Zusea

The Vordic Imperium of Zusians ᛞᚨᛊ ᛰᚬᛡᛑᛁᛮᛂᛊ ᚶᚨᛡᛂᚾᛏᚢᛘ ᛑᛂᛡ ᛤᛩᚨᛚᛉᛂᚾ Das Vordisches Zarentum der Schvalzen ᛞᚨᛊ ᛤᛩᚨᛚᛉᛂᛊ ᚶᚨᛡᛂᚾᛏᚢᛘ Das Schvalzes Zarentum
Flag Greater coat of arms of Zusea Greater coat of arms
Motto: "ᚦᚬᚾᚧᚢᛡᛡᛂᚾᛉᛚᚬᛊ ᛩᚬᛡ ᚸᚬᛏᛏ" (Zusian) "Konkurrenzlos vor Gott" (L.s.) "Unrivaled before God"
Anthem: "ᚸᚬᛏᛏ ᛂᛡᚺᚨᛚᛏᛂ ᚢᚾᛊᛂᛡ'ᚾ ᚶᚨᛡᛍ" (Zusian) Gott erhalte uns're Zar! (L.s.) "God Save our Emperor!"
Capital	Vordin
Largest	Falkenhaven
Official languages	Standard Zusian
Recognised national languages	Nerotysian Dauvish Gildish Dottish Zossic
Ethnic groups (2015)	72.7% Zusian 10.5% Neptic 9.4% Galasi 3.3% Fennish 1.6% Kotaian 1% Spyrian 1.5% other
Demonym(s)	Zusian
Government	Federal technocratic semi-constitutional monarchy
• Vosmir	Wolfgang XIX
• Chancellor	Petra Vogel
• Grand Prince	Hans-Jürgen X von Schulenbach
• Chief Guardian	Franz von Kortig
Formation
• Vordic Republic declared	102 BC
• Empire established	16 January 144
• Zusian Constitution	3 December 1799
• Punctation of Mützel	18 January 1818
Area
•	7,008,971 km2 (2,706,179 sq mi)
Population
• 2017 estimate	298,754,099 (3rd)
• Density	42.62/km2 (110.4/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2017 estimate
• Total	$13.49 trillion (1st)
• Per capita	$45,154
Gini	42.5 medium
HDI (2017)	.91 very high
Currency	Taaler (ZUT)
Driving side	right
Internet TLD	.zus

The Zusian Imperium, more commonly known as Zusea, is a semi-constitutional monarchy in north-eastern Orda. It is the second most populous nation in the world with over 141 million inhabitants. The Imperium is a federal union composed of 59 free states, most of them monarchies, including 6 kingdoms, 8 archduchies, 11 principalities, 10 free cities, and 24 duchies, in addition to 5 imperial districts.

Zusea is considered among the oldest cradles of civilization in the world, with documented settlement going back millenia and one of the earliest organized societies in the world, the Maudyrians, who first emerged around 3500 BC. After a succession of sociopolitical collapses and the obscurity of the Zusian Fog, a prosperous network of interconnected city-states emerged in the 8th and 7th centuries BC, which produced many ancient classics, the most notable being the Gausungaz and Sigmundradda. Following the rise of the Zossic Empire and its conquest of the Zusian coasts, the city of Vordin declared independence in 102 BC and rapidly expanded its power and conquered neighboring territory. Eventually, the Vordic Empire came to span the entirety of modern Zusea and incorporated various neighboring territories. After several centuries of peace and prosperity, the Empire was Christianized and later entered a period of religious divisions and decline, culminating in the Vordic Brothers' War and the fragmentation of imperial authority, which led to the Grand Reform and transformed the Empire into a confederation of mostly-sovereign states, with the Emperor as a figurehead.

The medieval period saw a flourishing of classical music, art, literature, and science across Zusea, as well as the earliest standardization of the Zusian language when the Siptzang voted to formalize the Drang Brothers' Schvalzes Wörterbuch, the largest Zusian dictionary ever created. The Enlightenment swept through the aging Vordic Empire in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, fueling calls for a national rejuvenation and a restoration of the old Empire. The Nerotysian Revolt in 1782 sparked the National Springtime, a wave of pan-nationalist and liberal uprisings, which paved the way for Alexander the Magnificent to seize power in Nerotysia and unify the nation under a new constitution: the old Imperial dynasty was ousted in favor of Alexander and his family, and many of the old imperial institutions were revitalized to create a modern nation-state. Following a second revolutionary wave in 1858, the young nation industrialized rapidly, becoming one of the foremost economies of the world by the advent of the 20th century. Zusea later saw many of the most significant scientific achievements of the 20th century, including the launch of the first man-made satellite into space and the first man in space.

