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 Confederation is broadly coextensive with the Saukanian physical region, to which the Saukanian peoples (identified by their speaking of the Saukanian languages) are native. It is an extremely arid country, comprised almost entirely of desert and steppe.

Human habitation in Saukania began in the Palaeolithic. Settlements were established in the distant past, centred on the fertile oases that supported irrigation and pastoralism. Powerful city-states emerged from these cradles, bearing a unique culture and profile, finding a niche as invaluable stopping points on the overland Thrismari trade routes. Fiercely competitive, Saukania's history is largely defined by wars between rival cities to establish hegemony and collect tribute, and conflict between the settled and nomadic populations of the desert. Modern city-states such as Acha, Khodan, and Kula have historically been the centre of these tributary empires, which rarely lasted for longer than a century and a half.

The modern Confederation established itself over 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, but voluntarily ceding independent foreign relations to a corporate representation.

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

History

Main article: History of Saukania

Prehistory and antiquity (before 7th century AD)

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

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. 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 relatively 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 oases near the banks of rivers originating from the snowmelt of the Ghuran range including the Kulegan, Laxad, and Sagarne, and along the coast of the Argan.

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

The village of Isuk in the Sakbia valley.

Ethnicity

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

Language

Main article: Saukanian language

Religion

Main article: Religion in Saukania

Major cities

Main article: List of major cities in Saukania

Government and politics

Main article: Government of Saukania

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Saukania

Military

Main article: The Saukanian Army

Culture

Main article: Culture of Saukania

Saukanian culture is dictated significantly by lifestyle (whether sedentary or nomadic) and region (the influence of a particular city-state). While Saukanians do share many common cultural features, the specifics are highly variable. The family is the pillar of Saukanian society. Indeed, its city-states regard themselves as comprised of families, rather than of individuals. The family and its wider clan are older institutions than the city-states by far, and continue to hold a sacrosanct status that leaves many legal and formal responsibilities to kinship dynamics which in contemporary societies have been subsumed under the state. Saukanian families are patriarchal. In Saukania's many thousands of rural villages, families typically occupy mudbrick or stone houses, sometimes in compounds where extended families may live in several connected dwellings. Villages typically have a headman, the patriarch of the most influential or respected family. The rural population is overwhelmingly involved in agriculture, either growing crops or involvement in animal husbandry, with both subsistence and cash enterprises. Nomads frequent villages often, purchasing or trading for locally grown crops and manufactured goods, in exchange for wool, milk, and meat harvested from their flocks. Families are united in marriage, which is considered the exchange of a woman as the basis of alliance. The groom is expected to pay the bride's family. Wives are expected and raised to obey their husbands. Villages are often genealogical units unto themselves, populated by a small number of large, related families.

The urban centres of the city-states are the heart of Saukanian industry and political life. The rate of urbanization is growing, as younger people from the rural regions of the fertile oases migrate for work. Some nomads too are abandoning their lifestyles in favour of living and working in cities, while some groups stay for a while before moving on again. The city-states are the heart of Saukanian culture, producing large amounts of goods, jewellery, textiles, and art, as well as being centres of cuisine and music. Public life and presentation is important in the city-states, and Saukanians are conscious of their image and reputation. Honour, valued as reputation and standing, is very important to Saukanians both individually and as part of their corporate units; family, clan, tribe, etc. Saukanian tribal identities have endured for many centuries, more or less unchanged in their respective regions. Typically these identities are coextensive with dialects of the regional language, particular customs, as well as place of origin. As with familial descent, tribal identity is reckoned paternally.

Social structure

Main article: Social structure and class in Saukania

Further information: Women in Saukania

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