Sutaqlia

  

Garhate of Sutaqlia TBD
Flag Emblem of Sutaqlia Emblem
Motto:  'TBD "TBD"
Anthem:  TBD
Capital and city	TBD
Official languages	Sutaqlian
Ethnic groups (2022)	Sutaqlian
Demonym(s)	Sutaqlian
Government	Patrimonial autocracy (de jure) Matriarchal kleptocracy (de facto)
• Garha	TBD
• Prime Minister	TBD
Legislature	TBD
• Upper house	TBD
• Lower house	TBD
Formation
• TBD	TBD
• TBD	TBD
• TBD	TBD
• TBD	TBD
Area
• Total	323,331 km2 (124,839 sq mi) (123rd)
• Water (%)	0.0
Population
• 2022 estimate	13,824,527
• 2017 census	TBD
• Density	42.8/km2 (110.9/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	$714 billion
• Per capita	$51,627
HDI (2022)	0.000 low
Currency	Vhiroy (VSK)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy N/A
Driving side	right
Calling code	TBD
ISO 3166 code	STQ
Internet TLD	.stq

Sutaqlia, officially the Garhate of Sutaqlia, is an island nation located at TBD. It has an area of 323,331 km.², making it the 123rd-largest country in the world by area. Despite its name, the Garha of Sutaqlia is an entirely ceremonial position except in wartime, and true power goes to the divaray, or pirates.

Originating in the region that is now S9-04 and S9-06, the Anqirha initially colonized S8-04 after establishing their civilization. When they had the resources, they then made their move north, eventually reaching the Sutaqli Archipelago. The Archipelago eventually became the heartland of Anqirhan civilization, due to its suitability to the development of settlements on the coast and the relatively quick travel of divaray tribes from one island to the next.

Quickly, the Anqirha became a pariah nation due to its practice of piracy and mass enslavement, which resulted in the states from the S9 region forming a coalition. In TBD, the Anqirha were defeated, their arts and culture were censored, and they were enslaved. However, this is also the time when their culture grew and diversified; new arts, crops, and economic practices were introduced, and the old religion (name to be decided) was abandoned in favor of (S9-02's religion). Feeling satisfied, S9-02 stop occupation of the Archipelago, leaving the many small kingdoms to their own devices.

As S9-02 occupied less and less of the Archipelago, the Anqirha's descendants, now the Sutaqlians, gradually formed larger and larger states. In TBD, Lord Gulangha became Garha of the kingdom of Langasuta and united the Archipelago for the first time in over a thousand years. During his lifetime, Gulangha conquered S9-02, then fought in S5-05 and S4-04, in that order, but didn't live to see the conquest of the latter. His son Vhasandla I led the large scale colonization of the TBD ocean, and by his death, created the largest empire to have ever existed. Unfortunately, a large empire meant too many people to control, and gradually but surely the colonies began to revolt, despite the best efforts of the Imperial Navy.

The remainder of the Sutaqlian Empire would fracture when N11-05 gained its independence and the southern islands separated to becaome the Little Gharates (S9-10) during the Great Sabel War. However, modern-day Sutaqlia holds a major influence in its corner of the world. World-wide, Sutaqlia is famous for its water sports, aquaculture, and seafaring strategies, and its neighbors rely on Sutaqlia for virtually all of their seafood products. A developing economy, Sutaqlia is on the track to becoming a superpower, but when it will influence the world at large again is uncertain.

Etymology

The name Sutaqlia comes from Sutaqlian sutaqli, meaning "archipelago" or more literally "island line", from suta "island" and qli "line".

History

• The Sutaqlians are descended from the Anqirha, a group of nomadic seafarers that lived at S9-04 and S9-06.

• When the Anqirha established their empire, they initially spread south and west to S8-03 and S8-04.
• Gradually, they migrated north to S9-02 and frequently committed piracy against natives.
• Eventually, S9-10 and S9-11, which is now the Sutaqli Archipelago (from suta (island) + qli (line)), became the center of the Anqirhan economy.
• They could have invaded as far west as S5-05 and S4-04, and as north as N12-02 (Zhaurrail?) based on oral legend and archaeological evidence, but we don't know for sure.

Origins

The Pre-Anqirhan culture started in what is now S9-04 approximately 11,000 years ago, where the first simple boats and coastal villages in the S9 region were constructed. It is believed that this lifestyle arose due to the large amounts of seafood available in the region, and S9-04's coast being a sizable breeding ground for whales, which is a delicacy in modern-day Sutaqlia. These fishermen abandoned the traditional hunter-gathering style that their neighbors practiced due to large-scale competition for land animals, and took their chances to practice marine mammal hunting. This change of lifestyle is reflected in Anqirhan mythology, where in the words of the famous poet Hadluvin the Wise, "The beasts of the land were too vicious to control, yet the beasts of the sea were less formidable. We were therefore driven out of the forests and towards the coasts, where we could live free of danger."

