Talahara

Talaharan Commune ⵊⴰⵎⴰⵖⴰ ⵏ’ⵜⴰⵍⴰⵀⴰⵔⴰ
Flag Sigil
Motto: Adurzri They shall not pass
Map of Talahara
Capital	Maktarim
Official language Regional languages	Standard Talaharan Tamaziɣt Tyrian, Latin, Hebrew
Demonym(s)	Talaharan
Government	Unitary industrial socialist participatory directorial republic
• Head of state	Executive Council
• Legislature	Third Legislative Council
Establishment
• Formation of the Second Talaharan Kingdom	March 1, 770 CE
• Rule of the assembly	May 9, 1533 CE
• Talaharan revolution	June 20, 1838 CE
Area
• Total	598,464 km2 (231,068 sq mi)
• Water (%)	1.15
Population
• 2022 census	52,314,445
• Density	87.4/km2 (226.4/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$1.70 trillion
• Per capita	$32,508.37
Gini	13.6 low
HDI (2022)	.911 very high
Currency	Rubric (𐤃) (RCR)
Date format	New Talaharan calendar, yyyy-mm-d-dd (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+599
Internet TLD	.ta

The Talaharan Commune, often called Talahara or simply the Commune, is a nation in Northern Scipia on the Rubric Coast of the Periclean Sea. It is bordered by Tyreseia to the east, the Ninva to the south, and Talakh and Yisrael to the west. It also shares a maritime border with Gran Aligonia to the north. Talahara’s capital and largest city is Maktarim. The name “Talahara” comes from the old Tamaziɣt “Thala N Iheran” meaning “Font of Lions” in reference to the region’s historically large population of Rubric lions.

The Commune is a unitary syndicalist state with a strong modern tradition of industrial democracy. While communes typically denote small, local community units, Talahara functions as a single unitary polity built up from its nested communities. In the Commune, all industries and places of business are controlled directly by their workers who elect the directors of their businesses and associate with one another in labour unions. Government representatives are elected by a transferable vote system directly by the workers and represent their collective interests through a 3-tier nested legislative council delegation system. Political parties play an important but informal role in political organization.

The major cultural groups of Talahara are the Kel Aman and the Kel Hadar; both of which are Amaziɣ peoples. The Kel Aman are traditionally coastal dwellers while the Kel Hadar lived in the mountains and plains. Each of the two groups has similar linguistic, religious, and cultural traditions, but historically had different ways of living and different relationships with their traditions. Kel Aman and Kel Hadar clans remain important social structures for many Talaharans, though the relevance of their divide has greatly diminished since the 1838 Revolution.

The Talaharan Commune is a developed nation with heavy economic regulation effected by labour unions. Healthcare, education, and social services are delivered across a complex web of locally supported systems enabled by a national distribution system. Major industries include mining and mineral refining, oil extraction and refining, heavy manufacturing, construction engineering, industrial and chemical recycling, textiles, transportation, and tourism. Talahara is a member of the Rubric Coast Consortium and is a founding member of the Kiso Pact.

History

Prehistory (c. 9000-1500 BCE)

The first evidence of stone age peoples living in the Adras Mountains dates to the tenth millennium BCE, like from an initial wave of human expansion. These groups relied on hunting and small-scale subsistence agriculture, eventually building villages and domesticating animals in both the mountains and along the coasts, initially traveling in migratory routes with some groups settling into permanent or semi-permanent agricultural communities.

Genealogical evidence suggests that ancient Talaharans were more closely related to neolithic groups that predated the arrival of the Kel and who re-migrated to Scipia from western Ochran, possibly via South Scipia some millennia after the first diffusion of the human species from Malaio, displacing or assimilating with the original human inhabitants. Despite previously alleged cultural and linguistic continuity, modern evidence shows that the genetic histories of both the Kel Hadar and the Kel Aman have been affected by major migrations across the region throughout their history are heavily interrelated with neighbouring groups, particularly the Kel Tenere to the south.

Bronze age peoples mined copper from the mountains and created alloys with locally sourced zinc ore or imported tin. According to the mythology of the Kel, their people arrived in Scipia by boat, led by Queen Daya. The Kel Aman settled on the coasts with Queen Daya’s brother while the Kel Hadar continued onward to conquer the mountains, eradicating the original inhabitants.

Antiquity (c. 1500-253 BCE)

The presence of the Kel Aman was first attested in writing by the Aradians in the mid-second millennium BCE. Their interactions led to the passing of a proto-Aradian alphabet to the Kel Aman who developed seagoing vessels within a couple centuries as well. The development of these vessels contributed to interconnectivity between the Kel Aman settlements

Manassa, a Kel Aman chiefdom, grew in size and power compared to its peers. The chiefdom formed a hegemony over the Kel Aman coastal settlements and exacted tribute from Kel Hadar dwellers in the mountains who relied on coastal access for trade. War broke out and many Kel Hadar fled into the desert to the south. The establishment of Manassa is one of the earliest attested events in Talaharan history. The exact date of the establishment is unknown, but 751 BCE is approximated as year one of the Talaharan calendar.

