Talahara
Communes of Talahara ⵉⵊⴰⵎⴰⵖⴰⵏ ⵏ'ⵜⴰⵍⴰⵀⴰⵔⴰ | |
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 Sigil
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| Motto: Adurzri They shall not pass | |
 Map of Talahara | |
| Capital | Maktarim |
| Official language Regional languages | Standard Talaharan Takelat Tyrian, Latin, Hebrew |
| Demonym(s) | Talaharan |
| Government | Directorial council republic |
• Head of state | Executive Council |
• Legislature | Supreme Legislative Council |
| Establishment | |
• Formation of the Second Talaharan Kingdom | March 1, 770 CE |
• Rule of the assembly | May 9, 1533 CE |
| June 20, 1838 CE | |
| Area | |
• Total | 603,424 km2 (232,983 sq mi) |
• Water (%) | 0.77 |
| Population | |
• 2022 census | 52,314,445 |
• Density | 86.7/km2 (224.6/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $1.70 trillion |
• Per capita | $32,508.37 |
| Gini |  13.6low |
| HDI (2022) |  .911very high |
| Currency | Rubric (Ⲇ) (RCR) |
| Date format | New Talaharan calendar, yyyy-mm-d-dd TR/CE |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +599 |
| Internet TLD | .ta |
The Communes of Talahara, (Takelat: ⵉⵊⴰⵎⴰⵖⴰⵏ ⵏ'ⵜⴰⵍⴰⵀⴰⵔⴰ; Ijamaɣan N'Talahara) referred to simply as Talahara or the Communes, is a nation in Northern Scipia on the Rubric Coast of the Periclean Sea. It is bordered by Tyreseia to the east, Charnea 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 Takelat “Thala N'Iheran” meaning “Font of Lions” in reference to the region’s historically large population of Rubric lions.
Talahara is a syndicalist state with a strong modern tradition of industrial democracy. In the Communes, 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 Kel 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 conclusion of the Talaharan Civil War in 1838.
Talahara 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. 8000-1500 BCE)
The first evidence of human life in the Adras Mountains dates to the ninth millennium BCE from the Mechta culture. Mechta 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. During this time, the region was more humid and sustained a greater level of vegetation than presently. Pre-Mechta cultures are speculated to have inhabited the region as early as 25,000 BCE, but direct evidence within Talahara is uncertain.
Archaeological and genetic studies have shown continuity between the ancient Mechta culture and the modern Kel peoples. The mythology of the Kel Aman and Kel Hadar recites that 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. Studies of a few Mechta remains have revealed haplogroups commonly found of Belisarian, East Scipian, and Ochranese origins with distinctions from Tenerians to the south. Modern Talaharans share many of these haplogroups, but also share material from more recent migrations including from South Scipia and Malaio.
Mechta culture is held to have declined by the 3rd millennium BCE. The emerging northern Kel peoples began to rise with the advent of the bronze age. Some Kel groups settled into agricultural or fishing communities. Others settled into migratory cycles. These peoples mined copper from the mountains and created alloys with locally sourced zinc ore or imported tin. Little is known of the language or early religions of these peoples, though Massanism was legendarily founded in the 26th century BCE.
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 Kel identity among the various 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 in a poor state leading into the 12th century and the Kel Aman’s weak strategic position was increasingly obvious to the outside world. In 1116, the Zwawan 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 Zwawan 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 consolidated their power in Maktarim, founding the Liberal 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 Liberal 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 Liberals. 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 anarchist revolutionaries officially coalesced into a single organization referred to as the Communes of Talahara in 1837. The Communes were 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 Anarchist forces closed in on the Liberals and took Maktarim in June of 1838. Thereafter, the Anarchists proclaimed themselves victors and unveiled a constitution, the Supreme Consensus of Talahara, enshrining fundamental and universal rights for their citizens. The Liberals kept hold of the coastal states for several months longer until their naval assets were either defeated or mutinied to join the Anarchists. The last members of the Liberal government either successfully fled overseas or were apprehended by the fall.