Today, Zusea is considered to be among the foremost Great Powers, possessing the world's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and the largest defense budget, as well as the largest navy. It is a recognized nuclear state and possesses the world's second-largest nuclear arsenal.

History

Prehistory

The Frucht 1 mandible establishes an earliest date for human settlement of Zusea, at 800,000 years. The intervening period has produced thousands of artifacts indicating continued human occupation of the area. Most of these early fossils are connected to Neanderthals: the earliest modern humans appear to have arrived around 55,000 years ago. Extensive caches of modern human tools have been discovered in two places in Zusea, both dating from around 40,000 years ago: the Gildish Lichter caves and two coal mines in Süßingen.

Classical and Zossic periods (750 – 102 BC)

Zusea is home to one of the oldest advanced civilizations in the world, beginning with the Maudyrian civilization on the southern ''Weißklipp'' islands, which dates to around 3500 BC. This was followed by the flourishing of Naussic civilization on the northern Weißklipps, and finally Dotzi civilization across much of western Zusea, which was itself supposedly named for the great Dotzi king Zusindis. The Maudyrians pioneered a writing system, Parallel A, which is believed to have been the basis for the Dotzi-derived Dotzi script, the earliest-confirmed form of the modern Zusian alphabet. The Dotzi appear to have gradually absorbed or else destroyed the Maudyrians, while the Naussic appear to have remained mostly isolated. Nonetheless most of Dotzi civilization collapsed around 1100 BC, giving birth to the obscure period known as the Zusian Fog. The Fog represents a considerable decline in written records in Zusian societies: only a small handful of sources exist, and they derive mostly from two surviving Naussic cities and a single Dotzi settlement.

The rebirth of Zusian civilization is traditionally marked by the composition of the Gausungaz and its partial sequel, the Sigmundradda, by Gomolf in the 7th or 8th centuries BC. The end of the Fog brought about the flourishing of a variety of city-states across the western coasts, which gave rise to classical Zusian civilization, an unprecedented period of wealth and prosperity over western Zusea. This classical civilization was composed of hundreds of kingdoms and city-states, many of which began settling inland, expanding into what is today inner Vandary. Classical Zusea also became a major cultural center, developing complex architecture, mathematics, drama, science, and philosophy. Remarkably, many of the ancient city-states were organized as democracies, following traditional Zusian practices of relying on a hierarchy of councils, known as Aldings, for governance. The city of Tafa pioneered the concept of the Volksstadt, roughly translated as “people’s city,” as their system of governance, after their leader Drutmund abolished their dual-kingship and awarded all power to the Alding. This reform preceded the Golden Age of Tafa, lasting from the mid-6th century BC to its defeat and destruction by the Augish Coalition at the end of the Vandish Wars in 402 BC. However, the victorious military state of Augen and the rest of southern Vandary soon after succumbed to the Zossic Empire, which later conquered the Zusian coast under the leadership of Widukind the Great. The Zossic expansion marks the first incursion by Zusian peoples into the eastern mainland, as Zossic-sponsored settlements followed Widukind’s conquests inland from the coast, especially during the 3rd century BC.

The Zossic Period lasted for more than one-hundred years, and represented the first unification of all Zusian peoples under a single king. This marks the earliest point at which the Zusian language was standardized: the Zossic kings enforced their dialect as the single administrative language, and their control of the seas transformed it also into the language of commerce. Zossic settlement of what is today mid-eastern Zusea also proceeded incredibly quickly, under a deliberate program of colonization sponsored by the Zossic government. The pre-existing Zusian cities were overtaken by Zossi in the so-called Zossic Migration, which further perpetuated the spread of the language. The future superpower, Vordin, was a small Taugish city until it was massively expanded by Zossic migrants.

Early Vordic period (102 BC – 570 AD)

After a devastating civil war, the Zossic realm was split into three parts, each awarded to a son of the late King Theoderic III. However, this split-realm soon lost control over the mainland, which splintered into hundreds of city-states and small kingdoms, thus setting the stage for the rise of the city of Vordin, which ousted its Zossic King in 102 BC and turned itself into an oligarchic republic under the Siptzang, mirroring the Volksstadt of ancient Tafa. Over the next several centuries the Vordic Republic expanded rapidly, marking the second phase of the Zusian Außensiedlung as they expelled various Celtic tribes from the Gaufen catchment area and expanded their southeastern border to the Schurfen river. These fertile lands were then resettled by Vordic Zusians, and awarded to the oligarchs. Despite this rapid expansion the Siptzang frequently faced riots and rebellions of the Kossir, those free Vordic citizens who were not part of the oligarchic class, the Drassir. Furthermore, the republican state struggled to control the generals on the frontier, who frequently awarded conquered lands to their soldiers and officers without approval from the Siptzang.

