Taranima
The Principality of Taranima Principatul Taranimei | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: Vom îndura (Taranaran: We endure) | |
| Anthem: Marșul Trandafirilor (Taranaran: March of the Roses) | |
| 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 Princess | Alexandra Nicoleta Sergia din Nordumar |
• 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 |
| House of Peers | |
| Parliament | |
| Establishment | |
• First Confederdation | 1503 |
• Rose Constitution | August 1st, 1980 |
| Population | |
• 2023 estimate | 32.823.288 |
• 2020 census | 32.278.379 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2024 estimate |
• Total | $564.987.831.224 |
• Per capita | $17.369,65 |
| Gini (2023) | 44.9 medium |
| HDI (2023) | 0.7688 high |
| Currency | Suveran (TSV) |
| Time zone | Taranima Standard Time |
| Date format | Day.Month.Year CE |
| Driving side | right |
| Calling code | +751 |
| Internet TLD | .pnt |
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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
Early Human Settlement
Ducal Period
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.
Gaulic 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 Gaulic 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 Gaulic 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 Gaulic 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 Gaulic 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 Gaulic armies kept external threats away, and the watchful eyes of Gaulic "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 Gaulic 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.
In the 20th century the inauspicious ascension of Prince Alexander deLeon Dumitrescu to the throne of the Protectorate in 1907 marked the beginning of Gaulic loss of influence in Taranima. His reign was plagued by corruption, and despite several attempts by the Prince to dismiss the Protectorate's Legislative Assembly in response to their censuring of outright bribery by the royal family resulted in popular outrage. When, in 1915 the construction of a Second Royal Palace in western Nordumar (now Nowa Gallica) began, in the face of growing poverty in Taranar, a massive series of protests against the Princedom erupted throughout the heartland of Taranima. The response of the Protectorate Guard saw the great brutality inflicted upon the protestors, and the virtual destruction of Ilcharest. Prince Alexander was assassinated in a bomb atack in late August of 1915, along with most of the Royal Family throwing the Protectorate into civil disorder. A new Prince would not ascend the throne until 1918, and during what came to be known as the Summers of Anarchy, several seperatist, anti-Gaulic, and even outright revolutionary movements arose to prominence with some even seizing large tracts of land. The new Prince Alexander II, cracked down upon these dissident groups with the utmost ferocity (and with the help of foreign mercenaries), seemingly quieting tensions for the time being. However, Alexander's Gaulic allies were increasingly less capable of aiding the Protectorate, and indeed their influence in the Royal court was steadily on the decline throughout the latter years of Alexander II's reign. Nationalist sentiments continued to grow under the surface, with nationalists penetrating the military as early as 1926.
In July of 1929, a faction of largely ethnic Taranaran military officers led by Colonel Ion August Gheorghe marched on the Royal Palace in Nortara, with an army of thirty thousand soldiers primarily from the Duchy of Taranar. These officers citing Alexander II's kowtowing to foreign influence and continued neglect of the Taranaran peoples overthrew the Prince and executed him and most of the remaining members of House Dumitrescu. Pro-Royalist forces attempted to launch a countercoup with several Voscoi and Gallian regiments, besieging the coup forces in Nortara, with material support from the few remaining Gaulic military personnel who were still in Taranima at that point. In the ten month siege of Nortara, the royalist forces made several attempts to assault the city, but were routinely repulsed from critical positions. The onset of winter, saw an end to offensive operations by the royalists, allowing some members of the coup to break out from encirclement and raise additional armies to relieve the forces trapped in Nortara. The following May saw the final defeat of the royalists at the Battle of Poltono, which resulted in the destruction of the only major force arrayed against the coup plotters. The Taranaran Officers, now styled the Government of National Restoration (GRN) immediately withdrew from all of Taranima's treaties with Gaul, and ejected most of the surviving military personnel and almost all major business leaders and dignitaries from the country before setting about the creation of a Taraniman State.
The Taraniman State
In 1930, the Government of National Restoration laid out the foundations for the Taraniman State. The legislature was formally abolished, and almost all power at the national level was vested in the military junta that formed the center of the GRN. Though the traditional duchies and the office of the Crown Prince would remain in place, their powers were greatly reduced with the Prince effectively being only a rubber stamp and mouthpiece of the ruling junta. The Taraniman State would pursue aggressively, industrialization of Taranima, particularly in the Saren River Valley, the heart of Taranaran society. Minority populations were stripped of almost all civil rights that they had previously held, and the territorial armies of predominantly minority peoples were disarmed and disbanded until such a time as their loyalty to the Taraniman State was assured. Minority populations attempted to protest the latter measures, but these protests were put down with the arrival Taranaran military personnel. By 1932, conditions in Taranima had largely settled into their new norm, and Ceceilia Cojocaru Ionesco, a popular singer, member of the lesser nobility, and quiet supporter of the coup, was appointed by the Junta as the first Grand Princess of the Taraniman State.
