Shrine to Foreign Soldiers
| Shrine to Foreign Soldiers Светилиште на странски војници | |
|---|---|
 The memorial today | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Classical |
| Town or city | Zovahr |
| Country | Syara |
| Construction started | 12 May 1911 |
| Completed | 21 June 1912 |
The Shrine to Foreign Soldiers (Syaran: Светилиште на странски војници, Svetilište na stranski vojnici) is a memorial complex in Zovahr, Syara, consisting of a main Shrine and an underground cemetery for hosting the remains of foreign soldiers who, at the time of their death, were involved in hostilities against Syara on behalf of a foreign nation. The memorial was originally constructed in 1911 after the Third Chryse War, and has remained in use into contemporary times. It is maintained jointly by the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Faith. Urns representing more than a thousand foreign soldiers are housed within the Shrine. The remains currently interred typically represent those that were unable to be returned to their home nation either as a result of circumstance or practicality.
Background
Funeral rites are an important element of Syaran culture and are heavily based on Zobethos teachings, the state religion of the Syaran Commonality and the most common faith of the Syaran people. Cremation is the most common form of disposing of the dead and is typically carried out in open-air funeral pyres, accompanied by the appropriate prayers. Zobethian scripture explicitly states funeral rites are to be given even to "enemies of the Chosen Children", i.e Syarans, and thus foreign soldiers fallen in battle are entitled to a proper funeral. The cremians (ash and bone residue), are then placed in urns and buried either in underground either in individual or group graves, or in vaults, depending on the availability of resources and time. If urns are not available, the ashes are to be collected and buried. The Zobethos faith offers few exceptions for funerals, and failure to provide a proper funeral even to enemies of Syara and criminals is considered a major taboo in Syaran culture.
The establishment of the Republic of Syara in 1875 coincided with the formalization of many Zobethian practices within Syaran law, although the Republic remained officially secular. Following the Third Chryse War (1905-1909) the Republic remained in possession of remains of soldiers of Górska and the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic. At the urging of Senator Čedomir Kostencev, a commission was formed to explore what best to do with the remains of foreign soldiers who were killed fighting Syara. After consulting with Predicants of Zobethos, it was agreed that a formal Shrine would be constructed to house the remains. Construction began on 12 May 1911 under the direction of architect Ksenija Gligorova and completed a year later, and was officially opened on the Summer Solstice, 21 June 1912. The Shrine initially held 143 remains; 94 Ruvelkans and 49 Górskans. Following the Divide War, the Shrine's vault of urns was expanded to include an additional 311 Cacertian remains. Further expansions followed the Siduri War and the Granika Border War. After the Refusal War the Shrine fell under the Commonality governments' ministries of Culture and Faith, which led to the permanent establishment of a contingent of the Sacred Guard, sentinels of the Zobethos Faith who are assigned to safeguard Syaran holy sites. The most recent expansion and renovation occurred in the aftermath of the Zemplen War. Minor renovations to repair erosion damage occurred in 2016 and 2021.
Complex
The Shrine consists of two main structures; the above-ground memorial structure and the underground vault containing the urns of the foreign soldiers. The above-ground memorial (colloquially referred to as the Shrine itself) is modeled after traditional Symmerian temples measuring 40 meters across, consisting of 16 Kydonian-style columns. The center of the Shrine is a rotunda which contains a plaque and the flags of the nations whos' remains are represented, arrayed alphabetically. The flags, a feature of the Shrine since its inception, reflect the country as it was at the time the remains were originally interred; flags of both the Ruvelkan SR and the Grand Principality of Ruvelka are represented. The plaque, sculpted in bronze, is displayed in the center of the rotunda facing north, with text written both in the Symmerian language and modern Syaran:
Here lies the remains of soldiers of foreign nations, fallen in battle as enemies of Syara on our soil. As faith shields our souls, so shall this shrine safeguard theirs.
The underground vault consists of a semicircular chamber located approximately 1.7 meters underneath the memorial, with arrayed stone rows holding the individual urns.
The Shrine is open to the public, located in southern Zovahr approximately 1.5 kilometers from the Monument to Fallen Allies. Per Syaran tradition, the Shrine is consecrated on the solstice by Predicants and acolytes of the Zobethos faith. While the above-ground memorial is open to all, access to the underground vault is restricted.
Interred remains
Nine nations are represented in the shrine; Acrea, the Cacertian Empire, Górska, Mansuriyyah, Ossoria, Quenmin, the Ruvelkan Socialist Republic, modern Ruvelka, and Tennai. The cremains of 1,052 foreign soldiers are interred in the vault, the majority of which come from Ruvelka and the Cacertian Empire due to the Siduri War. Cacertian remains represent the only nation whos' fallen are found both in the Shrine to Foreign Soldiers, and the Shrine to Fallen Allies, owing to Cacertian Intervention in the Refusal War.
The breakdown is as follows:
- Cacertian Empire: 441 (Divide War and Siduri War)
- Ruvelka: 322 (Siduri War, Granika Border War, Zemplen War)
- Ruvelkan Socialist Republic: 94 (Third Chryse War)
- Acrea: 61 (Refusal War and Zemplen War)
- Górska: 49 (Third Chryse War)
- Mansuriyyah: 34 (Siduri War)
- Tennai: 29 (Siduri War)
- Quenmin: 19 (Siduri War)
- Ossoria: 3 (Refusal War)