Uspria

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The Imperial Queendom of Uspria
MottoProgress Through Unity
AnthemOur Queen Ascendant
Location of Uspria
Location of Uspria on Aurora
Capital
and largest city
Shesa
Official Languages Liuri
Staynish
Ethnic groups (2019) 18% Usprian Elf
82% Human
Demonym Usprian
Government Divine Absolute Monarchy
 -  High Queen Ayrinn Taube
 -  Prime minister Ronya Etusi
Legislature Parliament
 -  Upper house Senate
 -  Lower house Chamber of Representatives
Area
 -  Total 298,200 km2
115,135 sq mi 
Population
 -  2019 census Increase 68,232,570
 -  Density 228.81/km2
592.63/sq mi
GDP (nominal) 2019 estimate
 -  Total $2.012 Trillion
☥1.17 Trillion
 -  Per capita $29,500
☥17,110
Gini (2019)29.3
low
HDI (2019)0.933
very high
Currency Marks (☥/UM)
Time zone Tellith Mean Time (UTC+6)
Date format DD/MM/YYYY
Drives on the left Side
Calling code +80
ISO 3166 code .IUI
Internet TLD .IUI

The Imperial Queendom of Uspria, better known as simply Uspria, is a middle-sized and prosperous absolute monarchy located in southern Aurora, bordering the United Kingdom and Xagrurg. Protected by its mountainous terrain, the monarchy has existed for over 11,000 years, and is currently under the rule of the Taube Dynasty, Queen Ayrinn being the current ruler. Its capital and largest city Shesa hosts many of the nation's foreign embassies, and holds a population of 15 million people. Uspria prides itself on its cultural focus on the arts and sciences, with many poets, scholars, and painters gaining high praise and popularity.

Etymology

History

Mesolithic Uspria (8800-5800 BC)

Although the exact date is still hotly debated amongst historians and scholars it is within the Mesolithic Era that elves from what would become modern day Arcturiasaid eastward towards the continent of Aurora. Utilizing ancient voyager ships the elves bridged the gap between the two landmasses. The elves proceeded across the southern coast of Aurora following native populations of Aurochs along the southern coast of Aurora and into what would become modern Uspria. While archaeological records are scarce archaeologists have found remains of old stone tools and decorative art that described the nomadic proto Usprian people. Within the caves remains of shattered pottery were found along with trace residue of foodstuffs as well as salt withing the shards, suggesting that ancient Usprians utilized a method of desalinating water to utilize the salt for enhancing or preserving food.

Close to the late Mesolithic Usprians settled into into what would become modern day Uspria. Settlers built tightly packed mudbrick settlements along the cliffside. based upon historical artifacts recovered this was the same time in which early Usprians began the domestication of a Hapsi, a medium-grained rice. It is theorized early Usprians utilized hapsi as well as hunting game and fish to consume. Wild figs, olives, nuts, berries, and seeds were also used to supplement dietary needs deeper inland. Those who settled upon the rocky shores of Uspria ate much higher proportions of fish, mollusk, and berries that grew within the rocky crags of the mountainous coastline. Early Usprians also used a variety of domesticated animals for travel, food, labor, and clothing. Some of the earliest examples are the early domestication of goats, auroran pheasants, and Hummarian Aurochs.


Early Usprian society was still highly tribal during this period however limited instances of bartering and cultural exchange did occur between the different settled tribes as well as native human populations. It is theorized the Usprian people traded foodstuff, seeds, livestock, and handicrafts. During the late Mesolithic period early Usprians developed the groundwork for the Aocini faith as evidenced by exhumed remains featuring jewelry and talismans reminiscent of the symbolism used in modern Aocini.

Neolithic Uspria (5800-4500 BC)

The Neolithic Era in Uspria is characterized heavily by more permanent settlements being established throughout the mountainous regions. As Usprian society started to coalesce in mountainous holds and the religion of Aocini took a greater cultural prominence over early shamanistic religions cities increased in not only size but also organization with city-states rising to prominence across Usprian lands. The advent of organized agriculture along the banks of Uspria's many rivers which carried nutrients down from the mountains and into the rivers and tributaries that flowed through the lowlands. Cultivation of Hapis greatly increased after the discovery of the wikipedia:millstone quickly led to the utilization of rice flour and the creation of rice bread. The method for cultivation, milling, and baking improved the quality of Usprian life tremendously and allowed Usprians to gain the upper hand when bartering with goods before the process was disseminated to Aurora.

