Taranima

The Principality of Taranima Principatul Taranimei
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Vom îndura (Taranaran: We endure)
Anthem: Marșul Trandafirilor (Taranaran: March of the Roses) Royal anthem: Hymne de la Maison d'Elisa (Gallic" Anthem of House d'Elisa)
Capital	Cour d'Elisa
Largest City	Ilcharest
Official languages	Taranaran, Voscoi
Recognised national languages	Gallic
Recognised regional languages	Montei, Ungar
Ethnic groups	Taranic - 74% Voscoi - 10% Ungarii - 8% Montei - 5% Gallians - 3%
Demonym(s)	Taraniman, Taranic
Government	Confederal Elective Constitutional Monarchy
• Grand Prince	Sergiu Silvia d'Elisa
• Prime Minister	Natalia Alexandru Văduva
• Lady President of the Peerage and Duchess of Taranar	Elisabet Cochestru din Taranar
• Duke of Vestolor	Leo Popescu din Vestolor
• Duchess of Nordumar	Cecilia Cojocaru din Nordumar
• Duke of Nowa Gallica	Miron Papineux de Nowa Gallica
• Duke of Ausmonta	Marian Lungu de Ausmonta
• Duke of Estboche	Kosta Valentinov на Estboche
• Duchess of Deparscht	Nadia Georgiev на Daparscht
• Duchess of Aprimar	Iskra Kaloyanov на Aprimar
Legislature	Confederal Assembly
• Upper house	House of Peers
• Lower house	Parliament
Population
• 2019 estimate	32,181,761
• 2010 census	31,675,962
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$456,387,638,890
• Per capita	$14,181.56

Etymology

Taranima translates roughly from ancient Taranic, as "land of our hearths", and was used in antiquity to describe the central territory of modern Taranima (now the duchy of Taranar), and in particular the lost meeting grounds of the tribal confederacy in antiquity and into the early post-classical period. As the Taranic peoples came to dominate the regions around Old Taranar, the concept of Taranima expanded slowly into the whole of the modern country. The demonym for citizens of Taranima is Taraniman or Taranimans, though Tarani or Taranii is favored by some, particularly along the Northern coastal regions of the country.

History

First Confederal Period

Starting in the late 15th century, a largely religious, movement arose among the educated classes in the region that would largely be the basis of modern Taranima to unify the Sacramist faithful under the banner of a single country in order to better resist the influences of foreign religions and fears that foreigners would seek to wage holy war against the disunited peoples of the region. The Dukes of Taranar, and Daparscht, and the Duchess of Vestolor (modern Nowa Gallica) would be the first to engage in formal diplomatic overtures to the nobility of other states. Throughout the turn of the century several conclaves were be called with the dominating topic always be unification. The 14th Conclave of Buchovia, occurring over the Winter of 1502-1503 saw the Confederation of Taranima established.

After the election and ascension of the first Prince of Confederation, Ioannes Paplovich Mihescu din Taranar, the early Confederacy would prosper, and indeed expand into the western mountainous counties, centralizing the Ungar and Montei counties, and forming the Duchy of Ausmonta. Upon the death of the prince in 1546 however, this brief golden age came to an end. Conflicts arose over the elections of the next prince, particularly among the Ungar and Taranic nobles as to which ethnicity would come to be the dominant force in Taranima. A Taranic Duke, Alexander Paplovich Ionesecu would ascend to the Princedom, but had to spend most of his reign dealing with increasingly rebellious Ungari. Ionescu responded with pogroms against the Ungarii, an action that significantly exacerbated tensions.

When Alexander died in 1572, his son Ioannes II succeeded the throne, despite again, the protests of the Ungar nobility. In response to this, the Ungar majority duchies of Deparscht, and the Ausmonta left the Confederacy. The Prince immediately raised an army to put down what was seen by the Taranic peoples as a rebellion, thus starting the First Taraniman Civil War. The conflict lasted almost fifteen years as the armies of the rebellion and the Taraniman state fought in skirmishes and raids as the mountainous terrain of the Ungar duchies made it difficult to conduct open field battles. In 1587, the rebellion finally came to an end when the city of Ungrad, serving as the capital of the rebellion was captured, and razed. Ioannes II would rule for only two more years before being assassinated by an unknown party in 1590. A series of short ruling, and ineffective princes would rule successively as the Conclave system broke down, and the periphery of the Confederacy became increasingly unruly until the Confederation was formally dissolved in 1612.

