Karnak

The Ancient Realm of Karnak
Subdivision type:	Realm
Capital:	Abyd'os
Population:
Largest Cities:	Abyd'os, Taten'os, Khufu
Local Leadership Title:	Pschent
Local Government:	Semi-Federal Monarchy
Current leader:	Sozer VII
Local language:	Karnak, Umraic, Common Tongue
Local Religion:	Umraism; Maatism; folk religions

Karnak, also known officially as The Ancient Realm of Karnak is one of the constituent core territories, known as Realms, of The Hexarchy. The country is ruled by a Pschent (an ancient word roughly translating to "crown"), a royal title which has remained unchanged and whose story stretches clear into the murky depth's of Karnak's own ancient history. The country is governed by Sozer VII, a member of a dynasty that has ruled the country and its predecessor states near the city of Abyd'os for countless centuries. The country's current dynasty is thought to be its fourth, with archaeologists estimating that a Pschent of this dynasty has been in power since at least c. -1200 AN. It was given the special designation of "Ancient" in the official name due to a series of provision involved with Karnak's treaty of union with The Hexarchy in 1698 AN.

A state that has existed continuously since time immemorial, the country has been rich in resources, although its population inhabits a very small strip of fertile land along the Keltian coast. With the country consisting of over 82% of inhospitable desert, the country's rulers, known as the Pschent (lit. "crown"), dealt with increasingly strained agricultural resources amidst an uphill fight to tame and cull the desert. The country joined The Hexarchy in the late 1690's in response to the country's near-consistent agrarian crises, allowing its people to expand further along the arid, river-rich coastlines of Keltia.

The country began to regain its de facto autonomy following a series of national woes resulting from the Recession of 1737. As the central government began to invite foreign powers to aid in the Hexarchy's wider domestic security problems along its slowly fracturing internal frontiers, Karnak began to prefer personnel from Cakaristan when given such options by the central government in its choice for unilateral diplomacy, and choices for hosting military advisors from a foreign land for the first time in its long history. It wasn't long before Cakari personnel were seen in open military regalia from that country in the streets of the capital and in Khufu, usually attached to domestic military staff.

As with other major regions within the Hexarchy (such as Arumen and Eridu), Karnak has its own native language, customs, and laws regarding its diverse geography, environment, and local religions. These, along with its large population and expansive natural resources, have make Karnak a powerhouse within the Hexarchy, often taking the lead in any domestic discourse.

Religion

Religion in Karnak is very diverse, with no majority religion present in the country. However, Karnak has some of the highest reliably reported rates of religious affiliation on all of Micras. Some 90% of the country reported a definitive religious affiliation of some kind on the 1740 AN census. Of the 10% without religious affiliation, a little less than 3% of the total self-report atheist religious leanings. (Numbers for Greater Karnak do not include statistics from Kunapura.)

The country is represented by two major, organized religions, those being Maatism and Umraism. Unofficially the state religion (long practiced by the royal dynasty since its own inception many centuries ago), Maatism is practiced by 52% of the population within Karnak proper among those reporting religious affiliation on the national census. As this is a national religion, it drops to 42% of the total when considering surrounding (peripheral) regions under its influence (this collectively referred to as Greater Karnak). The ancient country has seen a strongly noticeable uptick in adherents due to population growth among Maatists in recent decades. An ancient religion, Maatism has its own roots well before recorded history, and includes a complex mythology (most notably revolving around the afterlife) and ancient belief system that permeates Karnaic society.

Umraism, a comparatively far newer religion, has still been in Karnak for centuries, having peacefully reached the country via missionary activity. Umraist and parallel schools of that faith are now practiced by some 40% of those professing any faith within Greater Karnak, with 34% practicing within Karnak proper. Some 15% of the population in Greater Karnak and 6% in Karnak proper practice local folk religion completely unrelated to any mainstream faiths. Such adherents are overwhelmingly rural, nomadic, and inhabitants of the endless sand dunes of the Great Sandy Desert, or nomads roaming the oft-perilous and remote Empty Quarter. Some 7% of Karnak proper practice local variants of Draconic, most living in the coastal regions south of the ancient city of Khufu. Some 5% still practice Melusinianism as their preferred faith, most of these living in the cities, being descendants of Caputian refugees that moved to Karnak after the sudden demise of that country.

History

A state that has existed continuously since time immemorial, the country has been rich in resources, although its population inhabits a very small strip of fertile land along the Keltian coast. With the country consisting of over 82% of inhospitable desert, the country's rulers, known as the Pschent (lit. "crown"), dealt with increasingly strained agricultural resources amidst an uphill fight to tame and cull the desert. The country joined The Hexarchy in the late 1690's in response to the country's near-consistent agrarian crises, allowing its people to expand further along the arid, river-rich coastlines of Keltia.