Usprians traded bread, pottery, and salted fished for a variety of goods specifically jewelry, textiles, and human labor. As Usprian cities expanded, specifically those along the coast, more workers were needed for additional labor than the Usprian elves slow reproductive speed could create. Usprians purchased or forced early human tribes into bondage to utilize them as a fast growing source of labor for their fields and dockyards. By the year 4900 the slavery of humans became a common practice in Uspria. Usprian cities utilized the slave labor to quickly catapult themselves forward in both the ability produce goods as well as the ability to extract new resources. During this period aggression between the native humans and elven populations reached a tipping point, causing one of the first known extensively recorded wars. Ancient Usprian city-states faced a guerrilla war against human tribesmen which forced the Usprain city-states to unite under the leadership of an Usprian priestess named Taube. After the unification of the city-states and success of the campaign Taube was proclaimed to be the first ruler of the newly formed civilization leading to the foundations of the Taube dynasty as well as the country of Uspria.

Chalcolithic Uspria (4500-3500 BC)

The Chaloclithic Era of Usprian society revolves primarily around the advent of larger scale mining operations utilizing slave labor as well as early forges to mold copper into more effective tools and weapons as well as ornamentation. Usprian mines primarily extracted copper from the craggy ground alongside copper-bearing gemstones such as wikipedia:Larimar, wikipedia:Malachite, and wikipedia:Azurite. Usprian jewelers took the copper and gemstones and began to forge intricate pendants, brooches, and hairpins. Usprian craftswomen, now spared from working in the fields and mines, turned their focus towards the sybarite culture that Usprians are known for. With the increase in luxury items as well as greater desire to trade with neighbors along the coastline of Aurora. These merchants utilized an almost universally desired good: salt, to exchange for goods of those whom they traded with. Usprian merchants soon found themselves creating a new social structure based upon the vast difference in wealth between the human slaves and their elven masters.

Upon the advent of metallurgy Usprian military forces became a superior fighting force as well. Usprians using copper tipped spears and weighted nets became excellent hunters of both game and humans within early Usprian society. These hunters were often the children of merchants who would then utilize the captured animals and people as goods to be sold, creating a strongly clan aligned military that was loyal to their matriarch. The largest change in Usprian warfare would be the domestication of the metlae. Its domestication and use as a mount assisted early Usprians greatly with navigating both the deep forests of the lowlands as well as the mountainous terrain thanks to the metlae's natural agility and its ability to leap and pounce with surprising accuracy. Usprians riding metlae quickly rose in prominence in Usprian society and mounted warriors became a symbol of wealth and prestige, often equipped with rudimentary copper armor and reinforced spears specifically designed for their use in mounted combat.

Usprian society, building upon the budding desire for luxury, the surplus of wealth from trading, and through the actions against the less organized tribes of humans began to develop some of the first the signs of civilization. Under the leadership of Taube a series of universal laws were enacted, a setting of standard prices and valuation of goods throughout the unified city-states was established, as well as a rudimentary cuneiform script that was utilized primarily for counting stores of materials as well as denoting amounts. An early form of scales was developed and utilized in order to evaluate the weight of salt and how much of other materials it would be worth. This method, however, was short lived as the Chalcolthic Era ended and Usprians began the process of greater centralization.

Politics

Uspria is defined as an absolute monarchy headed by the Taube Dynasty. The leading member of the dynasty holds the title of high queen and serves for life, although abdication to another member of the dynasty is allowed and within the rights of the high queen. The high queen is supported by a hand picked cabinet of leaders and representatives from the Parliament as well as a judge who serves under the title of Court Supremant. The task of running the government's daily actives are usually ran by a coordinated effort between the high queen's cabinet alongside the legislative branch with the high queen herself only intervening in urgent matters or in matters that garner national attention. Although the government is mainly run through the cabinet the high queen has full power to veto any decisions reached by the cabinet, legislative, or judicial branches and institute her own decision should the need arise.