At the turn of the fifth century BCE, the Manassan hegemony collapsed and the Kel Aman fractured into independent city-states both on the coast and further inland on the plains. The Confederation of Tamazɣa expanded from the Ninva desert near the border with modern Talahara and exerted major influence over the Kel Aman settlements. This period also facilitated a major demographic exchange and the formation of a common Amaziɣ identity among the various Kel groups.

Classical era (253 BCE-770 CE)

In 298 BCE, the city-states of Weskera, Manassa, Batana, and Rušadar broke away from Tamazɣa to form the Kingdom of Talahara. The new state expanded to control almost all of the coastal regions and began wars with neighbouring Aradian city-states. In the core settlements on the coasts, metalworking and tapestry weaving grew as major industries, bolstered by maritime trading. The new capital of Rušadar also began to expand and became one of the largest cities in the region.

55 years later, the chief of the Nefzawan confederation of the Kel Hadar usurped the Talaharan throne with an army of Aradian mercenaries. Many saw this this as a coup by Aradian merchant states and the Nefzawan dynasty effectively ruled as Aradian puppets thereafter. In the south, the Tamazɣa advanced to the Adras Mountains and reincorporated a number of Kel Hadar clans into the confederation.

As the Aradians began to decline toward the end of the 3rd century BCE, the Latin Empire in Belisaria began to expand its influence in the Periclean. Beginning in the middle of the second century, Latin campaigns pressed on the peripheries of Nefzawan Talahara, culminating in the conquest of the coastal region in 129 BCE, though the fringes of the desert held by the Tamazɣa wouldn’t be wrested from their control until the 3rd century CE.

The Kel Aman experienced repression under the governance of Latium at the turn of the common era. The Latin Empire integrated the territory of Talahara into a quasi-client kingdom based in the traditional capital of Rušadar. While the Nefzawan dynasty nominally held power, Latin law was instituted, Latin envoys oversaw court proceedings, and Latin soldiers maintained law and order, assisted by local auxiliaries. In comparison, the Kel Hadar remained comparatively free, with their pastoral lifestyles unimpeded by Latin law.

The Nefzawan lineage terminated in the second century CE, following which the Latins attempted to install a ruler from the Weskeran dynasty. The Weskerans were inclined to support the Latins but were poorly regarded by other Talaharan chiefs. The decision to install them as the rulers of what was now the Aro-Rusadarian Kingdom led to unrest and competition from other states which resulted in insubordination and violence against Latin citizens and agents in the region.

By the fourth century, violence in the kingdom necessitated a major pacification campaign. The entry of Latin legions provoked even further unrest and the mobilization of rebel forces. As the Kel Aman organized to oppose the Latin rule, the Kel Hadar were enlisted as auxiliaries by Latium. The supported legions swept through the region systematically, besieging and capturing city after city until control was restored half a decade later. Following the pacification of Aro-Rusadaria, the Latin Empire ended the pretense of the client state and integrated the territory into the neighbouring province of Aradia Ultima. The new inclusion was a junior partner and, while it commanded a great deal of the repressive attention of the Latin governors, was neglected in terms of economic development and infrastructural improvements. This approach softened after another two centuries and the economic potential of the region was eventually restored and developed.

The last 300 years of Latin rule saw the gradual withdrawal of Latin authorities from Aradia Ultima. As the role of the governors diminished, indigenous administrators took up their tasks divided along the borders of the pre-Latin polities. Latin administrators had effectively evacuated from the province by the second half of the 8th century. In 762, the Kutama dynasty asserted an independent state based in their capital of Maktarim. From there, they gathered the support of the other chiefs to reform the Talaharan Kingdom.

Middle era (770-1533 CE)

The first major confrontation that the Second Talaharan Kingdom faced at the end of the eighth century was the arrival of Yen missionaries; harbingers of the invading armies of the Caliphate from the east. While even prior to the Latin occupation religious diversity was officially tolerated within the realm, the Second Kingdom rejected the missionaries in an effort to assert autonomy wrapped up in the Kel Aman and Kel Hadar’s religious identity. The missionaries were at first merely denied to preach, then entry entirely. The persistent ones would eventually come to be imprisoned and sentenced to hard labour or even death if they persisted after their sentences.

The first Gharib incursion arrived only a few years after the turn of the next century. The mistreatment of the missionaries was enough to provoke an invasion. Thousands of Yen warriors assembled in a fleet and launched a surprise invasion of Talahara’s coasts. The cities of Menassa and Min Malela fell and became footholds for the invaders. The Kel Aman on the coasts were only able to repel the invaders after securing the aid of the Kel Hadar clans, many of whom were content to remain in the mountains or migrate along the coasts. The first invasion was repelled within a year and subsequent invasions were less successful, particularly as Talahara’s warriors became more experienced and the cities built more effective fortifications.

