Administrative divisions of Themiclesia

The administrative divisions of Themiclesia are geographical areas administered by a regional authority responsible for implementing the decisions of the central government. Themiclesia is a unitary state, though local authorities have a range of specified powers in order to encourage regional diversity and development. The current administrative system developed directly as a continuation of the ancient one, and compared to the central government, local government has evolved remarkably little; Themiclesia for most of its history was a highly centralized state, necessitating a highly-developed local bureaucracy to ensure social control from the central government. Most of the types of regional divisions are cognate with those in Menghe, though the meanings of some terms have shifted in one country or the other.

First-level divisions

Themiclesia is divided into 41 first-level divisions. With the exceptions of the region containing the capital city and the several that cover the sparsely-populated eastern half of the country, there are 35 prefectures (郡, kljuls).

Prefectures

Each prefecture is jointly governed by the governor (守, stju’), the marshal (尉, ’wjeis), and the tribune-comptroller (監御史, kram-ngjah-srje’).

The governor, responsible for general administration, is appointed by the central government; it is a political office. His term lasts as long as the government that appointed him remains in power. It is rare for a governor to be dismissed, as they are unlikely to be caught in political controversies. It is also a position where discredited Cabinet ministers find themselves, expecting that their popularity or reputation would be rehabilitated by a period of lesser activity or exposure; on the other hand, a junior minister appointed as a governor would often be seen as promoted. Governors have comparatively little autonomy and few subordinates, and they mostly serve a supervisory purpose in the local (county-level) implementation of government policy. The governor's principle assistant is the secretary (丞, gljing).

The marshal is responsible for the recruitment, maintenance, equipment, and training of the prefecture's militia. As this duty has largely been subsumed by the Ministry of Defence, the office is ceremonial. Prior to the modern period, each prefecture controlled of a group of reservists, whose offspring remained reservists. Males aged 23 would be called up for a three-year rotation, with two years at the border and one at the capital city, as a palace guard. Thereafter, he alternated between three-year furloughs and two-year rotations in defensive positions locally or on the border. The prefectural marshal was responsible for his provisions if he was locally-positioned. When bandit groups appeared within the prefecture, he also directed the militia to suppress them. When a larger force was assembled, the marshal ensured that the order was authentic before releasing his militia. While not suggested by the title, the marshal was invariably a civilian official, and he led several departments that trained specialists, e.g. cavalry, crossbowmen, and chariot troops.

The tribune-comptroller is an ombudsman for the prefecture. He accepts allegations of official misbehaviour and investigates them, proceeding to recommend charges if required.

Inner Region

The quasi-prefectural region around the capital city is called the Inner Region, named for its governor, the Inner Administrator (內史). Historically, the Inner Region was not considered a prefecture, because counties there answered directly to the central government. The Inner Administrator, who was also the central government's finance minister, exercised supervision in financial matters over these counties; however, his portfolio gradually grew to become analogous to other prefectural governors, and today the Inner Region is a prefecture in all but name. The analogue of prefectural marshals is the Capital Marshal (中尉, trjung-’wjeis), though his duties contrast with them. He led the Capital Defence Force (中軍), a standing formation of the Inner Region's militia. Whereas only a small fraction of militiamen from other prefectures would be on duty at given time, the CDF were kept at a state of readiness at all times. As with the prefectural marshals, the integration of the CDF into the Themiclesian Army has left this a purely ceremonial position. There is no analogue of the tribune-comptroller, as the Inner Region is thought to be within the direct purview of the Colleges of Tribunes.

Eastern Territories

The eastern part of the country is governed as the Eastern Territories (東域長史部).

List of first-level divisions

Name		Population	Capital		Population
Transliteration	Shinasthana		Transliteration	Shinasthana
Lang-tju	揚州		建康縣	Kjan-k'ang
Krong-tju	江州		九江縣	Kju'-krong
Lja-tju	徐州		彭城縣	Brang-djeng
La'-tju	豫州		陳縣	Drjen
Ts'ing-tju	青州		臨淄縣	Rjem-snje
Luan'-tju	兗州		廩丘縣	Rjem'-k'lju
Sje-tju	司州		洛陽縣	Rak-lang
Krjes-tju	冀州		信都縣	Sjians-ta
lju-tju	幽州		涿縣縣	Truk-gwians
Brjiang-tju	平州		襄平縣	Snjang-brjiang
Bjiangs-tju	并州		晉陽縣	Tsjens-lang
'jong-tju	雍州		長安縣	Drjang-an
Rjang-tju	涼州		姑臧縣	Ka-tsang
Snjin-tju	秦州		冀縣縣	Krjeh-gwian
Rjang-tju	梁州		南鄭縣	Nom-drjens
'jik-tju	益州		成都縣	Drjeng-ta
Kwang-tju	廣州		番禺縣	P'ur-ngje
Kraw-tju	交州		龍編縣	Rjung-prjan
Kjing-tju	荊州		江寧縣	Krong-ning

Second-level divisions

The Inner Administration Region and all other regions are composed of prefectures (郡),. The Eastern Territories are divided into prefectures and circuits (道) instead.

