Themiclesian Republic
Tsinh 晉邦 | |
|---|---|
| Status | defunct |
| Capital and largest city | Kien-k'ang |
| Ethnic groups | Meng Themiclesians, Columbian aboriginals, Dzhungars, and others |
| Religion | State cult of Themiclesia |
| Demonym(s) | Themiclesian |
| Government | Imperial elective oligarchy |
• Elder | Patriarch of K.rjong (final holder) |
| Legislature | Council of Barons Council of Peers Council of Bloodlines |
| Vassal state | |
• Deposition of Drjen monarch | Jul. 2, 1414 |
• Restoration of monarchy | Mar. 10, 1510 |
| Population | |
• 1450 estimate | 12 million |
| Currency | auric catty |
| Today part of |
|
The Themiclesian Republic (辰旦共龢, ter-tanh-kyengh-hwa) was an elective oligarchy that governed Themiclesia-proper and its empire, from the deposition of the final Drjen monarch in 1414 to the establishment of the Ra dynasty in 1510.
History
Establishment
The Drjen state, which relied upon the influx of gold from Meridian trade as its principal revenue, succumbed to fiscal hardship as Themiclesian military power over the Meridian Ocean suddely collapsed in 1325, in the Battle of Portcullia with the Yi Menghean navy. The state emptied its coffers to rebuild its fleet and challenged the Yi fleet in vain in 1352. The Bubonic plague ravaged coastal Themiclesia in 1351, killing as many as three million people. Despite this, the state once again reburbished its fleet to resurrect its Meridian empire, without much success. Finally, in 1385, Yi forces crossed the Dzhungestan desert and laid siege to Kien-k'ang, at which point the nobility, impoverished by taxation, did not raise troops to defend the city. The emperor ′Ei was forced to degrade himself before Cho Myŏng-wŏn, the Menghean general, and pay tribute to the Yi court.
After the peace treaty was ratified, ′Ei blamed his courtiers for the poor performance of his forces and the destruction of the maritime empire; in return, most nobles left his bureaucracy, depriving it of critical legitimacy. The schism over the responsibility of the defeat widened and led the disgraced monarch to appoint cats as his ministers, expressing contempt for his courtiers. By 1410, ′Ei was ageing and childless, and a rumour persisted at court that he had willed his realm to the Menghean ruler. As a result, ′Ei was deposed by his courtiers in 1414 to prevent the Yi emperor from having the opportunity to interfere, even though the rumour may have been an invention. The leading nobles and barons were unable to agree who should replace ′Ei and instead agreed that, for the foreseeable future, the "position of the emperor" will not be held by a single bloodline. This began what contemporaries called the "perpetual regency" or the Republic as described in the 1800s.
Fiscal revolt
Fall
Government
Despite its name, the Themiclesian Republic is conventionally described as an elective oligarchy, rather than a limited democracy. Those of this view generally cite the three following observations. First, the right to participate in deliberative and electoral proceedings was conferred mainly by inheritance, and there were no clear rules that permitted outsiders to join the process. Second, while the chief executive, the Elder, was an elected position, the electors were not legally equal to each other, and a minority of powerful nobles could officially overrule a more numerous group of less powerful or organized nobles. Third, as a result of both, oversight from the councils, where every franchisee had at least some say, on the executive was comparatively weak, and most decisions were in reality made by a stable group of the most powerful and well-connected aristocrats.
Contemporaries were not unanimously in favour of the republic, many believing that a monarchy was the natural and superior way of government. Those of more extreme opinions described the rule of elders as an aberration and connected it to many flaws they believed avoidable in a monarchy. The problem of bribery was particularly criticized whenever the diet met in the capital city, where the wealthiest nobles could simply purchase support; poor barons welcomed this opportunity to improve to their meagre incomes.
Legislature
The Themiclesian Republic probably did not possess a legislature in the modern sense of the word, but a diet that ratified a number of the ruling Elder's decisions. Formally, the diet consisted of three named parts, the patriarchs, the barons, and the "land-lords of the clans" (百生尹), the last being the title of any major landowner or payor of taxes in Themiclesia. In the 18th century, these groups were compared to the estates of the realm of Themiclesia. As the diet treated the questions put before it as secret, there are no systematic records of its activities; nevertheless, from private writings, it is known that the "lords of the hundred-tribes and lands" were summoned for only questions deemed important, while the patriarchs and barons were always represented.
The most important function of the diet was arguably to agree upon the raising of taxes, a process that often took months. Themiclesia's public revenues came in kind, labour, and money, and there were several sources of each. The royal estate (公家), which included land, tenancies, artisans, mines etc., was originally used to fund the monarch's private ventures, but in the absence of one, it defaulted to the diet. Because it was under-represented, much fiscal burden fell upon it, provoking the Fiscal Rebellion of 1419. Procedurally, the ruling Elder tabulated the fiscal needs and asked the diet to plan how to defray them; the Elder was apparently not in charge of making such plans. The procedure was annual since agricultural taxes were collected annually, and though other revenues was not necessarily so restricted, it was thought convenient to dispatch the fiscal question only once a year.
It is canonically described that ′Ei recommended to the Patriarch of Tseng (曾白) to summon all the "gentle order" to meet in the capital city to select his replacement. While the monarch was probably attempting to generate support or sympathy, Tseng and his allies thought that a public abdication would make calls for restoration or future pretensions less likely. Because it was impractical for the "lords of hundred-tribes" to attend in person, they were invited to appoint representatives through prefectural elections, which is the same process by which the emepror procured new members of his administration. This grand assembly met on June 20, 1415 and became the model for all subsequent diets.
It is probable that the diet disposed of questions placed before it by either acclamation or ballot. The process of acclamation produced a result without recording how each member of the diet voted and was favoured in some contexts, while ballots recorded names. Acclamation sometimes enabled the presiding officer to misinterpret the will of the assembly, and it became less frequently used by the end of the Republic, but it is standard in establishing a ruling elder.
Elders
The institution of elder (公) precedes the Republic and, in the immediate history, was a temporary but broad office usually constituted in lieu of the monarch when he was a child, infirm, or away. There were usually two collegiate elders at the beginning of the republic, but it increased to three towards the end. The elders were collectively responsible for all of the emperor's functions and held office for life; however, because elders were typically old when appointed, they were replaced quickly. The elders were selected by the Council, and in practice all elders were from the most powerful group of noble families, the so-called patriarchs (群伯).
The elders oversaw the smooth running of Themiclesia's bureaucracy through the Council of Correspondence, the place where all matters that required the emperor's decisions were sent and initially discussed. While the elders themselves were not part of that council, their seals were necessary to validate any of the council's decisions. Starting from 1443, one elder usually lived at the Front Hall to conduct monarchal and cultic ceremonies, while another resided at the Court Hall to attend to matters of state; the latter was considered more powerful. In 1505, a third elder was constituted to marshal the republic's forces.
Reception
Historians
The Themiclesian Republic was called the "age of statespersons" or more literally "age of great persons of state" (邦大世) by the 17th-century historian Lord Prang, referring to the fluidity of political power, passing between holders without formal titles. This term is not necessarily one of praise from Prang's perspective. By subsequent historians that focused on the development of the Themiclesian bureaucracy as it responded to domestic and imeprial political needs, the Republic was considered either aberrant, focusing on its want of a monarch, or
Unification
The Republic is usually credited for creating the modern unitary Themiclesian state, though as an effect of the civil war following it and not as a result of its policy.
See also
Notes