Gaulish Colonial Period

After the collapse of the Taraniman Confederaction, the various Duchies of Taranima remained relatively isolated from the affairs of Madurin. The primary exception was the Grand Duchy of Taranar, which conquered the Duchy of Nordumar after a pro-Taranaran palace coup assassinated the Nordic Duke. The capture of Nordumar, and Taranaran monopoly on access to the sea, paired with the resources in the prosperous Saren Valley saw Taranar become a significant hub for commerce during the 17th and early 18th centuries. This prosperity drew the attention of two factions. The first of these was the Voscoi, who frequently launched border raids into Taranar in an attempt to abscond with wealth brought in from the Bay of Bosque, these border raids would escalate into the Heartland War which lasted from 1687-1692, ending with the Voscoi capture of Granadople. The second was the growing Gaulish nation. Commercial ties between the two nations grew throughout the mid 17th century. At the turn of the 18th century however, economic fallout from the Heartland War saw a decline in trade between Taranar and Gaul. The Gaulish government sought to increase control over the region in order to ensure the continued flow of commerce.

In 1728 the reigning Duke of Taranar, Alexandru Cojocaru Sartaru din Taranar died without an heir. This threw the Duchy into chaos as there had been no provision for the establishment of a new royal dynasty since the breakup of the Confederacy. It is widely believed, though not confirmed, that Gaulish envoys seized upon this chaos to back the claim of Gavril Simion Dumitrescu a younger count, and one with close personal ties to many influential members of Gaul. What is factually known however, is that Dumitrescu came into a vast reserve of monetary resources and used them to hire several mercenary bands including the then infamous Band of the Unicorn. Count Dumitrescu, then eliminated almost all of his rivals, and secured the loyalty of the others before proclaiming himself the Duke of Taranar. Shortly thereafter, the Duke established formal ties with Gaul, with Taranar becoming a Gaulish protectorate by 1730. Under the protection of Gaul, Taranar would go on to conquer almost all of the territories held by the former Taraniman Confederacy in the Unification Wars throughout the 1730s and 1740s, establishing the Protectorate of Taranima in 1750.

The Protectorate of Taranima entered a relatively peaceful period in the latter half of the 18th century, as the support of the Gaulish armies kept external threats away, and the watchful eyes of Gaulish "advisors" ensured that no Prince would get too many ideas about independence. As the world around it began to industrialize, Taranima remained locked into a pastoral state. Treaties with the Gauls ensured that the need to produce raw materials and food for the rapidly industrializing Gaulish State, and as a result there were few resources for Taranima to industrialize itself. Taranima, as a result languished in stagnation throughout the 19th century. Conditions became so poor, in fact that the Gauls seeking to maintain their hold on the Protectorate, as well as increasing resource output, invested heavily in Taraniman mining throughout the 1880s. This investment benefitted heavily, the Voscoi and Ungar peoples who lived in the mineral rich mountains of western Taranima. Taranic peoples by comparison did not benefit, and despite several attempts by the locals to industrialize the riverine heartland, Taranar slowly began to lose ground economically to the periphery territories, much to the resentment of the Taranic peoples.

Demography

Ethnic Groups of Taranima

  Taranic (73.8%)

  Voscoi (10%)

  Ungarii (8%)

  Montei (5.1%)

  Gallians (2.9%)

  Other (.2%)

According to the 2010 census, the Principality of Taranima has a population of 31,675,962, though current estimates place the population slightly higher having grown at an average rate of .15% per year over the past decades, if demographic trends have indeed continued from the 2000-2010 census period. Immigration to Taranima is relatively low, in part due to the restrictive immigration laws put in place by the Conservative-National coalition in 1989. In spite of the low immigrant population, Taranima is actually quite ethnically diverse with five major ethnic groups represented in Taranima, though they are mainly quite segregated with the ethnic groups possessing a significant majority in some regions with comparatively small populations in others. According to the census, roughly 82% of the population identified as being part of the lgbt community, with the overwhelming majority participating traditional Sacramo family structures.

