Shophate of Siyachia
| Shophate of Siyachia | |||
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| Motto: Shrubdom over Schlubdom | |||
| Anthem: - | |||
| Location of Siyachia | |||
| Map versions | - | ||
| Capital | Nackolom | ||
| Largest city | Kasterburg | ||
| Official language(s) | Inland Dialect Istvanistani; Yiddish | ||
| Official religion(s) | |||
| Demonym | Siyachi | ||
| - Adjective | Siyachi | ||
| Government | Theocratic Shophate | ||
| - Shophet | Zemphirius Karymov | ||
| - - | - | ||
| - Legislature | - | ||
| Establishment | - | ||
| Area | - | ||
| Population | - | ||
| Active population | - | ||
| Currency | - | ||
| Calendar | |||
| Time zone(s) | |||
| Mains electricity | |||
| Driving side | |||
| Track gauge | |||
| National website | - | ||
| National forum | Shophate of Siyachia | ||
| National animal | - | ||
| National food | Lich Bliny | ||
| National drink | Kasterburg Schnapps | ||
| National tree | - | ||
| Abbreviation | - | ||
The Shophate of Siyachia is an Imperial Realm of Minarboria, composed of the core territories of the old Republic of Ashkenatza.
History
Civil governance in Volhyria and Porolia had collapsed with Ashkenatza's demise around the first century AF. The area then spent some eleven centuries in the grip of the feuding Kossar warlords who had arisen in the resulting power vacuum, and whose tendency to incessantly kvetch and kibitz among themselves had prevented them from unifying into anything resembling a civilised state. This changed in 1112 AF when the Karymovka Host under Zemphirius Karymov swept into the area, under the mandate of Empress Lyssansa who wished secure the western limitrophes of the Imperial Shrublands against the lightning territorial expansion of Shireroth into Western Benacia. The period between 1112 and 1152 AF, known as the Jollification of the Kossars, saw the Karymovka Host project a power far beyond its actual size by diverting the generous flow of resources directed its way by the Second State Arbor into the recruitment of certain local Kossar warbands to his cause. Led by such jolly Kossar chieftains as Toby the Gelded and Mangold the Schlepper, these natives enthusiastically assisted Zemphirius' lichcossacks in subduing the more resistant of the Kossar bands, with whom they themselves held centuries-old grievances.
As Shrubly authority was established over the jollified lands, however, it began to break down in Sansabury and the Imperial Shrublands. The Minarborian heartland suffered greatly in the absence of Empress Lyssansa who, after constructing the machinery of the Shrubbery to be dependent on her direct management, now suffered a necromantic collapse and disappeared from public life. This occurring in unfortunate tandem with the near-death experience of her Regent owing to an ill-advised over-indulgence in Tellian liqueurs, the Shrubbery was rendered inoperative overnight. While the subsequent Harvestfall Revolution played out in the Shrublands, Zemphirius retreated to the Jollified West and established a rule which, at first, was not especially distinguishable from the warlord rule which had preceded it - differing only in the adherence of said warlords to a single authority.
In 1269 AF, as the situation in Sansabury worsened. The collapse of the Empire of Minarboria appeared to be a very real prospect, and Zemphirius was resolved to establish a new state in his adopted lands as a safe haven to carry the light of Minarborealism through the coming dark age. The local people were largely unaware of Minarbor's existence, although a legacy of visits by Lord Toastypops had resulted in a strange belief system whereby the commandments and traditions of their old deity were preserved alongside a veneration of Lord Toastypops, who had infused the population with a certain jollity across several patient centuries. Zemphirius formalised this arrangement by uniting the various cults to Lord Toastypops into the Western United Shrubagogue, through whom Lord Toastypops' higher inspiration - namely the grace of the Shrub-God - could be disseminated among the general population.