Despite its perennial agriculture issues and ancient religious diversity, the country has a strong community and has survived political upheavals well into modern times. Originally a fringe population group, the country has experienced multiple periods of collapse, plague, famines, and the mass desertification of their once-green landscape. The royal institution aside, the country's present government organizations trace much of their modern roots from ancient Grand Commonwealth traditions, being located next to them for centuries. Incidentally, the Karnali name is partly the origin of the country's present name, with much of the population being Karnali in origin. Additionally, former Caputian traditions merged with native government methods and gave rise to the native rulers formalizing the institution of the Pschent (lit. "crown") as a formal institution rather than a tribal ruler presiding over a loose central government.

The country was united some time in the 800's AN under the current dynastic house through royal marriage between the coastal and desert rulers of what is now Karnak. It was the above foreign powers that helped shape the increasingly self-dependent desert populations and drive them to peaceful unification with the river dwellers. The country modernized according to each community throughout the centuries, with the religious community effectively administering the country merely by virtue of being the party ending sectarian conflicts on a regular basis. Incidentally, the royal house was also conceived as a core part of the Maatist priesthood, although the two organizations separated into distinct entities over countless years. These and the above-mentioned forces shaped the country's ability to slowly assert its own sovereignty over its surroundings as the ruling institutions projected power over isolated communities, eventually connecting their diverse towns across the desert beginning in the early 1600's AN.

With the religious unity of the country transitioning to a political one, the inclusion of other religions such as Melusinianism and Umraism began to play far less of a role in maintaining national unity in the face of frequent climate change crises (such as the shrinking or expanding of the desert, depending on the communities in question). By the mid 1600's, the Pschent was the person in charge of the country, rather than the High Priest, who held sway only over about a third of the country's communities due to the influence of other religions. However, the High Priests still remained vital interfaith diplomats that helped the country survive. However, it could not sustain itself due to its loose governance and frequent agricultural situations threatening a rapidly growing, metropolitan population in the country's ancient cities. By the close of the 1600's, a solution presented itself: The Hexarchy. With the recent, final centralization of power under their new Praetor Gilgamesh II, the Hexarchy began looking westward as it began to integrate vast frontier regions into the country.

In 1695, a marriage of convenience was struck between the Pschent and the Praetor: Karnak would join the Hexarchy, in exchange for power, stability, and (most importantly) a stable source of food. Since there was now a vast surplus of food from New South Caputia and Eridu, the central government could easily distribute agricultural products along with vast amounts of wood from the Empty Quarter's gigantic forests, in exchange for jewels, textiles, and spices. Additionally, the country could finally stabilize its own borders using the added military might of the rising regional power, which was, itself, also surrounded by allies and was looking for a frontier to define its outermost borders, as both countries had only endless, uncharted, featureless, and otherwise uninhabited land at their inland reaches. However, the admission of Karnak into The Hexarchy was not without its own problems.

With the admission of this densely populated, mostly-desert country in 1695 AN came the increasingly pressing concern of Council representation in The Hexarchy's central government. As the now-strong federation of diverse countries and dependencies could not all be represented onto the same council of six members, the seats needed to be re-allocated. As part of the Treaty of Union placed Sozer's direct representative on the Council, the seat was filled by displacing Arumen's representative, causing a constitutional crisis that persisted for several years. This was, in addition, to already-existing mergers of the Eventide Islands' own sub-regional governments to barely retain a seat, and the increasingly strong dependency of Dromosker Island, far away from the continent. The almost immediately subsequent annexation of Kunapura by the Hexarchy raised further questions on representation, threatening the stability Karnak sought when it joined the Hexarchy (the treaty coming into full force in 1700).

However, the addition of Karnak still resulted in a net positive for its own citizens, contributing to national strength, population growth, and nationwide food security for the first time in living memory. In turn, the addition of a large, civilized, ancient nation strengthened the near-overstretched nation's borders, helping it define its own coast as it pushed westward to find a natural border in mainland Keltia as both governments come to grips with their new realities.

The territory reached the zenith of its power in 1737 AN, with an exploding population, rapid modernization, strong military expansion, and unprecedented levels of technological and infrastructural development throughout the country and its environs. The economy of Karnak hit its peak shortly before the Recession of 1737 gutted The Hexarchy's ability to maintain collective defense of its vast internal frontiers. Karnak, historically a self-sufficient country, was capable of providing for itself due to its soft power and influence over the Great Sandy Desert and the Empty Quarter, as well as neighboring Asshyria and Kunapura. However, the country became increasingly strained in its efforts to keep law and order in the deep frontiers of these uninhabited regions. With the central government unable to directly help with regional security due to persistent economic issues, the Hexarchy began to fragment into regional blocks, in which Karnak emerged as the uncontested leader in the Western half of the country.

The country began to regain its de facto autonomy following a series of national woes resulting from the Recession of 1737. As the central government began to invite foreign powers to aid in the Hexarchy's wider domestic security problems along its slowly fracturing internal frontiers, Karnak began to prefer personnel from Cakaristan when given such options by the central government in its choice for unilateral diplomacy, and choices for hosting military advisors from a foreign land for the first time in its long history. It wasn't long before Cakari personnel were seen in open military regalia from that country in the streets of the capital and in Khufu, usually attached to domestic military staff.