NationStates Jolt Archive

The Kingdom of Devaraja


Government
Government Type: Militaristic Monarchy
Ruler: King Baldev Jagjit
Capital: Kapilavastu

General Statistics
Trade: 2
Devaraja is a nation relatively rich in metals and agricultural products, however it is surrounded by mountains and has little or no seafaring trade on the Black Sea. Also, the ruling Firengi consider themselves superior to other peoples and are heavily isolationalist.

Government: 9
Devaraja is ruled centrally by the king who has almost complete authority. With the need to constantly watch the slaves, the king can levy troops or raise taxes as he deems necessary. As the ruling minority of Devaraja the Firengi are incredibly united and loyal to the king mainly out of fear for what would happen otherwise.

Production: 6
Devaraja is fairly rich in metals with lots of mines scattered throughout the mountains. There is also a fair amount of agriculture and trade done along the river valleys

Military: 9
Much like the Spartan military, all of the Firengi males are raised from birth to become soldiers and are welded into one central army under the direct command of the king. That being said many are able to retire from the military iin their late 30s and go into other pursuits, though these of course could be called up to service in an emergency. The army is also surprisingly mobile and relies on cavalry to be able to put down slave revolts quickly.

Navy: 1
With little access to the Black Sea and little interest in the sea, Devaraja maintains no Navy of any kind. The only ships to speak of are small fishing skiffs.

Demographics
Total Population: 1.25 million
Adivasi: 837,500 (67%)
Zamindar: 162,500 (13%)
Firengi: 250,000 (25%)
Language: Firengita

The lowest caste, a little over two-thirds of the population, is made up mostly of descendents of the Adivasi peoples who work as slaves to the Firengi. Still called the Adivasi, they have no social status of any kind and can be bought and sold in Devaraja. The middle caste, Baradari, is made up of mixed ancestry coming either from former slaves who somehow won their freedom or foreigners who have slowly moved in over the centuries. They are tolerated by the Firengi only because they conduct almost all trade and commerce and help to manage the slave caste. Thirdly, the Firengi form the highest caste and have almost complete political and social control. All males are expected to join the military and all females are expected to have lots of children.

Religion
There are two main religions in Devaraja, that of the Adivasi and that of the Firengi. Even since before the arrival of the Firengi, the Adivasi had worshiped a pantheon of various gods, representing natural elements of Earth. They believe that doing good and being obedient (this part was most likely introduced by the Firengi) will lead them to have a better life in their next life. The Firengi tolerate this religion only because they have modified it over the years to help keep control over the Adivasi. The Firengi themselves, have no official state religion, but are generally of the belief that they (not anyone else, everyone not Firengi is considered sub-human) are divine souls trapped in a material world. They believe that if they can die heroically they will be released from this world and achieve true bliss.


History
It was said that the Adivasi people had lived in the mountains and valleys between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea since the beginning of time. Of course that could not be true, but they had certainly lived in that area for many thousands of years. The Adivasi acquired the knowledge of agriculture relatively early on from the Fertile Crescent although it was not heavily adapted until more recently. A relatively thriving civilization developed mainly along the river valleys and a cuneiform writing system was developed as several towns grew beyond mere villages. Adivasi culture was based on the worship of a pantheon of gods with the priests dominating the social and political structure. However the Adivasi people never learned how to work with bronze or iron, which would prove to be one of the major factors in their later destruction.

Around the year 0 A.F. (After Firengi, to convert to BC add 1277 minus whatever A.F. year it is) a group of tribes from the steppes to the north of the Caucasus Mountains poured into the valleys where the Adivasi people lived. The various tribes of these invaders had different names for themselves but collectively they were called the Firengi by the Adivasi. The Firengi had domesticated horses and these beasts along with the iron and bronze weapons of the Firengi cut through the soft Adivasi civilization. The Adivasi were enslaved and the Firengi took over as the rulers, introducing a wholly new social system based on different castes that still exists to this day.

Slowly expanding to the south and west over hundreds of years, the Firengi ruled over the Adivasi with a firm hand. There were several minor slave revolts over the years, although most of these were put down relatively easily due mainly to a lack of weapons. This would all change however when in the year 496 AF, when slaves in the mountainous northwestern part of Devaraja rose up against the local Firengi. At this time the Firengi were still divided into regional tribes that often bickered and fought among themselves. The tribe that found themselves with a slave revolt on their hands waited some time before telling the other tribes in order to not appear weak. As the revolt gained more momentum the slave forces grew and more importantly acquired more weapons. By this point, even the local Firengi realized that several thousand of them could not hold down nearly 30,000 armed slaves and they called upon the other tribes for assistance and a combined army was raised to defeat the slaves. After many defeats by a slave army with superior tactics and motivation, command of the Firengi Army was given to a young noble by the name of Shaheen Khadar. Khadar, while brutal, was a brilliant tactical commander and crushed the slave armies. His retribution was terrible as the few moderate Firengis watched on while Khadar slaughtered nearly 40,000 slaves. Even today the name of Khadar is used to frighten slave children.

Just after the end of the slave revolt a major political reorganization took place. Khadar was at this point seen as a hero by the Firengi because of his swift action against the slaves and was elected as the first ever King by all the various tribes of the Firengi, setting a precedent that would continue on throughout the ages. Kings were elected for life from among the nobles of the tribes and over time power became more and more centralized in the hands of the king as the Firengi realized that they had to stay united to survive as they were outnumbered nearly 4 to 1 by slaves. This was also around the time when it became precedent for every Firengi male to serve 20 years in the army. Over time as the social structure became more complex a middle caste arose made up of merchants, scholars, scribes and other such specialists. Also, on mostly a regional basis various customs arose in order to better keep the slaves pacified. All over Devaraja slaves were and still are separated from family and shuffled around to prevent friendships from arising. It is this psychological isolation that helps to control the slaves more than anything and indeed the slave dialect has no word for family. The current king Saral Arjun rules over a stable and at the moment prosperous kingdom.

(reserved for military info)