Gorgaria

**Gorgaria** (Gorgarian: *ცუსული*, *Tsusuli*), officially the **Kingdom of Gorgaria** (Gorgarian: *ცუსულივრემტი*, *Tsusulivremti*), is a sovereign state located in Eastern Eurea. An island nation, Gorgaria has a maritime border with Kasha to the north, south, and west. Its capital and most-populous city is Kita, located in the northeast coast of the country. Gorgaria has a population of about 2.5 million inhabitants.

Organized civilization first began in the territory of modern-Gorgaria in the 2nd-century, with the establishment of numerous small city-states. By the 7th-century, these territories unified to form the Kingdom of Gorgaria. As an island nation, the Kingdom was relatively isolated from the rest of the world and quite stable. While one of the most mysterious and unknown nations of the world, Gorgaria was also known for its internal harmony and stability. In the 19th-century, the Kashan Empire invaded and conquered the Kingdom, incorporating it as the Gorgarian Protectorate; the nation maintained its monarchy and royal family, but was forced to submit to the Empire. A *coup d'état* occurred in the 20th-century, with the Empire being overthrown by fascists and becoming the Kashan Union. Gorgaria was then incorporated as the Gorgarian Fascist Republic of Kasha, and its royal family was forced to flee to Framland. Individual freedoms and liberties were greatly diminished under the fascist regime, with high levels of poverty, famine, and instability. Following a weakening of the Union and increasing foreign pressure from democracies, the Union began to fall in the 1980s; Gorgaria declared its independence in 1989. Following the restoration of its independence, the Kingdom was restored and the royal family was allowed to return to Gorgaria for the first time in more than six decades.

Since the restoration of its independence, Gorgaria has established itself as a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the Monarch, who holds only ceremonial powers. The Monarch formally appoints ministers, is the official commander-in-chief of the military, signs legislation into law with no veto power, and acts as a unifying figure for the country. All political power is vested in the Prime Minister, who is constitutionally mandated to be the leader of the governing political group in parliament. The Prime Minister is the nation's chief legislator, and is tasked with proposing their own policy agenda and leading a council of ministers. The legislature of Gorgaria is its 165-seat unicameral parliament.

Of its population of about 2.5 million, approximately 98.1% of the population identifies as ethnically Gorgarian. An ethnically homogenous nation, the remaining 1.9% identifies as other ethnic groups, primarily Kashans or the spouses of ethnic Gorgarians. The sole official and national language of Gorgaria is Gorgarian, the only known member of the Gorgaric branch of Eurean languages. Gorgarian is spoken natively by approximately 97.6% of the population, while most of the remaining 2.4% speaks Kashan natively. Kashan is still widely understood by the Gorgarian population, and is a common foreign language taught in schools; however, Kashan proficiency has decreased since independence, and now is mainly confined to older and more urban populations. The primarily religion of Gorgaria is Gorgarian folk religion, a polytheistic faith which is practiced by approximately 85.6% of the population. Other religions include Eastern Eurean Christianity at 5.6%, other religions at 1.4%, and atheism, agnosticism, or irreligion at 7.4%. Weekly religious attendance is high, numbering 47.5% of the population.