Qarai

Qarai (' ', Qarayan: 𐤒𐤓𐤀, romanized: Qaraii), officially The Qarayan Republic(Qarayan: 𐤄𐤀𐤌𐤇𐤓 𐤟 𐤄𐤒𐤓𐤀) or The Republic of Qarai is a country in Northern Kesh. It is located between Nasiria to the west and Alva to the east and borders HCCK in the south. To the north it is bound by the Eurybian Sea. Its location is central to the Eurybian Sea which solidified its position as a culturally diverse hub. The Northern Kesh mountain range cuts through the south of the country and splits into several smaller mountain ranges, the two largest of which are the Liat Mountains Range and the Daye7a'a Mountains Range. The mountains are home to many unique ethnic groups, some of which, were isolated for thousands of years. Most of the country is semi-arid and arid with few vegetation, most of the water supply and population concentrates at the delta of the Diyat River where the capital city, Isari sits. To the south of the country across the Northern Kesh Mountains lays the Ketail region of Qarai, a unique region that unlike the rest of the country sits on a tropical climate. This region is also home to dozens of unique ethnic and religious groups some of which are unique to the region. Qarai is home to a around 30 million people in an area size of 576,950 km sq (222,760 sq mi). Qarai is a  with its capital in Isari, the largest city and the seat of power of the largest metropolitan area in Qarai, also known as Isari Metro. Other major urban areas include Liqat which is directly connected to Isari through the urban sprawl, and Mashik which sits on the Dazbag Straits on the northern coasts.

The earliest human settlements in Qarai predate written history and is found in fragments of pottery and ancient weapons, some of which was traced back to 5000 BCE. Isari is thought to be one of the oldest cities on the planet with a rich history dating back to those early settlements. The city used to be the capital of the original Isari Kingdom which ruled the region as evident by written stone tablets. The Isari Kingdom was an indigenous kingdom ruled by the native Qaraites, formed as a confederation of several tribes. The kingdom reformed and centralized the worship of the Qarai faith, a monotheistic religion that originated in the same area and is thought to originate in the old Qaraites tribes. Today, the Qarai faith is split into several sects with the two biggest ones being the Banai sect and the Asai sect. It is thought that the kingdom lasted for 3500 years since around 3000 BCE to 500 CE at the dawn of the Haqiqatan era and its conquest by the Maerifas. The two major sects, Shiatsu Hasan and Shiatsu Nizar took roots in Qarai and today they compose as much as half of the total population. During the Haqiqatan era of Qarai a massive influx of Qara'aha settled Qarai and many of the ethnic Qaraites converted to Haqiqatan leading to the demographics seen today where Haqiqatan is the second largest faith in Qarai. Modern Qarayans are considered a hybrid between Haqiqatan Aravan and Qaraites which evolved on its own in the region, unique from the Aravan people to the east of Qarai. After the collapse of the Maerifas rule over Qarai in the 9th century, several Haqiqatan emirates and Qarayan tribal leaders took local power over separate regions. During that same period of time missionaries had first arrived to the shores of Qarai, building monasteries, some of which still stand today like Hisan-A-Dzur near the modern day city of Sha'afel. At least one tribal leader in Fa'ashuk had converted to the faith and until today there still are some major Messianic communities across Qarai.

Modern day Qarai was established during God knows when when, God knows who did God knows what.

Qarai is governed by a unique system of where each religious group has reserved executive offices, legislative seats and judiciary positions in addition to a portion that is either democratically elected or appointed. This power-sharing agreement was put in place to avoid violence and internal conflict and thrives to strengthen the national identity of the country. One notable example of this system is the requirements of the President of Qarai to be a Qarai Banai, the Prime minister, to be a Qarai Asai and the Speaker of Parliament to be a Haqiqatan Shiatu Nazir. Economically, Qarai is considered a moderately developed country with a decent and functioning economy. There is a stark contrast between urban and rural regions in Qarai, with the urban areas being much more developed and more prosperous compared to their rural counter parts, where in some places, even basic utilities such as water and electricity don't reach. The socioeconomic difference has pushed a drive for urbanization and migration of rural populations to cities that has been ongoing since the 60s. Qarai is a primarily a economy with  and  falling behind due to lack of arable land and the extensive urbanization which leads more educated people to the cities where most people are employed in the services sector. The current national unemployment rate sits at around 7% of the population with most unemployed coming from poor socioeconomic backgrounds and live in urban and suburban regions where it is difficult to find jobs for unskilled labour.

Etymology
The ancient Qaraites were a tribe native to the region who settled in what is today's Northern Qarai. It is thought to originate from the word Qurai (: "قرائ") which can be translated as "Readers". The name dates back to the 800s - 900s from Haqiqatan literature, the earliest written records referring to the region and its natives that does not come from the region itself. The name possibly stems from to the fact the Qaraites were known to read and write when it was not common outside of religious and administrative officials.

Prior to that, the Qaraites would've refereed to themselves as A-Um possibly meaning "The People" or "The Nation". The name can be found in several stone tablets and surviving fragments of texts.

