Chagadalai

Enlightened Republic of Chagadalai цагаан далайн
Flag
Capital	Jetsun
Official languages	Bayar
Recognised regional languages	Sinhaiese
Government	Unitary Directorial Republic
• President	Tian Xangai Sukh
• Premier	Wei Khojin
Establishment
• Bayarid Empire	1430
• Khanate of Tara & Jetsun	1580
• Republic of Chagadalai	1895
• Enlightenment Reformations	1930
Population
• 2016 estimate	21,865,632
• 2010 census	18,356,721
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	807.235 Billion
• Per capita	36,918

Chagadalai, also Chaudalay or the White Horde, is a unitary directorial republic in Ochran. Chagadalai is historically important as the eastern center of the east-west commodities trade, sometimes called the Jade Road, during the interregnum periods of Uluujol and as the heartland of the Bayarid Empire, the largest land empire in the history of Ajax. Chagadalai remains an important economic center as the host of the Ochran Commodities Exchange in Jetsun, which is one of the financial capitals of Ochran.

Chagadalai is a member of the Harmonious Covenant of Ochran.

History

Bayarid Empire

Main article: Bayarid Empire

The so-called Bayarids were a relatively small Bayar-speaking population in the southwest of modern Chagadalai. The various tribes that would later be known as Bayarids were joined by a mythic heritage to the legendary hero, Bakhark of the Wind. The Bakharkic families, under the direction of the Arha (the priestly class of families), began to consolidate power in the region by supervising livestock trades with their neighbors. They earned a great deal of prestige from this position and fiercely attacked "black markets" which formed to avoid their stringent rules. The Arha Laws would form the basis of the new empire.

In the early 14th century, during the simultaneous chaos of the pre-Kakita period and the Central Ochran Warring States period, the Bakharkic families began to lead large, expeditionary raids with adventurers from all across Chagadalai. The Bakharks became immensely wealthy from leading these expeditions as well as skilled, mounted tacticians. While they became the preeminent military commanders of the Bayarids, they were not universally accepted as leaders and would have to fight of negotiate for the control of their fellow Bayarids. It was only in the early 15th century that Tukal, nephew to the leading patriarch of the Bakharkic Arha, routed a force of the Mags and permanently tipped the scales in favor of the Bakharks.

Having secured, at least for a time, the support of the Bayarids, Tukal was entrusted with greater duties, including a campaign to the west. Several successive campaigns into the west made Tukal a power in his own right and, when he returned home, he conspired to have the patriarch replaced with his own son, Khaduur to lead the Bayarids. Under Tukal's careful control, Khaduur formalized the Arha Laws under the aegis of a council of tribal elders while Tukal undertook a massive restructuring the military and cleansed the upper ranks of his opponents. Once Tukal had completed his purge, his name vanishes from history, though it popularly thought that he continued to control the military on behalf of Khaduur.

Khaduur would be the face of the largest land empire in Ochran's history. In addition to collecting tributes and taxes, Khaduur also implemented a universal code of laws and promoted (though did not enforce) worship of Bakhark, now elevated to the supreme god of the Bayarids.

Khanate of Tara

Tara was the most important of the successor-states of the Bayarids. The eponymous city was a vital stopping place on the road to Sinhai and--thanks to the hostile Benaajabis on the southern route--the exclusive entrepot to silk weavers. While the rest of the Bayarid Empire melted away due to reconquest and assimilation, Tara remained proudly Bayarid. The Khans of Tara still proclaimed themselves the Sole Rulers of the Plains, but their real power came in the form of vast warehousing operation. They issued currency that was accepted all along the silk road, built paved roads, and financed state-run inns at convenient stopping places.

The Arha Laws, which had originally only applied to the subjects of the Khan, were extended to traders. Tara was a thriving economic metropolis until the industrial revolution. While the Khan remained in control of the silk trade, his wealthy subjects, of which there were many, began to invest in manufacturies along the southern border where Sinhaiese peasants could be enticed to work for small wages. The most important industrial location was Jetsun, which was the terminus of one of the few railroads that the Khan had allowed to be built. Jetsun's population exploded, quickly overtaking the rest of the country, though remaining unimportant in the political sphere of old Bayarid families.

First Republic

During the Republican Enlightenment, which had greatly improved the condition of the Sinhaiese in Tsurushima, unrest in Jetsun reached a crisis point. The Khan was forced to abdicate many of his powers to a new civil administration body in Jetsun. The transition was slow and the Khan opposed it everywhere he could, but he quickly found that many high ranking members of his own administration, which were heavily invested in the industrial might of Jetsun, were his primary opponents.

A crisis point was reached in 1894 when elements of the Khan's government ignited racial conflicts in Jetsun, leading to the destruction of the Khan's cousin's warehouses in Jetsun. The Khan, who retained command of the military ordered massive reprisals, but his soldiers were stopped by the municipal police. Fighting between the military and police was interspersed with mob violence and looting. The next morning, the Khan's support had withered away to a marginal hold on the military and his own family members, who were often important traders in their own right. The Khan was offered an ultimatum by the civil administration of Jetsun: form a parliament, or be deposed. His government stood by, unwilling to defend him after the violence in Jetsun.

The Khan opted for a constitutional monarchy instead of his own execution. He was confined to the palace grounds in Tara where he lived out the rest of his life. His descendants were slowly entrusted with a more active role in public life; allies in parliaments ensured many public appearances and a nominal place in military ceremonies. Eventually, the Khan was even allowed to write his own public address and to publicly practice his faith.