In the early years, the military junta would attempt to rapidly industrialize the region in the Saren Valley. Massive inflows of capital and mineral resources began to flow into the valley and initially proved relatively successful. As unrest began to rise however in the later thirties, a number separatist groups and partisan bands became active, especially in the periphery. These groups attacked rail lines bringing resources from the mines in the periphery and to the Saren Valley and the coast, as well as engaging in more common banditry. Several regiments of the Taraniman Principal Army were posted along key rail lines and clashes erupted throughout Taranima. In 1936, the military began to launch a prolonged campaign to crush these rebel elements, in the "year of blood", these rebellions were steadily beaten back from the center of Taranima, and eventually forced underground, though the rural areas of Taranima were devastated by this conflict. Military escort of trains, and barricading of roads would continue well into 1937 though lack of funding would ensure that the military had to curtail, and eventually cease its security operations. Taranima would remain relatively quiet through the 1937 and into 1938, however, economic devastation, and limited rainfall during the summer of 1938 led to a poor harvest in autumn of 1938. Unrest and bread riots would arise throughout the nation. Events came to a head on November 11th, 1938 when Gaulic-Taraniman Shoshana Elyseé assassinated Ion August Gheorghe as well as several other military officers. Elyseé was killed in the ensuing gunfight, however, the event shocked the junta enough to call an emergency session, which resulted in the National Security Act of 1938.
Under the act, most illegal political activity was made a capital offense, free speech was curtailed, the right to privacy was curtailed, and the rights of minorities was further restricted. The latter impacted Gallians especially hard, as Gallians and Gaulic-Taranimans were denaturalized, with their passports revoked. They were forbidden from owning firearms, owning businesses, serving in the armed forces, seeking out political office, marrying or partnering with non-Gallians, attending university (and later schools with Taranaran students entirely), and were forbidden from owning homes outside of designated "traditional Gallian neighborhoods" (which were often little more than squallid ghettos). The only exceptions made were for a handful of Gallic nobles who were, by a rare interjection of the peerage, allowed to keep their titles and homes, but were forced into house arrest, and strictly forbidden from interacting with other Gallians under penalty of death. These laws caused a humanitarian crisis within Taranima as overnight tens of thousands of Gallic peoples were moved by the state with several living in the periphery forcibly relocated to Nowa Gallica, an area with a particularly dense array of Gallian communities. A new agency, known as the Ministry for the Health of the State (Ministerul Sănătăţii de Stat or MSS) was established with the specific goal of keeping order in the periphery, and keeping under watch the Gallian population.
On the international stage, Taranima struggled to find partners to help it grow economically as its increasing authoritarianism and near genocidal policy on Gallians. The Gauls, already hostile to the new Taraniman State, embargoed Taranima, and encouraged the nations within its sphere to do the same. The embargo, along with continuing saber rattling drove the GRN deeper into paranoia. The only nearby nation that did remain on friendly terms was Austrakia, whose similarly authoritarian government was willing to cooperate and trade though even limited Gaulic interdiction and prohibitive overseas distance forced them to use the few major roads over the mountainous land border. Industrialization would continue, though a change in the Gaulic government towards leadership with a more openly hardline stance against Taranima, and deepening global isolation eventually saw a shift in the mood of the GRN. When a number of the Old Guard retired, their replacements arrived fully paranoid of an impending Gaulic invasion. In 1947, the The GRN under the direction of the relatively young General Alexander Alexandru Radescu issued the Four Million Bayonet Proclamation, embarking on a dramatic campaign of military expansion in order to ward off the threat of foreign powers. This program did, on paper prove successful, with almost a million men being added to the ranks of Prelevările by 1949. However, a number of issues arose, most obviously, with the numerous arms embargoes in place, this force was hardly anything resembling a proper fighting force, with the bulk of soldiers being issued equipment dating back as far as the late 19th century. The more genuinely pressing issue however, came about with vast numbers of adults having been inducted into the military, far fewer were around to provide their labor to the development of the nation.
