Selengeria

Selengeria, officially the Empire of Selengeria (: Ikh Narangol Ulus lit. "Great Narangol State"), is a sovereign nation in northeastern Kesh. It is bordered by Sakheda Bay and Hwangchu to the north; Beifang to the west; Kodeshia and the Pearl Sea to the south; and Akiteiwa to the east. Selengeria is divided into 25 provinces, 2 special regions, and a number of imperial commanderies; and is the 11th largest country in the world covering 1,237,477 square kilometres. It is also the 5th most populous country with a population of 276.5 million. The capital and cultural centre of the empire is Sukhbaatar while the largest city and economic centre is Kharakhorin.

Modern humans arrived on the Tesgoliin Plains from Western Kesh no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, initially in varying forms of isolation as hunter-gatherers, made the region highly diverse and left a wealth of neolithic remains at sites such as Badrasagan. These populations would gradually develop into settled communities around the southern portions of the Tes river basin 9,000 years ago including the Karasuk culture of the third millennium BCE. Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit EE and EB empires which fostered rapid growth in artisan crafts, industry, and the emergence of religious traditions that much of modern Selengeria still practices. Following the collapse of these empires, Selengeria has expanded, fractured, and re-unified numerous times and given rise to multiple successor states, including the southern DA, DB, DC, DD, and the northern DE, DF, DG, DH. The pastoralist Narangol, under the warrior prophet Songoson, rose to power in the Alashan Plateau in the 16th century and would go on to found the Empire of Selengeria. Although created and sustained by warfare, Selengerian rule also ushered in two centuries of internal peace and fostered a golden age of cultural synthesis and innovation. Selengeria began to decline by the 19th century and suffered from mounting economic and environmental crises. New religious and political movements grew rapidly amid the chaos and led to the Nogoongar Revolution which overthrew the monarchy and established a theocratic republic. The republic was short-lived, however, and the monarchy was restored by the Luutug Coalition in 1864.

The dawn of the 20th century was defined by enormous socioeconomic upheaval and growing international tensions, including a successful war against Akiteiwa in 1904, that would result in Selengeria's entry into the disastrous Grand Campaigns. After suffering defeat in the war, Selengeria collapsed and splintered into a period of warring factions and states known as the "Gaigamshig". Khiyad Suudaran, the future dictator of Selengeria, rose to prominence during this time and would go on to lead his National Front forces to victory in the Selengerian Civil War. The National Front consolidated the remains of Selengeria into a totalitarian state and set out to restore the nation's military strength and pre-war borders. The controversial re-integration of the Republic of Toshu in 1957 ultimately brought Selengeria and its ally Tiperyn into open conflict with Akiteiwa, Kodeshia, and Beifang in the Kesh War. While initially successful in the war, Selengerian forces were forced into retreat by the spring of 1959 and were sent into further disarray by Suudaran's death later that year. The ongoing power vacuum in Selengeria and the prospect of a brutal protracted defensive war prompted Tiperyn to drop an atomic bomb on Kodeshia in 1959. Akiteiwa and Selengeria signed the Treaty of Choson shortly thereafter, establishing the of W, X, Y, Z. Negotiations with Kodeshia quickly broke down and the Kodeshi-Selengerian border remains the most heavily militarised region in the world.

Modern Selengeria remains a totalitarian dictatorship under the auspices of the National Front and Jonon. It is considered both a regional and middle power. The Selengerian economy, which is classified among emerging and growth-leading economies, is the fourth-largest in Kesh and seventh-largest in the world.

According to the League of Free Nations, Selengeria is the 4th most militarised country in the world. Selengeria spends 8% of its GDP on the military which places it as the world's third-largest military spender and the world's largest arms importer, receiving nearly half of all Tiperish arms sales. Selengeria has disputes over several border regions with its neighbours that remain unresolved and continue to exacerbate tensions. It has attracted criticism for a variety of reasons including allegations of sponsorship of authoritarian regimes and terrorism and its poor human rights record.

