Saukania

Confederation of the Saukanians '
Seal of the Confederation
Location of Saukania in Thrismari
Capital and largest city	Kula
Ethnic groups (2020)	93.6% Saukanian 6.4% Other
Religion (2020)	79.4% Saukanian paganism 10.2% Christianity 6.6% Islam 3.8% Other
Demonym(s)	Saukanian
Government	Confederation of sovereign city-states
Legislature	Confederation Council
Area
• Total	1,116,863 km2 (431,223 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	27,214,000
• Density	24.3/km2 (62.9/sq mi)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy
Driving side	left
Internet TLD	.sg

Saukania, formally the Confederation of the Saukanians or the Saukanian Confederation, is a landlocked country in northwestern Thrismari. Saukania is bordered by Bezuria and Shirua to its south and south-west, and Sarocca to the north. At 1,116,863 million square kilometers, Saukania is one of the largest countries in Thrismari, though very sparsely populated, with a population of 27.2 million people. The country is a confederation of sovereign city-kingdoms, of which Kula, the largest city-kingdom, serves as its capital. The country is extremely arid, consisting mostly of desert and semi-desert regions, with areas of montane, riparian, and temperate ecoregions in which the vast majority of the population resides. The Laxad river and its tributaries are the heartland of Saukanian civilization.

Human habitation in Saukania began in the Palaeolithic. Bronze Age Saukania was inhabited by a number of sophisticated cultures, displaced and assimilated by the Saukanian invasions. It has been a historical battleground between its own inhabitants, as well as neighbouring Shiruans, Saroccans, Kakish crusaders, and Riamese colonial interests. Modern Saukania is a direct continuity of the ancient and Medieval city-kingdoms, which have long been separate. Saukania never formed a great empire of its own, its cities existing at the peripheries of neighbouring civilizations, fiercely guarding their independence from foreigners and internal rivals, and facilitating trade and commerce across the continent.

The modern Confederation established itself in the 18th and 19th centuries in response to significant foreign pressure and the risk of subjugation, due to the competing colonial interests of Nyalan and Riamo. It is a decentralised body, with its constituent states governing themselves according to their own laws. The Confederation Council serves as the executive of the Confederation, including leaders and representatives of the members.

Saukania is a heavily agrarian country with a large rural population and sizeable nomadic minority, with its urban centres the serving as the core of industry and culture. Exports of fruits, vegetables, and other cash crops are a major source of revenue, as is the export of finished material goods such as textiles, with Saukanian carpets being famed throughout much of the world. Tourism to Saukania is common for its historic archaeological sites and unique culture, expressed through its cuisine, art, music, and entertainment.

Name

Main article: Names of the Saukanians

The origin of 'Saukania' is unclear, originating as an exonym applied by outsiders to the Saukanian tribes. It is probable that a Saukanian tribe bearing the name is the original source, with the name then being applied to all Saukanians. The word was later reintegrated back into the Saukanian languages, and used to describe the land largely co-extensive with speakers of the Saukanian languages.

The Saukanians do not refer to themselves as such, but according to their respective ethnicities.

History

Main article: History of Saukania

Prehistory and antiquity (before 7th century AD)

Further information: Ancient history of Saukania and Archaeological sites in Saukania

The earliest confirmed presence of ancient humans in modern Saukania has been dated back to c. 31,500 BC, in the Upper Palaeolithic, with the discovery of human teeth and bone fragments near the village of Tuga in Dashkia. Permanent inhabitation of sites in Saukania commenced c. 9200 BC with the advent of farming in the region, likely brought to the area by a migratory population, as well as marking the beginning of the Saukanian Neolithic. A number of major sites developed in this multi-millennium period of history, predominantly centred along the major river systems, including at or near modern Acha, Dathan, Khodan, and Kula. A number of contemporary and successive unique material cultures developed in the Saukanian valleys and oases.

Urban civilization began as early as 3100 BC, with the early city of Dakhul near modern Khodan being a major archaeological site of the Upper Laxad River Culture. Recent findings show some ruined sites were abandoned after changes to the flow of the Laxad and other rivers.

After 2000 BC, numerous waves of semi-nomadic people from north-central Thrismari began moving into Saukania, at least some among these groups being speakers of Proto-Saukanian. Over many centuries these tribal groups penetrated further into Saukania, conquering many smaller groups of various origins. The survivors of the defeated peoples merged with their conquerors, passing on their physical and cultural traits to new generations of Saukanians. 'Purer' Saukanian tribes followed these first lines of migration, coming into conflict with their forebears, absorbing them, and resulting in a tangled web of Saukanian tribes with varying ancestral elements within their bloodlines.