Modern era (1838-1950 CE)
The first initiative of the new Communes of Talahara 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 Supreme Consensus 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 Supreme Consensus 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 Communes of Talahara 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, Talahara was faced with a constitutional crisis that necessitated extensive reforms of part two of the Supreme Consensus 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.
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The Communes maintained their rivalry with Yisrael as the West Scipian Wars raged in Sydalon and Yisrael proper. Seizing on a weak point, the Communes 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 Communes 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 Communes of Talahara engaged in fewer conflicts. While characterized by some as a period of détente, the internal politics of the Communes 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
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
The government of the Communes 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 Communal 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 Regional Legislative Council (Isawalawasin), which is made up of 25 delegates agglomerated from 25 Communal Councils. Each of these representatives thus represents approximately 40,000 people. The final level is the Supreme 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 Supreme Council, 50 Regional Councils, and 1,250 Communal Councils.
The judicial system in Talahara operates in parallel with the legislative council system. The Communal Councils each appoint a justice to each Communal Judicial Council (Iwazanawayan) from qualified candidates for up to 12-year terms. Candidates must have legal certification and at least five years of practice. The 25 Communal Judicial Councils then elect a Regional Judicial Council (Iwazanawasin) of five members from amongst themselves. Finally, the 50 Regional Judicial Councils elect a Supreme Judicial Council (Iwazanawakrad) of 10 justices from amongst themselves. Legislative councils at each respective level are able to recall justices subject to a communal referendum.
Law
The Communes of Talahara's legal system is a hybrid civil and customary law system. The customary law elements in criminal and civil law are based on written and unwritten principles of traditional Talaharan clan law. The legislatures of Talahara have also instituted statutory reforms and provisions that modify the existing customary law. So long as legislation is constitutional and respects the rights and interests of the people, civil law provisions may supersede the customary law.
The three-part Supreme Consensus of Talahara is the supreme law of the country. Part I of the Supreme Consensus provided universal human rights and freedoms for all Talaharans and foreign nationals in Talaharan jurisdiction. Part II of the Supreme Consensus codified voting rights and property reform. Part Three established the systems of government, including the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
The different levels of the Judicial Councils cover different jurisdictions in criminal and civil matters. Communal Judicial Councils adjudicate matters of familial disputes, property disputes, and minor criminal matters. Regional Judicial Councils deal with major crimes, property or personal allegations that go beyond local importance, and appeals of matters from the Communal Judicial Councils. The Supreme Judicial Council adjudicates matters of constitutional interpretation, matters of national importance, and appeals from Regional Judicial Councils. Matters that go beyond local or are of national importance are determined by the lower Judicial Councils. For a typically local matter to pass to a Regional Judicial Council, 10 of the 25 Communal Judicial Councils beneath them must vote for it to pass upward. Likewise, 20 of the 50 Regional Judicial Councils must vote for a matter to pass to the Supreme Judicial Council.
Law enforcement in Talahara is conducted through community policing. Patrol officers have dispensation to work part-time in a community industry and part-time on duty in order to reinforce community ties and involvement. Law enforcement administrators and detectives work independently of patrol units under the direction of a Communal Council. In addition to investigating crimes, detectives must assemble evidence and legal arguments to present before a justice. Talahara's trial proceedings follow an inquisitorial system and procedures assume neither party has any legal competencies. The head detective in a criminal investigation is typically appointed as the advocate of the police. Individuals and unions defending against criminal accusations or otherwise litigating a civil matter are also entitled to legal advocacy.
Sentencing and the Talaharan correctional system are heavily based on community impacts. Civil sanctions generally include restitution, either monetary or in labour time. A guilty party's labour union or other community supports are permitted to absorb costs, though repeat offenses can result in more punitive sanctions. Injunctive or prohibitory sanctions are rare for first offenses. Criminal sanctions rarely include incarceration. Instead, convicts are placed in restricted community living conditions for the period of their sentence. Severe crimes can carry more severe restrictions, education or therapy, and possible surveillance mechanisms, but the community value of continued productivity and cost savings with housing a convict in their community are held as values of the criminal justice system.