Rampant political and economic tensions exploded into violence in 144 AD, when a group of Drassir assassinated the popular Volksrichter Ingvar Gardradis. In the ensuing chaos the powerful and charismatic general Ragnar Vosmir Magaldradusis marched on the city, promised reforms, quelled the riots, and proclaimed himself Vordin’s first King in more than two-hundred years. The Drassir submitted to the transition, but later assassinated Ragnar and triggered a civil war between generals for control of the city. Ragnar’s grandson Sigmar Wandefrid eventually won, took his father’s name, and reorganized the Vordic state as a centralized imperial bureaucracy under himself as Vosmir. For the next two centuries Sigmar and his successors oversaw rapid expansion of the Vordic state, conquering the rest of the mainland and Verdammtland by the end of the 3rd century. For more than 200 years the Empire was domestically stable and prosperous, and gave rise to a flourishing Zusian art, architecture, and science. The reign of the Sigmarling Emperors also established most of the traditions which would become associated with the later Empire, such as the usage of the phrase “Exalted, Godly, and Zossic” in the Emperors’ titles and a vast bureaucratic and court apparatus to bind the various provinces together.

The golden age marked the period when the Vordic Empire was at its peak, covering more than six million square kilometres of territory and possessing one of the largest and most proficient armies in the world. Additionally, the Vordic Empire became a great maritime power, based in the mercantile prowess of the formerly-independent cities of western Zusea, and established a large navy. The Vordic Empire also oversaw an architectural and infrastructural legacy which persists in modern Zusea: its famed road network provided the basis for the modern Zusian highway system. By the time of Emperor Thusnelda’s death in 570 AD, the city of Vordin had more than a million residents, placing it among the largest in the world.

Late Vordic period (570 – 1440 AD)

Upon Emperor Thusnelda’s death in 570 a vast crisis paralyzed the Vordic state. His various sons, all accomplished military leaders, fought for control of the Empire as it descended into anarchy. This culminated in the Year of Nine Emperors in 622 and the victory of Waldemar Kunimundis in 645. After a second political crisis in which Waldemar executed nearly one-third of the Siptzang and battled another commander who had marched on the city, he proclaimed himself Vosmir and liberated the Christians of the Empire. The Walding line ruled for more than 300 years, and oversaw a second period of stability in the Vordic realm. As they themselves were Augish Christians, they enacted a series of liberal reforms: the famous Karling reforms, the work of Waldemar’s son Karlofrid, made Christians legally equal to Zusian pagans, thereby laying the foundations for religious liberty in Zusea. The Waldings also sponsored vast architectural projects, and generously funded cultural expression of all kinds.

The golden age of the Late period ended with the assassination of the last Walding Vosmir, Gunnhild Framsindis, and the subsequent outbreak of the Fifty Years’ War between the various Christian sects of the Empire. After decades of bloodshed and the collapse of central authority, Gausbolda Dertrudis, a Zossic general, conquered Vordin and destroyed the surviving factions to re-unite the Empire. Hoping to prevent another outbreak of violence, he then reconstituted the Siptzang with representatives from across the Empire, and enacted the Gausling reforms, greatly weakening the central government and awarding considerable rights to the provinces. Despite later attempts to reverse the reforms, the Gauslings oversaw a prolonged decline of the Vordic state, as many of its bureaucratic institutions were dis-empowered and constrained by successive actions of the Siptzang. The provinces began to consolidate their own armies, and frequently paid only lip service to the Vosmir in Vordin. Their conciliatory attitude did however enable the Gauslings to foster an economic recovery across Zusea, and a renewed era of peace began.

The final end of a unified Vordic state came during the Brothers’ War from 1421 to 1438, triggered by the attempted expulsion of Christians from the city of Klarboden by its local government. The war concluded only with the passage of the Grand Reform in the Siptzang, which effectively dissolved the Vordic government and revoked the few powers the Vosmir still possessed. Immediately following the reform, several provinces declared themselves Kingdoms, and the central government found itself powerless. The Vordic realm was effectively transformed into a feudal confederation with minimal obligations to the Vosmir.

