Saukania

Confederation of the Saukanians Kuchaxa ka Saghandan
Flag of the Confederation Seal of the Farukhids
Location of Saukania in Thrismari
Capital and largest city	Kula
Official languages	Eastern Saukanian (Kulanian) Western Saukanian (Khodanian)
Ethnic groups (2020)	93.6% Saukanian 6.4% Other
Religion (2020)	79.4% Saukanian paganism 10.2% Christianity 6.6% Islam 3.8% Other
Demonym(s)	Saukanian Sauka
Government	Feudal confederation
• Wushrun	Shadaghar II
Area
• Total	1,116,863 km2 (431,223 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	27,214,000
• Density	24.3/km2 (62.9/sq mi)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Internet TLD	.sg

Saukania, formally the Confederation of the Saukanians, is a country in Anteria located on the northwestern side of the continent Thrismari. Situated almost entirely within the Thrismari Desert, Saukania is bordered by Bezuria to its south, Shirua to its west, Sarocca to its north, and Encessia to its southeast. An extremely arid country, Saukania is landlocked, with the most significant body of water being the inland sea the Saukanians call Argal. Sparsely populated, Saukania is home to a little over 27 million people. This population is concentrated however into the small patches of fertile land lying within the oases of the Laxad and Jagartes rivers, known as the 'lifeblood' of Saukania.

Human habitation in Saukania dates back to the Palaeolithic. Agricultural communities began establishing themselves at significant sizes throughout what is now Saukania in the 4th and 3rd millennia BC. At the end of this period, a migratory period ensued, giving rise to the proto-Saukanian culture and language. These invading tribes set themselves up as lords of the lands either side of the Laxad and Jagartes, and mingled with the existing population. Little is known of Saukanian culture or society from this period due to the lack of written sources. By the 1st millennium AD, Saukanian city-states began to emerge. From an early date, these cities were centred politically on Kula, which lies on the leftmost bank of the Jagartes Delta where it empties into Argal. Rarely united however, these city-states were prone to infighting, periodically unified under the lordship of a powerful dynasty, typically based at Kula, Khodan, or Sardasar.

A feudal, clan-based culture emerged in this time which has endured into the present day. A warrior nobility descended from the invading Saukanian tribes of the prior millennia set themselves up in a complex systems of lords and vassals, ruling over estates of peasants and tenants. A city-based merchant and client class emerged as a middle rank between these two extremes. Outside of the scope of these city-states, nomadic tribes traversed the desert. These tribes would both trade with and raid the settled peoples of Saukania, moving from oasis to oasis to graze their herds. To the southwest in the region of Ghuran, ferocious hill-men resisted the authority of the cities nestled within the fertile valleys of its river systems, and launched raids against not only the cities and each other, but over the border into Shirua.

Modern Saukania took shape over the course of the 18th and 19th centuries. Divided again after a period of Khodanian overlordship, Saukania was split among six principalities and their constituent city lords. Kula, long a political and cultural symbol of all Saukania, nurtured an ambition of power yet again, and its laklan (lord or prince), Sarvar, of the ruling Farukhid dynasty, embarked on a series of conquests to bring the rival princes under his authority. Nyalan, seeking to counter the colonial influence of Riamo to the north, and Shirua, desiring a more stable frontier with their fractious and warlike neighbours, backed Kula with modern weapons and logistics. In a mere seven years between 1882 and 1889, Sarvar won the submission of the five opposing principalities, Khodan included, and all swore fealty to the Farukhid dynasty as overlord, wushrun. An uprising against Targhur I Sarvarghal, heir and successor of Sarvar, led by Khodan, was put down in 1904. More rebellions followed, each of which were crushed and led to the further solidification of Farukhid power.

In this model of feudal confederation, Saukania is governed with relative autonomy by the lords of the subordinate principalities. Their princes hold seats in the Royal Council, convened under the leadership of the laklan of Kula, wushrun of all Saukanians. It is a middling economy in the region, known primarily for its domestic exports such as textiles. Saukanian culture has proven resilient to change, remaining feudal and clan-based. Politics and economics in Saukania are dominated by the noblility and their clients. The Saukanian way of life is known as Saghandadret, a code of honour emphasising hospitality, vengeance, and loyalty.