Foreign relations
Talahara maintains close diplomatic relations with its western neighbour, Tyreseia. The two syndicalist nations are economically and geopolitically intertwined through the Rubric Coast Consortium. Relations with the socialist nations of North Ottonia and Ostrozava in Belisaria, Wazheganon in Norumbia, and Pulau-Keramat in Malaio have also risen in importance over the 20th century, particularly with advents of globalization and revolutions in communication and transportation. The end of the 20th century brought renewed and closer ties with additional nations in the global left, including Tsurushima and nominally Zacapican.
Relations with Talahara's southern neighbour, Charnea have been comparatively mixed. Cultural ties to the Kel Tenere have led to a degree of political and economic support. However, the Communes are ideologically opposed to the authoritarian government and have occasionally offered tepid protests. Despite this, Talahara maintains active economic and diplomatic relations with Charnea.
Relations with Yisrael to the west have been relatively poor through Talahara's modern history. The Kingdom of Yisrael's monarchical government and belligerent actions set the stage for tense relations. During the Talaharan Civil War, Yisraeli forces annexed a significant portion of northwestern Talahara and incorporated it into a protectorate called Tarshish. Intermittent hostility continued through the first half of the 20th century, during which Talahara annexed the oil-rich Amara region (also known as the Timna Strip) and reannexed Tarshish. In the period following the 1951 reannexation, relations with Yisrael gradually thawed, though recent events in the Gran Aligonian crisis and the ensuring Onekawan Affair led to a rapid chilling of relations in the 2020s.
Other monarchical and liberal nations around the world are typically subject to pragmatic approaches. The Latin-dominated sphere of the world is treated with occasional ambivalence and occasional concern, though economic relations remain open, due in part to Tyreseia's cultural relationship with Latium. Sante Reze, as a major commercial centre, likewise shares relatively warm relations. Elsewhere, nations with strong monarchies, a history of poor civil or political rights, or ongoing or recent human rights abuses have been subject to diplomatic and economic sanctions. These nations include the Mutul, Keuland, Hvalheim, Jhengtsang, and Elatia.
Military
The unified armed forces of the Communes of Talahara 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 Communes of Talahara have 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
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 Communal Council jurisdictions.
Largest cities or towns in Talahara
Census data, 2022 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Region | Pop. | |||||||
 Maktarim  Takalt |
1 | Maktarim | Rubric Coast Centre | 8,873,785 | |||||
| 2 | Takalt | Rubric Coast East | 4,884,626 | ||||||
| 3 | Kirthan | Zedif | 4,344,527 | ||||||
| 4 | Weskera | Rubric Coast Centre | 3,497,939 | ||||||
| 5 | Zedif | Zedif | 2,651,285 | ||||||
| 6 | Mestaɣanim | Rubric Coast West | 2,391,630 | ||||||
| 7 | New Rušadar | Rubric Coast East | 1,891,631 | ||||||
| 8 | Batana | Amara | 1,153,101 | ||||||
| 9 | Ifurša | Rubric Coast Centre | 966,010 | ||||||
| 10 | Gawawa | Zwawa | 746,862 | ||||||
Ethnicity
Talahara's two major cultural groups are the Kel Aman and the Kel Hadar, both of which are Kel ethnicities. The Kel Aman traditionally dwelt on the Rubric Coast and lived sedentary lives engaging in agriculture, fisheries, and commerce. Kel Aman clans grew in size and relative importance due to reliable food supply. Traditional clan structures were rigidly hierarchical based on seniority. The eldest members of the family and kinship groups directed both domestic and social affairs. The Kel Hadar traditionally came from the plains and hills of Talaharan. Significant Kel Hadar populations historically migrated to the desert in the 8th or 7th century BCE and several modern kinship groups lay claim to this lineage. Kel Hadar lifestyles and privileges included rights of way in furtherance of a pastoralist lifestyle. However, other Kel Hadar groups were sedentary, primarily developing urban areas away from the coast. For much of their history, the Kel Aman and Kel Hadar maintained distinct dialects and cultural differences. Since the 18th century, these differences have become increasingly reduced, especially following the flight of many Kel Aman individuals who were adopted by existing Kel Hadar clans. The modern Standard Talaharan Takelat language incorporates grammar and vocabulary from both dialects. Since the Talaharan Civil War in 1838, no ethnic group has special status before the law.
