Azmara

Commonwealth of Azmara Gemenwelþ âb Azmaara (Azmaran)
Flag
Motto: “Stranghed komeþ fan galykhed en ânhed” "Strength Comes From Equality And Unity"
Azmara (dark green) within the Euclean Community (light green)
Capital	Aalmsted
Official languages	Azmaran
Recognised national languages	Witterite Tajkensprek
Recognised regional languages	IJssentaal Hytklifer
Demonym(s)	Azmaran
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Maarija Ryginsdohter
• Thingspeaker	Sofija Anasdohter
Establishment
• Western March	974
• Duchy of Groonbank	1038
• Twin Crowns	1238
• Azmaran Confederation	1623
• Restoration	1810
• Commonwealth	1855
Area
•	43,018 km2 (16,609 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.7
Population
• 2018 estimate	10,029,100
• 2013 census	10,011,293
• Density	233.14/km2 (603.8/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2018 estimate
• Total	$473.6 billion
• Per capita	$47,309
GDP (nominal)	2018 estimate
• Total	$513.5 billion
• Per capita	$51,201
Gini (2017)	28.4 low
HDI (2017)	0.901 very high
Currency	Euclo (EUC)
Date format	dd/mm/yyyy
Driving side	left
Calling code	+19
ISO 3166 code	AZ
Internet TLD	.az

Azmara, (/æzmɑːrə/; Azmaran: Azmaara [ɑzmɑːɹɑ]), officially the Commonwealth of Azmara (Azmaran: Gemenwelþ âb Azmaara [gɛmɛnʋɛlθ æβ ɑzmɑːɹɑ]), is a country located in northeast Euclea with a population of 10 million citizens. The nation consists of seven provinces, which have little autonomy in the modern day, and has its capital in the city of Aalmsted. To the southwest it borders Borland and to the northwest it borders Werania.

The nation was settled by Weranic peoples in the 4th century AD, bringing their culture and technology with them. Soon afterwards, missionaries introduced Sotirianity and the Solarian alphabet to the nation. The Weranic peoples formed their own petty kingdoms, with most of them coming under the Western March in the Ahnemune Confederation by 974. Much of the southern parts of this would eventually be reorganised into the Duchy of Groonbank, which would enter a personal union with the Western March in 1238, which is popularly used as the founding date of Azmara. However, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries as much of the Azmaran nobility and merchant classes became part of the Amendist Reformation, the nation came into conflict with the Solarian Catholic Confederation, resulting in riots and the secession of the Azmaran areas as the Azmaran Confederation in 1623.

The Confederation would stay in existence for the best part of the next two millenia, being ruled by an uneasy partnership of the nobility, Amendist clergy and the growing burgher and peasant classes. Much of the 18th century under the Confederation is regarded by many as an age of prosperity for the nation, as Azmaran merchants from ports such as Heuthenberg and Ostby-an-de-mer brought large amounts of money into the country over trade. However, the nation's prosperity began to recede towards the end of the century as the nation became locked out of trade, and the relations between the various ruling classes began to break down, resulting in the death of the Confederation and the crowning of Stefan I as the King of Azmara in 1810, in order to retain a sense of stability within the nation.

Today, Azmara is a liberal democracy with a developed standard of living. It has had a long history of liberalism, with universal male suffrage and religious freedom existing since the creation of the Commonwealth, and women's suffrage was established at the dawn of the 20th century. The nation also has a welfare state providing free education and healthcare to its residents, although high tax rates are used to fund it. The current President of Azmara is Maarija Ryginsdohter since her election in 2015, who serves as an Independent, and the current Thingspeaker is Sofija Anasdohter of the Workers’ Party.

Etymology

The name Azmara for the present day region did not come into widespread use until the late 15th century, and has a particularly unclear etymology. In ancient documents, the area is generally described as variations of "the western lands". The region's first official name was the Western March, or Westmark in Old Weranic, which formed in 974 as the region came under the organised control of the Ahnemunde Confederation. The name refers to the area's status as a border region, or march, of the Confederation, to the west of the ocean.

However, this name would later only apply to the north-western proportion of the country as the March was restricted to that area, and would eventually give its name to the modern-day Province of Westmaark. The south-eastern portion of the country would become known as the green bank, either referring to its geographical nature as a relatively flat, fertile plain, or the many small rivers that intersected it and was thus on the bank of, after the establishment of the Duchy of Groonbank in 1038, which would lend its name to the modern-day Province of Groonbank.

