Fiction:Cosmos of Nahiarus/Khiyamanis

The Khiyamanid Empire, known colloquially as Khiyamanis is a massive nation located in southeastern Aurelia. Known for its vast wealth, military prowess and its immense slave populace, Khiyamanis is a nation of slavemasters and wealthy aristocrats. A culture markedly different than that of their western counterparts, Khiyamanid politics rejects the concept of freedom, and thrives on a brutally enforced hierarchy of where a corrupt imperial family rules over all.

History
The Khiyamanid Empire formed at the end of the 17th century BC out of a unison between the two separate kingdoms of Khiya and Manis, two nations that descend from the power vacuum from the dissolution of the Aurelians five millennia ago. Perpetuating the more conservative and hierarchically strict ideologies of the Aurelians, the Khiyamanid peoples have continued to thrive on a feudal hierarchy which many other neighbouring nations have departed from.

Over time, the areas surrounding Khiyamanis, notably Mimazar, Sarpardarshin and Pera have been contested grounds. Whereas Sarpardarshin and Pera have fully separated from Khiyamanis within the last millennium, Mimazar has been a venue to a series of wars and battles between Khiyamanis and the Terusian Empire (modern day Tuaben and Ontrea). Mimazar is officially considered a vassal state of Khiyamanis in modern times, and has long suffered from Khiyamanid brutality.

Geography
Located on the southern periphery of Nahiarus, Khiyamanis comprises the southern and eastern coast of the Sarpardarshin desert; the country has over 16,000 miles (25,750 km) of coastline and in turn has one of the longest (if not the longest) coastline on Nahiarus. Khiyamanis' southerly position means that the country experiences a perpetual summer; annual temperatures range between 22°C to 45°C (72°F to 113°F) on the coastline, and further inland can exceed 50°C (122°F). Nearly one hundred percent of Khiyamanis is an arid hot desert; cultivated areas of land surround Khiymanis' major cities.

Khiyamanis' unforgiving climate means that nearly all of its inhabitants live on the coastline or further north, where the temperatures are more bearable all year round. Further north, Khiyamanis' climate turns into a savanna as it borders the lands Kasku. Most of Khiyamanis' wildlife is situated in this area, while the deserts are host to a sparser yet more dangerous pool of creatures.

Government
The area that is now modern Khiyamanis has been host to a totalitarian regime for millennia; though it has softened and hardened over time, the current imperial rule of Khiyamanis is perhaps at its most strict for over six centuries. Governed by aristocracy and nobility, all of Khiyamanis is collectively owned by wealthy families that are connected to the Imperial family. Khiyamanis' immense population is mostly made of slaves; there is no clear number to the slave populace, though it is thought to exceed ten million.

There are three clear social classes within Khiyamanis - nobility, peasantry and slaves. Peasants officially retain the same political and social freedoms that nobility does, albeit to a much lower degree. It is forbidden for nobility and peasantry to mix families however; as a result, consanguineous relationships in Khiyamanis are not rare among the rich. Khiyamanis' brutally oppressive government is held in contempt by a majority of the world's governments, and has warred with historic neighbouring kingdoms.

Khiyamanis is further plagued by highly dangerous cults that exist underground, most notably the Cult of the Dragon.

Culture
Though marred by vicious and corrupt politics, Khiyamanis has been a rich exponent of culture since ancient times. Khiyamanis is famed across the world for rich architecture and artisanal crafts that aesthetically resemble Aurelian art, most of which are ancestral to the more modern art styles that are prevalent in western Aurelia. Most (if not all) of Khiyamanis' major settlements are built on the foundations of ancient Aurelian cities and strongholds, yet there are as not as many archaeological examples as there are in Aurseleth.

Though most of Khiyamanis' cities were built on Aurelian temples, traditional religions are not widely practised within the country in favour of the Khiyamanid imperial cult. Khiymanid imperialism however retains multiple fusions of iconography; former dynasties of Khiyamanid emperors have had personal beliefs ranging from the Primordial Ones to Demon Kings. As a result, traditional religions are discouraged from being practised in modern Khiyamanis, although in ancient times has been considered a crime punishable by death.

Khiyamanid culture is historically built on violence, and in turn violence and death is strongly prevalent in the modern day. Annual festivals in Khiyamanis are based around gladiatorial combat, and executions of political enemies of the state are often seen as affairs to be celebrated. However, some Khiyamanid nobles have regarded the unlawful displays of violence from the Cult of the Dragon as highly distasteful, and some traditions have softened as a result.

Relations
Khiyamanis' persistently authoritarian and violent attitude in its 2700 year history has gathered nothing but contempt from a majority of Aurelia's civilisations. However, its strong infrastructure, including its almost excessively large military power makes Khiyamanis an unwise opponent to engage in war, which has been the danger to many nations in the past.


 * Positive relations
 * Mimazar - Mimazar is a vassal state of Khiyamanis, and has been for several centuries. Though Mimazar is apart of the greater empire, its people live in fear of what Khiyamanid brutality is capable of.


 * Neutral relations
 * Sarpardarshin - Sarpardarshin's vast and inhabitable land make it strategically impossible to conquer by invasion, which has steadied Khiyamanis' intentions for thousands of years.
 * Kasku - Kasku and Khiyamanis both exhibit slave-based economies, and often trade based on that concept.


 * Negative relations
 * Thulazbar - Thulazbar and Khiyamanis are connected by an expanse of land, although Thulazbar's combined military might with its allies make it an unwise move to annex.
 * Pera - Pera was once part of Khiyamanis' territory, and it has long since been the dream of the Empire to conquer Pera again.
 * Tuaben - Tuaben and Khiyamanis have several naval blockades; the two nations have been on the verge of war for decades.
 * Ontrea - As Ontrea wishes to liberate Mimazar, Khiyamanis have long fended off Ontrean skirmishes.
 * Aurseleth - Khiyamanis wishes to reunite the northern Aurelian lands with the south as it was in ancient times; though at the cost of the elvish culture.
 * Hunnaschia - Khiyamanid and Hunnaschian ideologies cannot coexist, and the two governments have vowed complete destruction.