Minor ethnic groups in Talahara include the Kel Tenere, Tyrians, and Jews. The Kel Tenere make up a broad portion of the inhabitants of the Talaharan Ninva. While also a Kel ethnic group, the Kel Tenere maintain a distinct dialect, vocabulary, and religious tendencies compared to their northern kin. The next minor ethnic group is the Tyrians. Roughly half the Tyrian population in Talahara is made up of first- or second-generation immigrants, though longstanding communities exist in major Talaharan centres, particularly in the east. Talahara also has a significant Jewish population which is particularly concentrated in the western region of the Rubric Coast.
Language
The national language of the Communes of Talahara is Standard Talaharan Takelat. Standard Takelat was developed in the 1840s and 1850s to bridge grammatical and vocabulary differences between Aman and Hadar languages. Standard Takelat is related to other Kel languages but is not necessarily mutually intelligible.
In an 1866 constitutional amendment, Standard Takelat was codified as the language of legislative and judicial proceedings in the nation. Education in other languages remains an option for local communities, including the teaching of the Tamashek language in schools in the Talaharan Ninva. However, Standard Takelat has rapidly subsumed the use of traditional languages as of the 19th century.
A plurality of Talaharans speak and read Standard Takelat as their sole language. Approximately 62% of the population has proficiency in two or more languages. Regional languages which are commonly used in business and taught in local schools include Tamashek, Tyrian, Latin, and Hebrew.
Religion
Massanism was effectively a state religion in the Third Talaharan Kingdom. The modern country of Talahara is a secular nation in accordance with the universalist principles of its foundation. Following the Talaharan Civil War, secularist movements gained traction in reaction to religious conservative support of the monarchist faction. Secularization was supported by a humanist reclamation of Massanism which wrapped secular philosophy and politics in the rituals and traditions of Massanism. In the present day, a plurality of Talaharans identifies as Massanist, followed by a broadly irreligious cohort including agnostic, atheist, or ambivalent Talaharans. Other minority religions are common, though state secularism affords no support for religious congregations. Religious services are typically held in homes or on public grounds.
Education
Primary, secondary, and post-secondary education is publicly-funded in Talahara. Primary education is included with early child care in Communal Council programming, bridging age groups from infants to 13 years of age. Secondary education is also provided by commune-level institutions, but the curriculum is more intense and has more divergent streams. Between 14 and 18 years of age, students can begin apprenticing with industry unions in addition to completing required coursework. This process primes students to enter the workforce immediately upon graduation.
Post-secondary educational institutions have their curriculums, mandates, and funding organized by Regional Councils. In practice, educational assets and governance duties are frequently combined between council areas to create larger, more substantial institutions. The largest post-secondary institution in Talahara is the University of West Maktarim-Mestaɣanim which offers liberal arts and STEM degree programs. General admission to universities relies on program-related standardized testing. University-bound students typically enroll in an additional year of secondary education to prepare directly for their desired programs' tests. General international students are subject to the same standardized tests but immigrants with foreign credentials are fast-tracked to have their credentials certified in the Communes.
Healthcare
Healthcare is delegated as a national responsibility under the jurisdiction of the Executor of Health. While organized at the highest level, healthcare is administered at a communal level for generalized and clinical care, long-term care, dentistry, and mental health services. Major care centres including surgery and low-intensity ancillary treatments are typically delivered at the level of a Regional Council.