When the two entities united in 1238, the region was generally referred to as Westmaark-Groonbank, until the name Azmara begun to supplant it in the late 15th century, and became officially used in 1623 when the nation seceded from the Ahnemunde Confederation.

History

↓Weranic settlement

↓Western March

↓Duchy of Groonbank

↓Union of the Twin Crowns

↓Secession

↓Restoration

↓Second Revolution

↓Realignment

Weranic tribes

Ahnemunde Confederation

Azmaran Confederation

Kingdom of Azmara

Commonwealth of Azmara

 550

 974

 1038

 1238

 1623

 1810

 1855

 1932

Prehistory

The earliest evidence of permanent human settlement in modern-day Azmara dates from around 14000 BCE, and there is evidence of agriculture from around 3750 BCE. The Bronze Age in Azmara (1700-500 BCE) was characterised by an abundance of burial mounds, which are found dotted across the Azmaran countryside, and there have been recorded cases of stone circles and menhirs from this period in various sites.

The beginning of the Iron Age in 500 BCE sees the Pre-Euclean people that had initially inhabited Azmara be largely displaced by Tenic peoples that had migrated inwards. These people left significant archaeological marks on the landscape: hillforts and villages from this time are found in multiple locations across the nation, and there are recorded instances of Bronze Age structures being repurposed by the Tenic Iron Age peoples. Society at the time was thought to be organised into a loose tribal confederation, with different tribes being ruled by tanistry.

Solarian writers of the time commented on the region, describing it as being "filled with largely harmless, primitive people". However, there is evidence of social development on par of the Solarian Empire in the later part of the Tenic period of Azmara, with coins being found in burials from around 300 CE and a few inscriptions written in a modified form of the Solarian alphabet, largely names, have been found on stones dating from the 5th century.

Weranic settlement of Azmara

In the early 6th century CE, Weranic peoples first settled in Azmara. These peoples brought their civilisation with them and founded cities such as Mideltuun, Ostby-an-de-mer and Wucing. Their society appears to have been relatively advanced; various regions and cities were led by nobles elected by the nobles of the regions they represented and then a king for the whole of the loose confederation was elected by the noble leaders. Furthermore, many coins have been found, as have many inscriptions written in runes on stone tablets detailing exchanges, decrees and court proceedings.

These Weranic peoples are thought to have become the dominant cultural group in Azmara by the end of the century, yet there is little evidence of conflict between them and the Tenic inhabitants and DNA records of modern-day Azmarans show both Weranic and Tenic origins, suggesting that the Weranic settlers assimilated and mixed with the Tenic inhabitants in their settlement of Azmara.

It is thought that before 792 CE, Weranic paganism was the dominant religion, with many inscriptions mentioning gods such as Woden, Thor and Frey, yet Tenic gods such as Lugh have also been mentioned, suggesting a degree of religious syncretism. However, Georgius Septimus, a Sotirian missionary from modern-day Gaullica, arrived in the nation in 731 CE to convert the people of the region to his religion.

This conversion was much more successful than previous attempts as he was able to convert Wilhjelmar I, the ruler of Mideltuun, who actively participated in his missionary work and, on a day commonly reported to be the 25th January, 792, they were able to convince the High King to convert to Sotirianity. Both Septimus and Wilhjelmar were made saints for their efforts in the conversion of Azmara, and are recognised as St. Jorś and St. Wiljâm, the national saints of Azmara, and the 25th has been declared St. Wiljâm's Day, a national holiday, to commemorate the event.

Despite the introduction of Sotirianity to Azmara, many beliefs from traditional paganism appeared to have stayed strong in the following centuries; a 9th century monk describes the continued celebration of "backwards pagan holidays" by the common people, while another decries the "madness" of the conflation of "false old gods" with "the one true Sotirian God". While Septimus also attempted to introduce the Latin alphabet to the region, their use is only seen in religious matters: official government documents continued to be written in runes, or in both scripts, for many years afterwards.

Radical Revolution

The Kingdom would suffer severe issues over the early 1850's, as poor harvests and a lack of available imports due to the War of the Triple Alliance consuming much of the continent. Bread riots became a major issue across the country from 1853, and as the country became gripped by rioting the 1854 election to the Folksmot saw the election of many radical-liberal members such as Mikel Hankssun of Aalmsted-VI and Jorś Wilhjâlmssun of Eśen Hill, demanding major reforms such as expanding suffrage, increased power for the Folksmot, expanded poor relief and land reform to give farmers more land at the expense of the nobility.

