Dukana Empire
The Dukana Empire is vast. Covering the entirety of the Eastern Continent as well island chains of Merogi and Siadda. Though unable to breach the southern Kingdoms, protected by the volcanic islands and the golums that reside there, they have extended their influence across the Elder Sea to the Western Continent, home of the Augarian Kingdom.
Structure
The Current Emperor is @Joaun Dondor.
Emperor Joaun has his wife (Empress) and four children (two princes, and two princesses). He also has a harem. Empress Dowager is the name of a wife or mother to a dead king - there is no one who holds this title at the moment. His father was Emperor Bo. The Princes are given fiefdoms to control with limitations. Princes are not able to appoint their own staff; this duty is assumed by the imperial court. Princes are nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their personal incomes. One such fiefdom is Iridan, the only one on the Aguarian continent. The others are Merogi, Soga, Jingu, Hann, Geas and Siadda. Where their are no Princes, other family members are appointed fiefdoms. The crown prince is currently in the capital preparing to take over for his father as Emperor.
Succession: Abdication or death of the previous Emperor. The oldest living male heir then becomes Emperor. The oldest female heir is often married off for political gain, however if she has the favor of the emperor she can marry an approved upper class man and run a fiefdom until her brother ascends.
Although the imperial household is staffed mostly by eunuchs and palace ladies, there is a civil service office called the Seal Office, which cooperates with eunuch agencies in maintaining imperial seals, tallies, and stamps. There are also civil service offices to oversee the affairs of imperial princes.
Under the Emperor is the Secretariat. They handle all the paperwork for the Emperor’s wishes. Though ranking below the Minister’s, everything has to go through them placing them in great positions of power. Reporting directly to the Emperor are the ministers of the 6 ministry's.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles.
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of gathering census data, collecting taxes, and handling state revenues, while there were two offices of currency that were subordinate to it.
The Ministry of Rites was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices; it also oversaw registers for Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods and even the reception of envoys from tributary states.
The Ministry of War was in charge of the appointments, promotions, and demotions of military officers, the maintenance of military installations, equipment, and weapons, as well as the courier system.
The Ministry of Justice was in charge of judicial and penal processes, but had no supervisory role over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision.
The Ministry of Public Works had charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardization of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.
All minsters were appointed from Scholars who have to pass rigorous exams to be considered. They have staff that they appoint themselves. They also travel to all the fiefdoms as required in their duties. The only exception is Iridan, where a Junior Minister is appointed to handle the day to affairs, and the Senior Minister visits every 3 years.
The heads of provinces were responsible for inspecting several district-level and province-level administrations. On the basis of their reports, the officials in these local administrations would be promoted, demoted, dismissed or prosecuted by the imperial court. They could take various actions without permission from the imperial court and had executive powers only during times of crisis, such as raising militias across the districts under his jurisdiction to suppress a rebellion.
Districts
A District consisted of a group of counties, and was headed by an Administrator. He was the top civil and military leader of the District and handled defense, lawsuits, seasonal instructions to farmers and recommendations of nominees for office sent annually to the capital in a quota system.
County
The head of a county was called a Magistrate. A Magistrate maintained law and order in his county, registered the populace for taxation, mobilized commoners for annual labor duties, repaired schools and supervised public works.
The only place where this did not occur is in Iridan where there is only one County, in One District, in One Province, and the Prince in charge of Iridan works closely with the Magistrate and Administrator daily.
Empress (There can only be one, considered his wife)
Imperial Consort (Up to 5, their children can be considered in line for the throne if the Empress does not bear a son)
Imperial Concubine (There can be many, up to 25 at last count. Any children borne are not in line for the throne)
The Crown Prince is also allow a Harem.
The Crown Princess (his wife)
Female Attendant (only one. Same rules as an Imperial Consort)
Crown Concubines (up to five allowed. Same rules as an Imperial Concubine)
No other prince is allowed a Harem, though many also take a Madame (a single woman he is allowed to sleep with outside of his wife, though outside of the crown prince no children born of a madame are considered heirs). All Wives are in charge of finding the Consorts/Madames.