Healthcare funding is accumulated through an industrial risk insurance scheme. Rather than gather taxes from private citizens or via a flat tax on income or industry revenue, healthcare taxes are drawn from the gross incomes of businesses, directly proportional to the risks associated with those industries, be those acute risks of bodily harm or general occupational hazards. The purpose of the scheme is twofold. Firstly, healthcare costs are equitably distributed. Secondly, industries are encouraged to passively self-regulate and reduce occupational hazards so that their taxes are lessened. Critics of the healthcare system note that individuals are not incentivized to avoid reckless behaviours in their private lives and that communities therefore bear the costs of an individual's recklessness.
Housing
Private real estate is nonexistent in the Communes of Talahara. Housing projects are directed by communes with resources allocated by the Executor of Housing and Vital Statistics in accordance with projected population growth. This allocation is statutorily set to a minimum standard of amenities which can be augmented by additional community resources. Architectural and engineering requirements are also provided to account for geographic and contextual needs.
Aging residential infrastructure can be refurbished or replaced upon the application of a Communal Council should the standard of living fall beneath the statutory standard of amenities. Industrial subsidization of first-instance residential construction or refurbishment also counts as credits against taxes for public transportation. This policy promotes efficiency of movement, with workers being able to reside closer to their places of business, thereby minimizing strain to existing transportation networks.
Culture
Talaharan culture draws on several broader cultural sources. The first and oldest cultural source is traditional Kel Aman and Kel Hadar cultures, including the religious values and influences of Massanism. Kel culture imparts important communitarian values and broad family structures. In addition, the Takelat language laid the foundation for framing describable reality and cultural frames. The second major source is socialist universalism which builds directly with the Kel communitarian values. Socialist culture promotes industry while de-emphasizing competition. In terms of aesthetic or material culture, socialist influences appear more austere, but this is not necessarily universal. The third source is globalization and the gradual homogenization of socialization around the world. While there is no single cultural hegemon in the world, Talahara increasingly accepts cultural influences from elsewhere in Scipia, Belisaria, Norumbia and Oxidentale, and as far as East Ochran. These influences are largely on material culture but also have effects on socialization and a conflict between change and tradition.
Media
News media and publications are ubiquitous in Talahara. By tradition, and occasionally by communal statute, local communities receive news updates and council meeting minutes every week. In addition, every labour union has its own weekly or monthly broadsheet, which typically covers industry affairs, politics, and occasionally news media and entertainment stories. Steelworker Today is one of the most-distributed daily broadsheets in the Communes, with the Steelworkers' Union having effectively built a secondary industry in news media, political commentary, and entertainment literature.
Despite the vast array of both state and independent publications, radio and television broadcasts are a regulated and unionized industry. Unlike most independent publications which are not subject to ethical standards of journalism, union journalists can be subject to sanctions for innaccurate reporting.
Entertainment media in Talahara is also a major industry. Music, television, and film production is centered in the city of Mestaɣanim. Takelat-language productions are a mainstay in Talaharan homes, but Latin and Tyrian-language imports are more commonly followed by Talaharans who are fluent in those languages.
Online media has been an emerging field in recent decades and remains largely unregulated. Major professional outlets, unions, and higher levels of government publish digital versions of most print materials, with some having migrated entirely to reduce paper costs. Other, smaller unions and Communal Councils have resisted the transition to the internet, opting for traditional communication standards despite creeping obsolescence.
Time
The Talaharan calendar tracks the solar year, taking influence in its modern incarnation from the Gregorian calendar. The modern form of the calendar, standardized after the Talaharan Civil War in 1838, has 12 months each lasting 30 days. The additional five days (six in leap years), is an additional demi-week held at the end of the year. Each 30-day month is divided into three 10-day weeks, commonly referred to as decades. On average, the workweek covers either six or seven days per decade, typically in a staggered pattern with a two or three day weekend and a rest day interrupting the standard work schedule.