However, while many proposals of this nature were advanced and saw majority support in the Folksmot, the nobility and clergy in the Landsmot and King Stefan II refused to countenance them as they wished to retain their power. The news of this spread quickly throughout the capital and surrounding regions, and angered many of the lower classes, and rioting picked up again on a more serious scale with an increasingly political edge. As the government began to use force to put down riots, seeing no other way out, the rioters and radical-liberal representatives became more explicitly republican in nature, and as radical-liberal representatives formed a majority on the Aalmsted City Council, they used the government offices of the council to organise further agitation to try and advance their causes, leading to the Council's power being suspended by the central government.

However, in protest as to the shutdown of the Council, the radical-liberal representatives on the Council and in the Folksmot stormed the Council chamber and, on the 25th January 1855, co-ordinated with St. Wiljâm's Day, proclaimed the Commonwealth of Azmara as a sovereign entity in which power derived from the people. Serving as the interim President of the new state, Hankssun managed to secure the support of many of the rioters by endorsing the concepts of universal male suffrage and the abolition of noble privilege, and after managing to amass arms and gain further support, most of the city of Aalmsted was under the control of the new Republic by the end of April.

The revolution was able to consolidate control over much of the surrounding areas and over growing, industrialising areas such as Sompland and Kyningsmer, as well as over large swathes of Haadland by the end of the year, yet it significantly struggled to gain the support of areas such as Nordberg, Hytklif and rural Ostlaak, where the idea of noblesse oblige stayed strong and led to scepticism over the increasingly radical promises of the revolutionaries.

The revolution also faced a threat from within as many of its urban working-class supporters came to doubt its commitment to its pledges, and thus by the end of November an election was hurriedly held in consolidated areas, confirming Hankssun as President of the Commonwealth and seeing a convincing majority of radical-liberals elected to the Folksmot, which was made the sole legislative body initially. However, Hankssun's increasingly secularist and urban-focused rhetoric alienated other revolutionaries such as Wilhjâlmssun, who wished to retain a strong role for the Church in society and worried for the neglect of urban areas, leading to a political split between Hankssun's followers in the Progress Party and Wilhjâlmssun's followers in the Alliance for the Commonwealth.

Post-realignment history

After the fall of the National Coalition government, a temporary government of national unity was formed between the Workers' Party, the Radicals, the rump Azmaran Section of the Workers' International and Gold Flame came to power, led by the Workers' Party's Hjalmer Alekssun. This government pursued constitutional reform, giving married women the vote and establishing proportional representation and making the presidency an officially non-partisan office.

New elections under this system saw a massive victory for Hjalmar Alekssun, with his party winning 40% of the vote and forming a coalition with the Radicals. The two parties would proceed to dominate Azmaran politics for the next two decades and, after re-entering the war on the side of the ultimately victorious Grand Alliance, would initiate many progressive reforms to Azmaran society, establishing universal secondary education and healthcare as well as the modern Azmaran welfare state, drastically expanding higher education and nationalising many key industries.

Azmara would also align itself with Euclean co-operation as its primary foreign affairs goal, joining the United Nations of Euclea, seeing it as a counterweight against the right-wing Weranian government and later co-founding the Euclean Community in 1948 after the collapse of the United Nations, with then-Thingspeaker Maþijas Aansgaarsun being one of the six founders of the organisation and declaring his vision of an "Eastern Euclea united by democracy, liberty and socialism".

The dominance of the political left over national politics would end in 1954, when a centre-right coalition would defeat the incumbent government. Despite the anti-socialist stances of the two main parties involved - the Sotirian Democrats and Gold Flame, and the explicitly economically liberal tendencies of the latter, both parties were willing to accept the newly created welfare state and continued the Knowlesby School approach to the economy, committing to full employment and fiscal intervention in recession. This consensus, often called the "Bojner compromise" by political scientists, would be maintained throughout most of the next few decades as both centre-right and centre-left governments alternated power.

