Siyezan

Republic of Siyezan S-yerešet Síyezan S-yereşet Síyezan
Flag
Motto: Ósatikar domkavas Guardians of the golden coast
Anthem: Slivdjó, mi djovyezmer We warn you, enemy
Capital		Çinévin
Largest		Çinabyen
Official languages		Damserz
Ethnic groups		91% Siyezi 9% Other
Demonym		Siyezi
Government		Unitary semi-presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Mişden Súrejd
-	Premier	Tayvár Cóyişelk
-	Speaker of the Council	Svesiya Vastuces
Legislature		National Council
Establishment
-	Letsatian settlement	???
-	Post-Letsatian states	sometime
-	Qasam's conquests	6th century CE
-	Daztar Yeshub	1390-1410
-	First Independence War	1800
-	Second Independence War	1917-1922
-	Republic proclaimed	1944
-	Sohamist Revolution	2003
Area
-		558,814 km2 215,759 sq mi
Population
-	estimate	31.000.000
-	census	31.029.833
-	Density	48,73/km2 125,28/sq mi
GDP (nominal)		estimate
-	Total	993 billion $
-	Per capita	17,023.45$
Gini		0.39 low
HDI		0.827 very high
Currency		Jelam
Time zone		SCT (SCT+2)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.si

Siyezan (Damserz: S-yerešet Síyezan [sje re.ˈʃet siː.je.ˈzɐn]), officially the Republic of Siyezan, is a country located in Vaniua, bordered by Vosan in the north, Qamatudh in the east and the Parshita Sea in the south, and is the homeland of the Cirnic people. The country's capital city is Çinévin, which is not the biggest city. That title instead goes to Çinabyan, historically a major port and an entrance to the Juqaşat river, an entrance into deeper Vaniua, as well as an oasis where farming was easy. As a result, most of the population historically and nowadays is concentrated near Çinabyan and the Juqaşat river. The country has a total population of 31 million, which makes it one of the least populated Vaniuan countries.
Settled by Bodni-Cirnic tribes sometime around 300 BC, the first mentions of the area appear in ancient Ohanian inscriptions, which refer to the people of the area as 'čirra(g̃) kaluba', or "the people by the dark", given their location beyond the mountains which made up the southern edge of the Ohanian world.
It's location near Parshita in the (something) strait has contributed to the area's conquest by Ekuosian empires twic, the first being settlement by the Letsatian Empire in (sometime), from which the area would end up breaking free under (some dude), which would embrace the legacy Letsatians had left. After centuries of being relatively unharmed by foreign occupation, the Terminian empire invaded the area in 1397, to the horrour of the Vaniuan Zarasaist powers of the Great Horde and the Vosan, which put together a crusade known as the Yeshub, successfully defeating the Terminians in 1402, splitting the area between the two, although the area would end up coming under complete Avicisid rule by the late 1500s.
It would not be until 1790 when, inspired by the newly formed Vanoshan state, the Siyezi people would start an effort for independence, beginning the First War of Independence against the Bafeid Dynasty|, culminating in victory in 1800 after the republican takeover in Vosan. This independence was short lived, as in 1823 Bavi Rusvayes of the Bavid Dynasty restored Vos control over the area, turning it into a puppet state. This would remain the state of affairs until 1917, when yet again, another independence war was launched with Balak support. The country came up from the war in 1921 as an unstable region, destroyed by the 4 years of war. While de jure a constitutional monarchy, in actuality king (name) often violated the constitution, running the nation under his authoritarian regime in order to prevent a Balko-Kuulist takeover, as had happened in Balakia recently.
After his death in 1939, the ascent of his son (name) was plagued with controversy, and resentment against the authoritarian government of the country began to shown, resulting in a democratic revolution and a subsequent civil war. The republicans emerged victorious, but were unable to handle the social tensions and the economic problems, resulting in an authoritarian Balkist, Yavizín Racba, gaining presidency in 1949. His successor, Aşir Virnaba, who ruled from 1953 to 1984 took a more pragmatic approach, siding with the Gulf of Sharkunen nations during the Cold War. The authoritarian republic would fall in the 2003 Sohamist revolution, being the last autocratic regime in Vaniua to collapse.
Historically the country has been an important trade centre, benefiting from its location in the centre of the Prime Corridor. This allowed the country's economy to prosper off of trade, both historically and in the modern day, albeit it still posseses one of the lowest GDPs in Vaniua. Also due to trade, local culture has taken various influences, most notably from Ekuosia, with an Iovist minority present in the country.

