Tir Zavira

Flag of Tir Zavira

Location of Tir Zavira

The Kingdom of Tir Zavira is a constitutional monarchy taking up 2/3rds of the island of Grand Zavira, of the coast of northeast Ikuni. The name Tir Zavira stands for People of the wooded island in the old Tirian language. The name Tir Zavira is often shortened to Zavira.

## Vexillology

The flag consists of a blue diamond on a dark green background with the antlers of a moose pictured within the diamond. The dark green is said to represent the nature and richness of natural resources of the country. The blue diamond is said to represent lake Tamanon, where the capital is located, the blue is also sometimes said to represent the seas and oceans around Tir Zavira. The moose antlers are the emblem of the High Kings and Queens of Tir Zavira.

## History

### Prehistory (8000 BC-500 AD)

The first humans in Tir Zavira probably came from the west where a land bridge existed between c. 8000 BC and 4000 BC. It is thought that these people immigrated from the Politana region, where they left for unknown reasons. These people were hunter gatherer tribes that spread throughout the whole island of Grand Zavira. When the land bridge was gone the natives lived in relative isolation to the rest of the world. During this time the traditional role of Kings and Queens as leader of the tribes came into existence. Around this time the Doneiga writing system was invented.

### Early History (500 AD-877AD)

Circa 500 AD the first contact was made with merchants from outside Grand Zavira, mostly from the kingdom of Barri. It was then that the ideas of agriculture and livestock keeping were introduced. This led to a great food surplus and the tribes formed cities. Around 570 AD the idea of electing a High King or Queen out of the Kings and Queens of the tribes on Grand Zavira, as the spiritual leader was adopted. In 712, the High King Gazaíd changed the High King or Queen system to also hold political power, thus forming what is now called the First Federation of Grand Zavira. It is still unknown how he exactly managed to do this, as no readable records have been left of that part, it is theorized however that he persuaded the electors to change the system by telling them he was the avatar of Tadwyr, the god of the sea. The federation ultimately fell apart in 745, shortly after the beginning of the Cold Infant Era. During the Cold Infant Era Grand Zavira lost a big part of their population, estimates range from an eighth to a third of the population. The city states of Grand Zavira again began to exclude themselves from the mainland due to the Cold Infant Era. The worst of the Cold Infant Era ended in circa 800 AD.

### United Kingdom Period (877-1422)

In 877 AD the High Queen Bladig institutionalized the High King or Queen system, thus becoming the first High Queen of Tir Zavira. Up till 1367 AD, the kingdom was peaceful and stable, but in 1367 AD the Malechor plague came to the island. The Malechor plague killed about 3 million people on the island of Grand Zavira, destroying countless villages and severely depopulating the cities. The Malechor plague was effectively over in 1407 AD, in this time period the council had chosen 8 different high kings and queens, of whom most died prematurely due to the plague. In 1409 the council elected another high king, who put the island on the road to prosperity but ultimately failed to spread this prosperity to the north eastern part of the island.

### Tir Zavira and Barkalor split (1422-1512)

In 1422 the council elected a high king and queen, with a 50/50 split. So in 1422 the kingdom of Barkalor formed on the island with the high king at its head. The kingdom of Tir Zavira was ruled by the high queen. After the death of the high queen in 1456, the council would again be split 50/50 between the king of Barkalor and the king of Tamanon, thus cementing the divide between the two. The council officially split into the council of Barkalor and the council of Tir Zavira in 1474.

### Early Modern period (1512-1782)

The Early Modern period of Tir Zavira started with the Vygdaw declaration of non-servitude. This declaration declared that none may be servants without pay or freedom to leave, this de facto illegalized slavery. Many other cities ratified this declaration unitll in 1514 the High Queen officially made slavery illegal. Slavery had existed since circa 940 AD in Tir Zavira in many different forms, mostly debt slavery and slavery of prisoners.

The Early Modern period of Tir Zavira also saw 5 wars with Barkalor:

* The First Tirian-Barkalor war (1522-1525)
* The Second Tirian-Barkalor war (1531-1532)
* The Third Tirian-Barkalor war (1568-1574)
* The Fourth Tirian-Barkalor war (1607-1610)
* The Fifth Tirian-Barkalor war (1647-1673)

The Fifth Tirian-Barkalor war was devastating for both sides and resulted in a status quo. At the end Tir Zavira and Barkalor made a peace treaty that said the border would never again be militarized.