Shortly after settling the coasts, the TBD would develop primitive fishing rods, spears, and boomerangs, which in effect led to the development of the hunting methods and sports of modern-day Sutaqlian culture. Despite the fact that boats were common in Pre-Anqirhan culture, they were never used for permanent housing or long-distance transportation – in fact, the idea of divaray, jataray, and miqliroy did not develop until well after the Sutaqli archipelago was discovered. Boats from the TBD culture were almost entirely used for fishing close to the coast or short-distance transportation, and these boats' descendants, called atlami "little floaters" are still used for these purposes in modern-day Sutaqlia.

Gradually, travel times on the atlami became longer, and it eventually became necessary to add yaruji, which means "home" or "cabin" in Sutaqlian, onto these boats. The boats with yaruji date back to 8,000 years ago, around the same time the first divaray appeared. Initially these boats could only hold a single immediate family, and therefore divaray had to travel in groups of boats. Over time, innovations allowed atlami to increase in size, eventually evolving into the first divambli, or "sea villages".

Meanwhile, on the coasts, the miqliroy lifestyle began to develop.

Rise of Anqirha

The Anqirha civilization is assumed to have arisen as a result of the importance of divaray tribes in trading, the development of arts, and overall influence over neighboring peoples. Although there was no sudden transition between the Pre-Anqirhan culture and Anqirha, the traditional date is 4,000 years ago.

Discovery of the Sutaqli Archipelago

As stated above, the Sutaqli Archipelago was not the original homeland of the Anqirha.

Defeat of the Anqirha

As the Anqirha gradually encroached on S9-02 soil, its leader became more and more worried. His first steps to halt Anqirhan expansion was diplomatic measures with the various tribes. These worked for a few years, but ultimately failed when S9-02's leader put a ban on whale hunting and whale meat. In protest to the ruler's edict, the Anqirha raided and destroyed S9-02 fishing communities, poisoned seafood, and committed mass suicide. When word of these disturbances came to S9-02's ruler, he punished the Anqirha by stripping them of the right to live on his land, and ordered them to return to the Sutaqli Archipelago or face "serious consequences".

War broke out between Anqirha and S9-02. Immediately, the leader of S9-02 realized that winning against the Anqirha could not be done alone. He wrote letters to (NEARBY NATIONS), urging that they send their navies to Anqirha and assist in pushing them out of their colonies. A coalition quickly formed, and its first victories were, ironically, in the original Anqirhan homeland (S9-03, S9-04, and S9-06). These regions were defeated quickly, and within two years, the island to the north of S8-04 was conquered by S8-04. S9-02 expelled its Anqirhan population by TBD, and the participating navies landed on the Southern Island (S9-10) to prepare for the invasion of the Sutaqli Archipelago itself.

The conquest of the Southern Island was quick and clean, and resulted in the mass migration of tribes to the northern half, which is now Sutaqlia proper. The migration allowed the Anqirhan tribes to quickly form a large navy and better prepare for the reconquering of the Southern Island. Despite their navy's large size and best naval tactics, the Anqirha were no match for the huge combined navy, and the last native chiefdom of Rhombu, located in the western part of the archipelago, was conquered in TBD, bringing an end to 1,600 years of Anqirhan civilization.

Intermezzo of Occupation

After the invasion, the S9-02 imposed heavy restrictions on Anqirhan culture, destroying their arts, "dubbed" their texts (i.e. replacing Anqirhan values with S9-02 values), and converting their native religion's temples into TBD temples. Although it seemed like a period of collapse to the Anqirhans, and was in the ways listed above, the period of occupation was also a time of reform and cultural fusion. Texts and works from S9-02 became popular in the Archipelago and vice versa, new crops were introduced, and the Archipelago became S9-02's primary source of seafood and shipbuilding. During this long period of cultural assimilation, S9-02 gradually treated the Anqirhans' descendants, now the Sutaqli, less and less cruelly, and gave them more and more autonomy. Eventually, the Sutaqli tribes were able to re-gain independence, provided they form an alliance and continue trading with S9-02.

Post-Occupation and Imperial Sutaqlia

• Not long after independence was regained, the chiefdoms began to fight for control of the Archipelago.
• Yhavon became the most important Sutaqlian tribe.
• When Gulangha became Chief of Yhavon, he conquered the Archipelago and was crowned Emperor of All Sutaqlia in TBD.