Prefectures

The average region has between three and five prefectures; the IAR possesses seven, and the region of Liem-ts'eaw oversees only two. Prefectural borders are altered at higher frequencies to reflect changing demographics as well as the needs of the current administration. The average prefecture has jurisdiction over about 700,000 people. A prefecture is administered by a prefectural governor (郡守), with the exception of the prefecture that contains the capital city, where its governor is titled a controller (尹), which should not be confused a region's controller. Prefectural magistrates are elected as opposed to appointed, and by some commentators they constitute the highest layer of local government.

Circuits

The Eastern Territories are historically inhabited by many semi-nomadic groups in addition to traditional sedentary agricultural communities. For example, the vast expanse of the desert to the south of the River Gha is a single circuit called Ghruehi-hruaah. Currently, these regions are still very sparsely populated.

Third-level divisions

Counties

Prefectures are further sub-divided into counties (縣). There are 616 counties in total, each covering an area with around 20,000 to 40,000 people during the early 19th century, before Themiclesia urbanized due to industrialization. Currently, counties often fall between 30,000 and 60,000 people, as a result of rural depopulation, which remains an ongoing, albeit more sedate, process. The administrator of a country, like that of a prefecture, is elected. There are two titles for this position, 縣令 (gwians-mlings) or 縣長 (gwians-drjang’), but both are rendered in Tyrannian as "Magistrate". Nominally, counties with over 10,000 households had the former, while those with less, the latter, there being a difference in rank between the two; since these positions are now elected, rank ceases to be relevant to its holder.

Urban counties

While rural counties steadily lost population, a handful of counties are much more populous than average because they contain urban areas. The capital city, Kien-k'ang County, has a population over 4 million; there are 34 other counties that have populations over 250,000. Such counties most often correspond to the site of the prefectural government or regional centres of commerce. In the local government reforms of 1901, they became designated as market counties (會縣, gweps-gwians), which are given some additional allowances in staff and budget to administer their larger population and to maintain urban conveniences. Urban environments became unsanitary and had inadequate social services during the period of rapid industrialization between 1860 and 1880; the reforms addressed these problems by establishing local clinics and subsidized pharmacies, which were administered by the county. In Tyrannian, such market counties are often labelled as "cities" for economy of words.

Garrisons

In some areas adjoining national borders to the north and east, administrative divisions analogous to counties are called garrisons (府, pja). Historically, the army governed these areas for defensive purposes, but a few civilians lived in them as well, necessitating civilian governance. The administrator of a garrison is, somewhat strangely, called a quartermaster (長吏, drjang'-ris). The quartermaster behaves like a county magistrate in all affairs relating to civilians in the region, but he is also responsible for marshalling local resources to aid in the defence of the borders, in conjunction with military officers. Currently, garrisons are still typically populated sparsely. A number of them have been renamed to counties, but most retain this name even though border garrisons, as a military installation, have long been abolished, leaving only the civilian administration behind.

Fourth-level divisions

There are two types of fourth-level administrative divisions, the village (鄉) and the commune (里). This is usually considered the most basic level of local government that has any form of discretion.

Village

Villages are found in rural areas. The administrator of a village is called a village alderman (鄉良人).

Commune

Communes cover more densely settled locales, such as the local market or, in the case of an urban county, residential areas. The elected administrator of a commune is a commune administrator (里正). While the nominal commune has around 2,000 to 5,000 invidiauls living in its jurisdiction, Kien-k'ang's communes may have as many as 250,000, which is as many as several counties or an entire urban county; this exceptional situation is provided for by specific legislation.

Fifth-level divisions

Individual households are divided into groups of around 50; such groups are called neighbourhoods (閭). A neighbourhood elects its own convener; however, aside from ensuring that each household receives and understands certain government publications, the convener has no duties. The convener is not salaried, though for each piece of publication delivered and explained, the government remunerates the convener at a fixed rate.