Also formalised was the civilising influence of Zemphrius himself, whose impartial rulings on the affairs of bickering Kossar clans had prevented the area from slipping back into outright barbarism. He proclaimed himself the supreme Shophet of the land, which would be known as Siyachia - the Hebrew word Siyach having the double meaning of "Shrub" and "introspection", with a Kabbalistically significant gematric value of 318. Indeed the collective introspection of the Siyachi people, through the art of measured megillah perfected in the Shrubagogues, allowed Zemphirius' subjects to largely tend to their own affairs.
In time, the Empire of Minarboria found its resilience and avoided collapse. In 1305 AF, as the Harvestfall Revolution drew to a close and the Imperial Root Law was reformed under a resurgent Regent Shyriath, Zemphirius' rule over Siyachia was finally recognised by the Shrubbery and he was admitted to the Council of Necrarchs.
Geography
Siyachia is composed of Poroly in the south, and the smaller Vollity in the north. The former has a relatively flat topography, becoming somewhat arid toward the continental interior and used mainly for cattle ranches, whereas the latter has a more moist, temperate climate and more pronounced hills in its northern and eastern reaches. The Siyachi capital of Nackolom (formerly Komentizkiy) also serves as the hub for Vollity's administration, while the ancient Batavian city of Kasterburg (formerly Caesterburgh) has become the primary settlement of Poroly.
Government
Siyachia is perhaps the most theocratic of all Minarboria's territories. Communities are largely self-organising around their Shrubagogues, whose resident Kohanim rule and are obeyed on almost every community matter. The Kohanim of the Shrubagogues attend councils to settle wider collective matters, with elected representatives of those councils attending larger councils, and so on. This culminates in the Vollity Council of Kohanim and the Poroly Council of Kohanim, who send their own representatives to the All-Siyachia Council of Kohanim. If, in this tortuously segmented process, a given matter is not resolved, it is submitted to the Kvetcher Palace (formerly the Ashkenatzan Knesset) for final ruling by the Shophet. The Shophet is also empowered to issue unilateral rulings of his own, and the chain of petition is not too rigorously observed; the Kvetcher Palace is usually overflowing with small-time Kohanim wishing to bypass innumerable Council meetings and have their pet ruling confirmed by the Shophet himself. This often results in a long queue spilling out of the Kvetcher Palace across the neighbouring Peretz Square, when the Shophet is known to be in town.
Matters of routine implementation are delegated to regional offices of the Second State Arbor which enjoy a substantial presence in Siyachia.
Religion
The majority of Siyachia's faithful belong to the Western United Shrubagogue, which is adherent to the Minarboreal Creed; although the Church of Minarbor has a significant following, mainly around Nackolom which is home to a large number of Second State Arbor specialists brought in from the Imperial Shrublands.
While the Western United Shrubagogue gives less credence to the 'Garden' holism of the Deep Singers than the Church of Minarbor, it enthusiastically promotes self-improvement, self-reliance, and an near-criminally audacious level of personal initiative among its primarily breather congregation. Over time this has manifested a cadre of highly educated and frighteningly intelligent subjects who seek their fortunes outside Siyachia - invariably ending up in the academic, state and cultural centres of Sansabury and &zeter - presenting an echo of the ruthless competence exhibited by their Ashkenatzan forebears.
Society
The image of the Siyachi as an irreverent, perpetually bickering and wily people is broadly correct, but while such traits usually lead to the naked psychopathy seen all too often outside Minarboria, the Siyachi temperament is moderated by a generous helping of sentimentality, nostalgia and general schmaltz, shot through with a certain fatalism which is shared by their Litovine cousins in Novodolor. Class distinctions are anathema to the Siyachi, partly a result of the pre-existing society and party due to Shophet Zemphirius' quiet distaste for lichly snobbery. While there is a moderate economic disparity between the Nackolom intelligentsia and the humble inhabitants of the far-flung shtetls, this does not translate to a social segregation. The relative equality of Siyachi society is assisted by its domination by breathers, although many of the diaspora in Sansabury and other large cities willingly embrace undeath and, for the most part, occupy a social position which presents no difficulties in attaining that status.