However, in the early 70's, as second-wave feminism, pacifism and other social movements gained in prominence, mass protests in favour of women's rights in terms of pay, abortion and contraception, withdrawal from the ECDTO and addressing social inequality in education broke out. The Radicals under Aleksaander Mâþijassun aligned themselves with these movements, and in 1972 the party came a close second in the elections and, refusing coalition with other parties, formed a minority government focused on social reform in many of these areas, establishing equal pay, legalising contraception and abortion in cases of danger to the mother and introducing comprehensive schools.

Many would, however, reject the government's stalling and failings on other areas, and the party would be forced back into a coalition with the Workers' Party next election. This government, however, would face multiple economic issues such as stagflation and the start of a decline in Azmara's traditional steel and coal industries. While the government was able to win re-election in 1978, promising to be proactive in bringing down inflation and unemployment, yet it was unsuccessful in this and measures such as high interest rates were unpopular and were restricted by the budget deficit.

This would lead to a resurgent Gold Flame taking power under Aarne Leifssun, a former economist from the University of Aalmsted, who promised economic reform to alleviate the situation.

Politics and Government

Forsiter Maarija Ryginsdohter

Þingspreker Sofija Anasdohter

Azmara is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic, with its system of government laid out in the Basic Law of the Commonwealth of Azmara. Originally written in 1855 after the Radical Revolution, the document was heavily revised twice - first in 1915, seeing a shift from a presidential system to a parliamentary one, and again in 1933 after the Great Realignment.

The Constitution establishes the head of state to be the President of Azmara, who has the power of an impartial figurehead and a mediator between elements in the government; they are meant to give up their party affiliation, if one is possessed, before taking their role to ensure impartiality. An election is held every six years for the President, and instant runoff voting is used to choose the winner. They have the constitutional duty to appoint the Thingspeaker and Cabinet, dissolve the Parliament and sign laws, however they are restricted to only exercising these rights in certain circumstances, and they cannot refuse to sign a law. The current President is Maarija Ryginsdohter, a civil servant from Aalmsted who used to serve as the Mayor of Aalmsted.

The legislature consists of the Alþing, which is made up of the Landsmot and the Folksmot. The Landsmot is the upper house of the notion, and consists of 40 representatives elected by the governments of the seven provinces, while 35 are chosen by five constituencies representing trade unions, employers' organisations, small business owners and farmers, cultural organisations and university graduates, while the Folksmot’s 150 members are elected every three years by the general population of the nation through proportional representation. The legislature has the right to propose, debate and vote on legislation, which is then sent to the President for approval. Imperfect bicameralism exists; the upper house can not deny confidence to the government, although it can vote down budgets and other legislation, leading to governments making deals with small parties to pass legislation.

The executive branch is centered around the Wisemaanenmot, commonly referred to as the Government of Azmara, which consists of ministers responsible for the running of various departments of the central government; theoretically it is a council of equals, with the Thingspeaker of Azmara (Azmaran: Þingspreker ab Azmaara) being a primus inter pares leader of the council, yet since the 1990's Thingspeakers have been accused of "presidentialism" and personality-based politics. New government policy is often discussed by the cabinet using deliberation and consensus building, with the consensus reached being the basis for proposed legislation.

Political parties and elections

The centre-left Workers' Party has often been referred to as Azmara's natural party of governance, having come first in terms of votes in every election since 1933 and leading the Azmaran government for 57 out of the 87 years since. The party's dominance in the post-Great War period has been linked to many factors, such as its historical ties to Azmara's historically influential trade unionist movement, its historical big tent status encompassing many strands of left-of-centre thought and a divided political right historically discredited to accusations of collaborationism with Functionalist Gaullica.

The party has traditionally faced opposition to the right from the classically and economically liberal Gold Flame and the socially conservative and agrarian Sotirian Democrats, with the former traditionally drawing support from Azmara's urban middle classes and the latter drawing the support of much of the countryside, small business owners and regular Church attenders. The two parties have, when given the opportunity, traditionally co-operated to form governments based on their common anti-socialist outlooks.

However, on multiple occasions, both parties have crossed the floor, with the Sotirian Democrats having formed a government with the Radicals, a left-leaning liberal party whom has been the traditional ally of the Workers' Party, in their 1972-75 and 2005-08 stints in government, later joining together with the Workers' Party between 2008-11 to form a broad centrist bloc. Meanwhile, the 1999-2005 governments saw grand coalitions between the Workers' Party and Gold Flame based on shared social liberalism and the centrist leadership of the Workers' Party at the time.