By the beginning of the 10th century, the Second Kingdom had become a regional power in the Periclean, taking advantage of an independent economy to develop strong exports of metals, textiles, and slaves. The maritime influence of independent Tyrian city-states, however, began to eclipse that of Talahara.

Talahara and a confederation of Tyrian states, led by New Tyria, entered a trade war causing a sharp increase in sanctioned piracy in the region. The trade war escalated into a full blown war after Talaharan authorities seized a Tyrian trade fleet in 926. The bulk of engagements were held on the open water where superior Tyreseian warships were generally successful. Talahara relied primarily on commandeered civilian vessels complemented by unruly marines. The most successful Talaharan attacks involved subterfuge and capture. The war concluded in 933 CE when a Talaharan army was caught attempting to cross the Qeshet river into Tyrian lands. The Talaharans were massacred while attempting to make the crossing and the Kutamans were forced into peace on unfavourable terms.

The defeat in the war against the Tyrians left Talahara in a dismal state heading into the second millennium CE. Lost material and manpower had a severe impact on the economy and restrictions on commerce imposed by the treaty restricted avenues to recovery. As the Kel Aman cities declined in importance, rural centres and subsistence lifestyles expanded. Some Kel Aman groups and individuals fled the cities and joined pastoralist Kel Hadar clans or moved to agricultural and industrial centres in the mountains.

The Second Talaharan Kingdom remained a sick man of Northern Scipia into the 12th century and the Kel Aman’s weak strategic position was increasingly obvious to the outside world. In 1116, the Zwawa Confederation of the Kel Hadar launched an invasion from the mountains. Several Kel Aman chiefs, dissatisfied with the Kutamans’s leadership over the past centuries, supported the invasion and the Kutamans were deposed within a few years.

The Zwawa Confederation ruled in its own name and retained its seat of power in the mountain city of Gawawa. While the Zwawan rulers ostensibly honoured the terms of the treaty with Tyreseia and ensured courteous diplomatic relations, the Kel Aman who sided with the Kel Hadar usurpers were given a great deal of discretion to conduct their affairs without intervention from the Kel Hadar. Toward the end of this period, many of these merchants determined that the Tyrian city-states had become less capable of enforcing the terms of its treaty due to growing competition from the crusaders-turned-merchants in the Republic of Aligonia. However, the Zwawan Confederation officially tried to maintain positive relations with their eastern neighbours.

Agitated by the acquiescence of their land-bound Kel Hadar rulers, many of the Kel Aman dynasties that had previously welcomed the Zwawan usurpation began to plot another change in leadership. The surviving members of the Kutaman dynasty attempted to secure its restoration among the Kel Aman, but ultimately the Zaraba dynasty came to the fore of the movement. In 1397, the Kel Aman protest against the Kel Hadar ultimately manifested in widespread denial of tribute to Gawawa. The Zwawan king mobilized his armies to extract his due from the coastal dwellers, but was confronted in the Adras Mountains in the ruins of ancient walls created by the Nefzawans to guard against Tamazɣa. The Zwawans were decisively defeated and fled with many Kel Hadar beyond the mountains. The Zarabans in turn founded their own confederation.

Despite their victory, the Zaraban Confederation conceded the authority to regulate maritime trade to the Kel Aman states in exchange for monetary taxation which was previously unknown in the kingdom. Taxation and other legal matters were deferred to the newly created Assembly of Chiefs of the Kel Aman clans. To achieve these ends the Zarabans introduced an administrative state modeled on foreign and historical examples. Gradually, powerful Kel Hadar clans along the coasts, many of which earned their fortunes through slavery, were also admitted to the Assembly of Kings. Other major reforms included the founding of a professional army and navy and the restoration of Maktarim as the capital.

Early-modern era (1533-1833 CE)

Five generations of Kutaman rulers passed, the final without issue. To resolve this situation peacefully, the Assembly of Chiefs established a system of seniority in accordance with ancient clan laws. Thereafter, the eldest chief in the assembly would rule as king until death. The succession of short reigns and rapid dynastic changes led to the increasing centralization of power within the assembly itself. The official treasury was finally relocated from the ruling dynasty to a central bank which thereafter paid a pension to the clan of each chief and a greater pension to the ruling clan. Around this time, the notion of a Third Talaharan Kingdom was revived in popular usage to refer to the nation, regardless of the ruling dynasty of the day.

The stability of the Third Kingdom and the primacy of mercantilist nobility in the assembly allowed it to flourish in a new era of commerce throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Trade across the Ninva was expanded to and from the south as well as across the ocean from the west. While peace was not omnipresent, the Talaharan fleet and army protected the nation from major external threats. As the chiefs expanded their wealth reserves, they expanded businesses from trade to banking and private joint ventures both domestically and abroad. This growth was severely checked in 1722 when an eight-year-long private venture to annex territories south of the Ninva failed. Several major dynasties were bankrupted in the effort.