The explorer Juro Ofari presented his case of there only being one ocean to the High King in 1519 and asked for funding towards an exploration party. He got his funding and sailed around the world between 1524-1527 and makes the most complete map of the world at the time. This map would be called the Ofaran map, and his way of projecting the world on a map would be called the Ofaran projection.

### Middle Modern period (1782-1962)

The Middle Modern period started with the creation of the constitution of Tir Zavira in 1782 AD. The industrial revolution of Tir Zavira started around 1804 in Reyga, already known for its textile manufactories grew to about twice its size due to the influx of industries. Tir Zaviran industrialization was more gradual than other nations and was mostly focused on the southeastern coast. Tirian southeastern coast was taken in the Tirian-Barrion war of 1888. These colonies would eventually be returned to Tir Zavira in 1961, shortly after the Nine Years War. Between 1888 and 1961 there were multiple guerilla groups, sponsored by Tir Zavira. These guerilla groups terrorized Barri settlers and officials, which is why there are barely any Barri people in Tir Zavira. Between 1950-1953 the Tirian government sends aid to Kreicia, in the hope of weakening the Metillic empire and possibly getting some islands in return. During the Nine years wa,r Tir Zavira remained neutral, while trading with both sides, and took a big role in a few humanitarian missions to the Metillic empire and Kreicia. Thanks to the humanitarian interventions Tir Zavira got support to pressure Barrion to return their colonial holdings to Tir Zavira and Barkalor. Universal suffrage was introduced in 1922, allowing people without property to vote if they had Tirian citizenship.

### Late Modern period (1962-present day)

In 1962 the Nationalist party of Tir Zavira took control of the government through the Tamanon march; when supporters of the Nationalist party marched on the government building and started preparing for a civil war, when the prime minister decided to surrender to prevent a civil war. The Nationalist party took charge of the government and started to militarise the country. The Nationalist party intended to attack Barkalor and unite Grand Zavira, in anticipation for this they changed the name of the country to the United Kingdom of Grand Zavira. In 1967, parliament was restored after the leader of the nationalist party died and months of protest. In the 70s Tir Zavira had reduced militarisation and focused on civilian industry. The 80s saw great improvements in infrastructure and education, this is also when the Technical University of Reyga was established. In 1997 it signed an agreement with Barkalor towards greater cooperation between the two countries, starting with a single market agreement. In 2004 they signed the Single Currency Agreement, creating the Kalo. Currently there is talk between the two governments to unite into a country, to reinforce their standing in the world.

## Government and Politics

The Tirian government is a constitutional monarchy, consisting of a High King or Queen who inherits the throne, a parliament chosen by the people and a senate consisting of the rulers of the cities, of which some are elected and some are hereditary. The elections follow the Tamanon system, in which the parliament is chosen through direct election, while the elected representatives from the cities are chosen by the elected council of each city. The political parties in parliament form a coalition to get a majority, as no parties has had an absolute majority since universal suffrage was introduced in 1922. The leading party of the coalition presents a prime minister, while the coalition presents a number of ministers. The parliament holds 300 seats.

Tirian politics is well known for its ability to compromise and have civil discussions. Tirian politics also has one of the lowest levels of corruption in the world.

Tir Zavira has many political parties, but the three biggest parties, of which one is always part of the coalition are: The Conservative party, The Nationalist party and the Socialist Democrat Party. With the Socialist Democrat party currently being the biggest with 98 seats. The current coalition consist of the Social Democrat Party, together with the smaller Socialist party and the Green Democrats party, which together have a majority of 178 seats.

### Subdivisions

Tir Zavira is a unitary state divided in 30 provinces (Talaithe). These province are then subdivided in municipalities.

### Foreign Relations

Tir Zavira forms the Grand Zavira Cooperation Council together with Barkalor. It has trade deals with most countries around them, except for Barrion due to the long occupied areas for which Barrion never officially apologised for. Tirian foreign policy is based on Ofaran co-operation, international development and international law.

## Geography

Tir Zavira occupies two thirds of Grand Zavira and includes 12 major islands and other smaller islands. The northcoast is lays entirely on the Sea of Galn, or sea of Kamana as it is known outside Tir Zavira, while the south coast is situated on the Zaviran gulf. Tir Zavira's only land border is with Barkalor, who owns the other third of Grand Zavira. Tir Zavira has maritime borders with Barrion, Trakhaniye, Kreicia and Fostaria. The northern most point lies on the island of Tirpa, while the souther most point lies on the island of Neamnhai. Tir Zavira's wester most point lies on the island of Tridob, while i's easter most point is located on the small Glengamvar peninsula located in the Woysda province.

