Praetorian family

The Praetorian family in The Hexarchy is those set of people who are descended from, theoretically, any living or recent Praetor of the Hexarchy. Given the huge extensive, distant family that Praetor Gilgamesh II has and the lack of closely related cousins, this status has raised arguments within the Council of Six and the country's various regional governments.

The question was finally settled in 1704 AN, during which the Council of Six decided that only direct legitimate descendants of the current Praetor (excluding spouses of children), the siblings of the Praetor (by blood only) and one designated heir of those children (by blood only), and the Praetor's consort(s) (married only) would be considered part of the Praetorian Family. This act was passed unanimously and successfully aimed to limit the number of candidates standing for future Praetorian elections. In the early months of 1705, this Act of Succession was applied to all other regional royalty within the quickly growing nation.

Praetor Gilgamesh II had a total of four known sons as of 1705 AN, along with several daughters by his three wives. According to current succession laws, the future Praetorship will be decided by a vote in the Council of Six among those four sons. While the aging Praetor's daughters are theoretically able to succeed the aging Gilgamesh as Praetor as well, none are considered strong enough candidates to supplant all of their four brothers to take the seat.

The Praetor

The current Praetor is Gilgamesh II. He has a total of seven sons and six daughters, of which five sons and three daughters are now adults. Of those children, four notable sons exist: Imarru, Tiglath, Sargon, and Hammurabi. The fifth, Saru,

Prince Imarru

Political stances

He is Isolationist and pro-Neutrality. He identifies strongly with native culture, and so supports strongly pro-Native policies. He's lax on infrastructure and modernization, preferring instead to fund efforts to strengthen the country's agriculture and military. In terms of foreign relations, they will likely stagnate if he's elected Praetor, and The Hexarchy will be unlikely to participate on the int'l scene. However, it's unlikely he'll become Praetor, and instead focus on preserving the territories inherited from the Praetor, Gilgamesh II after he vacated the Palace for the country's new capital of Marduk in the 1690's.

Family

In keeping with local tradition and laws, certain persons within the Hexarchy may, with restrictions, marry more than once. Tiglath obtained permission from his first wife, Aiga and from his would-be bride, Ereshi, and secured the blessings at least one of each spouse's parents, at least one year in advance to give all parties time to finalize their decision. Next, he had to see two different courts: in the first (a family court) he had to prove materially in public that his fidelity was beyond reproach during his first marriage, and that this trend would continue onwards. Additionally, he proved his financial and filial capabilities to an impartial tribunal in Azul'an, to prove that he could provide financially and emotionally care for a large family, without unlawfully disfavoring either of his wives.

Tiglath has, since, had three children with Aiga since their marriage in 1703:

• Prince Senna Utuchadnezzar, a boy, born in 1702, is the heir presumptive.
  
• Prince Aru Nadinpolassar, a boy, born in 1703.
  
• Princess Nin Nannashumi, a girl, born in 1705.
  

Tiglath has had no children with his second wife Ereshi since their marriage in 1705.

Prince Tiglath

Political stances

He is moderately pro-USSO, but after the GAE's downfall he's taken a more ambivalent stance on foreign affairs. He prefers maintaining a status quo as much as possible to offer much-needed stability internally. However, he is also in favor of national expansion to reach the country's neighbors over land and sea alike. He's also strongly pro-modernization, but his focus is on military and infrastructure, with his stance on technological development being a regional thing. He is favored by the Council for the Praetorship.

Family

Tiglath married a woman from Kobol named Suzanna in late 1702 AN. They have one child:

• Lianna Damu-Tiglath, born 1704.

Prince Sargon

Political stances

He is pro-Raspur, although not strongly so. He is also strongly pro-expansionism and pro-internationalism, seeing both as intertwined with a prosperous Keltia. While he acknowledges high costs behind his father's modernization programs, he also knows that those programs are already reaping rewards, and so he plans to press for that on all fronts. Being highly skilled and educated, he is favored by the current Praetor to succeed the 50-year-old ruler.

Family & relationships

Sargon remains unmarried as of 1705 AN. Additionally, he has no publicly discovered relationships with any others, despite his long studies and travels abroad. Rumors persist that he is discreet about romance due to political reasons, but the Praetor himself has publicly denounced these whispers as nothing more than nonsense, pointing towards his son's busy life as potential reason for his lack of romantic engagements.

Prince Hammurabi

Political stances

His political position is staunchly internationalist and for an expansion in the country's economic power. Outside of that, he's tight-lipped, as his passion is more for sports than statesmanship.

Family & relationships

Hammurabi is unmarried and is openly bisexual. His clear, open preference towards men and his lack of desire for a marital relationship will likely preclude the possibility of biological children during his own lifetime.

He is currently in a romantic relationship with a wealthy Adrestian businessman named Ieyasu Segkigahara, who has lived in Kobol since 1692. While this ongoing relationship has alienated him from his oldest brother, the Praetor tolerates his proclivities as Hammurabi withdrew from politics anyway, although the two rarely speak since Hammurabi publicly came out of the closet. The rest of his siblings are generally positive about his romantic life, notably Sargon who is a known social progressive.

Prince Saru

Saru recently reached the age of majority in 1704 AN. He is being sent abroad to study, like his older brother Sargon. Since it will be some time before he reaches marriageable age, he is expected to fully immerse in studies and avoid having unwanted children in the interim.

Political stances

Saru has deliberately avoided speaking in public on the political state of the country, stating instead that he wants to learn before offering "definitive opinions on what our country should do" in the immediate future. However, those close to him imply that he's a socially progressive person who favors his brother Sargon's economic opinions.

Family & relationships

Prince Saru has no committed relationships, and while he is an adult, he is still considered too young to marry.