Etymology
The name "Selengeria" means "Land of the Selenger" in. It is most likely derived from an exonym, Selengel meaning "iron people", given to the early Narangols by the speaking peoples to their north. This entered the language through Zaporizhian traders and was  into the toponymic Selengarskaya. Artemian trade and diplomatic networks carried variations of this term further abroad. references to "Selingarlan" can be found in Ambrosian court documents by 1638 and shortly thereafter written examples of "Selengeria" began to appear in documents. A popular folk etymology claims that Selengeria actually comes from Solongoor ("the rainbow path") which is a euphemism for Ordonism. Selengeria in is known as Ikh Narangol Ulus  meaning literally "Great Narangol State" or "Empire of the Narangol". The origin of the ethnonym "Narangol" remains debated, but linguists and historians broadly accept that it comes from nairen or "sun" and the demonymic suffix -gol. Other theories hypothesise that it may come from a corruption of nairman gal or "eight fires" or from the name of a historic leader. In informal speech, the country is referred to as Manai Ulus ("Our Country"), Golgazar ("Paramount Nation"), or Selengerlan (borrowed from Tipsprek). Numerous other names were used for the Narangol, their traditional homeland, and the empire they established. Many of these names derived from variations of "barbarian" or references to Narangol tactics, such as the terms 茨戎 Ibarashi or "thorn dwellers" and 西戎 Seiju or "western barbarians".

Prehistory
Excavation sites across modern Selengeria indicate that species of early were present in the region as early as two million years ago. Skeletal remains of modern homo sapiens and the tools they crafted begin appearing in the archaeological record between approximately 80,000 and 100,000 years ago at sites such as the Tamsag Caves.

Evidence for neolithic agriculture and permanent settlement have been discovered dating to roughly 10,000 years ago. These sites have produced some of the earliest examples of millet cultivation in East Kesh.

The Amur Valley has been inhabited by hominids for at least 700,000 years with the first archaeological evidence of being dated to 400,000 years ago. Agriculture and animal husbandry later emerged sometime in the third millennium BCE among the Shuvgaar and Dungovid cultures, likely brought northward from Kodeshia. The growth and centralisation of these farming communities led to the development of the first settlements and civilisations in Selengeria. Successive kingdoms and empires would rule over the territories of modern Selengeria including the Jing Kingdom, Tang Kingdom, and Kyushu Empire.

Early Modern Era (1577-1909)
Starting in the 15th century, however, the pastoral Narangol under the command of Songoson left their foothill homelands and began a rapid conquest of lands around the Khovsgol Sea. Songoson founded Selengeria in 1577 following the defeat of the Zhu Kingdom.

Modern Era (1909-Present)
Facing likely defeat and the failure of his oath to the priests of Turakham, Ogedei committed suicide by self immolation on the morning of September 15th, 1926. The emperor's death sent shock waves through Selengeria and its already beleagured forces and spurred on further uprisings across the country. Amidst the chaos, Ogedei's eldest son, Yeson Tomor, ascended to the throne and attempted to stabilise the country. He sacked his father's unpopular ministers and turned to the jailed anti-war leader Dornogovi Ayiitbankar to form a new national unity government. Ayiitbankar's government was initially successful and negotiated an end to worker's strikes in Kharakhorin and a ceasefire with Kodeshia. Further progress towards peace was halted however with the assassination of Ayiitbankar in January 1927. The new emergency government under the returned-to-power Bindirigui Party placed blame for the attack on "treasonous networks" and began an indiscriminate crack down on their political rivals, particularly the Gantsetseg Party. Those few members who were able to escape the purge regrouped in Erdenet and launched the Selengerian Civil War.

Geography & Environment
Selengeria is the eleventh largest nation in the world, covering 1,237,477 square kilometres. It lies between latitudes 18° and 54° N, and longitudes 73° and 135° E.

A diverse array of climates, biomes, and geographic regions can be found across the country, including numerous rivers and lakes and the East Kesh Rift. To the north, the coastal plains along Sakheda Bay experience a mild. The Kamarband Mountains and their foothills and valleys form Selengeria's western border and are the source of several major rivers such as the Kharkhiraa and Jilin. The enormous East Kesh Rift zone runs northward from the head of the Pearl Sea in two parallel forks and is home to some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. The highlands and plateaus surrounding the rifts, including the grasslands of the Alashan Plateau, experience a. The heavily populated south of the country is flatter and defined by, dense forests, and a.

Selengeria is located in the East Kesh macroregion and is considered one of several countries possessing a high level of. It is ranked 21st worldwide in biological diversity, being home to approximately 9% of the world's species. 15,986 species of flora have been identified in the country, of which 10% are endemic. Selengeria's fauna includes 307 nematode species, 200 oligochaeta, 145 acarina, 113 springtails, 7,750 insects, 260 reptiles, 120 amphibians. There are 840 bird species and 310 mammal species that are found in Selengeria, of which 100 birds and 78 mammals are endemic.

