Forum:Territory application/UL07e - Mardoumakhstan (exchange from UL02i)
- Please fill in the information below to make a territory request.
 | Territory ID and proposed name |
|---|---|
| The Territory ID (from OpenGeofiction:Territories, e.g. AR123a) and proposed name of the country |
UL07e - Mardoumakhstan
This was the former name of the territory when it was owned by User:Stjur, and I'd like to keep it as the english name, with the local name of the country being changed to Mordumokston to fit with the language changes (see below). If there's a problem with re-use, I'm happy to name it Burghutistan (Burgut meaning eagle in Uzbek).
I am requesting this territory in exchange for Arion (UL02i). I realize that this is an increase in size compared to Arion, but I ask admin to consider that I no longer have any substantial commitments in collaborative territories and have been able to equally focus on my current slate of territories.
 | Physical geography |
|---|---|
| An overview of climate, topography and landscape of the country. With the exception of Beginner territories, you should always create a sketch map to illustrate & explain your plans. You can add a link to this (hosted on imgBB, Postimages or similar, but not imgur.com) |
Mardoumakhstan is a land of varying climates, ranging from the mediterranean/subtropical coast to the cold desert in the north. The country boasts multiple unique geographical features, including an endorheic lake, many distinct mountain chains, and of course the expansive steppe, from which the Mardoumakh people originate. the
 | Human geography |
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| A brief description of the territory demographics, economic development, land occupation, infrastructure and mapping style |
Nomadic settlement is common on the steppes, and to a lesser degree south of the central lake. In the mountains pastoralist transhumance (moving between defined pastures at different times of the year) is common. The longest history of permanent settlements lies on the Shelakh coast, which has a dense network of cities and farmland. Economic development is focused in the south, both around the central lake, in the valleys south of it, and on the coast. Overall, the country is poorer than its neighbours, but obviously there's significant variation. HDI is around 0.7.
The main language of the territory is Northern Uzbek, aka Mardoumakh. Shelakh, based on Etruscan, is spoken on the coast and in the western ranges. Arasian, a minor romance conlang, is spoken in the north, matching with the Navennese Arasian community on the other side of the border. A yet-to-be-named conlang based on Dalmatian will be spoken by certain minority communities (though I'm willing to change this if there's opposition to it). OGF:Karalkapak (name to be determined) will be spoken in the east. A conlang isolate with romance influences called Mharetic will be spoken in the south, and is intended to be a fairly unique culture with a unique religion and mapping style. Bordering territories will have their languages incorporated near the borders (Navenna, Plevia, Naphon, Suria). All languages use Latin script.
The main religion of Mardoumakhstan is Tengrism, with varying differences depending on the region and culture, there's also separate shamanism in some places. The Shelakh people were able to keep their polytheistic religion, established by Timboh as Poulafrism. The Mharetic region is the heartland of OGF:Manichaeism, aka Lurachaeism. Imanism and Christicism are minority religions across the country - but there are a few particularly notable areas where Christicism is in the majority, generally thanks to Navennese/Plevian influences.
Mapping style will be inspired by diverse areas, such as Uzbekistan and Central Asia in general (though since Mardoumakhstan will have never been under Surian control, communist-era urbanism will not be common), Italy, the Caucasus, the Balkan coast, northern Iran, and so on.
 | History & culture |
|---|---|
| A brief description of the intended culture and language |
There are two major threads of Mardoumakh history - the history of the steppe, and the history of the Shelakh coast.
The Shelakhs were probably one of the earliest major civilizations on the Mediterranean, establishing a network of thalassocratic city-states along the Shelakh coast as early as 1000 BCE. This would continue until their amalgamation into the Romantian Empire, though possibly the southernmost cities were only tributaries. After the Romantian Empire pulled out of the region, the Shelakh states slowly re-asserted dominance, fighting among themselves and establishing a set of nine major kingdoms, but found a new rival in the rising Navennan state. Ultimately, Navenna conquered the Shelakh coast in the twelfth century. The Shelakh states, especially the major cities that are now part of Mardoumakhstan, were able to keep a relative degree of autonomy under the Navennese empire. A few rump states remained in the mountains until they were eventually conquered by the Mardoumakh khanate.