Etymology

The name Síyezan comes from Damserz Síye "people" plus -zan, borrowed from Koman, meaning "land of"

History

Pre-Vaniuan arrival

It is unclear when did Vaniuan peoples arrive in Siyezan. Evidence from Ohanian texts shows that by 200 BCE, the Bodni-Cirnic people had arrived in the south. Cirnic groups were located more south than Bodnian ones, and spread along the coast, below the Arashend mountain range. Cirnic people had arrived at the Izmir bay region by the time the first Letsatian settlers arrived.

Letsatian settlement

Letsatian ships first landed in modern-day Siyezan in year X, and they established trading posts along modern-day Cinevin and İzmir. It was not until Emperor [Name] came to power that the Ketsatians established a larger colony in the region. The Letsatians brought Iovism to the region, at the same time that Zarasaism was reaching the Juqasat region, being brought by the Bodnians.

Post-Letsatian states

During the collapse of the Letsatian Empire, the governor of the colony, [Name] declared independence from the empire, creating the first iteration of the Kingdom of the Arashend, which maintained letsatian symbols as well as Iovism as its main religion. The Kingdom eventually spread eastwards, towards the Juqasat.

Terminian invasion and the Yeshub

The Terminian Empire invaded in 1397, taking advantage of Arashendi weakness. In response, an anti-Pashaist Zarasaist alliance composed of the Holy Shanyedate and Great Horde declared war on the Terminian Empire, starting the Yeshub. When it ended, the Great Horde annexed the Juqasat region and established the puppet state of Sajkhaman. The Kingdom of the Arashend was restored under Shanyedate protection. Due to the religious nature of the war, many Iovists either fled or were forced to convert to Zarasaism, and many Zarasaist officially converted to either Qasamism or Eastern varieties. During the collapse of the Great Horde, Sajkhaman took over the Juqasat region, but was subsequently conquered by the Kingdom of the Arashend by 1500. This new kingdom renamed itself the Kingdom of Siyezan.

Kingdom of Siyezan

The new state, under the X dynasty, suffered
In 1690, it entered a personal union with the Holy Shanyedate which lasted until the proclamation of the First Vos Republic in 1800.

During the 19th century, Siyezan was a close ally of Vosan, which it relied on for protection. Industrialisation started developing across 2 areas: the Cinevin-Izmir area, due to its closeness to minerals at the Arashend, rivers, relatively large population and its status as an important port, and the Juqasat region, mostly due to the same reasons, with the added benefit of local coal production. Society started to change, and political parties started emerging.
This period saw international conflicts, in which Siyeza's participation was limited. In the War of Supremacy, it aided Vosan. In the White War, the country did not declare war on Balakia, and the war benefited Siyezan, as Vosan focused it's production on the war effort, siyezi industrialists managed to grow their influence on outside markets. This period was also marked by the emergence of labour movements.
The 1917 Tameyvah stock market crash brought a drastic end to Siyezan's prosperity. Social tension flared up, and this translated onto instability. In this context, Váyilba's authoritarian government, established in late 1917, flared up conflict with Vos interests. Vosan began supporting anti-Váyilba movements, and promised military aid to overthrow Váyilba, who had grown increasingly popular in Siyezan. In late 1918, Vos forces crossed from Mirgadam to meet up with siyezi opposition forces. However, the death of general X made the revolution discoordinated. Vos troops advanced towards Sayad, and Váyilba's government portrayed the revolution as an attempted Vos takeover, starting the Vos-Siyezi War. The Vos emperor dismissed this, yet did not order his troops to retreat. The war was short, lasting 8 months, during which Vos forces took Sayad and advanced southwards towards Virna, which fell in early 1919, and towards Zimsí in the modern Çinévin region. Despite initial military superiority, the Vos advance was halted. Slowly, opposition forces disbanded or got destroyed, while the war was unpopular in Vosan and damaged it's international image. The war ended in August 1919, in status quo ante bellum. The victory was a great boost for Váyilba's supporters, however, opposition from republicans and worker movements did not fade away entirely, and would continue building up across the 20s and 30s.