Second Republic

In 1917, the young, reformist Muunokhoi came to the throne, primarily from the influence that his religious tutors exerted over the royal family. Muunokhoi Khan began to make more public appearances in the royal capital, stirring up support for the monarchy and was openly critical of Premier Hulagu's government. The Hulagu government was embroiled in a corruption scandal and Muunokhoi Khan was seen, at least in the northwest regions, as a more virtuous and honorable statesman. Hulagu invited Muunokhoi Khan to the administrative capital at Jetsun, the first time that the Khan had been allowed to leave Tara since the republic was formed. Hulagu promised Muunokhoi Khan more control over Tara and formal recognition of Muunokhoi Khan, not just as the monarch of the nation, but as the representative of the remaining nomads in government.

In 1920, Muunokhoi Khan, who was still mostly confined to Tara, sent his cousin to Jetsun to join parliament as the representative of the monarch and nomads. The opposition, a coalition of socialists and directorialists, refused to recognize the monarch's representative in parliament and suggested that the government was actively fomenting a constitutional crisis to avoid investigations into the Premier's insider trading. In the following elections, Hulagu's government was defeated and the Socialist-Directorialist coalition immediately prosecuted the former-Premier. In Tara, however, Hulagu's agreement for Muunokhoi Khan's control of the city and surrounding territory was still touted as law; Muunokhoi Khan had already dissolved the city council and replaced the mayor with an appointee. The Socialists had declined to appoint a new premier to appease their coalition partners, but the cabinet as a whole began to take steps to reassert republican government in Tara. The cabinet ordered Muunokhoi Khan to dismiss his appointed mayor and immediately hold an election for a new city council, which Muunokhoi Khan declined to do.

After six months of impasse, the government ordered the military garrison to hold the election. The garrison commander was a well-known monarchist sympathizer and, after consulting Muunokhoi Khan, also declined to manage the election. The government declared Tara in rebellion and sent troops to immediately subdue the rebels and reinstate the city council. Though a monarchist, the garrison commander also refused to organize a resistance. After some brief fighting around the palace complex, Muunokhoi was arrested and tried as an enemy general.

While there was a mixed response in Tara, the entire operation was an immense success in Jetsun and the Directorialists won an absolute majority in the next election, allowing them to pass the Enlightenment Reforms Act. The ERA formally transitioned the state from a constitutional monarchy to a directorial republic, along with other important elements of centralization of the state around Jetsun and the Directorialist Party.

Politics and Government

Military

The Chagadalai National Defense Force is a competent modern military with its headquarters in Jetsun. The 54,600 volunteer service men and women are all part of the unified army command in which the Air Marshal reports to the Army Field Marshal instead of the Minister of Defense.

While the military is centered on Jetsun, which is closest to its primary defense threats of Uluujol and the Daitoa Republic, it is supported by the Blessed Cavalry (formerly the Kheshig), a paramilitary organization which patrols in the northern reaches of the nation to reduce the strain on limited aircraft and allows Jetsun to remain at a higher defense readiness than would be otherwise possible. The Blessed Cavalry members are often also law enforcement officials within their jurisdictions, which prevents their integration into the unified army command because of constitutional prohibitions against using active military personnel in law enforcement activities.

Foreign Relations

Chagadalai is very close to it's eastern neighbor the Daitoa Republic and is sometimes considered a part of that sphere. A prominent minority of the nation, however, is extremely supportive of the western neighbor, Uluujol, which hosts Chagadalai's monarch in exile.

As an economic center, Chagadalai exerts its own influence on the business world and their original move to adopt the metric system was ultimately the catalyst for the rejection of traditional units all across Ochran.

Military Advisers

Since the 1920 stand-off between the former monarch's adherents and the national government in Tara, the Daitoa Republic has supplied the Minister of Defense with a group of military advisers who assist the general staff in making strategic decisions for the nation. This arrangement has often drawn criticism from Uluujol, which claims that the Daitoa Republic is interfering in Chagadalai's national sovereignty and forcibly preventing the return of the monarch in exile. At the same time, however, the Daitoa Republic has tried to prevent Uluujol from arming and supporting the Blessed Cavalry, which supports the international East Ochran Steppe Security Initiative (EOSSI). The EOSSI is localized policing effort which allows officers of member organizations to immediately repatriate suspected criminals across international borders in the Steppe region. Along with criminal repatriation, the EOSSI also offers advanced military training and discounted Uluujolese surplus gear to the paramilitary in Chagadalai.

Economy

Chagadalai practices socialism, but still participates in the international market for goods through its commodities exchange and limited trade agreements with Uluujol and the Daitoa Republic. The National Directorate has also allowed foreign companies to explore its northern provinces for oil and natural gas, though no drilling has taken place. Chagadalai is a postindustrial economy and 80% of its GDP comes from the service sector, with industry 18% and agriculture 2% making relatively small contributions. 78% of the economy is state-owned enterprise, but a large portion of state-owned enterprises are joint ventures with or are also listed as private companies.

Energy

Chagadalai's southern provinces have a contiguous energy grid with the mainland Daitoa Republic as a result of the XXXX Border Agreement, which helped to maintain the early Republic's development. Currently a jointly appointed commission oversees the transfer of energy between Chagadalai and the Daitoa Republic.