The National Springtime

In the period before the Nerotysian Uprising, known in Zusea as the Vorlenz, Zusian intellectuals began to emphasize new ideas of nationalism and patriotic loyalty in their writings and thought. The Nerotysian writer Johann Gottstalk originated the term “nationalism” in 1772, in his “Treatise on the Origin of Language,” in which he stressed the concept that “he that has lost his patriotic spirit has lost himself and the whole worlds about himself.” Johann Dörr and Franz von Zeiderau were two other early nationalist figures: Dörr compiled a comprehensive nationalist history of the Vordic Empire, and von Zeiderau declared that “our esteemed Empire cannot survive without a national rebirth, a national springtime,” coining the term itself (Völkerschaftslenz in Zusian). Influenced by these growing national ideas, the Nerotysian King Friedrich IV proclaimed himself president of the Zusian Confederation in 1780, formalizing his conquests into a network of puppets that directly challenged the traditional legitimacy of the Vosmir, and the independence of the various states of the Empire.

However, Nerotysia's conquests eventually bankrupted Friedrich’s realm, and following several poor harvests which deepened the crisis he was forced to call a meeting of the High Congress in 1787 to propose solutions to the problems. After weeks of legislative gridlock, the representatives of the Kossir forcibly removed the vastly over-represented Drassir from the chambers and proclaimed themselves the new People’s Assembly of Nerotysia, and pledged to create a new constitution and a new state. By January of 1789 a constitutional draft was already being debated in the new Assembly, and spontaneous uprisings across the Kingdom of Nerotysia were overturning the previous social order and pledging allegiance to the new assembly.

Initially the Nerotysian king indicated his willingness to work with the Assembly: however, he soon left the Nerotysian capital of Altentorf and took up residence in the Tulpenhof in Vordin, the official residence of the Vosmir. Coupled with news that an emergency meeting of the Siptzang had been called, the revolutionaries feared a coordinated monarchist counterattack from within and without Nerotysia. Fueled by these fears, the Neckties (Vordic Empire), the most radical faction, organized a march into Vordin composed mostly of disgruntled city folk and peasants from the surrounding countryside. The March quickly descended into violence after the Emperor’s guards fired on protesters, leading to the first-ever sacking of Vordin and a bloody assault on the Tulpenhof. Eventually the Vosmir's guards capitulated after the mobs stole weapons from nearby prisons: the Vosmir and the Nerotysian king were both taken captive and later executed for “crimes against the revolution.”

Appalled by the murder of the Vosmir and the anarchy in the old capital, the various Vordic states signed the Declaration of Nausitz and pledged to “destroy the radicals and murders in Nerotysia.” The ensuing coalition wars not only weakened the young revolutionary government, they also provided the impetus for the rise of Alexander Trotschka, a brilliant and charismatic artillery commander who was placed in charge of the Nerotysian Revolutionary Army in 1795 by the People’s Assembly. As various governments and radical factions fought for power in the capital, Alexander repeatedly trounced the Vordic coalitions: first, in the Battle of Försterbach in 1798 he routed a numerically-superior coalition army, and in the Battle of Kautz in 1802 he destroyed the two largest coalition armies and forced an armistice.

Following these victories Alexander’s popularity skyrocketed and he led his army into Vordin in a triumphal procession mimicking those of ancient Vordic generals. He later dissolved the People’s Assembly and held a plebiscite on his own leadership, which concluded strongly in his favor. He proclaimed himself the new Vosmir, ennobled himself and founded a new imperial dynasty: the House of Trotschka.

Alexander then embarked on his famous Wars of Unification, and by 1810 he had subjugated the entirety of the mainland Zusian Empire. Following a yearslong standoff with the Galasi Kingdoms, which had long ago broken from the Vordic Empire, he marshaled the resources of his conquests to construct the a massive imperial fleet. He appointed the fierce nationalist Diedrich von Zuncker as grand admiral, and soon his fleet had defeated the Kingdoms in the Battle of Verdammtland and imposed a blockade. Only after his maritime victory did Alexander personally lead an army into Galasi land: they capitulated by 1816.

Seeking to cement his victories and lead a reborn Vordic nation-state, Alexander invited the various princes of the Empire, as well as democratic representatives from across Zusea, to the grandiose Volkstagung (“People’s Congress”) in February 1817, which met in a section of the Tulpenhof. Months of contentious negotiations and discussions ensued: at several points, Alexander’s troops surrounded the palace to prevent delegates leaving prematurely. Nevertheless, on 8 November 1817, the Congress published the Constitution of Zusea, which laid out a new, liberal government for the Vordic Empire, and renamed the nation “the Vordic Imperium of Zusians,” emphasizing their desire to create a modern nation-state out of the old Empire. Later, the alternative name “the Zusian Imperium” would be added in an amendment.