Wildlife in Selengeria shares habitat with, and bears acute pressure from, one of the world's largest populations. At least 840 animal species are threatened, vulnerable or in danger of local extinction due mainly to human activity such as habitat destruction, pollution and poaching for food, fur and ingredients for traditional medicine. Most wild animals have been eliminated from the core agricultural regions of south and central Selengeria, but they have fared better in the mountainous west and north. Endangered wildlife is protected by law and the country has over 374 nature reserves.

Government and Politics
The government of Selengeria, known domestically as Ikhonichin and internationally by the metonym Kharmaivan, is the dictatorial government that has dominated Selengeria since 1927 with the victory of Khiyad Suudrin and the National Front in the Selengerian Civil War. Suudrin assumed supreme executive authority over the country and commandeered the institutions of the imperial government to create a brutal totalitarian regime. His death in 1949 at the height of the Kesh Wars ushered in a period of extreme political turmoil and public unrest that was only quelled through the efforts of Empress Khojilev and foreign intervention by Tiperyn. Successor regimes introduced reforms and supervisory bodies to ensure the stable transfer of power and continuation of Undserkheg rule.

Monarchy
The monarch of Selengeria, presently Soljinzayaa, is known as a Khaan (literally "king of kings"). The Khaans are believed by Selengerians to be quasi-divine or semi-divine figures due to their religious intercessional role and their descent from the deified founder and first ruler of Selengeria, Songoson. With the rise to power of the Jonons in the 1930s, the monarchy was unofficially stripped of its secular authority and independence. The Khaan and members of the broader Dasanjin dynasty remain culturally and religiously influential but are rarely seen today outside of the walls of the imperial palace.

Jonon
The Jonon is the of Selengeria and commander in chief of the Armed Forces. Jonons are elected for life by the Khuraldai and command a vast totalitarian bureaucracy and administration known as the Kharmaivan. A Jonon is theoretically omnipotent and unquestionable, however, their powers are restrained severely by a combination of political concessions made during a Khuraldai, reforms introduced after the 1960s, and the need to balance political, religious, and private sector interests.

The current Jonon is Ongchijid Khidarga who has ruled Selengeria since her election by the Khuraldai in 2015. She is the first woman to hold the office in 318 years. Her election was one of the lengthiest and most lethal Khuraldais in history and took place during record levels of civil unrest - factors that led international press coverage to label her the "last lotus standing" and to predict that her tenure would be short-lived and destabilising. Unspecified sources within the Kharmaivan later confirmed that internal power struggles were taking place and that Khidarga had already survived two assassination attempts by October of 2004. While the Kharmaivan denies the validity of reports, firefights and explosions in cities across Selengeria in July of 2007 and the disappearance of several major figures are believed to have been part of a massive purge of Khidarga's enemies. Since 2007 Khidarga has continued to consolidate her power and has embraced an identity as one of the world's "Iron Ladies". Her administration has been defined by a reformist agenda, the advent of the digital era, and a thawing of relations with Akiteiwa and Kodeshia.

The office of Jadnazuur serves as the principal assistant and pseudo-deputy to the Jonon. The current Jadnazuur is Khyargas Sodnomzundui.

Jonon comes from Kodeshian 親王 Jinong or "great prince" and was used by the head of the Asrandain Council that ruled Selengeria during the Tuusgarlagdsen Era. The title fell out of use following the Tsakhirmaa Revolution when absolutist rule was introduced. "Jonon" would remain unused until the Selengerian Civil War in 1927 when the position and title were restored by the Undserkheg.

National Front
The National Front for the Restoration of Heaven's Will (Tengeriin Khüsliig Sergeekh Undesnii Khamdazog), more commonly referred to as the National Front (Undesnii Khamdazog) or just "the Party" (Nam), is the official and solely authorised political party of Selengeria. It has an estimated 40 million members and dominates every aspect of Selengerian life and politics.

All Selengerians are required to participate in the party and are placed into a party hierarchy starting with block level cells known as "Neighbourhood Assistance Associations" (Khorshiin Tuslamjiin Niigem).

Supporters of Suudrin and the National Front during Selengeria's civil war were called "Undserkheg" and the term has remained in use to the present day to refer to members of Selengeria's government and the party as a whole.

Zovarga
Selengeria has no written constitution or singular foundational text and is governed instead by Khuraldai "high statutes" and the officially sanctioned and  ideology of Zovarga. Zovarga is considered and is defined by the collective speeches, decrees, and writings of all Jonons and precedents from traditional Narangol culture.