The GRN responded to these problems with the Periphery Labor Act in 1951, all but enslaving the Gallian and Montei populace, as well as dramatically reducing salaries for everyone else. This act resulted in further sanctions and embargoes, nearly cutting Taranima off completely from the world. In 1952, the Junta open declared that it would be pursuing a policy of autarky, seeking to establish a completely economically independent Taranima by the end of the decade, despite the limitations of the Taraniman economic and resource base. To make matters worse, Gaul, despite having other issues overseas, did begin to attack Taraniman outposts along the Gaulic-Taraniman border. This series of border skirmishes would continue and even escalate throughout the decade, though the mountainous border region meant that fighting was largely contained to the dedicated mountain troops of both countries. Many running battles, lasting weeks would break out over the high mountains of western Madurin, though vastly superior Gaulic air power would come into play quickly, greatly limiting the ability of Taranima to properly raid into Gaul, fighting almost exclusively on the defense. Interdiction of Taraniman trade too would escalate rapidly with the nation coming nearly under complete blockade as early as 1957. Despite the desires of the GRN, the admirality pointed out, rightly, that the Taraniman Principal Navy would be completely insufficient in battle against the Gauls and instead efforts were made to run the blockade, which met with modest success.
Stagnation and Rose Revolution
The 1950s were a difficult decade for Taranima, as it struggled to remake itself as an entirely self-sufficient nation. Decades of misdevelopment, conflict, and sanctions saw the economy in a state of constant struggle, plagued with frequent resources shortages and frequent strikes, particularly by by minority populations. The military was still heavily outdated, struggling to produce enough modern weapons to equip its soldiers, or even enough weapons at all to meet the mark of "four million bayonets". The dream of autarky was seemingly increasingly difficult to meet. Nonetheless, the GRN managed to keep a lid on dissent relatively well throughout the 1950s; resulting in a period of peace, though not prosperity. In the summer of 1960 however, Princess Ceceilia Cojocaru died, and in her place, the Junta appointed General Radescu as the new Grand Prince. The death of one of the few popular figures in Taraniman politics paired with the Junta's open flouting of the few stabilizing norms Taranima had left threw the country into chaos. Protests rocked the entire country, even the generally loyal core region, and necessitated harsh crackdowns that resulted in more protests and further international sanctions. Several rebel groups, long underground took advantage of the chaos and began operating openly, bombing government officials, destroying rail lines, and attacking isolated military outposts. One rebel group, the Forest Brothers, even seized control of the Duchy of Estboche and declared the independent Republic of Estboche in 1961. The GRN of course, refused to acknowledge this separation and sent in the military into the territory starting the Boche War.
With the new, bloated, military finally seeing action, and coming up insufficient against the foreign supported rebels, the GRN reconsidered their military policy. A program of modernization and professionalization was embarked upon under the Army '65 Plan, though as embargoes were still maintained the Taranimans had to turn to corporate espionage and the black market to source modern weapon systems. These reforms would have benefits, with combat units having dramatically superior performance in the actions of 1962 and 1963 than its poor showing in 1961. Despite this, Estboche would remain stubbornly resistant, bolstered by foreign support as well as defectors from other parts of the periphery. In 1963, the Gaulic military conducted Operation Pegasus, a major airborne assault into Nowa Gallica in order to make contact with dissident elements there, break Taraniman resistance in Nowa Gallica, and open up a second front on the Boche War. They were however soundly defeated after an intelligence leak resulted in many of the transports being destroyed in the air, and the scattered Gaulic airborne forces being destroyed in detail by Taraniman regulars throughout the autumn and early winter of the year. Though skirmishes would continue in the mountains, and the navy would remain in blockade, this would mark the only major incursion into Taraniman soil conducted by the Gauls.
The Boche War continued well into 1964 before a Taraniman offensive seized Barshislawa and forced the Boche government to renounce its declaration of independence. Rebels would flee into the dense forests and continue resistance, and disrupt Taraniman government activity in the region until the Rose Revolution. The Taranimans also managed to secure an armistice with the Gauls, who were feeling increased pressure in the remains of its overseas empire, bringing an end to open conflict between the two states (though an intense trade embargo and espionage would continue until the rose revolution). The end of the Boche War saw a major demobilization of the Prelevările, and many more Taranimans dumped back into the workforce. Mass unemployment saw the NRG begin to invest heavily into public works projects, and even repealed several provisions of the Periphery Labor Act. This however, was not sufficient, and the poverty rate rapidly increased reaching 70 percent by 1969, with bread lines becoming a regular sight in Taraniman cities, and anti-government sentiment becoming a regular attitude in smoky backrooms and private residences. Increased unrest meant that the MSS had to dramatically increase its operations in order to limit dissent.