Finally, on 18 December 1818, the delegates unanimously passed and signed the Punctation of Mützel, which vested the old institutions of the Empire with their traditional powers, as well as a host of new ones. In particular, the Punctation provided for the consolidation of the various independent armies into the new Imperial military, which would be under the command of Vosmir Alexander and his descendants. This marked the formal beginning of the Zusian nation-state, sometimes called “the Zusian period” in the history of the Vordic Empire.

Demographics

Religion

Main article: Vordic Church

Culture

Main article: Culture of Zusea

Zusian culture is rooted in the traditions and practices of the Zusian people, the nation's primary ethnic group. The Zusians originated as those Valkish occupying the western islands and coasts of modern Zusea. During the various stages of the Außensiedlung, the Zusians migrated and expanded out of their original homeland, settling the Goldgrenze ("Golden Frontier") and the Frostlands, which later became central components of the Zusian nation-state.

Historically, Zusea is often called das Land der Gesang und Geschichte, (“the land of song and story”) because of its abundance of influential writers and composers, and richly developed literary and musical traditions. An important component of Zusian arts are folk traditions - traditional liberal arts education in Zusea always emphasizes Bauernkuschten, which literally translates as “farmer-arts,” or “rural-arts.” Usually, Bauernkuschten are coupled with studies of Großkuschten, or “grand-arts.” In many academies, these two categories function as the primary distinction between subjects and classes.

Classical Bauernkuschten include quilting, bladesmithing, woodworking, metalworking, glassblowing, tailoring, and cookery. Zusea is however better known for its Großkuschten, which includes traditional Zusian lieder, various forms of classical opera, especially the Zusian concept of Gesamtkuschtwerk, other forms of classical art music, poetry and prose, and architecture.

Folk culture

The Zusian language is pluricentric, representing the immense diversity within both the Zusian heartland and the home regions of the Außensiedlung. Modern Standard Zusian is derived primarily from the Nerotysian dialect, instituted by Alexander the Magnificent during the unification of Zusea. However, prior to unification and especially before the 11th century, the Dauvish dialect dominated, which helped spread Dauvish cultural traditions throughout the nation. Also influential were the Gildish-speaking peoples of the south-east.

Zusian folk culture is traditionally rooted in music, and the nation has produced a number of popular folk songs. The oldest and most notable include “Edelweiss,” “Im Wald im grünen Walde,” “Die Eisenfaust am Lanzenschaft,” and “Schwarzbraun ist die Haselnuss,” all part of traditional Dorflieder (literally “Village-songs”). There is also much overlap between Dorflieder and military songs, and many folk tunes have been adopted by Zusian military formations as marching songs: the most popular of these include the famous “Osterwaldlied,” which celebrates the Osterwald region on the right bank of the river Skaus. These musical traditions inspired the later Volkslieder movement, beginning in the 18th century, in which writers sought to produce a canon of patriotic songs in pursuit of Zusian consolidation. Notable examples include “Was ist des Schvalzen Vaterland?” and the “Schvalzlandlied,” both written by August Hoffmann von Falkenhausen, considered one of the principal leaders of the Young Zusea Movement. More modern Volkslieder include songs like “Die Zukunft ist für die Frei!,” written in 1925 by Maximilian Krause.

Ethnic clothing is also an important part of the folk culture of Zusea. Among the most iconic Zusian garments are two styles of breeches: Lederhosen and Bundhosen, as well as two varieties of socks: boys’ Strumpfeln and men’s Loferl. Traditionally, Zusian boys wear the shorter Lederhosen and longer Strumpfeln until they are married, at which point they switch to the longer Bundhosen and two-piece Loferl socks. Girls and women wear a variety of traditional dresses, most notably the Dirndl, a circular-cut skirt that falls below the knee. Other forms of traditional dress include the Torgenrock, a white surcoat with a black cross originating with the Torgish Knights.

Zusian folk tales and folklore are traditionally called Hochdichtung, or “High Fiction.” They consist of any traditional stories written or told before the onset of the Baroque period in the 17th century. Many later writers collected or adapted traditional fairytales: the most notable example being the Drang brothers’ book of fairy-tales. Many Zusian fairy-tales have achieved modern fame, including Hans und Hilda, Rapunzel, and Hansel und Gretel.