Since the Great Recession, however, new parties have gained prominence due to their anti-establishment credentials. These include the Green Party, whose progressivism and environmentalism have seen them gain appeal and participate in government 2005-11 and from 2017, the right-wing populist People's Party who controversially provided support to the 2011-2014 centre-right government and the left-wing populist Socialist Party, who were a junior partner in government with the Workers' Party between 2017 and 2020.

Law

The legal system of Azmara has been based on civil law with influence from Weranic law since the founding of the Commonwealth, coded down in the Gemenwelþlagensbok, the supreme legal code of the nation. Noted principles of the Azmaran legal system have been practices such as trial by jury, innocent until proven guilty, retribution and rehabilitation, where Azmaran law traditionally focuses on getting criminals to repay their debts to society while re-integrating them into society. The Gemenwelþrehtnesraad, or "Commonwealth Justice Court", is the supreme court of the nation, responsible for constitutional matters with the power of judicial oversight, with specialised supreme courts, for example the Gemenwelþarbeidersraad, the Gemenwelþsośalraad and the Gemenwelþscaatsraad, dealing with labour crimes, social crimes and financial crimes respectively.

While the death penalty did not see heavy usage before the abolition, Azmara was early to abolish the death penalty, with the last execution happening in 1857, with the leader of a monarchist paramilitary being executed for treason, and the death penalty itself being abolished in 1858. However, notably, the old Germanic system of wergild only came to an end around a similar time, with the system being kept due to the continued belief in retributive justice, however other ways of retribution and an increased focus on rehabilitation led to its end.

Azmara has a low murder rate of 0.7 homicides per 100,000 people yearly.

Administrative Divisions

Azmara is divided into eight provinces; seven of these are roughly the seven traditional provinces of Azmara that have existed since before unification, while the eighth province is that of Aalmsted, the capital. Each province has its own government, headed by a President, and its own council, elected by its residents every three years. However, on account of Azmara being a unitary state, these governments and councils do not have much power, although they have more than in many other unitary states.

Province	Population	Area	Density	Capital	President
Aalmsted	1,023,942	592	1,730	Aalmsted	Ana Jorśdohter (Ap)
Groonbank	2,531,928	7,192	352	Stâjnensby	Leif Carlssun (Ap)
Haadland	814,295	6,691	122	Cârlesby	Liis Wiljâmsdohter (R)
Hytklif	502,810	4,123	122	Nyhâben	Jana Jonsdohter (FB08)
Nordberg	391,192	3,018	130	Nordberg	Lorenc Hankssun (SF)
Ostlaak	1,128,381	3,390	333	Kyningsmer	Mikel Wiljâmssun (GF)
Sompland	1,618,271	9,283	174	Saltsdyyk	Jon Cârlssun (Ap)
Westmaark	2,018,281	8,729	231	Jorś-Hylager	Âlfred Jonssun (Ap)

Economy

Azmara has an industrialised, developed economy with key characteristics a skilled labour force, low levels of corruption, high levels of innovation, a relatively generous welfare state based both on subsidiarity and universalism and integration with the Euclean Community, of which it was a founding member in 1948. In purchasing power parity, it maintains a relatively high GDP per capita, of $47,309, combined with a relatively low level of income inequality, with Azmara's Gini being 28.4 in 2017.

Traditionally, Azmara's economy was driven by a heavy industrial base, the main components of which were coal and iron mining in much of the Ostlaak Province and its hills, large steel and cotton mills in the central urbanised regions in cities such as Aalmsted, Jorś-Hylager and Stajnensby and in the industrial towns of Sompland, glass blowing in parts of Westmaark and shipbuilding in coastal towns such as Sooþbryg and Ostby-an-de-mer. However, Azmara's industrial sector has seen significant downturn in recent years as outsourcing has led to the decline of these industries at home, and many traditional players such as the Azmaran Coal Board and the Azmaran Steel Board have seen their role within the national economy significantly reduced.

Many economists have described Azmara's recent economic history as a transition from a manufacturing-based, export-driven economy with elements of dirigisme in its economic strategy to a service-based social market economy via the process of deindustrialisation and aided by neoliberal policies implemented by governments between 1981 and 2005. However, the Azmaran government still maintains a strong presence in many of what it deems "key sectors", owning a majority share in the Ostlaak-Haadland Port Authority, which manages trade and docking rights in many of the country's major ports, and in Azmaariś-Telekom, which operates the moble and wireless networks of the country, and Azmaaris-Lesten, which operates the country's rail network.

