Araswa

The Free Nations of Araswa is a sovereign country of 102.03 million in eastern Miju, located on the Araswi Peninsula. It is home to over 80 different ethnic groups, the majority speaking a wide variety of local languages with Jeogmonese and Kinshūnese pidgins, as well as and  being the most commonly accepted universal languages. Being equatorial, Araswa is a tropical country, The Mwambami Mountains run along the eastern coast of the country, the west is defined by hills and spotted jungles along large riverlands in the Amkaro Valley to the south, with large plateaus dominating the north. The far west contains ancient, arid highlands and is where the capital of Omojoba is located. The largest city is Kusanbayya with 1.2 million inhabitants, the second largest city is the capital itself, with 850 thousand residents.

Pre & Ancient History
The area was first inhabited by some of the earliest humans around 90,000 years ago, acting as a launching point for early cross-sea migrations and settlement. Agriculture and herding was adopted around 800 BCE, as pastoralists emerged in the Amkaro Valley. The ancient Amkaro people were pushed onto the riverlands by Bantu migrations from the south and the expansion of Kushitic peoples in the Peninsula and Yoju. Several early empires rose to prominence around 400 BCE, centered in the Amkaro Valley, rich in gold and ivory, introducing Araswa as an early trade junction. Buddhism soon entered the land via trade with the Pwani Coast, giving rise to a series of city-states which adopted brahmic writing and other eastern philosophies. The eastern Bantu coast syncretized buddhist philosophy and traditional spiritualism, while the northern and southern semites held Abrahamic beliefs, most prominently Islam and Judaism. With Buddhism came trade and the growth of rich Kingdoms based in it. The Araswi peninsula soon became a confluence of trade and culture between southwest Yoju, southeast Yoju and eastern Miju. The Pwani Sri Empire is one of the most notable pre-middle ages states that at its height, conquered much of eastern Araswa, inserting buddhism further into the land through the heavy construction of temples and statues during this period.

Manadala Period
By the 11th century Mandala period, the empire had fractured and left competing city states emerging out of a dark age. Dominating the Peninsula were the Sultans centered on the northern coast, rich from trade with Yoju and western Miju. They were originally somali that arrived from the north, establishing coastal settlements in the 9th century which grew in the power vacuum Pwani Sri had left. Their cousins, the ethno-religious Ogadaa who joined them in settlement in Araswa, settled in the southwest, making it to the Gulf of Matumya. They had kept and spread their own religion, Waaqeffannaa, are theorized to have colonized Araswa to flee persecution in Yoju. With these groups and more, the Araswan Mandala period was one of intense competition and warfare, mainly clan and religion driven. The Araswi Sultanate eventually formed as a large, unified confederation with an elected Sultan, but quickly succumbed to infighting. Other Kushitic tribal confederations in the south also launched frequent raids against the Sultanate and its trade cities. Also, Christianized Bantu peoples in the south began migrating north around the 12th century, as drought intensified and famine beset many southern tribes within Araswa. This culminated in several religious wars known as the Kuvujadamo(the ‘Great Bleeding’), leading to a significant christian and jewish population settling on the riverlands, alongside the predominant animist-buddhist population. Despite the fall of the Sultanate in the early 15th century, the Mandala period in Araswa is known for the spread of the Abrahamic faiths, primarily in cities through trade. The end of the period is roughly marked by the steady adoption and widespread use of gunpowder, the centralization and formation of larger states and the revival of trade, mainly with newly arrived Sinju merchants that came with more advanced firearms.

Sri Renaissance and Great Araswi War
The 17th century was marked with the rise of dozens of central Araswan states, mainly Kingdoms and reformed Sultanates. The buddhist ‘Pwani Republic’ formed from a merchant aristocracy sinicized and propped up by Sinju-Yoju wealth. It became the most powerful state in Araswa and was favored by powers such as Jeongmi. Most of the 17th and 18th centuries were periods of peace and prosperity in revived trade, with a ‘Sri renaissance’ occurring throughout the land and trade relations with Sinju becoming embedded. By the early 19th century, Araswan states developed some of the most sophisticated militaries, this period of peace also one of build-up and ethnic tension. The Sinjuese backed their own players in the Peninsula, funding and arming them, as well as antagonizing the Araswans against eachother as proxies. The Great Araswi War, as its most commonly known, lasted 20 years from 1855 ending in 1877, and devastated the land. The long, bloody war effectively destroyed or weakened the Araswan states, leaving the victors a pyrrhic victory and war torn land. In addition, the Araswi were mainly in-debted to Jeongmi, Basenareri and Kinshu, which had funded the expensive ‘forever war’ in Araswa, slipping under their Dominion unable to pay them off. The subsequent ‘Colonial Wars’, in which Sinjuese fought eachother and Araswi, lasted in a period of 1880 to 1930, though by 1930 it was mostly small scale rebellion put down before the Great Eulhae War.