Civil war

Main article: Siyezi civil war

Geography

The Juqasat river flows through the east of the country, and has become the country's most important water source, with the area around it being the country's largest population concentration, with around 16 million people, half of the country's population living within 100km of it. The area around it is generally flat, and the river meets the sea in the Bay of Neypal, which has been a major port area ever since the Letsatian days. Immediately west of it, the Vadnu plateau (litteraly, "plateau plateau") extends across the country's central regions, ranging from being a hot desert in interior regions to more temperate climate in the coast next to the Bay of Bathanya.
The Arashend mountain range slices through the country, as an extension of the (something) range in neighbouring Vosan. Acting as a rainshadow, the region south of it, known as the Arashend (name deriving from the Arash river), where the second biggest population concentration of the country is, especially around the Bay of Izmir, with cities like Cinevin, Izmir and Dajrip. The northern region forms part of the Vadnu plateau, which due to the rainshadow, has little annual precipitation.

Politics

Since the 1991 constitution, Siyezan is a semi-presidential republic, with a free multiparty democracy.

Government

Legislative

Legislative power is vested in the National Council (Ğáçtaba Váraşo), the 400-seat supreme legislative body, elected to 4-year terms via universal suffrage of all adult citizens, both within the country and abroad.

Executive

The President of Siyezan '(Betketis Síyezanc) is elected by popular vote every 6 years and has several responsibilities, such as appointing goverent officials (including the premier), proposing and vetoing legislation.
The Premier of Siyezan presides over the council of ministers. The president appoints the premier, which is then voted by the National Council, and after which the premier choses the ministers '(béstayn)' for the cabinet. There are 11 ministries in the siyezi government:
• Ministry of Internal Affairs, which handles relations between the central government and local governments, appointing local governors, immigration, citizenship, and public security, including the national police and firefighter forces.
• Ministry of External Affairs
• Ministry of National Defense
• Ministry of Education
• Ministry of Health
• Ministry of Infrastructure, which handles all state-owned public transport companies • Ministry of Industry and Energy
• Ministry of Agriculture, which also handles environmental regulations
• Ministry of Culture, also responsible for religious affairs, entertainment and tourism
• Ministry of Economy, which is in charge of welfare and the pension system

Administrative divisions

Political map of Siyezan, showing the 7 Vans and all 60 provinces

Siyezan, as of 2021, is comprised of 60 nedoşrab (no separate plural form), the first subdivision tier, each of them named after their administrative capital. They are further subdivided into (probably like 200) municipalities. Each province belongs to one of 7 Vistuğer Nedoşrabşo (VN), or coordinated province groups. These are not true administrative divisions, but rather just geographical groupings used for statistical matters.

Local government in the provinces is rather lacking, due to the highly centralised nature of the country. Every province is led by a politically-neutral nedoşrab ce-sirivta, or governor, appointed ceremonially by the president on the recommendation of the Ministry of Interior Affairs. These governors act as representatives of the central government and have little room to act on their own. In general, they do not have any form of council in their government, the exception being the 23 provinces with more than 600,000 inhabitants, which get their own provincial assembly by law. They are not directly elected, but rather, composed of one fourth of every chancellor of every settlement inside said province.

Foreign relations

Siyezan has maintained close ties with Vosan, being part of the Tameyvah Treaty and the Sharkunen Treaty during the Cold War. Siyezi foreign policy has been non-confrontational ever since the 1950s, and has always taken a defensive posture.

Military

The military force, the Siyezi National Republican Army '(Síyeba Ğactaba Ireşetba Zdúnta)' is divided into 3: ground army, airforce and navy.
It possesses around 85.000 active components and around 200.000 reservists, as well as 13.000 armoured vehicles and 120 aircraft. Most hardware is imported from friendly nations, mainly Vosan
The President of Siyezan is the commander in chief of the army, as well as the only person capable of declaring war or peace (mostly a ceremonial role). They can also declare conscription during wartime, but it only affects people between the ages of 18 and 50.
One of the most celebrated units of the SNRA is the Siyezi Republican Guard, a 5,000-strong unit tasked with defending the capital city, Cinevin, its inhabitants, the National Council and the premier and president.

Economy

Most of the economy consists of the service sector.

Agriculture and mining

Siyezan has never had a strong agricultural base due to its geography, most agriculture is centered on wheat. However, local production is not able to fulfill domestic consumption, making it necessary to import food.
The lack of major mountainous terrain left the country less mineral-rich than other Vaniuan countries, with coal and graphite being the most extracted resources. Bauxite, tungsten and lead can also be found across the country.