While structural unemployment has become a major issue in modern Azmara as many post-industrial towns and cities have long struggled with the loss of their main employers, the Azmaran economy has seen significant recent growth in new sectors. Examples of sectors that have grown over recent decades include consumer electronics and information technology, largely as a result of heavy subsidisation and tax breaks by recent governments, and luxury goods such as fashion and confectionary. Within these four specific sectors, Azmaran companies such as Blauberja, Foorbindest, J&J and Freidrik's respectively have had a significant impact on the national economy.

Azmara's economy has been characterised by a fairly high unionisation rate: 59.4% of the Azmaran workforce are members of a union, of which the overwhelming majority are affiliated with Bund âb de Arbeiden, a confederation of four blue-collar unions, one public sector union and one professional union which has heavy links to the Workers' Party. This union plays a major role in Azmara's system of social corporatism as its shop stewards and representatives take a key role in collective bargaining with employers' organisations, and also takes a major role in electing the 7 representatives for the Trade Unions constituency on the Landsmot.

Demographics

In 2018, Azmara was estimated to have a population of around 10,029,100 people, an increase of 17,807 people from the 2013 census, meaning a growth rate of 0.18% over five years. Azmara is also one of the more densely populated countries in Euclea, with a population density of 233.14 people per square kilometer.

The fertility rate in Azmara stands at 1.69 babies per woman, significantly below the 2.1 minimum rate of population replacement. However, life expectancy in Azmara is relatively high, with women living to 83.4 years and men living to 79.0 years on average.

The largest city in Azmara is its capital, Aalmsted, with a population of 1,023,942 within the official Province of Aalmsted, which constitutes over 10% of the entire Azmaran population. A further 15% live in the nearby cities of Stajnensby and Jorś-Hylager, which serve as the capitals of the provinces of Groonbank and Westmaark respectively, leading to what has been labelled the Aalmsted-Stajnensby-Jorś-Hylager conurbation being home to over a quarter of Azmara's population.

In the 2013 census, 86.0% of respondents identified themselves as Azmaran, 8.5% identified themselves as Euclean and 5.5% identified themselves as Other.

Around 5% of Azmarans are thought to be lesbian, gay or bisexual.

Languages

The sole official language of the Commonwealth of Azmara is the Azmaran language, a Weranic language closely related to Buckish, Estmerish and Ruttish. It is taught as the primary language in most schools across Azmara, with 99% of the population being able to converse in the language.

The only minority language within the nation is the Hytklifer language, often considered a dialect of Azmaran despite the two being mutually unintelligible, which is spoken by a minority in the Province of Hytklif. Like Azmaran, it is a Weranic language, and while in the 19th and 20th centuries it was often suppressed in favour of an Azmaran identity, the language has seen a resurgence in modern years, with bilingual schools being opened in the province and bilingual signage being introduced. 22,000 people, or 0.2% of the population of Azmara and 4.4% of the population of Hytklif, indicated they had "some knowledge" of the language in the 2013 census.

Tajkensprek, also known as Azmaran Sign Language, has also gained some government recognition due to disability rights legislation within Azmara, and around 40,000 people are thought to understand Tajkensprek, including deaf Azmarans and family or friends of deaf Azmarans.

Foreign language studies are mandatory in Azmara for primary and secondary education, with Gaullican being the main language taught within schools, although Estmerish and Weranic are also commonly taught, and along the Buckish border some schools teach Buckish.

Immigration from other countries has led to many other languages being spoken by migrant communities within Azmara, especially within Aalmsted.

Religion

While the 1855 Constitution explicitly states Azmara to be a secular state with freedom of religion, 71.4% of Azmarans identify themselves as Sotirian in the 2013 census, with the overwhelming majority of these being adherents of the Church of Azmara. An Amendist church with a fairly liberal theology, it was founded in 1623 as the national church of Azmara after the Reformation and Azmara's secession from the Ahnemunde Confederation. However, the church's current presbyterian polity stems from the Second Reformation of 1856 which saw the church's hierarchical structure democratised and flattened.