By the 6th century BC, Saukania was divided into three main regions: Arla, Gedrasa, and Vahlaka. The Saukanians had settled along the fertile riparian zones of the winding steppe and desert rivers, in and around oases, as well as in the watered valleys of the Ghuran Mountains. Fortified cities had been founded at their modern locations, the centre of 'city-kingdoms', which pursued aggressive policies of expansionism and forced vassalage against weaker rivals. Records from surrounding regions list among these kingdoms Agara, Bahmara (modern Khodan), Duhar, Ehha (modern Acha), Gethel, Hanatar, Kella (modern Kula), Pelsha, Shum, and Tarshan. Few inscriptions survive from these early kingdoms, though they were literate, and engaged in trade and diplomacy with neighbouring peoples. A seemingly similar system of government, honed in Saukania's later history, is likely to have existed in these states, with a capital city commanding hinterlands and smaller towns and villages with varying degrees of local autonomy.

The development of the overland west-east Thrismari trade routes enriched these warring kingdoms substantially, leading to a significant increase in production and sophistication of native metalwork and other material artefacts with various influences.

A series of droughts and climate events weakened the city-kingdoms from the 4th century AD, with a number of sites abandoned temporarily, some permanently, and the depopulation of those that remained inhabited. Nomadic tribes, descendants of the Proto-Saukanian pastoralists, became more powerful as they expanded their pasture land, carrying out many raids against those settled communities that remained and crossing through and around the Ghuran Mountains to raid foreign territories.

Middle ages (6th - 16th centuries)

From the early 600s onwards, the urban centres of Saukania began to grow again. New forms of ancient material culture began expressing themselves in the renewed city-kingdoms, including a much clearer glimpse into the older forms of indigenous Saukanian religion. By the 11th century, at least two dozen kingdoms were active in Saukania, prospering on their oasis trade routes. Saukania at this time became well known for the excellence of its horses, bred by its nomadic populations. The oasis kings purchased many of these horses for themselves, and the armies of the Saukanian kingdoms became heavily cavalry focused, with a strong emphasis on heavy mounted archers, supported by a mixture of urban infantry and rural skirmishers. Wars between the rival cities continued for control of trade, farmland, the acquisition of horses, and to establish and impose hegemony. Many states settled into a subordinate status to more populated kingdoms, permitted to retain their own rulers and laws, but obliged to muster to arms at the request of their overlord.

As in the ancient period, cities like Acha, Khodan, and Kula are among those that emerge as prominent and populated kingdoms. In the 11th century, Kula is thought to have possessed 100,000 people, and been able to raise an army of 20,000, significantly more than the second most populous state of the area. In this period, Saukanian poetry and music appears to flourish as a genre of its own, spread beyond the reaches of Saukania itself by merchants and ambassadors, and finding audiences in neighbouring lands. A knightly culture developed at Saukanian courts, specialist heavy cavalry selected from the nobility to be retainers of kings and princes. Urban culture in general flourished.

Geography and climate

Main article: Geography of Saukania

Saukania has an area of 1,116,863 square kilometres (431,223 sq mi), and is one of the largest countries in Thrismari by total land area. It country lies between longitudes 43° and 59°W and latitudes 22° and 32°S. It is a dry and landlocked country, though its north-western edge is located near the coast. Saukania's south-eastern edge lies along the coast of the Argan Sea, an inland body of water and the mouth of Saukania's endorheic basin.

A photo of the Hendelar Desert at sunrise

The physical geography of Saukania is largely flat. In the south-west of the country, the Ghuran Mountains form the basis of the wider geographical area known as the Saukanian Highlands, which extend north and east of the range before dropping off into the lowland plains and desert that dominate the vast majority of the country.

Climate

Saukania has extremely hot summers and cold winters. These temperature extremes are more intense in the northern two-thirds of the country, which lies within the Western Thrismari Desert. Much of this desert is bare rock and desert pavement. Dune seas are found in the north and north-east, the largest of these being the Hendelar Desert. These are the most inhospitable areas of Saukania, and are largely empty. A semi-arid climate prevails in the southern third of Saukania, with steppe and desert-steppe grass and shrubland bounding the southern edge of the Western Thrismari Desert and the coast of the Argan Sea, interspersed with montane grassland, riparian woodland, and temperate forest.