Industry

Sand from the Vadnu plateau has been used for glass and silicon production both historically and modern day, with silicon becoming Siyezan's biggest export by tonnage by the 1950s.
During the dirigiste policy of Ashir Virnaba's regime, subsidies were given to infrastructure and automotive industries to modernize Siyezan's domestic production. Assembly of public transport rolling stock, mainly trains, has become a pillar of the Siyezi economy, with Siyezi-built trains becoming known across Vaniua. Car assembly has also become more widespread thanks to foreign vehicle companies' investment and establishment in the country.
Manufacture and export of electronics and medicines in the country is still in its early eras.

Service sector

The service sector makes up about 68% of the GDP.

Transport

Siyezan posseses a strong road network which is entirely state-owned and connects all major cities.
Rail
There are approximately 21,000 km of rail within the country, of which around 45% (8.610 km) are electrified. They are divided between wide-gauge, used by both normal and high-speed stock, found across the entire coast and around the Juqaşat river, and narrow gauge, which exists mostly in more mountainous regions. Most of it is controlled by the state company Doşba Varnáno Davyotal, or the 'DVD', which operates both regular (divided into commuter and intercity rail) and high-speed services. High-speed rail covers the distance between Çinévin and Çinabyan, connecting all major cities in-between. It's most recent expansion occurred between 2006-2017 when the city of Virna was connected to the network.
Due to the nature of the country and how it's population is spread, there is no one central location from which all lines branch off from. The biggest station nationwide is Palmenon Station in Çinabyan, which is connected to 4 of the 13's city metro lines, all commuter rail lines, intercity lines leading both to Bathanya and (city), as well as high-speed and international lines, and serves an estimated 11 million passengers each year. Other major stations within the countries include Sabelhen station in Dunacan and Neypul station in Cinevin.
Aside from commuter rail, metro services are present in 9 cities in total across the country, the biggest being Çinabyan's Cinabyani Metro with 13 lines in total. Tram systems are more widespread, with around 78 systems with a great variety of sizes found across the nation. Both metro and tramway systems are operated by their respective city councils, with monetary help from the central government in case of dire need.
Railways are lacking in desert regions, especially within the Usva VN, where mostly cargo transport is run in the few railways that exist.
Cargo rail is handled by both private companies and the cargo wing of the DVD. Cargo transport was privatised ever since the 1960s, but passenger transport remains firmly in state hands even after the 2006 privatisation bill passed, which allowed private companies to operate passenger services as well.
Naval
Historically, Siyezi ports have had importance due to the country's position in the beginning of the Parshita sea which allowed easy travel from Vaniua to Ekuosia.
The biggest port is located in Çinabyan, which serves 6 million ships yearly, followed closely by Dúnacan. In recent years, ports in the eastern side of the country, namely Çinévin and Virna have grown in relevance as well.
Trade has always factored greatly into the economy, and the Siyezi government has always tried to capitulate on it by having low tariffs to attract ship traffic through the region.
Air
There are 3 airports of national relevance, by order of size: Çinabyan's Qamar Inyemin, with 5 runways and 4 terminals, serving X million passengers yearly, Dúnacan's Sovdón II and Çinévin's Arzuyod Maşak. Other cities have smaller airports of regional importance, such as Izmir and Bathanya
Siyezan's flag carrier airline is the stage-managed Hays-Siyezan, which serves 85 destinations across the Sharkunen gulf and Vaniua.

Energy

The country's coal deposits have made coal plants a popular energy choice due to its cheapness and availability. This has changed more in recent years, as public pressure against them due to the poor air quality they cause, as well as a more recent trend towards renewables. Nonetheless, 38% of the country's energy still comes from coal plants. 23% comes from other non-renewables, most overwhelmingly coal. 19% is produced by the sole nuclear power plan in the country, the Tayvar Sujdeba power plant in Bathanya, which operates 3 reactors.
Renewables make up 20% of the energetic demand. 8% of it is hydroelectric energy, while the rest is covered by either wind of solar farms across the country's less inhabited areas.

Science and technology

Space agency
Siyezan is part of the Tameyvah Pact's space division. It manufactures rocket parts and has built several launching pads from which space missions are launched.

Tourism

Tourism is a significant factor in the Siyezi economy, as it generates around 12% of the total country's revenue.
The Golden Coast is a well-liked vacation spot, visited by people all around the nation, with Çinevin and Izmir being the top cities to visit in the area.
However, most tourism can be found in the country's historic areas, mainly Çinabyan, as the city has, under different eras, been under the control of Letsatia, different Vos dynasties, the Terminian Empire and the Great Horde, all of which have left a cultural mark on the city.