Independent lenders and merchants subsequently gained relative prominence at the expense of the reduced chiefs. The unlanded independent merchants expanded their influence and the prominence of wage work. Noble lands were parcelled off, sold, and enclosed for industrial purposes. Mining, mineral refining, and the textile industry became increasingly privatized, based on wage labour instead of rents or tariffs. Steam power was introduced to Northern Scipia and further innovations revolutionized metallurgy and the textile industry through the 18th century.

In 1763, a major revolt against private industry was launched by peasant farmers protesting the enclosure of land. Commoners rioted in factories, sabotaged industrial equipment and damaged commercial goods. The revolt, initially solely against private landowners, was eventually quashed by the government after noble estates became affected as well. The revolt soured relations between commoners, landowners, and the nobility.

Private industry continued to supersede the assets of the nobility who increasingly relied on them to finance projects and enterprises. On their part, the landowners began to clamour for additional political power while the vast majority of slaves and commoners languished under oppressive conditions. Despite the attempts of the nobles and the landowners alike to repress the lower classes, improved infrastructure and the geographic mobility afforded by wage labour expanded communication and mobilization. Further unrest and revolts pressured the upper classes who ultimately criminalized vagrancy and vagabondism at beginning of the 19th century.

The criminalization of vagabondism led to conflict with the minority of free Kel Hadar who had maintained nomadic pastoralist lifestyles for millennia. The cultural and religious elite, which included a large portion of the military, supported the preservation of the Kel Hadar’s rights to nomadism. Several clashes occurred between the nomads and authorities before the law was amended to carve out an exception for the Kel Hadar.

The results of the carve-outs for the Kel Hadar nomads had two major effects. The first effect was mass protests among the Kel Aman (nobles, landowners, and commoners alike) who begrudged unequal treatment in contrast to developing concepts of universal rights. The second effect was that many otherwise repressed Kel Hadar adopted nomadic lifestyles ostensibly as covers for fomenting unrest and revolutionary sentiment. Over the ensuing decades, violent outbursts and independent repression by landowners spread as the Assembly of Chiefs began to lose its grip over the state.

Liberal and revolutionary ideologies had become the dominant discursive forces in the nation among the religious, military, and common classes by 1833. Among all corners of the kingdom, the acceptance of the chiefs’ authority was rapidly waning. The liberal landowning class used their resources to spread their influence and agitate politically for abolishing noble privileges. While the wealthy landowners would be the primary beneficiaries of a new liberal order, their dogma was popular with many commoners as well, particularly those who were sold on narratives of opportunity and class mobility. The revolutionary ideology that was spreading among the peasants built on the theoretical foundations of rebels from the previous ceremony. While the revolutionaries agreed on abolishing privilege, it also sought to recentre the labourer as the core unit of society and redistribute wealth so that the landowners could not buy their own privileges at the expense of the poor.

Revolutionary era (1834-1838 CE)

In the spring of 1834, a group of wealthy landowners launched a coup as the Assembly of Chiefs was in session. The chiefs of 43 constituent states were rounded up and executed. The landowners immediately moved to abolish the traditional clan rule and introduced a liberal constitution, inaugurating the Constitutional Republic of Talahara. However, the coup was broadly opposed by the commoners, the religious elite, and large portions of the professional military. Thus, the kingdom descended into violence once again. The northwestern reaches of the nation were seized by the Kingdom of Yisrael which founded the Protectorate of Tarshish.

By 1836, the Constitutional Republic had secured a foothold in Maktarim with a new private army to bolster the loyalist elements of the army and navy. Though their soldiers were not as uniformly well trained as the professional army, they had the benefit of clearer leadership and were bolstered in numbers by a great number of free labourers who were ideologically aligned with the Republicans. The religious and noble opposition to the coup had been swiftly dealt with, but revolutionary commoners, freed slaves, and sympathetic soldiers had banded together to oppose the new government, seeking to overturn the liberal order to create a more equitable society.

The revolutionaries officially coalesced into a single organization referred to as the Talaharan Commune in 1837. The Commune was led by a council of representatives from various clans and communities that coordinated to build a new society. Even before the war was won, thinkers and ideologues began developing the concept of their new society, inspired by revolutionary ideology from around the world, their own theories, and the cannibalization of the existing administrative state.

The Communard forces closed in on the Republicans and took Maktarim in June of 1838. Thereafter, the Communards proclaimed themselves victors and unveiled their own constitution, enshrining fundamental and universal rights for their citizens. The Republicans kept hold of the coastal states for several months longer until their naval assets were either defeated or mutinied to join the Communards. The last members of the Republican government either successfully fled overseas or were apprehended by the fall.

Modern era (1838-1950 CE)

The first initiative of the new Talaharan Commune was to reorder the social structure. In order to put the worker at the centre of the new society, the provisional government eliminated private property and appropriated private businesses which were subsequently redistributed to their respective workforces. The terms of redistribution mandated the implementation of a system of industrial democracy both in the workplace and in wider industrial unions.

