Nesh

Nesh, officially the Popular State of Nesh (: Ramuchešusmaia Neša) is a in south-west Yoju. A nation of diverse geography and a long, complex history, it borders Mennefer to the west, Etelkoz to the north and Issakhar to the east. Ussar is its capital and largest city. The main ethnic groups are Jaatunist and, with 20 other recognized minority groups. After the Menneferian People's Party launched the Long Eastern Campaign during the Menneferian Revolution in 1955, Nesh has been ruled as a  with heavy restrictions on the economy, political freedom, and civil rights.

Etymology
Nesh is named after the ancient city of Nesha (Neša), which was the capital of several empires that preceded the classical Neshite Empire that ruled over Mennefer in the period 300–152 BCE. The city was laid in ruins by the Takhuit dynasty's armies in 156 CE during a local revolt and never recovered.

Ancient Nesh
The Neshites and first appeared in Central-southwestern Yoju in 2000 BCE. By around 1700 BCE, they had settled in Nesh and eastern Mennefer, and began to arrive in parts of Seogwan. The Neshites quickly established centralized power structures thanks to the already-existing cities, literate bureaucracies, and kingdoms and palace cults. Menneferian dynasties made repeated attempts at subjugating Neshite territory, usually enforcing a tense tributary relationship interspersed by episodic bouts of conflict.

Classical Nesh
The Neshite Empire was a major power in the Bronze Age and a contemporary and rival of the civilizations of Mennefer, Seogwan, and Naharin. Around 300 BCE, Pierammi the Great exploited an ongoing civil war and conquered most of central and southern Mennefer. His descendants solidified their rule over the region, moved the capital far westward from Nesha to Nexen and were culturally assimilated, deeply affecting Neshite society. At the same time, the already ancient religion of Jaatunism was exploding in growth across Mennefer and became the state-endorsed religion in the entire empire, spreading to Nesh in a syncretic form.

The Neshite Empire collapsed in 152 BCE after a in the royal family tore the army apart, allowing native Menneferians to take back control and restricting Neshite rule to modern Nesh.

Menneferian rule
Nesh was conquered by Mennefer during the Takhuit dynasty. While part of the Menneferian empire, most of the Neshite population was converted from their previously syncretic belief system to strict Orthodox Jaatunism.

Medieval Nesh
For much of the medieval era, Nesh was ruled by ethnically Koksoyic dynasties that assimilated to Neshite culture.

Modern Nesh
Nesh declared its independence from Nukigurun in 1944 after the latter's defeat in the Great Eulhae War. The Neshite government was overthrown by a socialist revolution inspired by the one in neighboring Mennefer in 1955, directly assisted by the Long Eastern Campaign.

Flora and fauna
The national animal of Nesh is the.

Government
Like the neighboring countries of Mennefer and Etelkoz, Nesh is a one-party socialist state. The Nesh Revolutionary People's Party has won every single election held since the 1950's; all electoral ballots feature a single pre-approved Party candidate. According to international observers, Nesh suffers from a high level of corruption and a poor human rights record.

Foreign relations
Nesh is a member of the OSDMA. It is closely aligned with Mennefer in its foreign policy and often considered to be a satellite state.

Economy
The economy mostly relies on Mennefer, Nesh's largest trade partner every year since the revolution.

Infrastructure
After decades of relative neglect, the export-led growth of the 2000s saw a massive wave of Menneferian state investment into Neshite infrastructure, including the opening of the country's first connection between them, which was opened exactly 60 years after the Menneferian Revolution. The close physical attachment that has been developed with the Menneferian industrial base has strongly increased growth but also been criticized as deepening Nesh's reliance on Mennefer.

Largest cities
Ussar is the largest city in the country by a wide margin, with over 3.5 million inhabitants. The other large cities with more than 500,000 people are Yaumouwa, Ratsarma, Markuš, and Jaitumouwati.

Ethnicity
The majority of the country's inhabitants are ethnically, making up 80.8% of the population in 2021, followed by Kamits at 12.4%. Neshites are related to nomadic peoples of the Yojuan steppes, Menneferians, and peoples but are genetically distinct from each; Kamits are a subgroup of the wider Menneferian culture and largely inhabit areas near the Mennefer-Nesh border and major cities. Minorities numbering less than 10% include the, who speak a closely-related language and are often (including by the Neshite government) considered a subgroup of Neshites rather than a distinct ethnicity, and the -speaking , who traditionally practiced a nomadic herding lifestyle, among others.

Language
(nešili), the official and majority language of Nesh, is part of the branch of the  language family. It is written in the script, one of the world's oldest writing systems that originated in Mennefer, and features a number of Menneferian influences including the use of many Remunmenni loanwords. Several minority languages are also spoken, including and, but none have official status. As in other Jaatunist countries, Remunmenni is used as the liturgical language.

Religion
A large majority of the Neshite population traditionally followed Jaatunism, with the Nesh Pure Order, the only Jaatunist Order in the world with more than a million followers, being dominant since the rule of the Anyutufids in the 1100s. There is a small minority of Sabbatarianism, mostly of the sect; as they have a high  rate their share of the population is becoming negligible. The Nesh Revolutionary People's Party imposes a policy on its members, with membership being required for participation in society.

Education
Education in Nesh is mandatory ages 5-16 and modelled on Sinjuan and Menneferian systems. Only public schools are authorized to operate. All is state-run and tuition-free. Neshite universities have low scores on international rankings of academic institutions and the country suffers from significant.

Architecture
Due to its rocky terrain, Nesh has a long tradition of, including , , , and even , especially in the region. combined eclectic influences and was characterized by dressed stone construction and stone-carved decoration concentrated around entrances and windows; the most architecturally significant medieval public buildings were Jaatunist temples,, and the (from unatallan halientu, "merchant palace"), roadside inns for trading caravans.

Art
The most significant Neshite folk art is and  weaving, with each region of Nesh having its own characteristic designs and motifs. Ceramics and stonework are also native artforms and date back thousands of years.

Cuisine
, grilled meat on a skewer, is widely popular, with the most iconic variety,, consisting of ground lamb and tail fat. It is typically eaten with an accompaniment of, fermented purple carrot juice. Meals often consist of many small plates called. Bread is eaten with most meals and comes in many different varieties, most prominently, a flatbread cooked in a oven and often eaten  or stuffed to make ; the thin cruchy dough  is used in   as well. Other dishes include... Wine and beer have been made in Nesh for thousands of years, and tea is also popular.

Holidays
The most important traditional Neshite holidays are in the spring and  in the fall. They have been celebrated since ancient times and predate Jaatunism but were recast with Jaatunist meanings in the medieval era. In modern Nesh, Independence Day and Revolution Day are also public holidays.

Music
The, , , , and are traditional musical instruments, often played by itinerant troubadours, the  or kitas.

Performing arts
Nesh is home to several traditions of folk theater, including, comedic with stock characters, and , a one-man show by a storyteller portraying multiple characters. During the colonial era, alamkaud became a rallying point for nationalism with plots revolving around the character of a crude but clever Neshite peasant outwitting a pretentious Nuki administrator. After the socialist revolution, alamkaud was used extensively for propaganda, with the Nuki character changed to a landlord or capitalist to give the performances themes of class conflict. In contrast, halzai was considered reactionary and suppressed by the socialist regime for its themes of courtly romance and chivalry.

Sports
The traditional national sport of Nesh is. Nesh is also a strong performer in and  through an extensive state-backed fitness program. The country's athletic organization has been penalized on several occasions for artificially increasing the during international competitions.