Intermission: State of the Empire (~3rd Millennium)
***
The Shinar Empire
***
People:
Population:
320 million people
Ethnic groups:
Egyptian (20%), Assyro-Babylonian (19%), Hittite (15%), Skane (13%), Etrurian (9%), Gallian (8%), Hispalis (8%), Britannian (5%), Greek (2%), Others (1%)
Languages:
Shinari (official), Greek, Skanish (Gallian, Etrurian, Hispalis, Britannian dialects).
Religions:
Imperial Cult, pagan worship (according to territory).
***
Government:
The head of state is the Emperor, who wields absolute authority over the entire Empire. In practice, the Emperor's powers are usually balanced by the powerful Council of Kings which are made up of the eight main kingdoms of the Empire and chaired by the Oligarch of the Greek Republic. The Council of Kings traditionally serve in an advisory capacity, and Emperors that think themselves above the advice offered traditionally do not last long. It is rare for the Council of Kings to demonstrate unity, The Council of Nobles used to consist of all landed noblemen throughout the Empire, until several kingdoms began parceling their land up into smaller and smaller pieces as to gain more voices on the council. Since then, a fixed allocation of equal seats has been implemented. A position on the council is held for life, or at the Emperor's pleasure, and gaining a seat is only possible through the recommendation of more than 20% of the noblemen of the council. However, it is rare for more than half of the noblemen to be present at any sitting. The Council of Nobles serves the function of vetting the decrees passed down by the Emperor and the Council of Kings. They may also propose amendments, or new rules and edicts for the Council of Kings to present to the Emperor.
The laws of the empire are upheld by courts that are presided over by justiciars - scholars that have specialized in the complicated, extensive, and ancient laws of the empire in their studies. Enforcement is carried out by prefect squads that operate under a justiciar's command. Each city in the Empire is assigned one court.
Capital:
Ankida, an ancient city rumoured to have been built single-handedly by the founder of the Empire himself.
National animal:
None, though an old royal joke dating back to the founding days of the Empire has it as an octopus painted black. The reason for this has been lost in time.
***
Economy:
The Empire is large enough to sustain the needs of its own population via domestic production. Internal trade thrives due to an extensive network of well-maintained roads, while externally it trades mainly with the Indus Empire and the Eastern Concordiat for luxuries such as spices and silk. Trade guilds flourish in every kingdom, and the justiciar system helps to guarantee the safety of most merchants, financially or otherwise, via a well-developed code of trade legalities. Currency is standardized throughout the Empire, with a simple exchange rate of 100 cops to 1 sil, and 100 sil to 1 gil.
***
Culture:
Education:
A major aspect of the Imperial Cult is in the promotion of education. All children are mandated to attend public schools, run at the expense of the Empire, from the age of 7 till 12. From there, they may take up apprenticeship - usually lasting 5 years - at any of the numerous guilds that span the Empire, while the best students are drafted into the Imperial Academy in Ankida, where they are trained to handle the management of the Empire. The cream of the Academy crop go on to specialize in particular areas of study, such as military strategy, law, politics and science. The Empire has developed a habit of excessive documentation, in part thanks to numerous decrees from Emperor Runiphilos IV, who came to power after the 6th Shinar Civil War in 1337 A.C. and found to his great grief that the records of the first five hundred years of the Empire were mostly destroyed in that war.
The literacy rate within the Empire is at 60%.
Pleasure:
All Imperial citizens enjoy the pleasures of life, even the dour northerners. Brothels are allowed to operate openly in major cities, and the Etrurian city of Spica has based its entire economy around providing pleasure to every person that walks through its doors, provided that they have coin. The capital of Ankida is renowned for the Grand Theatre that was endowed by Emperor Nabusartep 'the Playwright' Eannos, a great patron of the arts, in 2471 A.C., and most cities now boast of at least one theatre of their own.
Religion:
The main religion is that of the Imperial Cult, which worships the god Ean, a semi-historical figure that has long been held to be the founder of the Empire. The Imperial family is held to be descended from him, with divine blood, and treated with the respect accorded to demigod figures. The Empire upholds the right of every citizen to practice their religion, and many old pagan religions still hold sway throughout the kingdom. Over the past three centuries, religious belief has slowly begun to decline thanks to the emergence of a popular philosophical atheistic movement started by the Greek thinker Atmos.
At present, 85% of the population still claim themselves to be religious.