As a result of its high aridity, little of Saukania's land area is suitable for farming. Despite its size, it maintains a low population of just over 27 million, and has historically been of smaller population than its neighbours. Population centres are found along the banks of rivers originating from the snowmelt of the Ghuran range including the Kulegan, Laxad, and Sagarne, along the coast of the Argan, and by oases in the desert. Alongside the rivers are stretches of riparian ecoregions, suitable for crop-farming and sustaining larger populations. The vast majority of fertile areas in Saukania however are suitable only for pasture.

Environmental issues

A fragile ecological area, Saukania faces a number of major environmental problems, such as land degradation in farmed areas and increased desertification. These issues are felt most keenly by the country's nomadic population, who face losing pasture land to encroaching dunes or harsher desert conditions which they need to graze their herds. Deforestation of Saukania's already limited supply of wooded areas is also a major concern.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Saukania

Ethnicity

Main articles: Ethnic groups in Saukania, Saukanians, and Nomads in Saukania

Ethnic Saukanians are the largest group in Saukania, representing over 93% of its total population. Minority groups include Shiruans, Saroccans, and Bezurians.

Saukanians form an ethnicity based on shared culture, language, heritage, and religion. In Saukania itself ethnicity is a more fluid concept, and the primary division between peoples has been conceived in terms of sedentary versus nomadic lifestyle. Regional variation is also prominent, as large areas of Saukania have few inhabitants. Those Saukanians who dwell along the main desert rivers form a separate subculture to those who dwell in the mountains and the foothills of Ghuran, and both in turn have smaller local cultures and identities.

Language

Main article: Saukanian language

Modern Saukanian is the most widely spoken language in the Confederation. It is not to be confused with the Saukanian languages, the family to which it belongs. Modern Saukanian, usually shortened to just Saukanian, descends from the Parharian language, one of the early branches of the original Saukanian language. Parharian came to replace the other varieties of Saukanian starting from the 16th century, owing to the renewed prestige and power of Kula, the dominant kingdom of Parharia particularly and Saukania generally. Its eventual place as capital of the Confederation increased the prestige of the Kulean dialect of Parharian, leading to it becoming nearly ubiquitous. This new Modern Saukanian subsequently differentiated into two dialects, Kulean and Khodanian, or East and West respectively.

The village of Isuk in the Sakbia valley.

Other Saukanian languages continue to be spoken by various communities, holdovers from the more diverse linguistic period of Saukanian history. This is more common in the highland regions of Ghuran, among the nomadic communities of the desert pastures, and variously isolated rural communities. In most cases, these people speak both Modern Saukanian and the local surviving ancestral dialect. In areas where these have disappeared, elements of them survive through loanwords and various grammatical contributions to Modern Saukanian. Kulean and Khodanian have many sub-dialects in their area of influence, as well as dialects that do not often neatly fit into either category.

Use of the Saukanian language is considered an essential but not alone qualifying demonstration of Saukanian ethnic identity. While foreigners who know the language are not accepted on that basis alone as a Saukanian, there is a commonly held feeling that a blood Saukanian who does not know the language is not really a Saukanian. As use of the language is a sign of ethnic identity and pride, Saukanians are somewhat reputed for their reluctance to speak to foreigners in any language except Saukanian. Rudimentary knowledge of Common is fairly widespread in Saukania, though fluency is much less prevalent, and concentrated primarily among the social elite.

The Saukanians regard other languages as lesser to their own, and a common insult for "barbarians" or those who do not speak Saukanian translates roughly as "dirty-tongued"

Religion

Main article: Religion in Saukania

The native religion of the Saukans has not only endured but thrived as the majority religion despite, or perhaps in response to, various foreign invasions by representatives of Christianity and Islam, such as the Shiruan Kakish crusaders. Nevertheless, Islam and Christianity have acquired followings among some native Saukans. The majority of each has its primary follower base in the urban centres of Saukan civilization, though other demographics have greater or lesser representation of these religious minorities.

Religion in Saukania (2020 est.)

  Saukanian paganism (79.4%)

  Christianity (10.2%)

  Islam (6.6%)

  Other (3.8%)

The internal divisions of each religion also feature in Saukania. While most Saukan Christians are Catholic, some are Protestant, while others still follow a form of syncretic Saukan Christianity that shares theological features with Arianism. Among Saukan Muslims, Sunni is the leading denomination, with Shia Islam having a follower count in the low hundreds. Sufi schools are something of a commonality in Saukan Islam, representing a radical break from the worldliness that permeates Saukan religiosity and the syncretic developments within Saukan Christianity and Islam.

