Sovereign Reclaimant Order of Melure
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Sovereign Reclaimant Order of Gregory and of Saint James of Melure | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Defendendi et adiuvandi (Hernician) "Defend and help" | |
| Anthem: Iter Rubrum Crucis (Hernician) "Red Cross March"  | |
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| Capital | Melure (city-state) 18°29'S 86°7'E |
| Official languages | Ruthish |
| National language | Hernician (de jure) Astarian (de facto) |
| Religion | Southern Cathedralism (state religion) |
| Demonym(s) | None (de jure) Meluran (de facto) |
| Government | Unitary theocratic Southern Cathedralist elective monarchy |
| Victor Matusz | |
| Giuseppe Arigo Chiaravalloti | |
| Julian Padovan | |
| Aldo de Lorenzo | |
| Legislature | Governorate |
| Sovereign subject | |
• X | X |
| Area | |
• Total | 0.71 km2 (0.27 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 4,327 |
• Density | 6,094.6/km2 (15,784.9/sq mi) |
| GDP (PPP) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $117.0 million |
• Per capita | $27,045 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2022 estimate |
• Total | $99.4 million |
• Per capita | $22,982 |
| Currency | Torin (Ⱦ, CT) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (Eastern Calesian Time, ECT) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy (CE) |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +482 |
| Internet TLD | .XX |
The Sovereign Reclaimant Order of Melure (SROM), officially the Sovereign Reclaimant Order of Gregory and of Saint James of Melure[a] and commonly known as the Order of Melure, the Knights Reclaimant, or simply the Reclaimants, is a Southern Cathedralist religious and chivalric military order and a sovereign entity of international law presiding over a micro city-state that is surrounded by, and has historically been a part of, Melure, Cassany. Located on the Cassan Riviera, in Eastern Calesia, on the Endotheric Sea, the semi-enclave is the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population, with an area of about 0.71 km2 (0.27 sq mi) and a population of 4,327 permanent inhabitants in 2023.
As governed directly by the order, which claims continuity with the medieval Knights Reclaimant founded in 1349 by the Blessed Hugo of Worn in the wake of the Catabole, the state is an ecclesiastical sacerdotal elective monarchy headed by the Grand Master, who is also the Prince of Melure. The highest functionaries of state are all professed members of the order, of which there were approximately 12,200 worldwide in 2024. Since the Hyacinthean Schism (1520–1608), the order has continually retained institutional unity and resided at Agnesberg Palace in modern-day Melure.
The independent state of the SROM in its current form came about with the X on 3 October X, which delineated the quasi-sovereignty of the order over the Old Town of Melure on the dominant Rock of Melure; the city has been under near continuous Reclaimant rule, with brief interruptions, since its formal re-establishment in 1350. Despite the order's independence and wholly autonomous foreign policy, its defense is the responsibility of Cassany, besides the the traditional knightly Military Corps. Through its special political relationship and monetary union with Cassany, the order also uses the torin as its sole currency. Due to its urban geography, the economy of the microstate is highly developed and centered around the service sector, though voluntary donations by religious visitors contribute significantly to the order's income.
Today, the order is predominantly committed to its traditional focus on providing humanitarian assistance and aid to children, elderly, disabled, terminally ill, homeless, and refugees on a global scale. Additionally, the relief corps organization Global Reclaimants provides disaster response and emergency management for natural disasters and wartime violence without self-imposed constraints regarding issues of ethnicity, nationality or religion; this has been met with international praise and pronounced criticism throughout the 20th century. The order maintains formal diplomatic relations with 29 countries, and it has been a permanent observer state of the United Congress since 1974.
Name
History
Geography
The Sovereign Reclaimant Order of Melure is in sovereign control of a city-state, located on the Cassan Riviera on the Calotian peninsula, in Eastern Calesia. It is bordered on the northern side by Cassany's X province as a semi-enclave, with every other side being bordered by the Strait of Arcetra of the Endotheric Sea. The proper city of Melure, a municipality, lies on the Cassan side of the border, along the Bay of Melure. With an area of about 0.71 km2 (0.27 sq mi) and a population of 4,327 permanent inhabitants in 2023, making it the smallest sovereign state in the world both by area and by population. The country has a coastline of 1.47 km (0.91 mi), and a land border of only 0.43 km (0.27 mi).
Its hilly topography, with no substantial naturally flat terrain, is underlaid by Jurassic limestone, which is partially karstified. The Rock of Melure (or otherwise known as "Agnes Salvator Mountain" on which the Old Town of Melure is situated), is a solitary monolith of that limestone on the peninsula's shoreline, and also the city-state's highest point at 64.1 m (210.3 ft) above sea level. The lowest point in the state is the Endotheric Sea.
The state has negligible natural resources, safe for historically abundant fishing. Almost entirely urbanized, the Sovereign Reclaimant Order lacks any sort of commercial agricultural industry. Additionally, it has no still or contained bodies of water of noteworthy size, and therefore has few freshwater resources.
Climate
Governance and organization
Economy
Demographics
Culture
Notes
- a.^ Ruthish: Souveräner Reklameorden des Gregorius und des Heiligen Jakob von Melur; Astarian: Sovrano Ordine Reclamante di Gregorio e di San Giacomo di Melura; Hernician: Supremus Vindicaris Ordo Gregorius et Sancti Ioacabus Meluranensis
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