The provisional government ended its mandate three years after taking charge, leading to the first elections in 1841. While the elections were intended to take place through a system of industrial democracy, the redistribution of property had not been completed in time. Thus, the provisional government introduced a second part to the constitution that enshrined industrial democracy, universal voting rights for all persons above the age of 20, and the eradication of private property with provisions for the preservation of personal property. Most of the individuals who completed petitions for candidacy in the 1841 election were renowned figures from the revolution, though the result of the election decided sharply against militarist figures. The Executive Council completed part three of the constitution which codified the role of the executive and established a separate legislature and judiciary based on a new criminal code and the traditional laws of the Kel Aman and Kel Hadar clans.

In the decades following the revolution, the Talaharans' greatest obstacle was the geopolitical isolation and hostility of foreign regimes. Trade with most neighbours in the immediate region ground to a halt and the Talaharan military was dispatched several times to protect against hostile incursions and attempts at liberal restoration. However, commerce across the ocean in Norumbia and Oxidentale was at least partially preserved, providing a source of vital imports and markets for Talaharan products. The necessity for self-sufficiency drove the targeted development of specific areas of the economy. Incidental developments in food production and canning mitigated the major impacts of political isolation.

A major benefit for the Talaharan Commune came to be after Tyreseian syndicalists overthrew their government and unified in 1881. Talahara supported the coup and the subsequent restructuring of the Tyreseian military to prevent undue influence. The two nations rapidly became important partners, forming the Rubric Coast Consortium to enhance cooperative efforts in 1890.

Toward the end of the 19th century, the Talaharan Commune was faced with a constitutional crisis that necessitated extensive reforms of part two of the constitution on voting rights. The reforms lowered the voting age to 18, restructured the Executive Council, and introduced a system of proportional representation to count ballots. Further fundamental legal changes followed in the first decades of the next century. These included the abolition of the death penalty and the enshrinement of the right to medical autonomy.

The Commune maintained its rivalry with Yisrael as the West Scipian Wars raged in Sydalon and Yisrael proper. Seizing on a weak point, the Commune annexed the oil-rich Timna Strip in 1919. As the 20th century progressed further, other socialist revolutions alleviated the geopolitical isolation that Talahara experienced. Where practicable, the Commune attempted to assist global leftist political movements and revolutions, including in Ingsfold, Ostrozava, Ottonia, and Vardana. Technological advancements including radio and commercial flight also created more interconnected resource networks across the socialist world. The midpoint of the century was marked by the reannexation of Tarshish from a once-again weakened Yisrael.

Contemporary era (1950-present CE)

The second half of the 20th century presented a cooler perspective as the Talaharan Commune engaged in fewer conflicts. While characterized by some as a period of détente, the internal politics of the Commune were again in turmoil as statist influence declined and pacifistic influences drew the nation away from the global stage. Despite this, in recent years Talahara has shown signs of moving arriving at another political pivot, influenced in part by geopolitical strain in its immediate neighbourhood.

Geography and climate

There is a thin band of Periclean climate in Talahara's northern coastal region quickly giving way to semi-arid climates and desert in the south. Much of Talahara is covered by the foothills and peaks of the Adras Mountains which give way in the south to the rolling dunes of the Ninva Desert. Both semi-arid and desert climates cool down with rises in elevations.

Flora and fauna

Fennec fox, commonly found in Aɣmatia

In Talahara, few mammals are capable of surviving the intense heat of the Ninva Desert. Common desert mammals include shrews, sand rats, mice, and fennec foxes. Deer are also still common along the coasts. The namesake animal of Talahara, the Rubric lion is endangered and there are few endemic habitats that have not been encroached upon by human development.

Migratory birds are common across the region as well. Many northern birds such as geese and ducks will winter in Talahara, while southern birds like flamingoes will fly up from central or southern Scipia in the spring. Many of the fish of the Periclean have been historically important for communities on either side of the sea.

Talahara's flora varies greatly between the southern desert where very little can grow, the coastal regions where cereals and cash crops are commonly grown, and the eastern brushland. Of particular note is a species of uniquely endemic firs in the central mountains above the Ninva Desert.

Climate

Talahara's climate is best described as exceedingly hot and dry with the exception of the coastal region which receives precipitation from the Periclean. The two other broad climate zones present in the nation include the eastern semi-arid brushland, which receives enough precipitation to support plant life; and the central mountains where the elevation leads to noticeable cooling compared to the deserts which lie in the rain shadow to the south. On average, temperatures in the desert peak around 35°C (~95°F) in mid-summer. In the winter, temperatures can fall as low as 5°C (~40°F). The daily mean temperature across the whole year is 22°C (~71°F). Along the coast temperatures are nearly identical although rainfall over the year is approximately 11× greater than in the desert (600 mm versus 54 mm of rain annually).