A Princess can become Emperor however it has only happened three times in history and only when a suitable male heir was not available. Used as a stop-gap measure.
Marriages were highly ritualized, particularly for the wealthy, and included many important steps. The giving of betrothal gifts, known as bridewealth and dowry, were especially important. A lack of either was considered dishonorable and the woman would have been seen not as a wife, but as a concubine/Madame. Arranged marriages were normal, with the father's input on his offspring's spouse being considered more important than the mother's. Monogamous marriages were also normal, although nobles and high officials were wealthy enough to afford and support concubines/madames as additional lovers. Under certain conditions dictated by custom, not law, both men and women were able to divorce their spouses and remarry. However, a woman who had been widowed continued to belong to her husband's family after his death. In order to remarry, the widow would have to be returned to her family in exchange for a ransom fee. Her children would not be allowed to go with her.
Women were expected to obey the will of their father, then their husband, and then their adult son in old age. However, it is known from that there were many deviations to this rule, especially in regard to mothers over their sons, and Empresses who ordered around and openly humiliated their fathers and brothers. Women were exempt from labor duties, but often engaged in a range of income-earning occupations aside from their domestic chores of cooking and cleaning.
The most common occupation for women was weaving clothes for the family, sale at market or for large textile enterprises that employed hundreds of women. Other women helped on their brothers' farms or became singers, dancers, sorceresses, respected medical physicians, and successful merchants who could afford their own silk clothes.
Scholar-officials who entered civil service through examinations acted as executive officials to a much larger body of Scholars. Theoretically the system of exams allowed anyone to join the ranks of imperial officials (although it was frowned upon for merchants to join in reality the time and funding needed to support the study in preparation for the exam generally limited participants to those already coming from the landholding class. However, the government did exact provincial quotas while drafting officials. This was an effort to curb monopolization of power by landholding gentry who came from the most prosperous regions, where education was the most advanced. The expansion of the printing industry since enhanced the spread of knowledge and number of potential exam candidates throughout the fiefdoms. The exams increased in difficulty as the student progressed from the local level, and appropriate titles were accordingly awarded successful applicants. Officials were classified in nine hierarchic grades, each grade divided into two degrees (Second Grade Official of the Second Degree), with ranging salaries according to their rank. Fiefdom graduates were appointed to office and assigned to posts according to their level. Royal graduates (level 7 -9 exams only taken in the capitol) were allowed to apply for Minister level posts. The maximum tenure in office was nine years, but every three years officials were graded on their performance by senior officials. If they were graded as superior then they were promoted, if graded adequate then they retained their ranks, and if graded inadequate they were demoted one rank. In extreme cases, officials would be dismissed or punished.
Every male commoner aged twenty was liable for conscription into the military. Conscripted soldiers underwent one year of training and one year of service as non-professional soldiers. Conscription could be avoided if one paid a commutable tax. The year of training was served in one of three branches of the armed forces: infantry, cavalry or navy. The year of active service was served either on the frontier (expanding the Empire), in a king's court or under the Minister of the Guards in the capital. In Iridan, the options are; supporting the Aquarian military in their war with Pryma, supporting the trade efforts as Guards at Fort Elderidge, or under the Junior Minister of Guards in either Upper Iridan or on the border wall.
Emperor Joaun has his wife (Empress) and four children (two princes, and two princesses). He also has a harem. Empress Dowager is the name of a wife or mother to a dead king - there is no one who holds this title at the moment. His father was Emperor Bo. The Princes are given fiefdoms to control with limitations. Princes are not able to appoint their own staff; this duty is assumed by the imperial court. Princes are nominal heads of their fiefs and collected a portion of tax revenues as their personal incomes. One such fiefdom is Iridan, the only one on the Aguarian continent. The others are Merogi, Soga, Jingu, Hann, Geas and Siadda. Where their are no Princes, other family members are appointed fiefdoms. The crown prince is currently in the capital preparing to take over for his father as Emperor.