Law
Selengeria has a legal system based on traditional Ordonist values and modern legislation with additional strong influence from the Akitei legal code. Criminal and civil proceedings take place through an wherein a public procurator investigates and prosecutes offences. Cases are handled by the Ministry of Justice and a hierarchy of courts from the prefectural level to the supreme High Court with each successive tier exercising appellate review of the courts below them. Members of the government are overseen by a separate judicial system of special supervisory courts and a government watchdog agency, the Bureau of State Honour. Judges are appointed by the Minister of Justice in consultation with local officials and the leadership of the Imperial Law Association.

The Ministry of Public Safety operates the national police force and most correctional facilities, while the Ministry of Intelligence handles both international and domestic intelligence. The Ministry of Intelligence employs a massive espionage network of secret police, informants, cameras, facial recognition software, sensors, and digital surveillance to control the population and maintain political stability. Selengerians accused of political offences uncovered in the course of state surveillance are prosecuted by special ministerial tribunals, often regardless of clear or established statutory law, and are sentenced to imprisonment in re-education facilities or more brutal forced labour camps.

Foreign Relations
Selengeria has formal diplomatic relations with 67 nations and maintains consulates, or consular services through Tiperish embassies, in an additional 8 nations. Despite the relative peace in the region for the past sixty years, international relations are strained for Selengeria as a result of the Grand Campaigns, Kesh War, and Selengeria's systemic human rights abuses. Numerous countries have issued sanctions, downgraded relations, or severed ties altogether with Selengeria since 1925 including Poja and Kodeshia. Selengeria belongs to the North-South Concordant alliance and continues to have close economic, military, and political ties to Tiperyn.

Military
The Imperial Armed Forces of Selengeria consist of reserve forces and three professional service branches: the Navy, the Army, and the Air Force. The nominal Commander-in-Chief is the monarch, to whom servicemembers swear an oath of allegiance. Actual control of the Armed Forces is exercised by the Jonon and their Ministry of Defence. The Armed Forces are charged with protecting Selengeria and promoting Selengeria's global security interests. They are active and regular participants in the North-South Concordant.

Unresolved tension with Kodeshia and Akiteiwa has prompted Selengeria to allocate 2.9% of its GDP and 15% of all government spending to its military and to maintain compulsory conscription for men. Consequently, Selengeria has the world's fourth-largest number of active troops, the world's highest number of reserve troops, and the sixth-largest defence budget. Some foreign analysts dispute these totals however and point to satellite surveillance and intelligence leaks that suggest additional billions being spent on undisclosed sites, programmes, and personnel.

Tiperyn has stationed approximately 20,000 military personnel in Selengeria to advise the SAF and defend Selengeria should hostilities resume.

Administrative Divisions
Selengeria is officially divided into 11 coordinating regions (Chuulgan) that cover 35 administrative provinces (Aimag), the metropolitan provinces (Dakhuimuj) of Niislelkhot and Guurdalai, and the personal properties of the emperor (Khaaniin Jun). Provinces are further divided into departments (Sum), then districts (Sandin) or noble estates (Vaichin Jun), and then civil municipalities (Tosgon) or noble townships (Khunjin). The metropolitan provinces have department and district level divisions that divide the city into areas (Duureg) and then neighbourhoods (Khoroo).

Only 27 of Selengeria's 35 provinces are actually controlled and administered by Selengeria. The claimed provinces of Ulaanbadrakh, Taragt, Lun, and Taishir are actually controlled by Kodeshia; and Myangad, Ugtaal, Chuluunkhorod, and Tudevtei, are controlled by the border states to the east.

Demographics
The national census of 2018 recorded a total population of 276.5 million, the 5th largest in the world, and an average annual growth rate of 1.24 per cent. It is expected to grow to around 311 million by 2030 and 405 million by 2050. Approximately 22% of the population were 14 years old or younger, 67% were between 15 and 59 years old, and 11% were over 60 years old. Selengeria has an average population density of 153 persons per square kilometre, however, true density is considerably higher as climate and terrain have concentrated two-thirds of all Selengerians into major urban centres along rivers and the coast.