The largest ethnic group of Taranima are the Taranic peoples who represent much of the central and coastal population, including most of Taranima's major cities. This is followed by the Voscoi and Ungar populations which tend to live in the eastern and southern duchies of the country. Montei peoples are semi-nomadic, but are concentrated in the mountainous west. Lastly are the Gallians, Gallic persons who did not leave when Gaul ceased its influence over Taranima, as well as surviving the pogroms of the fascist government of Taranima, who mostly live in coastal cities.

The population of Taranima is quite rural with only 45% of the population living in urban areas, of which about half (26% of the total population) lives in the largest twenty population centers. There are currently fifteen cities with a population of over one hundred thousand, and three with a population of over five hundred thousand, currently there are no cities with a population greater than one million. There has been a very slight trend towards urbanization in Taranima since the Rose revolution, though migration patterns seemingly favor smaller ubran areas, cities with populations between fifty and eighty thousand.

Largest cities or towns in Taranima 2010 Census
	Rank		Duchy	Pop.	Rank		Duchy	Pop.
Ilcharest Buchovia	1	Ilcharest	Taranar	850,181	11	Cour d'Elisa	Nowa Gallica	381,871	Ungrad Nortara
	2	Buchovia	Taranar	821,285	12	Karpagrad	Depsarscht	350,721
	3	Ungrad	Daparscht	691,761	13	Barselun	Nowa Gallica	297,985
	4	Nortara	Nordumar	499,750	14	Vardun	Nowa Gallica	221,871
	5	Timova	Nordumar	475,189	15	Baripople	Nordumar	157,915
	6	Mariople	Taranar	462,254	16	Salviople	Taranar	97,652
	7	Barshislawa	Estboche	452,986	17	Granadople	Deparscht	95,848
	8	Ustengrav	Aprimar	448,647	18	Sternograd	Taranar	95,374
	9	Cutio	Nordumar	435,615	19	Belkarp	Ausmonta	92,762
	10	Constantin	Ausmonta	421,641	20	Horograd	Arpimar	82,715

Language

The Principality of Taranima recognizes the Taranaran and Voscoi languages as nationally official. languages, used by the government in all its official processes. Additionally, Gallic is recognized as a historically important national language, though it has fallen out of favor as the lingua franca of Taranima. Ungar has been recognized as a regional language, however, concerns over the previous regime of Taranima have seen Ungar begin to fall out of favor with most Taraniman people. Montei is a regional language, but due to the relatively wides and thin spread of the Montei population it is used largely in shires and municipalities rather than recognized at the Duchy level.

Religion

Though the Principality is formally a secular nation, the de facto primary faith of the Taranima people is Sacramo, which is practiced almost exclusively in Taranima, and has survived almost all conversion attempts from foreign missionaries, being practiced by a full 78% of the population. The bulk of the Taraniman population was, as of the census cosnidered moderately (50%) or very (42%) religious, with most of the population actively participating in religious ceremonies. A small, but growing percent of the population (3% as of the 2010 census) is areligious or irreligious, major minority faiths include Catholics (most notably of the Albigensian heresy) at 7%, Mazadaki Zoroastrianism, which is practiced primarily by the Montei peoples at 5%, and Judaism at 3%.

Government

The Principality of Taranima is a Confederal Parliamentary Elective Constitutional Monarchy, with the monarch, bearing the title of Grand Prince or Princess, serving as the Head of State for the Taraniman Confederal government, but with most legislative and executive powers turned over to an elected Legislature, and the Confederal Peerage. Taranima is however, lacking in a legally empowered, appellate judiciary. In addition to the central Taraniman government, Taranima has significant and quasi-sovereign devolved governments in the forms of the Duchies of Taranima. The structure of the Confederal government of Taranima is outlined by the Articles of Confederation of the Principality of Taranima, and the roles of governments are as follows:

Executive: The executive branch of the Principality is embodied by two institutions. The first of these, the monarchy, is elected from among the gentry when the previous sovereign dies, or is otherwise rendered incapable of discharging the duties of monarch. The Grand Prince or Princess serves chief diplomat of the Principality, as well as leadership of the Princely Armed Forces of Taranima in addition to the duties owed to the houses of Taranima. The second is embodied by the Prime Minister of Taranima and their cabinet which are appointed by, and accountable to, the Parliament of Taranima, being summoned and discharged by vote of no confidence.