The summer solstice is the traditional Talaharan New Year. This date is standardized to June 20 (June 19 in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. Year 1 in the Talaharan count is equivalent to 749 BCE in common reckoning, approximating the date of the foundation of the city-state of Manassa. Thus, the year 2022 in the Gregorian calendar is 2772 in the Talaharan calendar. Dates written in the Talaharan system are noted "TR" (Talaharan Reckoning) for dates after 749 BCE. Dates prior to 749 BCE are traditionally noted as "BM" (Before Manassa), but more commonly as "BTR" (Before Talaharan Reckoning).
Arts
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The pre-eminent, traditional medium of visual art in Talahara is tapestry weaving. Talaharan tapestries are used both as floor carpeting, particularly among traditionally semi-nomadic groups, but also as adornments for walls. Matrilineal Kel Aman and Kel Hadar clans retain trace the continuity of their kinship through distinctive forms and motifs. Tapestries also tell stories through the incorporation of glyphs or sigils which are almost a distinct language on their own. The tradition of tapestry weaving is heavily related to knowledge-keeping and history. The national emblem of Talahara is a glyph or sigil representing a lion's paw. The meaning of different sigils can vary according to their context and reading tapestries correctly demands a high degree of skill and training.
The second major medium of traditional Talaharan art is silversmithing and jewelry. As with tapestry, silverwork has many regional variations and distinctions. The art of smithing was a contentious one in old Talaharan culture. Smiths were admired by common farmers, herders, and craftspeople both for their utility and for their mastery of the four elements: fire, air, water, and metal. To the political and religious elite, smiths were regarded with superstition for the same reasons, as the mystical and material power that metalworkers held could be dangerous to their rule. This led to the tradition of smiths offering gifts of silver jewelry and steel weapons to new clan rulers and their direct families. Paradoxically, this became an expectation. Smiths who did not regularly offer gifts to chiefs and priests could be subject to socio-religious sanctions. Talaharan jewelry has its own symbolic language with some overlap with tapestry weaving. Many embossments, motifs, and symbols represent purity or protection in attempts to ease the superstitions of the elite or at least put their supernatural talents to good use. Several historical examples were clearly made to mock contemporary rulers, with bracelets mocking a slave's manacles and necklaces with cursed symbols over the wearer's chest.
Sports
Association football is among the most popular and commonly played sports in Talahara, owing in part to its convenience in terms of rules and equipment. Casual pickup games are common in community parks and union leagues are ubiquitous in all regions of the country. Equestrian activities are the more traditional sports of the region, however. Racing, jumping, and horseback acrobatics are common categories of professional equestrian events.
The national sport of Talahara is derived from the horseback performance of Taburida. In its purest form, the event is a choreographed cavalry charge, including the firing of muzzleloading carbines, showcasing speed, balance, and eloquence. The team event follows a troupe of riders who must approach one end of the course at a walk, pivot at the end, and charge back in a synchronized formation, firing their carbines in synchronicity as well. In ideal circumstances, the horses and riders move in perfect unity and the shots from the carbines report as only a single discernable sound. Individual events typically involve a display of swordsmanship along with graceful and deliberate movement and shooting. A third, modern variation of the event has evolved as well, resembling the sport of biathlon. Riders complete the course in sequence, due to the hazards of firing on horseback in a crowded group. Riders must complete a 5-lap, 30 km race, stopping each of the five laps to fire at three targets. Missing a target adds a minute to the rider's time. Muzzleloading black powder carbines are still used for the event and riders are tested on their ability to ride, ability to control their horse while shooting, their accuracy, and their speed at reloading.
Talahara's mainline equestrian racing tradition has largely given way in modern times to motorsports. Open-wheel circuit racing and rallying are the two most common categories. In addition to international events, local racing and construction leagues hold minor championships. Many mechanically-minded unions offer opportunities for youths to develop racecraft and automotive knowledge from a young age, despite a comparative irrelevance of road cars compared to other nations.
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, a spiced garlic relish called tacermult, and the onion-based tafaya sauce. 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.
Šakšuka
Sliced amergaz
Tabissart with oil
Hot tajin
Matbuɣaha
Kuskus
Sheep's milk cheese
Mint tea
Black tea