Ethnic Groups and Narangolshig
Selengeria is a diverse country home to numerous ethnic and linguistic groups, however, social identities are fractured and complicated by the effects of war, population transfers, and modern government policy. According to Selengerian Studies scholar, Joinnes var Cizile, Selengeria was transformed by the Undserkheg from "a cosmopolitan multi-national empire ruled by a diverse elite" into "the newly minted ethnostate of the Neo-Narangol". Var Cizile goes on to define "Neo-Narangol" as a "revisionist" ethnicity crafted by Sudriin in his Negbiye Basetgel Edict of 1934. The edict restricted and abolished the traditional system of ethnic distinctions and privileges shaped by the Dasanjin conquests. In their place, Sudriin re-classified Selengerians by their perceived "Narangolshig" or "Narangol-ness" - a status determined by their allegiance to the Khaan and Jonon, ability to speak the Narangol language, adherence to Ordonism, and membership in a legitimate house. Selengerians that meet these criteria are deemed "Narangol" by the government and afforded full citizenship, while Selengerians that do not are relegated to second-class status with fewer rights and privileges afforded to them.

The government does not release desegregated data on ethnicity, linguistics, or religion. Attempts at providing this data for Selengeria rely on estimates and observations from external sources such as foreign intelligence and charitable organisations. The Foreign Ministry of Tiperyn estimates that ethnic Narangol make up only 38% of the population, with the remaining majority of Selengerians belonging to other ethnic and linguistic groups such as the Gankui, Akitei, Yao, Barajids, and Ngan. Three-fourths of the population are estimated to be fluent or conversational in the official language and lingua franca of, however, only 27% of Selengerians speak it as their mother tongue.

Human rights organisations and exile and emigre groups have routinely criticised Selengeria for its treatment of minority Selengerians and the Narangolicisation policy and its impact on minorities. League observers issued a report in 2017 declaring the situation to be "the most systemic and widespread example of cultural genocide and linguistic erasure in the 21st century"

Religion
Ordonism is the official and mandatory state religion of Selengeria. Ordonism is a syncretic polytheistic religion defined by shared deities, philosophies, rituals, cosmological systems, pilgrimage sites, mythology, temple building, religious orders, and Gereld Morgokh or emperor worship. The Ministry of Culture claims that 99.5% of all citizens are strictly Ordonist, however, foreign intelligence agencies have corroborated that the majority of Selengerians still adhere to regional folk religions and only participate in state-orchestrated festivals and rites. Clear data on religious affiliation is difficult to gather due to varying definitions of "religion" and the unorganized, diffusive nature of Ordonism and Selengerian religious traditions. Scholars note that in Selengeria there has been no clear boundary between Ordonism, Confucianism, Daoism, Akitei faith, and local folk religious practice.

Over the millennia, Selengerian civilisation has been influenced by various religious movements. Confucianism, Daoism, and Ordonism have had a significant role in shaping Selengerian culture and history. Selengerian folk religions, which often coexist and intertwine with other traditions, are a diverse number of practices centred on local deities of the environment, ancestors, abstract concepts, and culture heroes, many of whom feature in Selengerian mythology. Among the most popular cults are those of XXXX and many others.

Daoism is the second largest religion in Selengeria with 58 million practitioners (23%). Daoists are among the most severely persecuted and discriminated against minorities in Selengeria and constitute a majority in many of the country's infamous re-education camps. Confucian adherents (12%) are also similarly persecuted for their common co-adherence to Daoism and refusal to conform to Selengerian social structure.

Small minorities of Christians, Muslims, and Jews also live in Selengeria. The Apostolic Church, with 370,000 to 522,000 adherents (0.19%), is the only non-Ordonist religion recognised and permitted in the country in part due to Selengeria's strong ties to Tiperyn.

While atheism is not legal in Selengeria and lack of piety is considered socially taboo, it is estimated that upwards of 1.4 million (0.5%) Selengerians identify as atheist or non-religious.

Urbanisation
Selengeria has urbanised rapidly in recent decades but has, with few exceptions, eschewed more typical trends of dense centralised urbanisation. The percent of the country's population living in urban areas increased from 20% in 1980 to over 60% in 2019. The majority of this urban population growth occurred in sprawling urban centres in the south with fewer than five-hundred-thousand residents. Fourteen cities have undergone more typical trends however and are home to over one million residents: Kharakhorin, Sukhbaatar, Jaankhoshuu, Sumber, Dalanzadgad, Ingerdolgoi, Amardalai, Khodrogo, Darkhan, Erdenet, Davin, Mandalgovi and Nalaikh. Kharakhorin is Selengeria's most populous city and one of the largest cities on earth while Sukhbaatar, the nation's capital, is the second largest city in the country and the largest by land area. Both cities are two to three times as large as the next largest city, Arvaikheer. Urban planners and population scientists estimate that Selengeria's cities will grow to house over 200 million residents by 2050.