Demographics

Language

Despite the existance of linguistic minorities across the country, the only language with official status nationwide is Standard Damserz. All government bodies, as well as other major entities are expected to speak it.
The regional varieties of Damserz have all diverged from eachother for around 2000 years, the time during which Cirnic tribes expanded into the area. During the time, local varieties evolved their own distinct features, although a linguistic classification is hard to establish, because basal isoglosses are often obscured by interdialectal loans and changes spread in waves regardless of grouping. The most common classification consists of 4 geographic groupings, which do not match neately to actual issoglosses. From west to east: Far Eastern (Virnaba dialect), Arashendian (Chinebin dialect), Dankavasht (Bathanyan dialect) and Juqasatan (Standard dialect). Dialects can have drastic lexical variation, but variations in phonology and grammar are also common.
Standard Damserz is based on the Çinabyani dialect, which due to its presence at the edge of the continuum, lacks many of the developments common in other regions. As such, it is commonly not very mutually intelligible with local varieties. It is common, especially in rural areas, for people to use their own dialects in their daily lives and the standard in more formal environments, where their use is discouraged at best.
Dialects are not regulated by any official body, and as such, they often do not have official orthographies. However, it is also uncommon that Standard Damserz spelling is used (due to complete intelligibility at times, Bathanyan /sestʲu/ "language" being spelt as <srz>)
Linguists generally agree that Damserz should be classified as a small language family, however, official Siyezi state narrative claims that they should not be given the title of "language", because it would weaken the Siyezi national identity. Before 2001, nationalist governments penalised these sentiments, but restrictions were removed after the complete instauration of democratic governance.

Education

Most education is state-owned via the Lenyaba Bovéta Imádo (Public Education Service), which offers free and universal schooling, coexisting with private providers as well. Religious education is exclusively private.

Healthcare

Similarly, the state-owned Lenyaba Zleta Imádo (Public Health Service) covers most healthcare issues (barring some non-essential procedures). Alternative private facilities are also found.

Religion

A majority, around 79% of the populations, consider themselves Zarasaist, specifically of the Qasamist denomination (around 75%). A sizeable minority of around 13% consider themselves Iovist, a relic of the Letsatian era.

Culture

Heritage

Siyezi culture has inherited its core elements from Bodni-Cirnic cultures, but has also absorbed several strata of different cultures which dominated the area historically. Nowadays, Siyezis take pride in standing out from the other Western Vaniuan nations.
Bodni-Cirnic strat
As the Bodni-Cirnic peoples migrated away from Proto-Vaniuan homeland, they developed several cultural characteristics such as X. Vaniuologists claim that interaction with Eastern Vaniuan peoples caused much more mutual influence than is often thought, and they draw a line between the more sedentary eastern branches (Ohanian, Lake Vaniuan, Western Vaniuan and Northern Vaniuan), which adopted agriculture in larger levels than the Southern and Eastern groups, which remained pastoralists for longer.
Ohanian influences
As the Bodni-Cirnic peoples settled down they started interacting with the Ohanians. By now, the difference between Bodnian and Cirnic groups was more pronounced. The Bodnians were fascinated by Ohania, and introduced many more practices than the Cirnis, which were introduced to them by the Bodnians themselves. During this time, Vaniuan checkers were first introduced into Siyezan, which developed into its own game variation distinct from other Vaniuan varieties. Another element introduced during this time was association of time and colours: white is related with the past (what is white can be seen, as can the past) while black is related to the future (black is dark, you cannot see it, just like the future cannot be seen). Hence, the words for "past" and "future" in Damserz (sonareta and ciréta respectively) derive from Ohanian expressions meaning "in the white" and "in the black". Coincidentally, before this association took hold, the Bodnians were named the Sanarag̃ (near the white, as they settled in the plateau south of the Ohanian homeland) by the Ohanians, while the Cirnis became known as the 'Čirrag̃ (near the black, as they were behind the mountains, that is, not visible), which is where their etymology derives from. This is one of the reasons black is in the Siyezi flag, as during the days of the 1942 Republican revolution, a republic was seen as the future. This association of time and colour later reached the Western Vaniuan peoples, although reversed: black for past, white for future.
Letsatian influence
The Letsatians brough Iovism, as well as scientific advancement, scholars and technical vocabulary to Siyezan.
Western Vaniuan influence
Influence from both Thelemic and Jiuzemic groups was brought as both groups migrated south and/or conquered the region.
Great Horde
they brought Zarasaism and interesting architecture. (Terminians etc)

Symbols

One of the most recogniseable symbols of Siyezan is the double-headed eagle.