Government and politics

Main article: List of political parties in the Messidor Union

The government of the Commune has three independent components: the Executive Council, the legislative councils, and the judicial councils.

The Executive Council (Inuwalawa) is a directorial body with limited jurisdiction composed of 10 elected executors elected by ranked ballot. There are no qualifications to run as an executor. Each candidate must file a petition with 50,000 signatures to have their name added to the ballot. Most candidates who run have the support of a political party or salon to accumulate the necessary signatures and run a campaign. Other candidates derive their support directly from industrial unions or alliances between unions. Historically, truly independent candidates have had mixed success.

At the lowest level, a First Legislative Council (Isawalawayan) is each chaired by ten elected representatives, each representing approximately 4,000 people. One of the ten representatives is voted as a delegate to a Second Legislative Council (Isawalawasin), which is made up of 25 delegates agglomerated from 25 First Councils. Each of these representatives thus represents approximately 40,000 people. The final level is the Third Legislative Council (Isawalawakrad) which counts 50 delegates, each representing approximately 1,000,000 people. Each delegate at each level serves at the pleasure of the council below it. Additionally, general elections are held every four years. In total, there is one Third Council, 50 Second Councils, and 1,250 First Councils.

The judicial system in Talahara operates in parallel with the legislative council system. The First Councils each appoint a justice to each First Court (Iwazanawayan) from qualified candidates. Candidates must have legal certification and at least five years of practice. The 25 First Courts then elect a Second Court (Iwazanawasin) of five members from amongst themselves. Finally, the 50 Second Courts elect a Third Court (Iwazanawakrad) of 10 justices from amongst themselves. Legislative councils at each respective level are able to recall justices subject to a local referendum.

Military

Main article: Talaharan Commune Defense Forces

The unified armed forces of the Talaharan Commune are comprised of the Talaharan Army Corps, the Air Corps, and the Navy Corps. The land and naval forces were originally consolidated in 1838 with the addition of the aerial branch in 1920. Service is strictly voluntary and conscription has never been practiced in the modern history of the Union. Members of the armed forces are organized under a union but is under the direct governance of the Executive Council. While certain roles have educational requirements, both commissioned and non-commissioned officers are elected by their units. Certain grades require a level of seniority. Several enlisted grades are determined solely by seniority. This relaxed approach to military hierarchy has contributed to the reputation of disorganization and ill-discipline.

Economy

The Talaharan Commune has a syndicalist, ostensibly mixed-market economy facilitated by centralized distribution networking to aggregate demand and contract out supply. In this system, cooperative and communal enterprises operate independently to extract materials, manufacture goods, or provide services, the product of which can be apportioned to a sector in need, kept as surplus, or slated for exchange or export. Outside of consumer protections, industries are subject to limited direct government regulation but interference may be undertaken if an entity is found to be operating in bad faith. Independent industrial unions are also a source of regulations, particularly in areas of health and safety.

Major extractive industries include mining, petroleum, agriculture, and industrial and chemical recycling. Secondary industries include petroleum products, heavy manufacturing, textile production, and mineral refining. Major international services include construction engineering, transportation, and tourism.

Talahara's economy is heavily linked with that of Tyreseia via the Rubric Coast Consortium which provides for free trade, freedom of movement, and industrial cooperation between the two constituent nations. Since 1980, the Consortium has included a currency union. Both Talahara and Tyreseia are also members of the Vespanian Exchange through the Consortium.

Transportation

Talahara has an extensive light rail system linking urban areas along the Rubric Coast in addition to heavy passenger and freight rail systems that network cities to the south. Talahara's heavy rail system also networks with the West Scipian Railway which runs from Yisrael to Tyreseia. Urban areas in the north rely heavily on light rail and rapid transit systems to convey commuters. Many major cities are considered unfriendly to personal vehicles. Most settlements in the south have a greater dependence on cars or bus rapid transit. Highway systems also run parallel to major rail lines, though depending on the locale, roads may be unpaved or ill-maintained.

Travel by sea or by air is also common. Maktarim has a major seaport on the Periclean and is also home to the nation's major international airport. Regional air travel supplements rail or personal vehicular transportation for rapid or convenient travel. Regional airlines also offer international flights to immediate neighbours from a number of smaller airports.

Energy

Oil refinery in Amara

The petroleum industry is central to the economy of Talahara, centered mostly in the province of Amara and the rich oil fields in its northwest region. Petroleum is produced in excess of the nation's energy demand which is supplemented by several large solar projects and nuclear power imported from Tyreseia. Surplus oil is sold to Sante Reze and Yisrael, mostly shipped in tanks by rail or used in the production of petroleum products, including plastics.

