Noble Titles in Tairghol

Noble titles in Tairghol function in much the same capacity as on Earth, given that they were used and carried over by former inhabitants of Earth. Many cultures have their own names for the noble titles below, but they can, with a few exceptions, be boiled down to five or six distinct ranks.

## Emperor

At the top of the pile stands the Emperor. There have been only three countries in the history of Tairghol ruled by an Emperor, and only one of those still stands.

The first two countries were the Vardanid Empire, ruled by the Shahanshah, or 'King of Kings'; and the Ceragitian Empire, an empire in name only - the title was granted by the nobility to the Ceragitian King to appease him in a moment of wrath during the 3rd Century.

The only country that currently exists as an empire is Tianguo. Tianguo's ruler is styled 'Heavenly Star-King' or 'Tianshang Dei Xing Wang' in Tianguese. It is justified as an empire in its vast size and that the Guwangs who rank directly beneath the Heavenly Star-King have huge degrees of autonomy bordering on independence, making them Kings in all but name.

**Equivalents:**

* Emperor
* Shahanshah (Parsanian)
* Tianshang Dei Xing Wang (Tianguese)

## King

The most common independent title in north-western Tairghol, a King is the ruler of a large- to medium-sized country. Typically he has tight control over his subjects, and pays lip-service to nobody.

Kings across Tairghol are decided in a variety of different ways, though hereditary rule is most common. Some, like Talor, choose their Kings by elective vote from a pool of candidates, while the Sharqiyas of Gerentis and Jhaladis challenge would-be Sharqas to compete in a tournament to prove their worth.

As an aside, a petty kingdom is still a kingdom. The term simply refers to a kingdom that is a fragment of a once-larger realm - the petty kingdoms of Hanharth, Herriald and Lastornia were both once part of the kingdom of Lastria. Their Kings are referred to as Petty Kings because they fight so-called petty wars over hegemony of the entire fallen realm - wars that are so bloodless and unimportant that they pale in comparison to conflict in general. As an aside to the aside, it is generally unadvisable to call a Petty King a Petty King to his face. He still holds the power of a full-blown King, and you may end up with one less head, depending on his mood.

**Equivalents:**

* King
* Sultan (Mustanian/Halarbian)
* Shah (Parsanian)
* Sharqi (Desert-Plains)
* Raj (Kaja)
* Rex (Sacred Coalition)
* Throned Man (Scanbroughan)
* Konung (Ulgardian)

## Duke

Though there are many independent Dukes in Tairghol, most are vassals to Kings or Emperors - in the latter case there is often a King-level vassal in between. The size of a duchy varies greatly - some of the duchies of the Sacred Coalition are tiny affairs which can be walked across in the space of a day, while the Grand Duchy of Kafetra is larger than the surrounding kingdoms.

There are reasons a Duke may choose not to declare himself a King in such a case; he might anger neighbouring lands by doing so, or even his own vassals. There are cases, such as the Duchy of Belfaire during the 6th Century, in which a Duke declaring himself a King leads to his vassals declaring themselves Dukes. Some of the new Dukes found that their King hadn't stopped them from doing so, and reasoned that they could declare themselves Kings if they wanted to as well. The King of Belfaire ended up surrounded by several dozen petty kingdoms, many only the size of a small town and its surrounding farmlands. Though Belfaire was later re-unified under a different Duke, such an action was never again attempted.

**Equivalents:**

* Duke
* Prince
* Duc (Lacrivian)
* Caped Man (Scanbroughan)
* Sheikh (Mustanian/Halarbian)
* Valandar (Desert-Plains)
* Bjarn (Ulgardian)

## Count

A Count rules over, typically, around a dozen towns or small cities. This is an area too small to raise an effective army, meaning that independent counties are rare. There are exceptions, but usually only if the county is large and the Count has chosen not to declare himself a Duke.

**Equivalents:**

* Count
* Cont (Lacrivian)
* Comte (Dunn)
* Riding Man (Scanbroughan)
* Iqta (Barcunian)
* Satrap (Parsanian)
* Farmandar (Parsanian) (Only in the case of Kath)
* Yarl (Ulgardian)

## Baron

At the bottom of the noble pile, a Baron is a man in charge of a barony, usually one town and its surrounds. He functions in the feudal equivalent of a Mayor - while a Mayor is elected by the people and lives in the town, though, a Baron is selected by hereditary right and may live in a fort or castle slightly out of the town. It is rare for a settlement to have both a Mayor and a Baron, but most towns of more than a few thousand citizens have one or the other.

**Equivalents:**

* Baron
* Laord (Talorian)