Legislative: The legislative branch of Taranima is a bicameral affair with a democratically elected Parliament, as well as the Hereditary House of the Peerage. The Parliament is the more powerful of the branches possessing power of purse, as well as most of the daily legislative powers in Taranima, in addition to the appointment of the Prime Minister, their cabinet, and most other important executive officials. The Peerage on the other hand is responsible for the election of a new monarch as well as having the final vote on changes made to the Articles of Confederation. Peers convene on an irregular basis, but are expected to select from their number a Lord or Lady President who is to respond to crises, engage in Conclaves, as well as being the day to day representative of the Peerage in the Taraniman political scene. The Peerage is nominally expected to be a nonpartisan body, but most members of the Peerage have publically expressed political support for Taraniman parties.

The Articles of Taranima is the foundational document for the modern Principality of Taranima, outlining the structure of government, the legislative process, the succession process, the devolution of government, and the responsibilities of the monarchy. It is reviewed every twenty five years in a Conclave where amendments, if necessary, are made.

Parties and Elections

His Majesty's Government

  Bread and Roses Party: 146 seats

  Unity and Justice Party: 56 seats

  Green Party: 61 seats

  HM's Worker's Party: 9 seats

  Voscoi Agrarian Party: 8 seats

His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition

  Liberal Conservative Party: 102 seats

  Taraniman Royalist Party: 85 seats

  National Front: 32 seats

  Republican Worker's Party: 22 seats

  Ungar People's Union: 19 seats

  Absolutist Faction: 8 seats

  Montei Front: 6 seats

  Pirate Party-Confederation of Labor: 1 seat

Elections for the parliament of Taranima occur every three years, or in snap elections if the Prime Minister and their government is recalled by vote of no confidence, or if parliament is willingly dissolved by its members. Citizens of 21 years of age or older are eligible to vote in the general election. Seats in Parliament are assigned by locality with each Shire and Municipality (of which there are currently 555) of the Principality being assigned its own Member of Parliament. Members of Parliament are elected by First Past Majority vote, with instant runoffs in the event that no candidate has achieved a majority of the vote. Members of Parliament will then form a government either as a majority or in coalition with other parties (no party without a majority of seats is allowed to form a government independently). The government is then required to form a cabinet and appoint a Prime Minister. Elections in Taranima are well known to be chaotic as a result of the large number of political parties, particularly ethnic parties which often change political loyalties; and no party has managed to secure a majority government since the 1982 when the Rose Coalition broke up.

In addition to the regular elections are Conclaves, which are called once every twenty five years, or since the Rose Revolution, by referendum. Conclaves are legislative meetings wherein the Peers of Taranima, and elected representatives are called together in a legislative session to review the Articles of Confederation, and make amendments as necessary. Conclaves are technically supposed to be nonpartisan bodies, however, there are no laws in place to prevent members of Conclaves from registering in political parties.

The current government of Taranima is led by the social democratic Bread and Roses party, the successor party to the Rose Coalition, which leads a coalition of other center-left, green, and social liberal parties. Opposition comes largely in the form of the classical liberal Liberal Conservative Party, and the conservative Royalist Party, with several other minor parties representing political views from both the far left, and far right, as well as parties representing the interests ethnic minorities in Taranima.

Devolution of Government

Taranima possesses a highly devolved, confederal government, with the eight Duchies of Taranima serving as voluntary members of the Principality, with a great deal of autonomy. The Duchies are quasi-sovereign with their own standing armies, legislatures, Ducal constitutions, and in rare cases external diplomatic relations. These duchies have their own devolved counties, and local shires and municipalities (of similar import but are distinctly either rural or urban in nature), which are responsible for much of the day to day operations of Taranima. Devolved governments of Taranima are allowed a great deal of autonomy in internal affairs, but are required by the Articles of Confederation, as of 1982, to have elected legislatures and strict limits on the power, and more importantly, legal privileges of the nobility.

