Bazalyan

**Bazalyan** (Bazalyani: *Bazalyan*) is a sovereign state in Eastern Eurea, making up the southern half of the island of Befania, bordered by Almenia to the north. Its capital and most-populous city is Tatu, located on the southern coast of the country. Bazalyan has a population of approximately 7.2 million people.

Organized settlement in the territory of modern-day Bazalyan began in the third century CE, when the region was populated by Almenians. By the 900s, numerous Beratic peoples from northeastern Berat had begun migrating to the region in search of employment. These Beratic peoples ended up establishing a prominent business class in southern Befania, where they worked as merchants, artisans, and other well-paying professions. Over time, the various Beratic peoples ethnic groups formed the Bazali ethnic group due to continuous inter-marrying. The Kingdom of Almenia was later established in 1245, with the Bazalyani community in the south living in relative harmony with the Almenians. In the 1700s, the Kashans arrived in Almenia, and peacefully incorporated the Kingdom into the Kashan Empire by 1705. Following its incorporation, the southern portion of the Kingdom was split and incorporated as the Bazalyani Governorate. The Bazalyani Governorate went on to become an economically prosperous region of the Empire, while many Almenians lived in continued poverty, leading to the beginning of tensions between Bazalyanis and Almenians. Following the 1905 fascist revolution, the Bazalyani Governorate became known as the Kashan Fascist Republic of Bazalyan within the Kashan Union, and civil liberties were greatly diminished. Amidst the fall of the Kashan Union in the late-1980s and early-1990s, Bazalyan received its independence in 1993, establishing itself as a presidential republic. Since 1994, Bazalyan has been in continuous war with Almenia over each nation's claim to Imak Island, a small uninhabited island off the coast of Befania; the island was given to the Bazalyani Governorate in 1705 by the Kashan Empire, but has cultural importance to Almenians.

Since receiving its independence in 1993, Bazalyan established itself as a presidential republic. The head of state and head of government is the President, who wields all executive power in the country. The President's duties include signing all passed legislation with a veto power that can only be overridden by a two-thirds vote, leading their cabinet, passing executive orders to influence national policy, acting as a representative of the nation both at home and abroad, and serving as commander-in-chief of the Bazalyani Armed Forces. The President is directly elected by Bazalyani voters for a six-year term that can be renewed indefinitely, although there are concerns that elections are not free and fair, and Bazalyan has had the same President since 1995. The Vice President deputizes the President, and takes over for any official duties the President cannot fulfill. The Vice President is not elected, but appointed by the President after their election. The Bazalyani parliament is the 180-seat National Assembly, a unicameral legislature. Members are elected directly with first-past-the-post voting in 180 single-member constituencies. The leader of parliament is the National Assembly President, who sets the national policy agenda and works closely with the President as the leader of the legislative branch.

Of its population of 7.2 million people, approximately 97.3% identifies as ethnically Bazali. It is estimated that possibly up to 5% of the Bazalyani population is of Almenian origin, but Bazalyanized themselves in order to avoid discrimination. A further 1.3% are Kashan, 1.0% are Beratian, and the remaining 0.4% identify with other ethnic groups. The sole national and official language of Bazalyan is Bazalyani, a Beratic language. Bazalyani is spoken natively by approximately 92.5% of the population, although 99.1% are fluent in it. The Kashan language holds no official status in Bazalyan but is widely spoken, being spoken natively by 6.7% of the population and understood by 90.4%. In regards to religion, approximately 96.1% adhere to Eurean Islam, while 3.1% identify as atheist, agnostic, or irreligious, and the remaining 0.8% adhere to other religions. Despite this, Bazalyan is a very irreligious nation, with only 9.4% of the population describing religion as "something important," and 94.5% agreeing with the statement "my religion is more of a culture than a devoted faith."