Chesa

Chesa (česa, from Later Sepcan chepsa, in turn probably a derivative of Old Sepcan tsip sa, meaning 'to build together') is the name for a political arrangement which has prevailed in many Lannonian states historically and currently. Under chesa, powerful sualnic vassals orbiting a central, imperial authority act with great freedom, and may even be said to be the primary sovereign entities in today's terms, sustaining order of the realm. What distinguishes chesa from typical situations of overpowering the center is the joint, participatory effort and agreement of all vassals in upholding the empire as a sort of means to power, and a direct control of imperial authority and institutions by these feudatories whether formally or effectively. Chesa may thus sometimes be described as the 'synonymy of the imperial center with the nobility', or a 'direct rule by confederated nobles'.

Chesa never manifested as any sort of formal framework and thus its definition is rather fuzzy. Historians generally agree on the First Zesmynian Empire as being an exemplar of chesa after the White Peony Incident in 1577 which deposed the supremacy of the Blagoradovs and established a balance of the Zesmynian nobility as the powermaker in the empire. Zesmynia today is also considered a model of chesa, only with the importance of vassaldoms replaced by that of particular noble individuals whose influence are felt in a considerably more diverse and economy-oriented way. Debated examples of chesa include the late Ancient Sepcan Empire, Razaria under the Boriburyevids, and some states in present-day Nokhovia.