Name

"Saukania" is a Latinization of the Khodanian name "Sakhand". Owing to the superior prominence of Kula, however, and its own branch of the language, the name "Saghand" is most commonly cited as Saukania's translation.

The adoption of the name by all in its current borders occurred by an unattested process. It is known from the earliest stages that "Saghand" emerged as effectively a synonym for Kula, or otherwise the name for the territory east of the Jagartes river, where Kula is situated. Likely owing to the cultural, religious, and political prominence of Kula, those rival principalities that it brought under its suzerainty at various points in history adopted the name of Saghand for their own lands, transforming the label into a broadly geoethnic designation. Khodan, ever the rival of Kula, may have perpetuated a rival West Saukanian identity for some time, though by the time of Medieval records, Saghand is unambiguously attested as referring to the whole modern understanding of the Saukanian ethnic group.

Etymologically, Saukania is also rather unclear. Theories have ranged from the initial land around Kula being named after an early chieftain or king, to various connections to the Saukanian words for "spear", "lantern", and "lizard", none with strong certainty.

As an identity, Saukanians possess a consciousness of their being such. For the most part however, individual Saukanians stress their identity as a member of a particular principality or domain, and beneath that, a province or sub-region and then their own clan. The introduction of Saukania into the vastly more globalised and internationalised modern world has brought the idea of a common Saukanian identity back into the fore however, assisted by the most recent and ongoing period of Kulanian dominance over its traditional opponents. The Saukanians are, barring expats, politically unified under a feudal hierarchy once again, and so 'Saukania' as a whole has once again acquired more specifically political connotations than merely geographical.

Geography

Physical geography

Saukania is mostly desert, ranging from rocky or gravel desert around the mountainous rim of the west and the steppe boundary of the south, to sandy desert further into the interior. This interior region is largely inhospitable, save for small oases along the Laxad and Jagartes rivers.

These two rivers are considered the lifeblood of Saukania. The Laxad begins life in the western mountains along its border with Shirua. The Jagartes arises from the north in neighbouring Sarocca. Both flow in a southern course towards the inland sea Saukanians call the Argal, a body of water shared with Encessia. Many other rivers flow into the desert from the western highlands, though these typically dry up before reaching the Laxad. The Laxad and Jagartes are fed at source by mountain meltwater, and so their flow diminishes significantly outside of the summer. As a result of this, only relatively small communities are capable of permanent habitation in the desert interior and north, with larger settlements restricted more to the mountainous valleys of the southwest and around the Arugal oases.

History

Modern history

Rise of the Farukhids

The Farukhids of Kula emerged as the dominant dynasty in the late 19th century, a pedestal they remain on into the present day. Having ruled as the Kula Laklans for some time prior to the ascendency of Sarvar Zamardarghal, they had consolidated and strengthened the principality following the the civil war in which their family had taken power.

A power vacuum had emerged in Saukania as a whole. Khodanian influence, which had been largely dominant a century ago, had waned significantly as a result of economic crises and numerous uprisings. Sarvar Zamadarghal, who became the Kula Laklan in 1876, planned an ambitious conquest of his neighbours.

Demographics

Ethnicity

Ethnic Saukanians are the largest group in Saukania, representing over 93% of its total population. Minority groups include Shiruans, Saroccans, and Bezurians. Ethnic Saukanians identify themselves and one another by use of either the West or East Saukanian languages, through common bloodline and heritage (reckoned patrilineally as per the custom of Saukanian clans), and, to a lesser extent, participation in their polytheistic and animistic religion. Observation of Saghandadret, the Saukanian code of honour and body of customary laws, is arguably most essential to Saukanian ethnic identity.

To a large extent, Saukanians identify more with the historical sub-region of Saukania to which their clan is native, with Saukanian being more of a geopolitical identity than consistently ethnic. Though all these Saukanian regions have broader customs in common, such as the Saghandadret, they differ significantly enough in local customs and practises to give rise to entrenched regional identities.