Colonization
The Colonial Wars of Araswa lead to Kinshu taking over the Peninsula by 1901, but maintaining very loose control as rebellion was constant. The period where Araswa was being contested and under colonial control is also known as the ‘Second Kuvujadamo’ due to its mass brutality and destruction. Jeongmi troops razed the ancient city of Axriti, burning most historical documents and buildings in 1882; stealing gold and other artifacts. Jeongmi also moved the most settlers in Araswa, allocating resources and land to them, leading to famine and poverty among the Araswi. Basenareri is noted for numerous genocides of local peoples in retaliation for rebellion, as they also flooded Araswa with settlers who enslaved the local populations. Rebellion ultimately led to Jeongmi and Basenerari ceding control of their colonies as they were too costly, but abandoning their large, entrenched settler populations.

Modern
Kinshu was sold most of Araswa by 1901, inheriting these Sinjuese diaspora that were also growing rebellious. The majority of late rebellions in 1915-1920 would be settler-led while indigenous workers unionized. 1920-1944 Is known as a period of general strike and resistance in Araswa, with the growth of underground libertarian and syndicalist organizations. At the start of the Great Eulhae War, membership in radical industrial unions was climbing, however more workers/settlers were imported from overseas and brutal colonial policing was implemented to quell protest. Conscription was later implemented, however Araswi troops sent to fight abroad were known for mutiny throughout the war and when returning home, formed a more organized militia. Most rebelled when they were not compensated for their service. Independence was guaranteed after the war and a Transitory Independent pro-East government was established. It actively aided the late war effort while going through a lengthy constitutional convention. After the war ended, the Republic of Araswa emerged with a Sinjuized central government. This active opposition government was established in concert with Sinju powers against indigenous libertarian efforts, igniting the Araswi Civil War in 1947. It lasted until 1968, ending in the deaths of 4 million mostly through massacres, famine and lengthy asymmetric warfare. Fighting would wind down to irregular low-level war throughout the 70s and 80s. A reprisal of intense fighting would occur in 1982 when general strikes and autonomous occupations became widespread, devolving into urban and rural insurgency.

The government remnants capitulated in 1985 during the signing of the Xeer Charter, marking the beginning of the confederal Free Nations.

Politics
The Republic of Araswa is a unitary constitutional republic, modeled after a mix of Centerist and democratic traditions. Under the national age-grade system, a citizen must undergo training and serve in the military to be eligible to vote for leaders or be elected to the National Gadaa Assembly.

The President is elected as head of state and government by leaders in the National Gadaa Assembly, with eight year terms that coincide with elections. Each term passes onto a new generation of electors and delegates. The former assembly is promoted to advisory, administrative, law and ministry positions. There is no universal suffrage in Araswa, only Gadaa members(military) may vote however the wive’s of Gadaa members receive the same status, authority and vote, running a Women’s Assembly that oversees and convenes on the National Assembly concurrently.

The President heads an elected council of nine principal administrators, who have the final vote in executive decisions including vetoes. Four of the Councilors are from the previous administration, one is from the incumbent generation and four more are from the assembly in addition to the President.

Older generations move to be inducted in the polycentric law system primarily as judges and mediators. The most commonly adopted system is Xeer and its variations across Araswa. Alongside local law, the Yuuba Assembly acts as a supreme court of elder judges, lawyers and mediators who convene on the National Assembly when necessary as well, usually when called for by its own members or summoned.

The government is overall dominated by the

Wajimaa
The Wajimaa are self-ruling communes, from which the assembly gets its representatives. They are elected mainly through Gadaa or any other local system. There are a total of 142 of them, 35 being urban and subdivided even further.

Military
Araswa’s active military personnel totals 115,000, mostly conscripts. Some intelligence reports a larger combat ready population of around 250,000 reserves as well. Most of the military is deployed to the contested southern border and intervenes actively in contested regions. The government also claims to be suppressing religious extremists groups in these areas. Historically Araswa maintains a large force against foreign intervention as well, boasting one of the largest armies in East Miju.

Its structure is decentralized, with each unit intertwined with its local Wajimaa and with separate militia-like structure; the actual conventional forces under the Presidential Council are organized and central, numbering 27,000. Military service is not compulsory in Araswa, unless one wishes to participate in Gadaa rule. Members of the military-gadaa class typically enter training as early as 16. The president has separate military forces, with control over the national airforce and navy however.