Foreign Policy

The Taraniman Pirncipality maintains a relatively neutral foreign policy. Aside from expressing interest in the Teremaran Security Organization, Taranima has largely avoided joining international organizations. Taranima is however dedicated to maintaining amicable relations with other nations in Teremara. Taranima occasionally participates in humanitarian interventions, largely in concert with larger allied nations, usually providing logistical support and security for long term operations in comparatively stabilized regions. Taranima operates a small diplomatic service with embassies in a handful of Teremaran nations, and consulates in others. More strangely, some of the larger Duchies of Taranima possess diplomatic services of their own, though Ducal governments are only rarely recognized by foreign powers, and are barred from contradicting the Confederal policy when it comes to foreign diplomacy. Taranima favors free trade, and freedom of movement with nations that the Parliament deems to be similarly aligned to Taranima, and the current government has expressed some interest in increased involvement on the international stage.

Culture

Taranima, as a heterogeneous nation cannot be said to have a singular culture, with several of the minority ethnic groups having distinctive cultures apart from that of the Taranic majority. This heterogeneity has resulted in several cultures with largely the more recent civic traditions serving as an overall touchstone. The exception to this rule however comes in the form of the religion of Sacramo, which was spread by the Taranic peoples during the late antiquity and early post-antiquity, and forms the basis of Taraniman family values, holidays, and other aspects of daily life.

Religion

The national religion of Taranima, which is also practiced by a healthy majority of the population is Sacramo. At its core, Sacramo preaches communitarian values, obedience to community elders (usually extended to nobles, the Prince, and the state), and a unique family structure. In Sacramo, the ideal family structure consists of a quadroon of parents, generally consisting of two men, and two women who are mutual lovers, and look after any children that result. Though deviations, especially in the modern era, exist away from the ideal Sacramo structure, the presence of this alternative religiously backed family structure has resulted in an unusually high number of persons who identify as being LGBT, with bisexuality being by far the most common sexuality in Taranima, and further polyamory, and polyamorous relationships being more common than in other parts of Teremara.

Values

Taraniman civic values are rooted in the Five Virtues, which themselves are rooted in traditional Sacramist values. The are Community, Duty, Honor, Will, and Excellence in that order. Community implies service to one's own local communities, family, village, and other local levels of social organization. Duty is connected to one's service to their betters, usually defined as commoners serving the nobility, the nobility serving the prince, and all citizens regardless of rank serving the Taraniman Confederacy and strengthening the bonds which tie the ethnic groups and the duchies together. Honor represents good faith in all doings, following through on promises, refraining from mistruths, and is commonly understood to also represent the duties of those in high stations to those beneath them, and their obligations to protect and serve the commons. Will represents the resilience and endurance expressed in the motto "Vom îndura" which was the creed of the movement that deposed the Gallic puppet ruler. Excellence represents a commitment to becoming a skilled practitioner of whatever one pursues be it simple agriculture, the arts, or war.

Cuisine

Taraniman Lipie

Taraniman cuisine is, as a result of the relative geographic and political isolation of the country, heavily reliant on what can be grown in Taranima. In particular the river valley of central Taranar, and its massive cultivation of wheat is a dominant food source in the country. As a result, Taranic breads such as Lipie, and wheat noodles are particularly common. Meat eating is relatively uncommon in Taranima, but river and lake fishes, and swine provide most of the animal protein consumed in Taranima. Vegetables are a staple of Taraniman diets, and are often grown by the person consuming them.

Music and Dance

Taranima traditionally has had many folk dances. In Taranar, a common thematic undertone is the adopting of the Tresillo as the primary beat in Taranic music, with two main styles having been developed, tresărire, which is well known for its more frantic pace, and energetic musical movements, including a reliance on small percussion instruments such as castanets, paired with a far more fluid style of dance; and Trepas which is founded more firmly in its strings, with a more orderly and melodic movement, paired a slower, less erotic form of dance. Tropanka proves more popular in the traditional Voscoi circuit, though since the establishment of the origianl confederacy, the influence of three step dances has supplanted older styles with Riplank dance being more common. The Ungar Brams are most common in the South and West. In the modern period, foreign musical styles, have seen increasing popularity, with deep house, balearic beat, blues, and grunge, proving particularly popular, alongside Neo-Trespas, and Noua Tresărire, which are a modernization of traditional Taranic styles.

