Gorgaria

**Gorgaria** (Gorgarian: *სახაროტელორუნი*, *Sakharoteloruni*), officially the **Kingdom of Gorgaria** (Gorgarian: *სახაროტელო*, *Sakharotelo*), and sometimes known as **Sakvartelia**, is a sovereign island nation in Eastern Eurea. Its capital and most-populous city is Kita, located on the southeastern coast of the country. Gorgaria has a population of approximately 2.0 million people.

Organized settlement in the territory began in the second century CE, with the foundation of numerous city-states and minor kingdoms. By 784, the territory had unified into the Kingdom of Sakvartelia, an isolated island kingdom written about by contemporary historians and geographers as one of the most reclusive societies in the world. Over the following centuries, the Kingdom maintained strict regulations prohibiting migration to and from the island, and also refusing to take part in international trade or diplomacy with neighboring nations, essentially creating an entirely self-sufficient society. Beginning in the 17th century, the Kashan Empire made numerous attempts to open trade routes between Kasha and Sakvartelia, although their efforts were repeatedly rebuffed by the Sakvartelian monarchy. This ultimately culminated in the First Kasho-Sakvartelian War (1869–1870), when the Kashan Empire attempted an invasion of Sakvartelia to forcibly incorporate it into the Empire. The war was won by the Sakvartelians, causing great embarrassment and economic downturn for the Kashans, while establishing Sakvartelia as a kingdom to be feared. Following the 1905 fascist revolution in Kasha, the Kashan Union invaded Sakvartelia for a second time in 1917, initiating the Second Kasho-Sakvartelian War (1917–1918). This time, the Kashans defeated the Sakvartelians, annexing the territory as the Kashan Fascist Republic of Gorgaria, and executing almost the entirety of the Sakvartelian royal family. During the era of the Kashan Union, civil liberties in Gorgaria were greatly diminished, and Gorgaria was thought of by observers to be one of the most politically persecuted autonomous republics of the Kashan Union. Nationalist sentiment began to arise in Gorgaria in the 1980s, culminating in the restoration of independence in 1990, amidst the fall of the Kashan Union.

Since reestablishing its independence in 1990, Gorgaria has established itself as a unitary constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the Monarch, who is a ceremonial figurehead that wields little actual power. The Monarch's main duties are to sign all passed legislation, with a *de jure* veto power that is not actually used, formally appointing the Prime Minister, cabinet ministers, and ambassadors to office, and serving as a representative of the nation. The Prime Minister is the head of government, and yields most *de facto* power. They are tasked with leading a council of ministers, implementing their national policy agenda, and overseeing the day-to-day functions of the country. The Prime Minister is typically the leader of the governing coalition in parliament. The parliament of Gorgaria is the 87-seat Khalkhispalata, a unicameral legislature. Members of the Khalkhispalata are elected directly by Gorgarian voters in nationwide party lists using proportional representation.

Of its population of approximately 2.0 million, approximately 95.9% of the population identifies as being ethnically Gorgarian. The Gorgarian census allows respondents to cite their ethnic origin as any of the various Gorgarian sub-ethnicities, and all ethnic groups considered indigenous to Gorgaria are included in the population of ethnic Gorgarians. A further 3.1% of the population identifies as ethnically Kashan, primarily those who emigrated from Kasha to Gorgaria during the era of the Kashan Union and their descendants, while the remaining 1.0% identifies with other ethnic groups, primarily being those descended from migrants from other Kashan fascist republics to Gorgaria prior to the fall of the Kashan Union. The sole national and official language of Gorgaria is Gorgarian, a Sakvartelian language. There are disputes regarding whether Gorgarian represents an individual language in the Sakvartelian language family or the standardized form of multi-dialectal Sakvartelian language, as each sub-ethnicity in Gorgaria is known to speak either their own Sakvartelian language or dialect of the Gorgarian language, and some dialects are not mutually intelligible. The Gorgarian government identifies the Gorgarian language to be the standardized form of a sole Sakvartelian language. In regards to religion, approximately 77.5% of the population adheres to Eastern Eurean Orthodox Christianity, while 21.0% adheres to Suliereba, the indigenous religious beliefs of the Gorgarian people. Furthermore, approximately 1.0% of the population identifies as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious, while the remaining 0.5% identifies as being of a different faith.