In the steppe, meanwhile, the centuries tell the long story of the Mardoumakh people establishing control over the interior from their homeland on the western steppe. The first Mardoumakh Khanate reached its peak in the eighth century, and engaged in devastating raids on the Shelakh coast and modern-day Navenna, but ultimately collapsed and had to pull back due to disease and a succession crisis. Over the centuries, the degree of unity oscillated, but the Fourth Khanate conquered the resource-rich Mharete Kingdom in the south in 1239, and the newly-declared khaganate saw a period of fairly rapid expansion eastwards over the next century and a half, engaging in multiple conflicts with the Surian Tsardom. Between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries the khaganate underwent a period of relative stagnation and decline, but nonetheless relative peace, enabling increased trade across the steppe and mountains. After the empire splintered during a succession dispute in the early 1600s, and with Suria pressing on the eastern dominions, the Fifth Mardoumakh khanate, reduced back to approximately the modern borders, decided to invade Navenna, in particular the Shelakh dominions. Navenna had started to entire a period of decline of its own, and after an intense war, the modern borders were basically established on the coast. Various skirmishes would continue until the 19th century, with Navenna notably shrinking the Mardoumakh-held territory around Nouspoor and the khanate taking some mountain valleys.
The country would persist until the modern day, seeing reforms towards a more democratic structure in the late nineteenth century.
Similarly to the Mongol Empire, the Mardoumakh were accepting of native cultures, religions, and language - assuming that they accepting the sovereignty of the Mardoumakh state, of course. Tengrism is a religion that is able to work syncretically with others. The khanate established governorates in occupied regions (so Shelakhia, Mharetia, and OGF:Karalkapak), with a Mardoumakh elite, but the local government and customs effectively unchanged. In the modern day, this has translated into outlying provinces with a great deal of autonomy, with the federal government (a more democratic incarnation of the traditional Mardoumakh tribal council), retaining greater control of the central interior. I imagine it was a fairly delicate balancing act to manage the country under the rise of nationalism, but a national identity as a multicultural country united by shared history and cultural ties has probably developed by the modern day. The government system will be fleshed out as I do more research into traditional methods of government on the steppes.
 | Past mapping |
|---|---|
| To support your request provide links to areas of OGF mapping which showcase your mapping skill. Mapping relevant to the requested theme & geography is especially useful. | |
| The {{coord}}, {{node}}, {{relation}} or {{scalehelper}} templates can optionally be used to link to the OGF map - they result in nicely formatted links. Or you can paste in a URL. |
Orlioni, Arion: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=14/18.4969/51.8752&layers=B
Kleio, Arion: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=17/18.83074/53.67908&layers=B
Gemera, Arion: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=14/18.8028/51.6347&layers=B
Maka: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=11/2.4019/93.0048&layers=B
Points Sagrin, Plevia: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=14/45.8600/57.4891&layers=B
Lakeshore, Teotiyolcan: https://opengeofiction.net/#map=14/-11.0291/14.9334&layers=B
| Username & date |
|---|---|
| Sign and date the application by typing four tildes (~~~~) without spaces or "nowiki" tags. |
User:Lithium-Ion | [1] (talk) 01:20, 25 June 2024 (UTC)
 | Discussion |
|---|---|
| Discussion for clarification & decision |
If the application is approved I plan to move a lot of my mapping from Arion to one city + island + surroundings on the coast. I'm happy to clear the admin boundaries from the vacated territory - my last wish is to give admin any extra grief! User:Lithium-Ion | [2] (talk) 01:20, 25 June 2024 (UTC)