Demographics

Talahara has a total population of 52,314,445 as of the 2022 census. The birth rate is slightly below the replacement rate but supplemental population growth from immigration roughly offsets the deficit. The average life expectancy is rising and currently averages at 78.0 years. Talahara's population period is also stable with a slightly larger cohort of youths. The population is heavily concentrated in the north of the country, along the Rubric Coast. Over 50 million of the approximately 52.8 million inhabitants live in coastal cities. The coastal region is, in effect, a single megalopolis. However, traditional urban boundaries are reflected in the areas of First Council jurisdictions.

Ethnicity

Self-identified ethnicity in Talahara
Ethnicity			Percent
Kel Aman			44%
Kel Hadar			32%
Kel Tenere			8%
Tyrian			5%
Jewish			4%
Other (Scipian)			4%
Other			2%

Religion

Religious expression in Talahara
Religion			Percent
Massanism			43%
Azdarin			5%
Coptic Nazarism			3%
Judaism			3%
Other			6%
Irreligion			39%

The Messidor Union is officially a secular nation. Despite this, faith and religiosity (or the lack thereof) delineate cultural groups even more strongly than spoken language.

Religiosity in East Merovia peaked just prior to the 1829 revolution and has steadily declined oved the ensuing two centuries. Generally, the southern populations remained largely Fabrian while some northern communities were Protestant strongholds. Presently, the Fabrian population makes up 42% of the population with Protestants rounding out 8% of the population. The remaining half of the population is mostly some variety of irreligious, though a good proportion maintain a degree of "spirituality". Other faiths present in East Merovia include Itmassan Faith, Azdarin, and Judaism.

In Aɣmatia, cultural identity is heavily tied to Itmassan-ddin. The "Saints' Faith", as it is otherwise known, is the traditional religion of the Kel Adrar. It is distinct from, but related to Kaharnism which is associated with the Kel Tenere in the Ninva. Primary aspects of the faith are solar worship and the veneration of ancestor spirits. Irreligiosity in various forms is approximately as common as it is in East Merovia.

Education

Educational standards are prescribed by national governments but generally enacted by unions. Primary and secondary school education is provided by union schools which follow a standard curriculum which equip students with general knowledge but may otherwise focus on aspects of the particular trade of the union. Students who demonstrate interest in different disciplines may be able to transfer from one union to another with parental consent.

At the post-secondary level, East Merovia and Aɣmatia both have national universities which follow a more recognizable international model and are also open to international students. Tuition for Messidorians is entirely subsidized but admittance is barred by somewhat rigorous entry requirements including prior academic success and possibly entry examinations. Messidorian universities are particularly renowned for their humanities institutes.

Healthcare

General healthcare, pharmacare, dental care, eye care, natal care, emergency medical services and transportation, and various forms of physical, emotional, and cognitive therapy are folded under the trans-national Healthcare Providers Union. The HPU is one of the largest unions in the Messidor Union, but is also among the most externally regulated. The Workers' Congress provides fixed pricing for essential services and insurance rates which unions served by the HPU. Additional premiums may be charged to unions that are engaged in more hazardous industries, but healthcare is effectively guaranteed for all citizens of the Messidor Union at a high level.

Care for the elderly is a growing concern in the Union, especially in Messidor where population growth remains stable while the average projected lifespan is growing older. The average retirement age is 65, though it varies by union - some unions prescribe mandatory retirement ages while others allow for voluntary retirement and full collection of benefits as young as 55. Retirement care and housing is also still provided by the union. Gratuities are neither standardized across unions nor legally codified, but minimum standards have been effectively established as human rights in historic court cases.

Housing

Single family homes are relatively rare in the Messidor Union even in rural areas. Housing blocks or complexes are typically organized under union ownership and/or cooperative ownership. Both co-ops and unions require purchase of a stake in a housing complex, though can be mortgaged and union membership typically insures a mortgage. Housing co-ops can vary between higher end and lower end complexes based on the size of the mortgage that needs to be secured or if a stake can be bought outright. Maintenance of housing complexes is performed by property managers employed by the co-op and monthly dues are collected from tenants.

Typical urban block housing in Vaux, meshing the uniform Messidorian practicality with 19th century East Merovian grandeur

In union-owned housing, the property management may be paid for directly by the union under a housing budget, rather than through any direct collection of additional dues. The union-industrial focus on housing can unfortunately create redlining for urban development, especially for the small minority of workers who are non-union affiliated. However, non-affiliated workers are often foreign workers from fairly affluent backgrounds and may only be residing in the Messidor Union temporarily. Single family homes can typically only be found in rural, agricultural settings and many lots are simple holdovers from before 1831 which escaped urban edicts banning landlordship.

Culture

Present-day Kel Adrar culture in Aɣmatia has been reclaimed in the past two centuries and maintains distinctive aesthetics and socio-cultural values. Physical places such as souqs and tiɣremts have been restored to the Kel Adrar social centres in the southern nation, the former of which is heavily linked with the traditional professions of weaving and fishing. Even through history, the status of women in Aɣmatia has been proximate or equal to that of men. Women have had similar access to property rights and often led clans as the senior-most elders of a family. In the present, Aɣmatian society is very accepting of LGBTQ+ people, women, and minorities as a point of pride. East Merovia's culture is considered to be younger than that of the southern nation, having been heavily influenced by developments in the latter middle ages just prior to the Belisarian Wars of Religion. Social conservatism can be present, particularly among Fabrian Catholic communities. However, in larger urban centres and among more secular communities the country is socially liberal.