The legislative branch of the Usprian government is headed by elected officials who serve as the people's voice within the government. Both local and nation positions are voted upon by the people of Uspria utilizing a runnoff voting system to pick their candidates for local and later national government positions. The legislative branch is most commonly characterized by different political parties with each vying for popular opinion as well as the high queen's favor.

The judicial branch is proposed by the legislative branch to the executive in both local and national selections. The executive branch then has the power to either approve or deny a judge. National level judicial officers must be personally approved by the high queen before beginning their duties. The judicial branch commonly blends into the legislative branch with justices working directly with or under different legislative officials, most commonly the heads of different parties. While serving on judicial offices justices are formally barred from announcing any party sympathies or affiliations, while this is mainly a formality of the office it is still a ruling used to remove justices by the executive branch.

Foreign Policy

The Tivot Embassy in Shesa

Uspria since its earliest days has been regarded as a peaceful nation. Uspria is renowned for approaching matters of international politics through trade negotiations and friendly, yet reserved diplomacy. Usprian relations often favor nations who have female leaders or are strong advocates for equal rights. Usprian policies favor the construction of diplomatic missions abroad to maintain good relations with foreign powers and their people, specifically in countries that share the cultural values of Uspria.

Uspria frequently provides aid in for of deploying peacekeepers to assist countries with setting up infrastructure, building wells, providing humanitarian aid after a disaster, as well as sponsoring educational programs for children and adults. Upsrian aid programs also focus on developing local businesses and laborers in order to make the community independent and promote long term growth. Most recently this has been expanded to include green power initiatives as well as counseling to victims of disasters or trauma.

Uspria maintains an observer seat on the United Nations of the Auroran Continent. While it is formally barred form full membership due to its government structure Uspria still abides by all laws and systems set in place by the UNAC. In recent years mild tension has sprung up based on their continued denial of a seat. This contention has sparked debate within the Usprian political circles as to whether abiding by the rulings of the UNAC are advantageous to Uspria. This contention is often disregarded as shortsighted or simply petty by many of those who serve in parliament as well as the high queen herself. Officially Uspria maintains the rulings of the UNAC and is often the first to respond when a member nation has been struck by disaster or is in need of aid from other states.

Military

Culture

Demographics

The people of Uspria are divided between human and elven populations. The majority of humans in Uspria are descendants of the native populations or those whom Usprian elves purchased on earlier times as slaves. Most native born Usprians are taller than the average person with an average height of 1.81 meters (5 ft 11.3 in) for adult males and 1.67 meters (5 ft 5.7 in) for adult females. With the significant advancements in medical technology that Uspria has made the life expectancy for both men and women reaches to the age of 93 according to the 2019 estimates. Uspria boasts a population of 68,232,570 with 82 percent being human and 18 percent being elf. The human population notably makes up the entirety of the lower and middle classes while also extending somewhat into the upper class in a select few instances.

Usprian Elves

Usprian elves differ greatly from their northern counterparts. One of the most notable anatomic differences is their eye structure is tetrachromatic instead of trichromatic. This allows Uspruian elves a much greater depth of color perception than their trichromatic counterparts. This increase in color depth has led Usprian elves to developed a great appreciation for visual arts and for a vibrancy in color. Tetrachromatic vision has also allowed Usprian elves' eyesight to dip into the ultraviolet range, giving them insight into into a world of color that has been previously unexplored by most residents of Urth. Uspran elves also feature a marked difference in lifespan. Their lifespan is markedly indeterminate and following a cycle of every decade Usprian elves fall into a period of limited hibernation and cellular regeneration for a period of three months. During this time their bodies regenerate from oxidative damage as well as the repairing damage to telomeres causing Usprian elves to be biologically immune to the aging process.

One surprising contrast between Usprian elves and their norther counterparts is the ability to reproduce quickly. Unlike most other species of Urth Usprian elves reproduce at a markedly slow pace. The process takes nearly three years to complete. The first two thirds involve the intake of particular nutrients in order to prepare for reproduction. After the first two years the third year is spent carrying the offspring to term. Usprian elves have the capability to reproduce once every decade. Their offspring takes 30 years to reach full developmental maturity. Female children are the most common fro Usprian elves and nearly 73% of all childbirths are female biologically.

Religion

Geography

Climate

Economy