Siltorn Republic

The Siltorn Republic was a longstanding historic nation state in the uplands of northwestern Anásthiasplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigAnásthias

Anásthias [a-NAS-thee-ass / ænæsθiːæs], or [an-ass-THEE-as] is an equatorial island continent, heart of the Civilised World. The north straddles the equator and is hot and humid, while most of the equatorial centre is an upland plateau with fertile river valleys, and stretches of arid plains and desert in the shadow of the mountains. The south is temperate but more wild, separated from the civilisations of the north by the almost impassable Harthera, enduring from its foundation in 2380 BME to it's absorption into the Mother State of Ororr in 96 MEplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigModern Epoch (ME)

The Modern Calendar is a dating system acknowledged throughout the Civilised World. It numbers years from the Modern Epoch, abbreviated ME and BME (Before Modern Epoch). It is also called the Modern Era.

Calendar

This is in a series of articles about calendars and dating systems.OrorrHartheraHMOrorrHartheraOrorrOrorrHMHartheraHMHartheraOrorr.

Siltorn, meaning “between the hills”, is an upland region of the Siltorn Plateau, a region of river valleys encircled by mountains.

The Republic originated amongst the many small agrarian market towns and communities which lined the Lake Initerer and the upper Silt River. The early Siltun were a practical and business-like people, but enmities and inter-village vendettas had scarred past history, leading to constant raiding and vicious clan battles. The Republic had its roots in the annual forum, a sacred safe space on the lake shore where settlements could arbitrate and settle their disputes.

The great magistrate and legislator Seyuller, resident of the city of Initerer on the north side of the Great Lake, was often called upon to mediate in all manner of disputes. He eventually drew up a system of rules for the discussion and arbitration process, which grew by creating a regular standing body, made up of representatives of all the principal towns and villages in the region. The body as a whole had powers to mediate, and to draw up future rules and codes of conduct governing relations of trade, boundaries and so on.

He formulated a set of basic principles, agreed upon by all sides, promoting peace, prosperity, mutual co-operation and defence. These were written down as what was to be known as the First Constitution of the Republic, in 720 HMplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigHirèrk Moonscale

The Hirèrk Moonscale [Hee-Rerrk] (HM) is a luni-solar calendar used at least since the time of Miyarris, which measures cycles based on the moons, solar years as well as the millennia-long cycles of global climate change. Today years HM are only seen in historic works and not considered accurate in historical accounts.HMHMepochsepochepochepochepochepochHMepochsME. This came to be called the first Year of the Republic; the Siltorn calendar begins with this date.

Though the Republic changed throughout its existence, in terms of proportionate representation of the people, it remained largely peaceful and successful for almost two and a half thousand years, on the firm foundations of Seyuller's constitution. Seven major constitutional revisions were made in that time, and although the last working constitution was a much longer, and much less worthy document, its predecessors all retained the essential principles of its first.

Assemblies of the Republic at first met in towns and cities throughout the land, but eventually settled at Initerer, in honour of Seyuller. The city subsequently became the largest and most affluent on Lake Initerer, a centre for business, trade and government.

Towns and groups of villages each had a representative in the assembly, each member wielding a certain number of votes, depending on the size of the interest they represented. How the member was elected could vary from town to town and was considered a local matter, the only rule being that the position must not be hereditary, the people must be given a choice of representative, and the member should broadly represent the views of the local population. Most representatives were appointed either by local government, or by direct ballot of the people, although some restricted candidacy to patrician families. The system was sometimes open to abuse but it was largely respected, except in times of particular strife. The major disputes were over local boundaries, and how it should be decided how many votes each community should get. In different eras it was determined by population, by land area, by wealth, productivity, trade, or (latterly) by financial contribution to the Assembly.

The Assembly’s job was firstly to decide boundaries between cities, deciding on land allocation. Secondly it regulated trade, initially to encourage trade between cities, to prevent protectionism, and to provide social stability. Latterly the Assembly came to be pre-eminent in defence. In the founding days of the Republic, unrest had occurred between the states, not from outside, but latterly it was forced to deal with constant external threats, particularly during the decline of the Empire of Dor-en-Sann. In the latter days of the Republic, the Mordant tribes to the west, the Kingdoms to the southwest, and EnSanni rebel warlords to the east made constant military incursions, forcing the Republic onto a debilitating military footing.

Under the Fourth Constitution, every constituent town of the Republic was duty-bound to submit troops and arms, and the Assembly elected a War-Leader from a selected list of candidates. War-Leaders were not allowed to be representatives or to submit legislation, but in times of dire need they could take on extraordinary powers. There were three famous occasions of lengthy Dictatorship (under the abusive Fifth Constitution), only one of which had long-term influences. The Sixth Constitution was devised in the subsequent peacetime, specifically designed to prevent any one person or faction from gaining supreme authority. Though this protected the Republic from tyranny, it was useless in the face of imminent military threat. While Armies marched down the Silt River, the Republic sat in committees and ballots, squabbling over the inevitable.

The Mother Army took just three months to sweep across the Republic, crushing all opposition. The Assembly swore an oath of fealty and formal capitulation under the treacherous Seventh Constitution of 37 ME. The Assembly formally continued, but it was made up with dupes, religious sympathisers to the Prophet Therionplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigTherion

The Great Prophet Therion, founder of the Church of the Mother., and collaborators that came to be despised by the people. Siltorn was occupied by the Army, with Initerer and the other river ports used as a base to launch an assault on the Dor-en-Sann Empire. The cities of the Wiyel River were crushed, and in after four years of occupation the military headquarters was moved from Initerer to Remel.

Peace returned, but the Republic was destroyed: it had become a mere puppet state, a conduit for troops and supplies travelling between the Old Land and the new Mother Nation of Ororrplugin-autotooltip__small plugin-autotooltip_bigOrorr

Ororr [o-ROARR, ɒ̝rɔ'ɾ], also called the Holy Motherland of Ororr, is a theocratic nation in Anásthias, one of the world's great powers. It the largest nation in the world, perhaps the largest empire in history, occupying the entire northwest of the continent between the mountains and the sea. Ororrlanguagelanguagelanguage, formally founded in 3150.

In 96 ME, Year-of-the-Republic 2476, the Republic finally came to an end. The Constitution was dissolved, and the Assembly was became a province of the new nation of Ororr.