Saukan religion itself is classified as a type of paganism. An animistic polytheism, it lacks any concrete name since its form is that of an ethnic religion. Most Saukans worship a shared collection of deities and concepts of natural forces, though emphasis on particular deities or ideas notably varies from locale to locale. Sacrifice and ritual are essential to the Saukan religion. Priests are drawn from certain elites families in the Saukanian cities and tribes, who claim a genealogical and mythical right and responsibility to maintain the customs set down in the mythical age (the nebulous time period in which the events of Saukan mythology are said to have taken place). At the bedrock of the Saukan religion is the domestic cult. Ancestor worship is the first religion of the Saukans, and their ritual practises for worshipping higher deities are understood to be modified rites for the honouring of the dead. The male head of the family serves as its priest in these affairs, with ritual knowledge and practised passed down paternally. These affairs are private, untouchable by any authority, attesting to their antiquity and their preceding of the more organised, state-sponsored cults.

Among the deities of the Saukan religion are Tanmes; the most revered god and lord of the sky, Zadohr; a warrior-herder deity and patron of oaths and contracts, Gedona; an earth fertility goddess, Sohthar; lord of the underworld, and Itix; goddess of beauty and pleasure. Many other deities major and minor populate the Saukan pantheon. Some are regionally bound, having no cult or worship outside of a particular city-state, rural district, or even village, while others are considered "Pansaukanian", and honoured by most or all Saukans. Saukans believe the world was fashioned out of a primordial material, but not "created" ex nihilo, and that the world will eventually return to this homogeneous and indistinct state before being refashioned again in an infinite cycle.

A major religious concept for Saukans is fate, seen to be above even the gods, who have the power to delay what is fated but never to prevent it. An appropriately fatalistic demeanour is common of the Saukan character. This idea of fate is often connected to specific events rather than every event in isolation, however. The Saukan mythical figure Sanagos, for example, received a prophecy of his death in the land of Kazen. In attempting to flee this fate, Sanagos journeyed to many lands and had numerous adventures and performed great feats of strength and heroism, eventually culminating in his unwitting arrival in the land of Kazen and his subsequent death. Saukans consider his attempted defiance of fate as the spring of his accomplishments, rather than a purely futile attempt to delay the inevitable. In other words, Sanagos was only fated to die in Kazen, not to be the great hero he became. His heroism came from himself, and his death alone from fate.

The Saukanians are superstitious, believing in magic as a means to harm and to defend from harm. Amulets and charms are a common sight with a purpose for warding off evil, as are signs and local sayings. A spatial division between the sacred and profane is central to ritual in their religion. Bloodshed inside areas with a sacred boundary is considered polluting and a grave crime, requiring ritual purification or else risking divine wrath.

A history of religious tension has defined much of Saukan history. Violence between Saukans and the Abrahamic monotheists, or rival monotheistic sects and groups, has been a frequent occurrence in the cities and towns of Saukania. At different times and places and under different rulers, organised persecutions have taken place, as many Saukan leaders regarded the anti-establishment Christians and Muslims as a major threat to social order and their own power. Fear of cultural erasure and loss of identity motivates much of the Saukan pagan animosity towards the foreign faiths, while belief in the truth of their own creed and the threat posed to the true religion by heretics and heathens has been the driving force of proselytising activity by Christians and Muslims. The Kula riots of 2012 were the deadliest outbreaks of religious violence in Saukania in the 21st century, resulting in 36 deaths and hundreds more injured, with religious buildings damaged.

Major cities

Main article: List of major cities in Saukania

Government and politics

Main article: Government of Saukania

Saukania is a confederation of twelve independent polities: Acha, Arakhan, Dathan, Godar, Khodan, Kula, Krolonar, Sardasar, Sokotis, Ragera, Tabana, and Turshor. The Confederation is weighted heavily in favour of Acha, Khodan, Kula, and Sardasar, the four largest states by population. The Treaty of Confederation was signed in the late 19th century after many decades of increasingly closer ties, encouraged by foreign pressure and the risk of invasion or occupation. Acha, Khodan, Kula, and Sardasar were the first and primary signatories, forming their alliance which the other eight joined subsequently. Many of these states existed as all but formal vassals of the original four, though the Treaty of Confederation lessened this dependency by laying out the rights of all members states to autonomy and self-rule.