***
Technology:
The Empire is one of the most technologically advanced nations in the world, rivalled only by the Eastern Concordiat. The cities are well-lit by oil lights and have good plumbing systems. Medicine has been a major area of focus for the scholars and the success rate for treatment of disease and injuries is at an all-time high of 45%. The Empire also boasts of an extensive network of paved roads that connect every major city in its area of influence. Communication between cities has been expedited by the relatively recent reintroduction of the light tower network in 2758 A.C. by an Assyro-Babylonian scholar named Shulgi, who claimed to have been given a divine scroll from the First Emperor Ean containing blueprints for such towers. The network allows for coded messages to be transmitted by line of sight via a relay of towers set up between each city. Advances over the years have increased the operating capacity of the network, and reduced the amount of towers required between each city as well as increased the efficiency of the code used to transmit the messages. Scholars have begun experimenting with steam power, and a working prototype of a steam-powered water pump is currently being tested in the northern mines.
***
Military:
The military of the Empire is structured around regiments of 1000 men under the command of a noble-born officer. Each regiment is further broken down into units of 10 men, each led by a squad officer. Each kingdom has its own Marshal that has authority over the standing army of the kingdom. Each kingdom is also required to contribute the equivalent in manpower of 10% of its armies to the Imperial Army in Ankida, which is commanded by the High Marshal of the Empire. The High Marshal has the power to appoint military scholars to any regiment or army he sees fit as adjutants to the officers-in-charge. The Emperor has authority to command every single soldier and officer of the military in the Empire whenever he wishes, but in practice it has ended disastrously when Emperor Mardukios attempted it against the Skane Kingdom in 633 A.C., and Emperor Ratvius II against the Concordiat in 1795 A.C.
The mainstay of the Empire's soldiers are infantry, cavalry and bowmen, armed with steel weaponry and armour. Scholars have been hard at work replicating the firepowder used to devastating effect by the Concordiat in the 317th Concordiat Border Skirmish in 2918 A.C., and there are now at least ten regiments throughout the Empire equipped with rudimentary muskets, though their quality is still behind that of the Concordiat.
Standing Armies of the Empire (by Kingdom):
Assyro-Babylonia: 500,000 men
Egypt: 300,000 men
Skane: 300,000 men
Hatti: 250,000 men
Gallia: 200,000 men
Etruria: 170,000 men
Hispalis: 150,000 men
Britannia: 100,000 men
Greek Republic: 10,000 men
Imperial Army: 200,000 men
***
Domestic Affairs:
The various kingdoms of the Empire can only agree on matters that benefit them all, and will argue to the death - sometimes, literally - regarding matters that benefit one more than the other. Suffice to say, the nature of politics in the Empire is extremely complicated, with dozens of factions maneuvering behind the scenes to climb over the bodies of their rivals - sometimes, literally - to gain power and wealth. Minor noblemen often get swept into the frenzied waltz of politicking and end up destitute, though there are always opportunities available for the smart and the ruthless no matter the status of their birth. Adoptions of talented people are common, as despite the lip-service paid to the importance of blood - starting with the divine blood of the Imperial family - the Empire is pragmatic, and if push comes to shove talent will trump blood any day.
Civil war has occurred amongst the kingdoms of the Empire 12 times in the past three thousand years when the Emperor was not able (either by virtue of being an infant, or by virtue of being dead) to solve any succession problems, though the Empire has always remained together through it all thanks to the uniting symbol of the Imperial family. Each of the kingdoms realize that they are far better off under the Empire's aegis than outside it - if only because any kingdom outside its aegis was liable to get subjugated by those smarter kingdoms making good use of the Empire's protection.
***
Foreign Affairs:
The Empire is currently at peace with the powers around it; the Free Scania, a splinter of the Old Skane Kingdom that refused to join the Empire when the kingdom mysteriously collapsed circa 850 A.C.; the assorted tribes of the Rus, where peace means that the Empire only burns down one village whenever their settlers are raided; the Indus Empire, which sued for peace after being defeated in the most recent attempt to take back part of the lands the Empire gained in the Indus Reconquest of 1875 B.C.; Tamur, a vassal of the Concordiat that has no policy of its own but has a reputation for birthing beautiful princesses; and the Concordiat, which has engaged in hundreds of little border skirmishes with the Empire via Tamur over the years, but has never escalated it to all out war. Even during times of war with the Indus Empire and the Concordiat, trade relations maintain cordial whenever swords are not being swung.
***
). I wonder if the technology and society are anything similar. Certainly the various realms of our Empire jockeying for power and attempting to place a convenient Emperor on the throne are similar enough to the various realms of the Holy Roman Empire at the equivalent time 
How soon until Ean has dirty, dirty tentacle sex with the whole species?
