Babel
| The Republic of Babel | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Politics and Religion | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Population and Economy | |||||||||
| |||||||||
The Republic of Babel was established by the overthrow of the Empire of Babel. The extremism of that Orthodox government led to a radical anti-theist ideology spreading through underground presses, eventually overthrowing the theocracy and establishing a state based on anti-clericalism and human rights, in percieved opposition to Divine Right. More traditional states are now watching the experiment with anything from amusement to alarm, while the fledgling republic seeks to secure its position and spread freedom and democracy to the oppressed of other lands and shores.
History
Ancient History
For the majority of its history after the fall of the Alfar, the cities and towns of Babel were governed by a warring array of noble families that exchanged settlements and populations like game pieces. The image of the ‘Grand Game’ or ‘Noble Game’ remains strong in Babelic culture, both as a board game (now unpopular) and as a concept invoked to condemn the way nobles and gods use their subjects. However, the Noble Game itself did not survive the coming of Orthodoxy.
The Orthodoxy
When Orthodoxy spread to Babel it did not take long for the head of one of the noble houses to 'see the light' and convert. He proceeded to use religious fervour and foreign crusaders to unify the peninsula and establish the first national church and institutions, and was crowned the first Emperor of Babel. However the governments of his successors were marked largely by incompetence, arrogance and oppression. The most critical manifestation of this was their focus on traditional and foreign enemies which led to a failure to isolate and stamp out rising of Merodist sentiment among the general public until it was too late. The final errors were the decision of the Orthodoxy to support the corrupt government against its opponents, and the public execution of Merodin himself, which sparked a general revolution against both the government and the Orthodox church itself. The Orthodox government was doomed, and certain critical events such as the defection of General Rim-Sun and the isolation of Orthodox reinforcements only hastened the inevitable.
The Republic
That was ten years ago. Now the Republic is firmly established, governed by an elected Senate, Representative Councils and an Emperor in turn elected by them. The statues of the Kings and Emperors have been torn down and replaced with Urist, Merodin and Empress Semiramis, and the masses of the people that validate the power they hold.
Politics
The Principles of the Revolution
1. All rational beings are in essence equal.
2. No authority derives except from the consent of the governed.
- "Can a people crushed by centuries of propaganda and oppression give meaningful consent? Of course not, no more than you or I would accept a confession from a man beaten senseless by his captors. It is our moral duty to free these people and uplift them until they can establish a government of their own."
3. All rational beings inherently possess the rights to life, property, and freedom of thought and agency.
4. These rights may only be abridged as is necessary to defend the rights of others and the principles of the revolution.
- "The promulgation of material denying the righteousness of the revolution is inherently a threat to the rights of the people and the integrity of the republic they have created. To allow these demagogues to walk free is not a defence of our principles, it is a betrayal."
Geography
Military
The Army
Revolutionary fervour still runs through Babel, and motivates vast numbers of young men to sign their life away. This has enabled the creation of a large army that makes up for a lack of training and tradition with motivation and professionalism, aided (and sometimes hampered) in no small part by various technical and organisational innovations. Membership is not yet compulsory (though provisions for conscription exist in case the nation is critically endangered by the forces of Reaction), but is heavily enouraged, as the Merodists attempt to ensure that as much of the population as possible is equipped to defend the Revolution.
The Republican Guard
The armoured spearhead of the military however is the Republican Guard. The most hardened veterans of the revolution formed the basis for this body, and are only joined by those who distinguish themselves in the regular army in terms of talent, bravery and ideological purity. These men and women then form a fanatically devoted and cruelly trained elite that the goverment can call upon to perform the most important tasks.