Distinct from both national cultures, an emerging Messidorian culture has had increasing influence on both constituent nations of the Messidor Union. The aesthetics and values of the culture are notably austere in comparison with the tapestries of Aɣmatia and the decadence of East Merovia. Messidorian dress is often plain: constituting grey worsted wool or linen jackets and simple trousers. Messidorian culture resembles the broader socialist internationalist culture, but is more particularly enmeshed with the existing East Merovian and Aɣmatian cultures.

Arts

Textile art and architecture are the most renowned traditional arts in Aɣmatia. Many rugs and tapestries display intricate stories through their woven patterns and reflect individual clans. Kel Adrar music is also a growing forum for artists. Gasba music is important for traditional social gatherings, played with traditional instruments such as the ɣaita. Aɣmatian music has also brought many of these traditional themes and currents into more contemporary genres and media - including electronic and pop music. In East Merovia, sculpture and painting have remained the primary visual arts over the past half-millennium, though the forms and genres have changed consistently over that time. Merovia was one of the centres of renaissance art in the 15th and 16th centuries, but also was a birthplace for impressionist modern abstract art.

Sports

The back straight of the New Aɣmat City International Raceway, a Grade 1 circuit

It is common knowledge around the world that racing is a passion of East Merovians and Aɣmatians alike. The Messidor Union as a whole is considered one of the birthplaces of motorsports though competitions of speed and endurance date back millennia. In Aɣmatia, horse racing was a common spectacle even prior to the Azdarin invasion, but was later coalesced into the art of true endurance racing in the deserts and fast, tight sprints through arenas and mazes. In East Merovia, the Lihnidosi tradition of the marathon crossed the straights hundreds of years before the common era. The long period of Latin rule brought chariots to the forefront of racing and later, during the Holy Audonian Empire, East Merovia developed its own high-speed version of the joust.

Almost as soon as the automobile was developed in the 19th century, people began racing them. In 1894, the inaugural East Merovian Grand Prix was held between seven unions across both nations, each supporting three racers. Over a hundred drivers vied for the race seats which are generally accepted to have been divided up based on bribes and nepotism rather than actual talent. Seventeen runners finished and the event was considered a great success. Since then, both an East Merovian and an Aɣmatian grand prix have been held every year.

Ice hockey is also an important winter sport in East Merovia, particularly in the tall foothills of the Belisarian Alps where seasonal snowfall and frozen ponds are common. East Merovia first took part in the World Ice Hockey Tournament in 1926 under its own flag but by 1940 the team played as Messidorians. Other growing sports interests in the Union include pitz and association football.

Cuisine

Talaharan cuisine is characterized by fusions from around the Periclean. However, it maintains key endemic features. Traditionally, Talaharans consume three meals a day, two of which are served hot. Lunches may be served either hot or cold. Šakšuka, baɣrir served with fruit preserves, and freshly grilled amergaz are common as breakfast dishes. Cold, raw vegetables, smoked meats, and cold tabissart soups are common for lunches. Staple dishes for dinners include stews and casseroles such as tajin and škina. Kuskus and roasted meats are almost universal accompaniments. Endemic condiments include the tomato-based matbuɣaha and a spiced garlic relish called tacermult. Every meal can be accompanied by msemmen flatbread which is frequently consumed on its own or with preserves for breakfast. Fruits, dates, and sweets are commonly consumed as snacks.

Tea and coffee consumption in Talahara is roughly evenly divided. In addition to caffeinated black teas imported from East Scipia and Ochran, herbal teas are frequently consumed in the afternoon or evening. Mint tea, in particular, is a major cultural staple among traditional Kel Hadar groups. Domestically, alcoholic beverage consumption of wine is heavily outpaced by beer. Beer is brewed locally from local grains and botanicals. Wine and grape culture is generally regarded as a more international influence, despite the fact that they have been cultivated in the region for centuries. Anunhayat is a local hard alcohol distilled with the sugars from dates.

Talahara has a growing international cuisine based around local takes on wine, cheeses, and smoked meats like amergaz. Cheese is typically made from sheep's milk and unpasteurized, characterized by a nutty flavour and hard texture. Cheese from cow's milk is also common and is made to be semi-soft in texture and similarly nutty in flavour. Talahara's wine tradition emerged more recently in the production of Kosher sweet wines in the northern parts of the western regions. The practice was initiated by Jewish settlers in the Protectorate of Tarshish but has continued on to the present day. Other major international trends include the adoption of cuisines from the Ozeros, Belisaria, and Ochran.