Having united the northern half of the Sutaqli Archipelago, Gulangha went south. Unlike the north, the south was a loose confederation of chiefdoms and pirates that was hard to suppress. Instead of using force, Gulangha decided to allow the southerners to serve in his navy, as the Southern tribes were famous for their skills in naval warfare

After uniting the Archipelago, Gulangha ordered the invasion of S9-02. By that time, S9-02 only shuddered at the memory of Anqirha, whose civilization had been completely and utterly defeated, and ankera was now only a word for sea monster. So when the ruler of S9-02 heard that something just like Anqirha had begun to invade the northwest, could he actually believe it? He denied this fact until the siege of the capital began in TBD, and when that time came, it was too late. The ruler's family was enslaved, and his head was taken as a trophy. Upon hearing the news of the fall of S9-02, the people of S9-01 began to fear for the worst, and their ruler took measures to prepare for an almost certain invasion. When the Sutaqlians began such an invasion, they were quickly repelled, surrendered, and established a trade alliance.

Now turning west, Gulangha rapidly conquered S5-05, and then moved west to S4-04. However, by the time he began these conflicts, Gulangha was an old man whose health was rapidly declining. He died before S4-04 was completely conquered, at the age of 68, and the war in S4-04 was completed by his son Vhasandla I. Vhasandla conscripted 90% of all adult citizens into the navy, and began large-scale invasions of S4, S5, S6, N9, N10, and N12. The invaded were no match for Vhasandla's massive navy, even when combined, as his soldiers built themselves as naval soldiers since birth. Hundreds of colonies were established, and slaves were forced to fight against their people or be executed, forming a feedback loop that resulted in the formation of the largest naval empire to have ever existed.

Of prestige was the colony of N11-05, which became the bastion for military training in the empire, due to its strategic location resulting in the founding of the Vhasandla Naval University. Rulers and warlords studied at the university, and eventually, graduating from VNU became a requirement for members of the line of succession to rule. Most graduates stayed on N11-05 to respond to and put down any rebellions in the Empire. It was also the center of trade for the colonies, becoming a "server" for raw materials from the colonies and the homeland to be made into goods, and a proto-industrial society developed on N11-05. Despite this colony's militaristic and economic benefits, the Sutaqlian Empire could not last forever, as an attempt to put down a revolution in N2 failed, leading to a series of events described in the following subsection.

Decline of the Empire

The last colony to separate from Sutaqlia was N11-05 in TBD, not long after a military school was established in Sutaqlia proper.

Modern Sutaqlia

Being the most-important region militarily behind N11-05, the Southern Archipelago had to pay increasing taxes for military funding that the Northern half didn't have to pay. Initially, this increase was gradual, but when the Great Sabel War (or its equivalent in PG 2022) broke, these taxes skyrocketed. Angered that the cost for serving in the navy was prohibitively expensive, and that they were being treated unfairly, the Southerners protested the war and taxes by burning draft cards, destroying their weapons, voluntarily sinking ships, and assassinating high-ranking government and military officers. Due to these protests, Garha passed a law allowing protestors to be imprisoned or executed without a jury trial. However, instead of stopping the defiance, it only got worse, gradually escalating into a civil war.

Despite the Sutaqlian navy's best efforts, the Southerners only responded with force that became more and more brutal as the Great Sabel War continued. Eventually, the situation in the South got so dire that it outright distracted Sutaqlia from the Great Sabel War. Being fed up with fighting a civil war, the Garha decided to lower the taxes imposed in the South. Although the Southerners got what they wanted, they did not believe it was enough to resolve their issues. On TBD, a meeting between the southern tribes and the Garha of Sutaqlia was held, determining what would happen to the south. It was decided that Southern Sutaqlia would be divided into 56 separate Garhates, one for each tribe in the area, and gain its independence as the Little Garhates.

Not long after the Little Garhates gained independence, the divaray of the remainder of Sutaqlia became furious that their homeland was once again separated. In an event known as the Great Patriotic Revolution, the divaray took up arms, stormed the capital, and cornered the Garha, threatening him with death if he did not reverse his edict. Before the Garha could speak, chief Yadumba Jedaqirov drew his pistol and fired it at the Garha's forehead, killing him instantly. Jedaqirov then installed himself as Garha of Sutaqlia and passed the Disabling Act, which stripped the Garha of all powers and reduced him to ceremonial status, and gave power to the divaray, turning Sutaqlia into a de facto military monarchy.

Geography

Sutaqlia lies in the northern half of the Sutaqli Archipelago. The largest island, Mijesuta, is also the northernmost. The other three most important islands are TBD, TBD, TBD, and TBD. TBD, located due east of Mijesuta, is the second-largest island in Sutaqlia, having been part of the island until 550,000 years ago. TBD is the third-largest island in Sutaqlia, located to the south of Mijesuta; the two islands are separated by the TBD Bay. TBD and TBD are, respectively, the fourth and fifth-largest islands in Sutaqlia, located southwest of Mijesuta. The two islands were originally one until 5 million years ago, when the TBD Strait began to separate them. There are also many smaller islands located within the Archipelago, most of which are within a close distance of the "Big Five". Being part of an archipelago, the surrounding bodies of water have been pivotal in allowing Anqirhan civilization to arrive on it.