In the 1970s, the government launched a number of initiatives to revitalize the economy and society of the Taraniman State. The first of these was the mass electrification of the nation by damming many sections of the Saren River. The second was the rebuilding and modernization of the country's rail network. The last of these projects was the reformation of the Taraniman education system which had long been falling behind with only modest success in improving literacy rates and chronically low attendance of higher levels of schooling. These programs would see limited success, the Gran Buchovia Dam in particular providing wages, and electricity to broad swathes of Taranar. However, systemic corruption, overlooked by the MSS also meant that these projects were frequently undermined through a system of bribes, pork, and progress made was incredibly slow. Organized crime and the black market played a key role, with many Taranimans even calling the Periphery rail efforts "Şina Mafiei" (the mob's rail) as many sections were outright constructed and operated by organized crime syndicates. Nonetheless the projects managed to reach their goals by 1977. However, Taranima still would suffer from constant shortages of consumer goods even including food, and dissent steadily incresed in the late 70s, with dissidents making a mockery of the NRG which built massive public works but couldn't adaquately feed its populace. Bread riots would be commonpleace, and increasingly organized under the Bread and Roses movement which arose out of the remnants of existing rebel groups.
On November 15th, 1978, Alexander Alexandru Radescu, Grand Prince of Taranima died, having been the major centralizing figure of the GRN for decades, the Junta broke down into infighting almost immediately. In the winter of 1978-1979 a series of palace coups and party purges did successfully manage to bring the GRN's infighting to a close, with almost all of the military officers still serving in the Junta being loyalists to the Old Order. By Early February of 1979, the GRN seemed poised to maintain the course of the country. Starting in March however, Taranima was rocked by a series of protests and strikes organized by the Bread and Roses movement, that crippled the already weakened and stagnant economy and essentially cut off what little external trade the nation had left. The military Junta attempted to send the police and armed forces into major cities to crush this nascent rebellion. Though several cities would see street brawls between the two forces, the majority of government forces refused to follow orders, and a fair number even joined the rebellion. Several high ranking military officers, those with anti-Junta sentiments, who were spurned or dismayed by the infighting within the Junta, and seeing the direction of the protests followed the soldiers in the ranks. On April 2nd, 1979, a mixed group of armed protestors, rebel military personnel, including Colonel Mihai Georgios Helenescu broke into the Junta's Palace and arrested most of the GRN, killing a few who resisted to the end. The following day, the GRN formally resigned from their offices.
In may of 1979, a large body of interest groups convened in Ilcharest to begin the process of forming a new order out of the ruin of the State of Taranima. Several of these interest groups, particularly territories home to minority ethnic groups sought to break up Taranima and restore the constituent duchies to full sovereignty. Others, particularly the Worker's Party and the left faction of the Bread and Roses party were militant socialists hoping to bring the great proletarian revolution to Taraniman shores. Still other groups sought the restoration of absolutist monarchy or the establishment of a liberal democracy. Arguments among the various groups broke out almost immediately leaving the nation without much governance. It took over a year for a new Constitution to be ratified, after much compromise. Taranima would remain united, but the government would be massively devolved with the various duchies maintaing their own laws militaries, and potentially even diplomatic services, and their membership in the Confederal government voluntary. The monarchy would recclaim some of its power, but would still be subject to a now elected assembly. The most controversial law of the Taraniman State, the National Security Act was almost entirely defanged, retained only as limited emergency members that could never be applied to Taraniman citizens, and Gallians were re-naturalized en masse. Duchess Tereza Petre Claudiu Funar was elected as the first Grand Princess of the New Principality.
Contemporary History
The early years of the post-Rose Revolution were years of rebuilding the economy. With the policy of autarky ended, and with an influx of foreign resources, Taranima began to replacing aging infrastructure
Geography
Demography
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, and with an unusually high percentage consisting of bi-sexual, or pansexual persons, and an almost unheard of percentage of the population considered polyamorous. The overwhelming majority of lgbt Taraniman citizens are generally those participating traditional Sacramo family structures, which favor quadroons of mutually interested partners.
The largest ethnic group of Taranima are the Taranic or Taranaran 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 respectively. Montei peoples are semi-nomadic, despite the numerous attempts by past governments to forcibly settle them. They generally are concentrated in the mountainous west however. 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, and who have culturally assimilated into the multi-ethnic general Taraniman culture (thus identifying as Taraniman instead of as Gaulic), who mostly live in coastal cities, with a dense concentration in the territory of Nowa Gallica.
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. Major population centers are generally concentrated, in the modern era, around the Saren River Valley. Historically major cities grew up in the periphery during the 19th century, however, most of these population centers were mining communities, and most went into steep decline as mineral wealth in those regions began to dry up with the few remaining major cities in the periphery still possessing sufficient mineral wealth to maintain themselves.
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 .JPG) 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
Elections for the parliament of Taranima occur every five 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.
Economy
Law Enforcement
Armed Forces
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 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 Gaulic. Early theatrical works would emulate the Gaulic 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 Gaulic 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
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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 Gaulic 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
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-Gaulic 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.