Succession: Abdication or death of the previous Emperor. The oldest living male heir then becomes Emperor. The oldest female heir is often married off for political gain, however if she has the favor of the emperor she can marry an approved upper class man and run a fiefdom until her brother ascends.
Although the imperial household is staffed mostly by eunuchs and palace ladies, there is a civil service office called the Seal Office, which cooperates with eunuch agencies in maintaining imperial seals, tallies, and stamps. There are also civil service offices to oversee the affairs of imperial princes.
Under the Emperor is the Secretariat. They handle all the paperwork for the Emperor’s wishes. Though ranking below the Minister’s, everything has to go through them placing them in great positions of power. Reporting directly to the Emperor are the ministers of the 6 ministry's.
The Ministry of Personnel was in charge of appointments, merit ratings, promotions, and demotions of officials, as well as granting of honorific titles.
The Ministry of Revenue was in charge of gathering census data, collecting taxes, and handling state revenues, while there were two offices of currency that were subordinate to it.
The Ministry of Rites was in charge of state ceremonies, rituals, and sacrifices; it also oversaw registers for Buddhist and Daoist priesthoods and even the reception of envoys from tributary states.
The Ministry of War was in charge of the appointments, promotions, and demotions of military officers, the maintenance of military installations, equipment, and weapons, as well as the courier system.
The Ministry of Justice was in charge of judicial and penal processes, but had no supervisory role over the Censorate or the Grand Court of Revision.
The Ministry of Public Works had charge of government construction projects, hiring of artisans and laborers for temporary service, manufacturing government equipment, the maintenance of roads and canals, standardization of weights and measures, and the gathering of resources from the countryside.
All minsters were appointed from Scholars who have to pass rigorous exams to be considered. They have staff that they appoint themselves. They also travel to all the fiefdoms as required in their duties. The only exception is Iridan, where a Junior Minister is appointed to handle the day to affairs, and the Senior Minister visits every 3 years.
Division of Land Within the Empire
Fiefdoms (sometimes called Provinces)The heads of provinces were responsible for inspecting several district-level and province-level administrations. On the basis of their reports, the officials in these local administrations would be promoted, demoted, dismissed or prosecuted by the imperial court. They could take various actions without permission from the imperial court and had executive powers only during times of crisis, such as raising militias across the districts under his jurisdiction to suppress a rebellion.
Districts
A District consisted of a group of counties, and was headed by an Administrator. He was the top civil and military leader of the District and handled defense, lawsuits, seasonal instructions to farmers and recommendations of nominees for office sent annually to the capital in a quota system.
County
The head of a county was called a Magistrate. A Magistrate maintained law and order in his county, registered the populace for taxation, mobilized commoners for annual labor duties, repaired schools and supervised public works.
The only place where this did not occur is in Iridan where there is only one County, in One District, in One Province, and the Prince in charge of Iridan works closely with the Magistrate and Administrator daily.
WOMEN
Titles given to the woman who bed with the Emperor:Empress (There can only be one, considered his wife)
Imperial Consort (Up to 5, their children can be considered in line for the throne if the Empress does not bear a son)
Imperial Concubine (There can be many, up to 25 at last count. Any children borne are not in line for the throne)
The Crown Prince is also allow a Harem.
The Crown Princess (his wife)
Female Attendant (only one. Same rules as an Imperial Consort)
Crown Concubines (up to five allowed. Same rules as an Imperial Concubine)
No other prince is allowed a Harem, though many also take a Madame (a single woman he is allowed to sleep with outside of his wife, though outside of the crown prince no children born of a madame are considered heirs). All Wives are in charge of finding the Consorts/Madames.
A Princess can become Emperor however it has only happened three times in history and only when a suitable male heir was not available. Used as a stop-gap measure.
