Kingdom of Pimar

"'My children! I have spoken to the gods, and they have made their will clear: the spirit of Tassia lives on in us! The empty throne beckons! The people of the empire cry out for our guidance, and for a restoration of imperial glory! We have a great, sacred opportunity, ladies and gentlemen, and must not flinch at the work that this endeavor will demand of us. We shall reach out to seize the empty throne, and when at last, by the grace of the gods, the king of Pimar ascends to its vaunted heights, we shall know that the world has been put back in balance. A new age of imperial might begins now! All hail!'" "- Venantius the Holy‌, at the coronation ceremony of King Aurelias II‌"The Grand Kingdom of Pimar is a country whose territory consists of a large mainland region on the west coast of Valroe, along with a number of island holdings off the coast. It borders on the Most Serene Kingdom of Bisa, the Samaric Empire‌, and the stateless regions known as the Marches‌ and the Stonewastes‌. Mainland Pimar extends from the Akayan Ocean in the west to the Onyx Mountains‌ in the east, and from the Cliffs of Ohridia‌ in the south to the Bay of Thorn in the north. It is also the current de-facto controller of the Lyra Valley, east of the Onyx Mountains, but this area is also claimed by Bisia. Some Pimaran towns in the western edges of the Marches extend tenuous Pimaran influence beyond the Blue Mountains‌ in the northeast, but the stateless peoples of the area broadly refuse to acknowledge Pimaran authority, and those towns (most notably Kiverriv and Reld) are only nominally under Pimaran control, being essentially independent petty kingdoms in their own right.

The land area of the Grand Kingdom of Pimar is approximately 620,000 square kilometers, though its poorly-defined borders make an exact value difficult to estimate. The population of the kingdom as of 764 YPT is 17.5 million people - 16 million of whom are human, with the remaining 1.5 million being mostly halflings and elves, with scattered enclaves of other species. The kingdom's capital is located in Haiatarnem, its largest city and main cultural and commercial center. Other major cities include Ahmn‌, Kyros‌, Epsis‌, and Didenia‌.

Etymology and Pronunciation
Although the kingdom's name is pronounced with a long "i" ( paɪ -mahr) its demonym, Pimaran, is pronounced with a short "i" (pih-mahr-uhn.) This is a recent alteration to the pronunciation of this word. Up until a generation ago, Pimaran was pronounced with a long "i" as well.

The word Pimar means "Land of Purple," referring to two naturally-occurring purple dyes that can be found in the region. One of these types of dye is extracted from the shell of a species of sea snail which lives in the Arn islands‌ off the west coast. The second is derived from the petals of the porphyry rose, which grows only in the Haeliconian lowlands‌ in central Pimar. Because purple dyes can't be found anywhere else in the lands of the former Tassian Empire‌, Pimaran dye and textile workers are able to charge high prices for the products made using these pigments.

Structure
The Grand Kingdom of Pimar is a constitutional feudal monarchy and a successor state to the defunct Tassian Empire. The king derives his power from the kingdom's landowners, and from an official declaration by Venantius the Holy, sixteenth Ecclesiarch of Pimar, that the Gregorian Dynasty is the rightful, sacred successor to the glory of the Tassian Empire.

The political process in Pimar takes place in two distinct arenas: within the Royal Palace of Pimar, and among the landholding nobles abroad. Unlanded Pimarans - who make up over 95% of the kingdom's population - have very little direct involvement in politics. The most they can generally hope for is an audience with their local baron or count in order to make their voice heard. Even in this case, in the absence of elections or other direct consequences as a result of popular opinion, such nobles rarely have any strong incentive to address their subjects' concerns. This creates a constant risk of peasant uprisings and revolts, kept in check only by the threat of the kingdom's powerful military.

The rule of the Gregorian Dynasty currently faces political opposition from four major sources within the kingdom: religious minority activist movements among the pagan tribes of the Naissus Peninsula and the Vodeni Maze; orthodox followers of the Tassian pantheon, who object to the Venantian interpretation of divine rule; the inhabitants of the Lyra Valley, many of whom consider themselves subjects of the Kingdom of Bisia; and independence movements among the Roth and Arn islanders off the west coast.

The Empty Throne
A replica of the imperial throne of Tassia sits on a pedestal behind the king in the throne room in the royal palace of Pimar, serving as a constant reminder of the kingdom's stated goal of reclamation of the empire. It is illegal, punishable by death, for anyone to sit upon the empty throne until all other pretenders to the imperial throne have been subjugated or rendered no longer threats. The decision of when this goal has been met is to be made by the Ecclesiarch of Pimar.