Tir Zavira has no mountains, but does have a lot of hills in the center of the country, with the highest point being Vygdaw hill at 521 meter above sea level.

### Climate

The north coast of Tir Zavira has a subarctic climate, while the south coast enjoys a more temperate climate due to the influence of the Zaviran gulf. Due to the slight elevation in the center of Grand Zavira and the distance, the influence of the Zaviran Gulf wind barely reaches the northern coast. The eastern islands also have a subarctic climate, while the southern islands have a more temperate climate.

## Demographics

Every ten years a census is taken in all parts of Tir Zavira. In the 2014 census Tir Zavira had a population of 78,057,834. The estimated growth rate is 0.54%.

### Ethnicity

The majority of the population of Tir Zavira is ethnically Tirian, with 88% of the population. Other ethnic groups are Barri and Barkalor with 3%, Metillic with 2%, Trakhaniye, Yerhan both with 1% and other groups for the last 2%. Tirian are apart of the Zaviraic ethnic group, which is believed to be part of the greater Druan family. The Barkalor population is situated mostly on the border with Barkalor, but they are spread throughout the country due to recent immigration between Barkalor and Tir Zavira. The Barri population mostly result from the Barri colonization of Grand Zavira and are heavily located in the southeast of Tir Zavira and the southern islands. The Metillic population were mostly refugees during the 9 years war, mostly settling on the most western island of Tridob. The Trakhaniye and Yerhan population are very young in Tir Zavira, mostly immigrating between 1980 and 2005.

### Language

*Main article: Tira*

The official language of Tir Zavira is Tira, which is spoken by about 95% percent of the population. The Tira and Barkalor languages are mutually intelligible. There are various dialects within Tir Zavira, with the Tamanon dialect being the accepted standard.

### Religion

The Official Religion of Tir Zavira is Duwiaerynys in Tira, or shortened to Duwi. It is a polytheistic religion encompassing thousands of local deities. Its head deities are:

* Daida, the mother of all the lower gods and Yuzoa itself
* Tadwyr, the sea god and father of all the lower gods
* Cymulau, the god of the clouds and the first son, represented by the Albatross
* Gedwiga, the goddess of the forest and the first daughter, represented by the deer
* Madarch, goddess of death and the second daugther, represented by the mushroom
* Rhyfel, god of war and the second son, represented by the bear

The head of the religion is the High King or Queen. The first High King or Queen, nobody knows for sure which it was, was chosen in the village of Vygdaw, this village became the holiest place of the religion and many shrines to the gods have been built there. There are however shrines throughout the nation. The religion is officially followed by around 90% of the population, although the actual percentage of practitioners is estimated to be about 30%. Tir Zavira has full religious freedom based on its constitution. The practitioners of Duwiaerynys can be divided in smaller groups who worship one god over the other. The god Tadwyr is worshipped more on the coast, together with Cymulau. In the rural parts of the country Gedwiga and Daida are worshipped more. The god Rhyfel is still being worshipped by more people, but for different reasons. The god Rhyfel has become a symbol for Justice in modern times and is sometimes used in court rooms. Madarch, the goddes of death, is still worshiped during funerals and by the elderly. For it is believed she can give painless deaths and allow you to become part of nature. It is a common practice to go to a shrine and pray for good luck and health.

### Culture

#### Architecture and Art

Tiran Architecture is characterized by their use of plants. Most homes in Tir Zavira have a garden, and if they do not they have plant pots near a window. There are very little high rise buildings in Tir Zavira, although recently two new high rise buildings have been built in Reyga.

Tiran wood sculpture and stone sculpture are some of the oldest art forms. Not much is left of old wood sculptures, but there are a lot of old stone sculptures in shrines. In the Cen Gwla province there is forest called the forest of a thousand statues, due to the many old statues found there, it is unknown why there is such a great amount in that forest. Modern Tiran art has incorporated a lot of Libian influences.

#### Literature

Most of the old Tiran literature are tales of heroes and gods written in Doneiga on stone tablets. Although most of these tablets were broken or lost, there are some stories that could be recreated from the stones left. The most famous of these is the Epic of Gazaíd, about the first High King.