The Church is divided into 792 parishes spanning the Commonwealth, which are governed by a board of elders elected by the congregation, and its governing body consists of a synod with a member for each parish, which appoints the Primate of Kyningsmer, currently the Reverend Sofija Cârlsdohter, who serves as the Church's primus inter pares leader. In recent years, the Church has taken the example of the Church of Caldia, recognising same-sex marriages soon after their 2004 legalisation and allowing woman clergy. However, despite the large adherence to the church, only around 1 in 4 members regularly attends Church services.

A further 24.9% of Azmarans are not members of any particular religion, including atheism and agnosticism as well as spiritual but not religious people. This number has increased consistently in the most recent censuses, and it is thought to be higher than the census says, with private polling organisations finding an irreligiosity rate of around 35%.

Other religions, such as Irfan, have had small presences in modern Azmara due to increased immigration from other continents. There has also been an effort to revive traditional Weranic paganism, with 0.5% identifying as "Odinist" in 2013, although it is thought many of these responses were in protest.

Education

Main article: Education in Azmara

Education in Azmara is free and compulsory between the ages of 6 and 18, consisting of primary and secondary education.

Primary education is undertaken between the ages of 6 and 14, consisting of eight grades. In this time students are taught Azmaran, mathematics, science, history, computer science, geography, one foreign language, religion and PE. At the end of primary education a series of assessments are done by the student in these various subjects to analyse their strengths and weaknesses for moving forward.

Secondary education is taken between 14 and 18, in which there are two different educational institutions one can attend. The first of these is a gymnasium, which has a more academic focus, where students are taught on a range of subjects, some mandatory and some of their choosing, which is designed to prepare students for university education. All gymnasium students take the Gymnasiumwegaanenprufen at the age of eighteen, which assess them on their knowledge of the subjects they studied. The second of these is vocational school, which is designed to prepare students for a specific vocation: while core studies are still taken, most of their lessons are oriented around guiding them for a particular career which they may enter when they leave school.

Tertiary education in Azmara is free and largely provided by public institutions. The exact requirements vary for each university, but a satisfactory score in one's Gymnasiumwegaanenprufen is generally required for admission. While foreign students are often required to pay, fees are relatively low and foreign students studying in Azmara has become increasingly common in recent years.

Healthcare

Azmara has a universal healthcare system called the Algemensundhedsurgforsiheren, commonly translated as Universal Healthcare Insurance System, which provides health insurance to all residents of Azmara, covering the costs of most non-cosmetic healthcare procedures and allowing free general practitioner visits to all those resident within the country for at least two years.

Most hospitals in this scheme are privately owned, largely by non-profit organisations, however the Department of Health and Social Care subsidises the upkeep of these hospitals and regulates the treatment options provided by them, and all university hospitals are state owned, as are certain specialist hospitals. Prescriptions, while they are not provided free, are also subsidised by the government to ensure their affordability, although the Province of Westmaark started experimenting with free prescriptions in 2016.

Culture

Azmaran culture is notably linked to Weranic culture with few outside influences; the lack of other influences on Azmaran society has led to them conserving many of their cultural traditions from the Weranic era; while there has been some outside influence from the days of the Azmaran merchants, the Azmaran culture has stayed relatively Weranic, although notably the early Sortirianisation of Azmara has led to a more Sortirian moral code than a traditional Germanic code. Civic and cultural nationalism based on the Azmaran culture and its values has seen large popularity throughout the course of the nation; many Azmarans are very proud of the Commonwealth's values of strength, equality and unity and believe in a link between them, and are also fiercely proud of their language; as a result, many foreign loanwords in the modern day are outright rejected, with native terms such as Forsiter being preferred in place of President, for example.

Azmaran culture is known for its rather modest orientation; Azmarans are likely to keep their personal lives to themselves, with excessive bragging and sharing about one's personal life being frowned upon; examples include talking about sex in public and rich people flaunting their wealth; these are both looked down upon in Azmaran culture, even in the days of merchant culture merchants saw it as improper to flaunt their wealth from trade.

However, Azmarans also have a sense of individualism, with 67% of Azmarans saying "a sense of individual identity is important" in a recent poll, although many elaborated saying that "a sense of individual identity should be within a community"; due to this facet, individual opinions and views are more openly tolerated, leading to observations from foreign journals that Azmarans are much more open about their politics than their sex lives.