Monarch and Royal Family
The office of the king of Pimar combines the legislative, executive, and judicial functions of government. However, his rule is far from absolute, as he is constrained by constitutional duties to the Ducal Houses, the Council of Ministers, and the Ecclesiarch. Most notable among these constraints is the Law of Consensus, which states that many royal powers may only be used with the support of the Ecclesiarch and majority approval in the Council of Ministers. Additionally, the king is not permitted to revoke titles from any member of the kingdom's nobility without two-thirds majority approval from the Ducal Assembly, and the king is required to step abdicate should that same two-thirds majority demand it and be supported by the Ecclesiarch.

Succession is handled by absolute primogeniture, with the firstborn child having the legal right to the throne. However, there are exceptions: any child who has taken vows of ecumenical service to a god is ineligible, as is any child who was born with a visible deformity or is not fully human by blood, and any child who is not part of the Gregorian Dynasty. Finally, any potential successor may simply choose not to be included in the inheritance.

If, taking all of these exceptions into account, no successor can be found among the former king's progeny, the late monarch's brothers' children are next in line, followed by his sisters' children, and then by his brothers and sisters themselves.

Although this is not technically a part of the legal framework, during succession, women are routinely overlooked, as if they had chosen to not be included in the inheritance. Most recently, princess Aurelia, firstborn daughter of the late king Basilius I, was entirely bypassed in the succession, in favor of her younger half-brother Basilius II.

The king also occupies the title of the Duke of Haiatarnem, the largest and wealthiest ducal title in the kingdom. Taxes from this duchy serve as one of the royal family's primary streams of revenue. The majority is spent on filling out the budget for the maintenance and expansion of the kingdom's highways and infrastructure, with the surplus money allowing, among other things, the maintenance of the royal army and the sizable salaries paid to members of the royal court and the council of ministers. The majority of the royal army is also recruited from within the duchy of Haiatarnem.

The royal family dominates the political system, with nearly half of the kingdom's dukes having the last name Gregorias. The key ministries of state are also reserved for members of the dynasty, and many of the political coalitions within the kingdom's political structures are considered to be family ventures as well, with nobles coming from outside of the dynasty being excluded from many of the most influential factions.

The Council of Ministers
Controlling a kingdom as large and complicated as Pimar is a task far too difficult for a single man. As such, the king relies on a council of trusted ministers to aid in administering and ruling the realm on a day-to-day basis. Usually, ministers are drawn from among the ranks of the dukes, but occasionally a count or even a baron will demonstrate sufficient talent to catch the king's eye and be granted a ministerial position.

In addition to serving as the king's advisors and cabinet, the Ministers also serve as a check on his power via the Law of Consensus, requiring the approval of the king's ministers before he can make an arrest, declare war, grant a title, or issue an ultimatum to a foreign power. The ministerial positions in the kingdom of Pimar are as follows:


 * Prime Minister (Handles daily intricacies of the running of the kingdom; also serves as the regent if the king is too young to rule.)
 * Steward (Also known as the Treasurer or Minister of Finance. Handles the royal family's revenue streams.)
 * Grand Marshal (Also known as the Minister for War.)
 * Minister of the Royal Demesne (Oversees the royal family's demesne lands.)
 * Minister of Agriculture (Handles agriculture and distribution of food. Also adjudicates over minor land disputes.)
 * Minister of Roads and Aqueducts (Keeps the kingdom's infrastructure running.)
 * Chancellor of the Messenger Corps (Controls the largest ministry. Also runs the civilian postal service.)
 * Chancellor of Embassies (Handles foreign relations.)
 * Spymaster (Controls all royal espionage operations, both within the kingdom and without.)
 * High Justicar (Highest ranking judge in the land; appointed not by the king, but by a council of other justicars.)
 * Court Oracle (Represents the church's interests at court; appointed not by the king but by the Ecclesiarch of Pimar.)

Viceroyalties
The kingdom is divided into six provinces, one of which is ruled directly by the royal family, while the other five are controlled by local governors called viceroys, who are appointed by the king from among the ranks of the kingdom's 37 ducal houses. Each of the duchies is considered to be part of one of these six provinces, and their associated dukes legally owe fealty to the currently appointed viceroy of their province.

The six provinces are as follows:


 * Haeliconia (The heartlands of the kingdom, ruled directly by the king of Pimar.)
 * Aethen (Wealthy and militarized borderland region in the east of the kingdom. Includes the contested Lyra Valley.)
 * Ohridia (Located on a large plateau at the southern edge of the kingdom, along with the port city of Ahmn.)
 * Epsis (Controls the islands off the west coast.)
 * Akayos (Holds the rich agricultural lands of the west coast of Pimar, with the exception of the areas near Ahmn.)
 * Didenia (Controls the northern areas of the kingdom, including the Vodeni Maze and the Naissus Peninsula.)

