Nation Name: Empire of Tatarstan
Leader: Khan Boroghul
Type of Government: Absolute Monarchy
The Empire's elites are the descendants of the four Mongol clans, Qiyat, Manghut, Sicivut and Qonqirat. The absolute monarch of the Empire is the
Khan. While in the past the Khan was chosen by the
Kurultai, since the 15th century succession has been by primogeniture, with the Kurultai only symbolically crowning the new Khan.
The Khan is assisted in his rule by the
Beklare-bek, the Prince of Princes (or Prime Minister, as he is known by Westerners). He is the chief executive of the
Council of Viziers. The power of the Beklare-bek depends on the reigning Khan; when Khans are weak or have little interest in governance, the Beklare-bek govern whereas when the Khans are strong or dominating personalities, the Beklare-bek simply execute their wishes.
The
Viziers are the Ministers of the Empire. The Empire has six ministries:
Ministry of Personnel, in charge of appointments, promotions & demotions of officials and the granting of honorific titles.
Ministry of Rites, in charge of state ceremonies & rituals and the maintenance of palace protocol.
Ministry of Revenue, in charge of collecting taxes, handling state revenues and gathering census data.
Ministry of War, in charge of appointments, promotion & demotion of military officers, maintenance of military installations and equipment, supply of the military and leadership in times of war.
Ministry of Justice, in charge of the judicial and penal process.
Ministry of Works, in charge of government construction programs and maintenance of infrastructure.
Aside from the Viziers, the
Grand Mufti enjoys the status of a 'Minister' being in charge of religious affairs and ensuring that the
Vizier of Justice follows Islamic Law.
Below are the
Basqaqs, local governors. Each Basqaq holds both civil and military authority within a province, being responsible for levying taxes, administrating justice, and defending it. Each Basqaq is assisted by an elaborate bureaucracy of
Secretariats (Secretariat of Justice, Secretariat of Treasury, Secretariat of War, etch). The Secretariats are staffed by the local land-holding elites, the
Dvoryanstvo (nobles). The Dvoryanstvo, despite their name, are not 'aristocrats' in the Western-sense of the word: rather they are big landowners who own sizeable property cultivated by serfs.
While the offices of Beklare-bek and Viziers are reserved for the descendants of the Mongol tribes, the rest of the offices are open to Russians, who dominate most of the mid and lower ranks of administration. The Russians also make up the largest part of the Dvoryanstvo.
Territory:MAP NOTE: INSTEAD OF ALASKA, I HAVE MANCHURIAPopulation: 40,000,000
Army Size and breakdown:The ‘Flying Horse Banner’, named so after their banner that features a horse with wings, is comprised of around 80,000 men provided by the Mongol, Manchu and various Siberian tribes. The vast majority of them are horsemen. In most cases, the regiments correspond to the tribe of origin, thus forging strong bonds between the men.
The ‘Standard Army’, comprised of about 180,000 soldiers, is staffed almost exclusively by Russians. The vast majority of soldiers are either infantrymen or artillery corps. They are divided into 180 Battalions.
The 'Imperial Guard' is comprised of 10,000 elite cavalrymen and infantrymen. Selected by the best of the best, they are equipped with the best weapons and equipment available.
Navy size and breakdown:The Black Sea Fleet possesses five line-of-battle ships and 19 frigates, and the Baltic Fleet has 23 ships of the line and 130 frigates. The navy is, however, underfunded compared to the land forces and the lack of naval traditions means that the Empire's naval commanders lack the skills of their counterparts in sea-faring nations.
Main trading partners/ allies: Ottoman Empire, Great Britain
Current position on Napoleon (allied, against, neutral): Neutral but leaning to Against - The Empire has not taken active action against Napoleon but they view him as a threat.
Major domestic issues:Modernization: While the Empire is large and its armed forces numerous, it has not industrialized and remains largely agrarian. Its armed forces have also been lagging behind in comparison to more modernized armies of other European powers.
Serfdom: While many European states have moved past serfdom, Tatarstan remains reliant on serfs for its agrarian economy. The bad living conditions of many of the serfs has created social unrest. While there is no active revolt or uprising, if not addressed this social unrest will weaken the Empire.
Major foreign issues:Islamic Empire in a Christian Europe: As an Islamic power in a largely Christian Europe, the Empire faces suspicion and distrust. It is viewed as the 'Other', an 'alien' regime.
Asia and Europe: Due to the large size of the Empire, it needs to handle situations both at Europe and Asia. This does not allow Tatarstan to concentrate its resources at one front.
History:- Tokhtamysh, after reunifying the Golden Horde, managed to successfully resist Tamerlane's invasions of 1391 and 1395. In a series of campaign he brought back under central control the various breakaway Khanates, preventing the disintegration of Tatar power.
- Temür Qutlugh (1405 - 1431) managed to successfully bring the various Russian principalities back under Tatar domination. Moscow was burned to the ground. He also put down revolts by tribal chieftains who wanted to assert their local autonomy. Having strengthened his rule, he was able to impose upon the Kurultai the principle of succession by primogeniture.
- In the rest of the 15th century, a number of Khans reigned who mostly concentrated on keeping the Russian principalities in line and expanding into Siberia and Central Asia. During this time, with the Russian principalities weakening and under far more tight Tatar oversight, Islam began to spread. While until that point Islam was mostly followed by the Tatars, Russians soon began converting.
- Khan Erdeni (1510 - 1551) was one of the most remarkable Khans of the Empire. He abolished the Russian principalities and the old tribal divisions of the Horde, instead creating new Provinces ruled by Governors (Basqaqs) appointed by him. He constructed many new mosques and pursued far more aggressively than his predecessors the Islamization of the Russians. He conquered large parts of Siberia and brought much of Central Asia under his rule, with the local Khaganates becoming subjects of the Tatar Khan.
- Between 1551 and 1700 a number of Khans ruled, with various degrees of success. Tatarstan grew to encompass the entirety of Siberia and Manchuria. In those 150 years, Islam continued to spread among the Russians and by 1700 the vast majority of the Russians had converted to Islam.
- Khan Tseren (1700 - 1731) modernized the Tatar military by bringing European - mostly German - military advisers. He laid the groundwork for the Imperial Navy after capturing ports at Azov and the Baltic Sea, and pursued a successful war against Sweden. He moved the capital of the Empire to Yediublugh (rl Saint Petersburg).
- Khan Arinasai (1731 - 1771) focused on domestic issues rather than foreign expansion, but during his reign the Empire fought in the War of Austrian Succession (1740–48) and the Seven Years' War (1756–63). His successor, Khan Yargai (1771 - 1791), oversaw the partition of Poland: Tatarstan managed to grab a big part of Poland.
- Khan Boroghul (1791 - ) is the current Khan of Tatarstan