A-Umhuri roughly translates to "Free People" or "Free Nation" and is used as a native word for

History
The A-Qas region of Qarai has traces of human habitat as early as 5000 BCE with many clay poetry items, primitive weapons and stone carvings. The region is a semi-arid oasis near the delta of the A-Qas river surrounded by the vast desert of Qarai. It is possible that initially the inhabitants were a fishing community who later evolved to agriculture when it had reached the area utilizing the delta's fertile arable lands to grow wheat and some vegetables.

The city of Mara at the southern tip of Qarai also has a long history of habitat but it is evident that the region had not developed agriculture at least until 300 CE and had been isolated from the rest of the country. The isolation sprung forth several ancient cultures and languages, most of whom are extinct with the only remnant surviving is the Baal Al-Il faith, which is still debated whether it had even originated in the area.

Geography
Qarai is composed of 576,950 km sq of land, located in the center of Northern Kesh on the southern edge of the Eurybian Plate. The south of the country is dominated by the Northern Kesh mountains range and the north borders the Eurybian Sea. The country also has several islands off the coast.

The climate of Qarai is mostly hot and dry with several smaller regions of hot  that experience more rainfall than the rest of the country and is home to Qarai's unique vegetation and foliage. The southern-most edge of the country is special due to it sitting on and is considered a jewel of biodiversity isolated from much of the environment nearby.

Government and politics
Qarai is a with characteristics of. The parliament is divided into allocated regional seats per ethno-religious group and nationally elected seats. The government and executive branch are also restrained by confessionalist power-sharing and Judges throughout the country are appointed by regional administrations which usually also adhere to ethno-religious divisions. The system is intended to foster cooperation and deter a potential power-grab by one community.

The inner-workings and the mere existence of the system spur debates throughout the country with some arguing that the system should be abolished in favour of proper national democratic elections that are not restricted by sectarian lines.

Law
Qarai law is based on with the exception of personal religious matters which are governed by a set of religious laws for each of the major religion groups and religious courthouses. In addition to the national judiciary each of the religions have their own judiciary branch and council for writing these laws. The religious laws are diverse in the systems on which they are based and differ from one courthouse to another, being largely independent.

The secular national courts system is divided into a three-tiers system of district courts(also known as first-instance courts), governante courts(also known as appeals courts) and a single national supreme court. In addition to the three-tiers there is also a constitutional court which rules on legislatures and executive matters.

The executive branch
The executive branch of Qarai consists of the Prime Minister, his cabinet of ministries and the governing coalition in parliament. All three are elected by a majority vote in the parliament, usually after national general elections.

The president of Qarai is the head of state and is mostly a ceremonial role that represents the country as a unified entity. He is obliged to remain neutral on political issues and be pragmatic when representing the country in foreign affairs and international events. In addition to the foreign relations role he is also ceremonial in internal affairs, often opening various national ceremonies and offering apolitical speeches, pragmatic to the country.

Administrative divisions
Qarai is divided into 13 governorates which are further divided into 129 administrative regions which fall into several classifications, some regions are classified as several types at once:
 * National Capital (Isari City / Isari I, 1 Region)
 * National Capital Quarter (Isari I - VII, 5 Regions plus 1 National Capital plus 1 Island, total of 7)
 * Governante Capital (13 Regions)
 * Metropolitan Region (19 Regions plus 13 Governante Capitals, total of 32)
 * Municipality (36 Regions)
 * Unadministered (49 Regions)

The National Capital region is unique since it doesn't have a regional government, instead, being directly administered by the parliament. The National Capital Quarters do have their own city halls and councils, but are tied to the parliament. Governante Capitals are also tied to their governorates. Metropolitan Regions are sometimes tied to other regions but usually have their own city halls and councils. Unadministered regions have no halls or councils other than local cities, towns and villages and are directly administered by their respective governorates.

Economy
Qarai boasts a with very little  aside from subsiding basic supplies. In foreign trade, government intervention is near to non-existent and low tax rates encourage foreign investments in the country. The treatment towards foreign investments is a deeply debated topic in the country.

The Qarayan economy has a nominal of $29.808 billion and an average yearly growth-rate of around 9% during the period between 2000 - 2020.

Qarai has a diverse economy with the mining industry being the largest at one fourth of the GDP, agriculture and manufacture each take up one fifth of the GDP and services is a growing sector that currently consists of one sixth of the country's GDP.

Demographics
As of the 2020 national census, the population of Qarai sits at 30,636,045 nationals. All Qarai nationals are identified as Qarayans but differ in ethnicity and religious affiliation. The largest ethno-religious groups in order of size are: Banai Qarai, Shiatu Hasan Haqiqatan, Shiatu Nazir Haqiqatan, Asai Qarai and Baal Al-Il. The majority of the Shiatu Hasan Haqiqatan population lives at the south of the country at the border with HCCK while the majority of the Baal Al-Il minority live around the city of Mara. There are no clear demographic boundaries and most of the sects live together in Qarai's big cities.