The Ducal Assembly
The Kingdom of Pimar is divided into 37 ducal domains, each consisting of a set of lands and resources belonging to a powerful noble family. Each duke has powers within their own domain similar to those held by the king over the whole of Pimar, although the dukes' political power is more direct and is subject to fewer checks and balances. Similar to the king, within their domains, a ducal office serves as a combination of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. The 37 dukes combine to form the political body known as the Ducal Assembly, which advises the king and operates as a house of representatives (although only representing a very small, very privileged fraction of the kingdom's population.)

When passing a new law, the king must first consult the Ducal Assembly and achieve majority support among them. Dukes are permitted to abstain from such votes, and those who do not attend and do not send a representative with their vote are considered to have abstained. The king himself (in his role as Duke of Haiatarnem) casts the deciding vote should a tie be reached, but tradition states that in all other circumstances, the Duke of Haiatarnem must abstain.

At any time, a duke may call for the king's resignation. If a two-thirds majority of the Assembly agrees with the demand, the king must step down. The only exception to this is in times of war and national emergency. In such times, removal of the head of state and government is considered to be unreasonable. This does not, however, prevent the dukes from removing the king due to wartime decisions the moment the peace treaty is signed.

Lower Nobility
Serving under the king and dukes are a plethora of counts and barons - wealthy landholders with the right to adjudicate the law within the lands they control. Barons are the lowest-ranked nobles in the kingdom, owing fealty and taxes to the counts above them, who in turn owe fealty and taxes to the dukes, viceroys, and king.

Most barons and counts control only a single town or village, and their associated farmlands and resources. They extract taxes from the inhabitants of their lands directly, usually in the form of food, cloth, wood, pottery, metal, and other goods produced by their peasants and subjects. They then sell these off to merchants in exchange for coin, which they use to pay their own taxes to the nobles on the next rung of the ladder.

Tassian Conquest and Principality Era
Before the Tassian conquests, what is now the kingdom of Pimar was inhabited by several smaller kingdoms, as well as dozens of chiefdoms and stateless societies, each with their own languages, religions, and separate cultural identities, but mostly falling into the Gelu and Thornic ethnolinguistic groups. In the year 184, the Tassian Empire annexed the majority of the region. The rest was then annexed nine years later in 193, and the whole region was placed under the control of the Pimaran Principality - the predecessor to the modern kingdom.

Over the course of the next 400 years, the peoples of Pimar were gradually brought under the control of the Principality. An Ecclesiarch was established in 203 to aid in this process and spread the worship of the Tassian pantheon to the peoples of the kingdom. A cultural melting pot formed, incorporating aspects of Tassian and native culture, and mixing the natives through the opening of trade and the construction of imperial highways. However, this cultural integration was often achieved by force, and at several points during this period of Pimaran history, genocide was used against groups that refused to be subjugated by the principality and absorbed into the developing Pimaran culture.

As a true Pimaran hegemony formed, the principality gradually became one of the most prosperous and wealthy regions in the empire, even as the rest of Tassia fell into decline and struggled with constant opposition from both within and without. By the year 550, Pimar was the only remaining province which truly answered to the Tassian crown.

Transition to Kingdom of Pimar
The abdication of emperor Theodosias the Last, and the official dissolution of the Tassian Empire in 591 YPT, sent a shock through the social structure of the Principality. As word of the event swept across the region, many factions raised armies and began to reorganize themselves, assuming that this meant the dissolution of the Principality as well. The Prince of Pimar, Aurelias III, had other ideas. He declared the Principality defunct, and in its place established the Grand Kingdom of Pimar, and had the then-Ecclesiarch of Pimar, Venantius the Holy, crown him as its first ruler: Aurelias I. He then waged a series of wars against the independence factions, bringing each region to heel, before dying in the year 599.

At the coronation of Aurelias' son, Aurelias II, Ecclesiarch Venantius declared the newly-crowned king to be not only the rightful successor to Pimar, but also to the whole of the Tassian Empire. Since then, it has become the stated goal of every king since to make steps towards reclaiming the empire and ascending to the empty throne. As part of this ambition, the kingdom has been extending its influence and administration into lands previously controlled by the Most Serene Kingdom of Bisia and the Samaric Empire.

Recent Conflicts
In 738, one of the recent attempts to extend Pimaran influence attempted to claim the Lyra Valley from Bisia. This resulted in the Lyran War - an eighteen-month-long series of skirmishes against Bisian forces, culminating in the Battle of Kuwanyo Crossing where a Pimaran army was defeated by a smaller Bisian force at the Gurwan River. This, combined with internal power struggles in the Pimaran government, impeded Pimaran plans in the region, and resulted in the signing of the Treaty of Shyrel, ending the war. However, in the twenty years since the treaty was signed, Pimar has continued to muscle in on the valley, deploying judges and administrators to the region as though it was part of their kingdom, in spite of having theoretically lost the war.

Although they have never escalated into a full-scale war, there are also ongoing border tensions with the Samaric Empire to the south, including several skirmishes in recent years between scouting forces and the private armies of the tribal and noble leaders living near the border.