The Dramatic Arts

The dramatic arts in Taranima have roots in collective oral storytelling. However, the theater would not come to Taranima until the arrival of the Gaulish. Early theatrical works would emulate the Gaulish peoples to the best of their ability with little in the way of Taraniman drama until nearly the rise of film in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Taranimans seeking to break away from Gaulish influence would be early adopters of film, and indeed television when it arose. Taranimans tend to favor romantic works, including recreations and adaptations of romantic Taraniman literature, though Comedy is also indeed quite popular.

The Visual Arts

The Temple of Deom in Old Ilcharest, one of the oldest surviving works of mosaic in Taranima.

The visual arts in Taranima date back into antiquity, with Taranaran mosaics being the oldest works of art that are characteristically Taraniman, with earlier works being refuted as to their culture or origin. Taranaran Mosaic works would spread outside old Taranar and become a dominant form of art in the western parts of Taranima, though the wildlands of the east would not adopt the style until nearly the end of its dominance.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, as foreign, and largely Gaulish influence began to permeate throughout the region, painting would become more common, and indeed eventually supplant mosaic as the chief visual art of the Taraniman regions. Taranima would be an early adopter of the romantic style, and this would effectively be the most common style of artistic expression throughout most of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, ironically, the Taraniman artistic community would favor, in their foreign originated artistic style, a coded revolutionary message against incursion by foreign powers. As the 19th century ended, the artistic community would fracture and the more recognizable conflict would arise between the three modern schools of art the Ausmontei School, the Barshilawa School, and the Old Guard. In more recent years, the rise of internet culture and digital art has challenged these schools.

Literature

As a hetero-linguistic nation, Taranima has proven difficult to establish a literary canon for. As a result, great works of literature are often associated with the various ethnic groups that comprise the Taraniman Confederation. Perhaps mostly due to the significantly larger population of Taranic peoples, their works are most well known outside Taranima, with a focus on romantic works, authors such Alexandria Constantin Alexandrescu and Pasiunea, Pop Funar Ionescu and Inimi Vitale, Marea Domniță a lui Buchovia, and Vittoria, and Constantina Lupu Iliescu and Urmărirea Valentin serving as the most widely exported works of Taranic literature. The Ungar have often written more political works, though often these works prove to not last as often, they include political thoughts that serve best as cautionary tales for future generations, such as Albert Herczeg's Lupta. The Voscoi and Montei have the hardest time spreading their works though Andon Hristov's Вика в планините have achieved some acclaim regionwide.

Sport

The Taraniman Rose.

Taranima maintains an active, if small presence in professional sport. The most popular team sport in Taranima is Rounders, though football has become more popular in recent years, and field hockey has long served as a regional but popular sport in the East. Popular individual sports include dueling, most notably saber duels to first blood and subcaliber pistol duels, Tennis, and the Biathalon. Outside of Taranima, sporting associations, have little presence aside from a few contributions to international games, with little noteworthy activity.

National Symbols

The Confederacy of Taranima has adopted a number of symbols. The most important of these is the Taraniman Rose whose white petals represent the 'stainless integrity' of the Taraniman people, as well as the symbol of the Rose Revolution, which had established the modern, democratic, confederate principality. The national animals of Taranima including the Taraniman Unicorn, which has long stood as a symbol of the Taranic people, the Boshite Brown Bear, representing the Voscoi, the Grey Wolf of the Ungarii, and the Blue Jay representing the Monetei; are often depicted together, representing the cultural unity of the united peoples of Taranima. The most contentious symbol is the flag, which is a holdover from the first, fascistic regime of post-Gaulish Taranima, representing the primacy of the Taranic peoples. There have been numerous attempts to replacing the flag, but most have met with insufficient backing in the face of voter apathy.