Ankara Principalities

One of the older nations of the galaxy, the people of the Principalities tend to believe that it is their destiny to conquer the galaxy, and that such a conquest in inevitable. Thus, while they are a generally warlike people, they are also notable for their patience. Even before Occupation, the Principalities warred frequently with the Amalah, rogue internal factions, the Aranseur Masters, the original Yaha civilization and have even skirmished with the Nomads at times.

The Principalities do this not out of hate and not for reasons of greed or glory, but because they feel they must. A guiding philosophy of the Principalities is that nations must constantly test themselves against one another, and that those that fail to survive did not *deserve* to survive. In keeping with this, Jiptohr tend to believe that war is the natural state of being, that peace is only ever a necessary period of recuperation, and that a nation must always have an enemy – preferably an external one, though even an internal enemy can suffice – lest it become complacent and slowly waste away.

One of the larger military powers of the pre-Occupation galaxy, the Principalities initially fought back against the encroaching Yohzhu and Tennosian forces, but after witnessing the fate of the Yaha, the already-ill-fated campaign was deemed futile, and they surrendered while they still had any military at all. Once the Occupation was over, they were quick to rebuild their forces, relying on the stockpiles they had been subtly building up over the course of the Occupation and their cultural inclination towards combat – and thus, to military service – to rapidly inflate their numbers.

Despite their often hostile activity, the Principalities is not *necessarily* opposed to peaceful conduct and diplomacy, as shown by their willingness to join the GN in 3520, but it's clear that they do prefer more martial means of conflict resolution. Even so, however, the Principalities' peculiar view of war tempers their aggression; Jiptohr War Philosophy inclines them to seek out “worthy adversaries” against which they can test themselves, meaning they will only go to war against an enemy that they have judged to be adequately prepared and roughly their equal in strength, and prefer to test themselves against a variety of tactics and mindsets, rather than develop long-lasting animosity towards any single opponent.

The Jiptohr view of peace as a recuperation period also affords it considerable value, and thus the Jiptohr prefer brief wars, regardless of how intensely they are fought, thus enabling them to recover quickly and prepare for the next war, which would ideally be against an entirely different opponent. Jiptohr War Philosophy is also quite strict about minimizing harm to non-combatants. Reality does not always line up with the world-view of the Principalities, however, and the Jiptohr are well aware of this. Their War Philosophy is a set of ideals to strive for, rather than a series of unbreakable rules.

The Principalities are a kind of constitutional, federal oligarchy. As the name implies, the Principalities are a collection of previously-separate kingdoms that banded together, or else were forced together. From among themselves, a council of the 12 monarchs of Karr elect a “Prime Monarch”, who then acts as the highest authority for 10 years, whereupon a new election is called. Both the council and the Prime Monarch have their power limited and checked by a powerful court system -- the Great Arena, known in some regional dialects as the Great Arena of the Mind -- with judges being elected to their positions by “distinguished” Jiptohr, who are afforded a vote when they reach a certain military rank, though civilians have been known to occasionally earn a vote as well, generally by attaining some level of international recognition for their extraordinary efforts in some field.