned again in an infinite cycle.
 
A major religious concept for Saukans is fate, seen to be above even the gods, who have the power to delay what is fated but never to prevent it. An appropriately fatalistic demeanour is common of the Saukan character. This idea of fate is often connected to specific events rather than every event in isolation, however. The Saukan mythical figure [[Sanagos (Saukan mythical figure)|Sanagos]], for example, received a prophecy of his death in the land of [[Kazen]]. In attempting to flee this fate, Sanagos journeyed to many lands and had numerous adventures and performed great feats of strength and heroism, eventually culminating in his unwitting arrival in the land of Kazen and his subsequent death. Saukans consider his attempted defiance of fate as the spring of his accomplishments, rather than a purely futile attempt to delay the inevitable. In other words, Sanagos was only fated to die in Kazen, not to be the great hero he became. His heroism came from himself, and his death alone from fate.
 
A history of religious tension has defined much of Saukan history. Violence between Saukans and the Abrahamic monotheists, or rival monotheistic sects and groups, has been a frequent occurrence in the cities and towns of Saukania. At different times and places and under different rulers, organised persecutions have taken place, as many Saukan leaders regarded the anti-establishment Christians and Muslims as a major threat to social order and their own power. Fear of cultural erasure and loss of identity motivates much of the Saukan pagan animosity towards the foreign faiths, while belief in the truth of their own creed and the threat posed to the true religion by heretics and heathens has been the driving force of proselytising activity by Christians and Muslims. The [[2012 Kula riots|Kula riots]] of 2012 were the deadliest outbreaks of religious violence in Saukania in the 21st century, resulting in 36 deaths and hundreds more injured, with religious buildings damaged.
 
===Major cities===
===Major cities===
{{Main|List of major cities in Saukania}}
{{Main|List of major cities in Saukania}}
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==Government and politics==
==Government and politics==
{{Main|Government of Saukania}}
{{Main|Government of Saukania}}
Saukania is a confederation of twelve independent polities: Acha, Arakhan, Dathan, Godar, Khodan, Kula, Krolonar, Sardasar, Sokotis, Ragera, Tabana, and Turshor. The Confederation is weighted heavily in favour of Acha, Khodan, Kula, and Sardasar, the four largest states by population. The Treaty of Confederation was signed in the late 19th century after many decades of increasingly closer ties, encouraged by foreign pressure and the risk of invasion or occupation. Acha, Khodan, Kula, and Sardasar were the first and primary signatories, forming their alliance which the other eight joined subsequently. Many of these states existed as all but formal vassals of the original four, though the Treaty of Confederation lessened this dependency by laying out the rights of all members states to autonomy and self-rule.
Kula was selected as capital of the Confederation due to its size and prestige.


===Administrative divisions===
===Administrative divisions===
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==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.
The culture of Saukania has persisted for millennia, since the arrival of the early Saukana to the region around 3,700 years ago. Though subsequent foreign invasions have added to the cultural mix, modern Saukanian culture is considered the continuity of the ancient.  


As a tribal, segmented society, there is a large amount of regional and local variations of Saukanian culture, qualifying as subcultures. Daskhia, Kugeria, Parharia, and Turoka have long been culturally distinct from one another in their expressions of Saukanian culture more generally, though still highly interrelated and connected due to their long history of alliances, wars, and migrations. Parharian culture is perhaps the most internationally perceived of the four, due to the prominence of the Parharian kingdom of Kula. A distinction between urban and rural Saukanians must also be emphasised, with the urban populations long since accustomed to a more state-organised society bound by allegiances to offices and rank, while the rural populations remain more firmly tribal and aligned by kinship and blood. The hill people of the Ghuran are the most independent of Saukania's rural populations,  with a history of resisting occupation and defying urban authority. Saukania's population of over 2 million nomads boast a more distinct culture still, shaped by their lifestyle of movement and the distrust that exists between them and the sedentary peoples. Nevertheless, a shared Saukanian cultural identity is observable between them all. They consume much of the same food, wear the same types of clothing, follow the same religion and observe the same shared festivals and ceremonies, speak the same language, and hold many of the same values and ethical ideas.
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.


Conservatism is another shared feature of the Saukanians. Highly suspicious of outsiders and foreign ideas, they are motivated substantially by tradition and the ancestral customs, valuing systems which have proven their worth over many centuries. Family is core to their society, as well as honour, both of the group and the individual. Saukanian honour is androcentric, relating to the males of the family, clan, and society generally. The Saukanian code of conduct, ''[[Sharaven (Saukania)|sharaven]]'', is a male-oriented body of customary laws that emphasises hospitality, courage, self-sufficiency, independence, family loyalty, honour, and vengeance for slights or attacks. The protection of females and children is vital for the honour of men under ''sharaven'', and they lose face for failing to guard or avenge dishonour of a female. Saukanian culture is patriarchal, with women expected to obey fathers and husbands, and hold to an ideal of modesty and seclusion called ''karsavis''. Injuries of honour can result in a feud called a ''[[Saukanian blood feud|korvena]]'', considered a social obligation to take recompense for an injury or insult by blood. Acts that can initiate a ''korvena'' include slander, theft, assault, murder, and the sexual assault or rape of a woman or child. ''Korvenas'' remain common in the rural lands of Saukania, where urban authority is weak and order maintained through violent and restorative justice, and among the nomadic tribes, where the lack of any prison infrastructure and the mobility of property make brutal retaliation a favoured method of conflict resolution. For tribal Saukanians, a ''korvena'' is simply a small war, and a war a large ''korvena''. As a result, these conflicts can escalate depending on the allegiance of those involved, ranging from two feuding families to entire villages or valleys, causing dozens or hundreds of deaths. In the history of the urban oasis states, the ''korvena'' transformed more into an aristocratic duel, and came to emphasise more personal and immediate familial honour than the broader honour of a clan. Certainly, urban Saukanians are not less conscious of their reputation and standing to forgo the demand for compensation if it is challenged.
[[Saukanian studies|Saukanology]], or Saukanistics, is the study of Saukania and its cultures. In modern times, many native Saukanians have contributed to greater international understanding of their culture, though much of this effort and impact has been achieved by non-Saukanian explorers, authors, and anthropologists, particularly those who came to the area during the formation of the Confederation in the 18th and 19th centuries.
===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===

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

Main article: Names of the Saukanians

History

Main article: History of Saukania

Prehistory and antiquity (before 7th century AD)

Further information: Ancient history of Saukania and 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 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

Main article: 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.

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

Main article: Demographics of Saukania

Ethnicity

Main articles: Ethnic groups in Saukania, Saukanians, and Nomads in Saukania

Language

Main article: Saukanian language

Religion

Main article: Religion in Saukania

Major cities

Main article: List of major cities in Saukania

Government and politics

Main article: Government of Saukania

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Saukania

Military

Main article: The Saukanian Army

Culture

Main article: 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.

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

Main article: Social structure and class in Saukania
Further information: Women in Saukania

Honour

Main articles: Sharaven and Karsavis

Clothing

Main article: Clothing in Saukania

Architecture and art

Main articles: Architecture of Saukania and Art in Saukania

Music

Main article: Music of Saukania

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of Saukania

Sport

Main article: Sport in Saukania

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