Girbeta

Girbeta (Girbetese: ϣⲓⲣⲃⲉⲧⲁ, romanized Jiyrbetä), officially the Tichvaist Union of Girbeta (Girbetese: ⲃⲉⲣⲗⲉⲭⲧⲏⲭϥⲁⲓⲥ ϣⲓⲣⲃⲉⲧⲁⲥ, romanized Berlekthichfaiyk Jiyrbetäk), is a transcontinental country with inhabited territories in both Rennekka and Frigidarum.

Girbeta's political system is a unique blend of a presidential democracy and ecclesiocracy, with a popularly-elected head of state, and two heads of government - with the head of the lower house elected from outside the clergy, and the upper house appointed from within. Despite this, after significant reforms in the latter quarter of the 20th Century, Girbeta is described as an open society, which shares many of the same features of other modern secular, liberal nations. However, in the present, the country still struggles to overcome a long history of sectarian violence, inter-ethnic tensions, and economic underdevelopment rooted in its history under colonial rule. Despite these shortcomings, Girbeta has a high degree of income equality and a high Human Development Index score, as well as being a world leader in green energy development.

Etymology

Point Faial, on the East Coast of Jar. This location is among the first known locations reached as part of the migration undertaken by the Girbetese, which is believed to be one of the possible origins for the modern name of the country.

The Girbetese name ϣⲓⲣⲃⲉⲧⲁ (Jiyrbetä) has been in recorded use since the settlement of Saybäketle. The commonly-used folk etymology of the name is "The Place where the land runs out", citing a common saying among the Girbetese on the condition of their culture over the course of history: "Our people are at home at the edges of the world. We are the tree on the cliff, the only thing that survives where the land runs out." The precise origin and chronological placement of this statement is unknown, but is purportedly used around c. 1400 CE, with Girbetese historians generally believing it to be first utilized prior to the Exodus from Majula.

During the earlier phases of settlement by the Girbetese, the term ϩϣⲁⲣⲓⲣ (Jahriyr), translating to "shoreline", "fringe", or "distant place" was also utilized in reference to the eastern settlements of the modern country in particular. This was in reference, likewise to its current name, to the land's place as being on the most distant known lands at the time. Today, this nomenclature endures through the modern Jar Governorate.

As per the 1952 Constitution, the official name of the nation is Berlekthichfaiyk Jiyrbetäk(the Tichvaist Union of Girbeta).