Azmarans also have a strong sense of community and egalitarianism; over 90% said they knew someone they could rely on, and many reported regular socialising. This has been linked to the rather homogenous nature of the population, and the typical closeness of families within Azmara. The egalitarian nature of Azmaran culture can also be seen in many other attitudes; the constitution has long forbid the creation of noble titles and priveliges, describing the Azmaran nation as "a nation of equals"; Azmarans are almost always referred to by their first names, and gender equality is very important, with the nation electing a female President in 1985, Jana Eryksdohter, and a rather small gender pay gap.

Music

Azmaran traditional music has been characterised by the use of the fiddle, the flute and the Westmaarkic box. These instruments would be played by folk bands at town gatherings in historical times, with group dances among the townsfolk commonly accompanying the music. These bands still enjoy popularity at traditional events in modern times, with many folk-inspired songs being ballads about the singer's personal life or protest songs about political events.

Azmaran ślager is also a notable genre from Azmara, featuring light pop melodies and generally having lyrics about personal experiences. It is traditionally played on such instruments as accordions, guitars and violins, but in modern times featuring synthesisers and drum machines. Notable performers include De Freyjasdaagen, Maarijana and Hans, Jorś Cârlssun and Sofija De Ânde.

In recent years, Azmarans have entered pop music, contributing to genres such as new wave, house music, trance music, Euclopop, synthpop, alternative rock, indie rock and hip hop, producing many notable artists within these genres. Examples include the band Bleiknes, whose 1979 self-titled debut is seen as a notable milestone for the use of electronic instrumentation in popular music, and Azmaran house musician Freissun, whose 2020 single "Pay No Mind" placed second in the Euclovision Song Contest.

The national anthem of Azmara is De Śwart Kyninkryk, literally The Black Kingdom, which arose as a republican anthem in the 19th century in opposition to the rather authoritarian policies of the Second Monarchy. Its authorship is unknown, and it is often played in many different styles; it is common for Azmaran-based acts to do a performance of it in their style.

Cuisine

Azmara's traditional cuisine is largely based around meat, fish and potatoes, like many of the traditional cuisines of north Euclea. Dishes tend to be seasonal, based on the climate of the time of year.

Rye bread is also a staple of Azmaran cuisine, with rye bread sandwiches being a common light lunch dish served in the nation, often served with fish, cheese or various meats on top of it. Minced meat features prominently in many dishes, such as śwynflyśbalen and runþesflyśbalen, which are pork and beef meatballs, often served with potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Śnitsel, the Azmaran version of a schnitzel, is also popular, often consisting of a breaded escalope of chicken, pork or veal. Azmara is also known for its beers and ciders, the latter of which tend to be flavoured with berries.

Azmaran pastries, often consisting of brioche filled with crushed berries and sugar, are a common desert in the nation. A distinction has been made between winter pastries, which are filled with crushed apple and blackberries, and summer pastries, which are filled with strawberries, raspberries and cherries.

Sports

The most popular sport among Azmarans is football, being played by many across the nation, with a complex league system existing which teams move up and down in. Azmara has entered many international tournaments for football, and while it has never won any of these international tournaments, it has made a strong performance in many of the ones it has qualified for.

Azmara's relatively flat terrain has led to recreational cycling becoming a common pastime of Azmaran people; many cities have specific cycling lanes on their streets and cycling paths are common in the Azmaran countryside. Competitive cycling between informal clubs has become common in recent years, although no formal organisation for competitive cycling exists, with tournaments happening informally and many cycling non-competitively.

In the winter, when lakes traditionally used to freeze over, ice skating is very popular, especially with children. In recent years, as the technology has become available and as climate change has led to lakes not freezing over as often, ice rinks of artificially frozen ice have been set up both indoors and outdoors in Azmara, often being set up around Christmas time, with Christmas markets surrounding them.

Holidays

Date	English name	Azmaran name	Holiday
Secular and national holidays
1 January	New Year's Day	Nyjersdaag
25 January	St. Wiljâm's Day	Wiljâm-Hylagersdaag
1 May	Labour Day	Arbeidersdaag
19 October	Commonwealth Day	Gemenwelþsdaag
26 December	Boxing Day	Aftahylagsdaag
31 December	New Year's Eve	Foornyjersdaag
Sotirian holidays
Variable	Good Friday	Godfreyjasdaag
Variable	Easter Monday	Ostermaandaag
24 December	Christmas Eve	Foorhylagsdaag
25 December	Christmas	Hylagsdaag