Kula was selected as capital of the Confederation due to its size and prestige.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Saukania

Military

Main article: The Saukanian Army

Culture

Main article: Culture of Saukania

The culture of Saukania has persisted for millennia, since the arrival of the early Saukana to the region around 3,700 years ago. Though subsequent foreign invasions have added to the cultural mix, modern Saukanian culture is considered the continuity of the ancient.

As a tribal, segmented society, there is a large amount of regional and local variations of Saukanian culture, qualifying as subcultures. Daskhia, Kugeria, Parharia, and Turoka have long been culturally distinct from one another in their expressions of Saukanian culture more generally, though still highly interrelated and connected due to their long history of alliances, wars, and migrations. Parharian culture is perhaps the most internationally perceived of the four, due to the prominence of the Parharian kingdom of Kula. A distinction between urban and rural Saukanians must also be emphasised, with the urban populations long since accustomed to a more state-organised society bound by allegiances to offices and rank, while the rural populations remain more firmly tribal and aligned by kinship and blood. The hill people of the Ghuran are the most independent of Saukania's rural populations, with a history of resisting occupation and defying urban authority. Saukania's population of over 2 million nomads boast a more distinct culture still, shaped by their lifestyle of movement and the distrust that exists between them and the sedentary peoples. Nevertheless, a shared Saukanian cultural identity is observable between them all. They consume much of the same food, wear the same types of clothing, follow the same religion and observe the same shared festivals and ceremonies, speak the same language, and hold many of the same values and ethical ideas.

Conservatism is another shared feature of the Saukanians. Highly suspicious of outsiders and foreign ideas, they are motivated substantially by tradition and the ancestral customs, valuing systems which have proven their worth over many centuries. Family is core to their society, as well as honour, both of the group and the individual. Saukanian honour is androcentric, relating to the males of the family, clan, and society generally. The Saukanian code of conduct, sharaven, is a male-oriented body of customary laws that emphasises hospitality, courage, self-sufficiency, independence, family loyalty, honour, and vengeance for slights or attacks. The protection of females and children is vital for the honour of men under sharaven, and they lose face for failing to guard or avenge dishonour of a female. Saukanian culture is patriarchal, with women expected to obey fathers and husbands, and hold to an ideal of modesty and seclusion called karsavis. Injuries of honour can result in a feud called a korvena, considered a social obligation to take recompense for an injury or insult by blood. Acts that can initiate a korvena include slander, theft, assault, murder, and the sexual assault or rape of a woman or child. Korvenas remain common in the rural lands of Saukania, where urban authority is weak and order maintained through violent and restorative justice, and among the nomadic tribes, where the lack of any prison infrastructure and the mobility of property make brutal retaliation a favoured method of conflict resolution. For tribal Saukanians, a korvena is simply a small war, and a war a large korvena. As a result, these conflicts can escalate depending on the allegiance of those involved, ranging from two feuding families to entire villages or valleys, causing dozens or hundreds of deaths. In the history of the urban oasis states, the korvena transformed more into an aristocratic duel, and came to emphasise more personal and immediate familial honour than the broader honour of a clan. Certainly, urban Saukanians are not less conscious of their reputation and standing to forgo the demand for compensation if it is challenged.

Saukanology, or Saukanistics, is the study of Saukania and its cultures. In modern times, many native Saukanians have contributed to greater international understanding of their culture, though much of this effort and impact has been achieved by non-Saukanian explorers, authors, and anthropologists, particularly those who came to the area during the formation of the Confederation in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Social structure

Main article: Social structure and class in Saukania

Further information: Women in Saukania

Saukanian social status and class is a multipolar hierarchy involving multiple and overlapping statuses, resulting in a complex development of self and group identity. In the four federations, where the class systems are more or less uniform, there are five primary categories by which an individual's status is determined: ancestry, age, gender, citizenship grade, and wealth census rank.

The origin of these distinctions arises out of the agricultural tribal city-state traditions of ancient Saukania, which, owing to modern Saukania's largely agrarian economy, has not substantially changed in that time.

Honour

Main articles: Sharaven and Karsavis

Clothing

Main article: Clothing in Saukania

Architecture and art

Main articles: Architecture of Saukania and Art in Saukania

Music

Main article: Music of Saukania

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of Saukania

Sport

Main article: Sport in Saukania