Marriages were highly ritualized, particularly for the wealthy, and included many important steps. The giving of betrothal gifts, known as bridewealth and dowry, were especially important. A lack of either was considered dishonorable and the woman would have been seen not as a wife, but as a concubine/Madame. Arranged marriages were normal, with the father's input on his offspring's spouse being considered more important than the mother's. Monogamous marriages were also normal, although nobles and high officials were wealthy enough to afford and support concubines/madames as additional lovers. Under certain conditions dictated by custom, not law, both men and women were able to divorce their spouses and remarry. However, a woman who had been widowed continued to belong to her husband's family after his death. In order to remarry, the widow would have to be returned to her family in exchange for a ransom fee. Her children would not be allowed to go with her.
Women were expected to obey the will of their father, then their husband, and then their adult son in old age. However, it is known from that there were many deviations to this rule, especially in regard to mothers over their sons, and Empresses who ordered around and openly humiliated their fathers and brothers. Women were exempt from labor duties, but often engaged in a range of income-earning occupations aside from their domestic chores of cooking and cleaning.
The most common occupation for women was weaving clothes for the family, sale at market or for large textile enterprises that employed hundreds of women. Other women helped on their brothers' farms or became singers, dancers, sorceresses, respected medical physicians, and successful merchants who could afford their own silk clothes.
UPPERCLASS
The Emperor appoints his children or relatives to heads of fiefdoms throughout the empire. When a new emperor ascends the throne he normally replaces the heads of these fiefdoms. The former heads are granted Dukedoms, small regions within the fiefdom they oversaw and will now report to the new prince/sovereign in charge. They can always decline the dukedom to travel elsewhere but forfeit the title and privilege. The Duke title is passed hereditarily until the title is removed by the sovereign for reasons like treason or extreme displeasure. A duke receives a pension, but has no territorial rule.Scholar-officials who entered civil service through examinations acted as executive officials to a much larger body of Scholars. Theoretically the system of exams allowed anyone to join the ranks of imperial officials (although it was frowned upon for merchants to join in reality the time and funding needed to support the study in preparation for the exam generally limited participants to those already coming from the landholding class. However, the government did exact provincial quotas while drafting officials. This was an effort to curb monopolization of power by landholding gentry who came from the most prosperous regions, where education was the most advanced. The expansion of the printing industry since enhanced the spread of knowledge and number of potential exam candidates throughout the fiefdoms. The exams increased in difficulty as the student progressed from the local level, and appropriate titles were accordingly awarded successful applicants. Officials were classified in nine hierarchic grades, each grade divided into two degrees (Second Grade Official of the Second Degree), with ranging salaries according to their rank. Fiefdom graduates were appointed to office and assigned to posts according to their level. Royal graduates (level 7 -9 exams only taken in the capitol) were allowed to apply for Minister level posts. The maximum tenure in office was nine years, but every three years officials were graded on their performance by senior officials. If they were graded as superior then they were promoted, if graded adequate then they retained their ranks, and if graded inadequate they were demoted one rank. In extreme cases, officials would be dismissed or punished.
Military
Like scholar-officials, military generals were ranked in a hierarchic grading system and were given merit evaluations every five years (as opposed to three years for officials). However, military officers had less prestige than officials. This was due to their hereditary service (instead of solely merit-based) and Empires values that dictated those who chose the profession of violence over the cultured pursuits of knowledge.Every male commoner aged twenty was liable for conscription into the military. Conscripted soldiers underwent one year of training and one year of service as non-professional soldiers. Conscription could be avoided if one paid a commutable tax. The year of training was served in one of three branches of the armed forces: infantry, cavalry or navy. The year of active service was served either on the frontier (expanding the Empire), in a king's court or under the Minister of the Guards in the capital. In Iridan, the options are; supporting the Aquarian military in their war with Pryma, supporting the trade efforts as Guards at Fort Elderidge, or under the Junior Minister of Guards in either Upper Iridan or on the border wall.
COMMONERS
Officials who served in government belonged to the wider commoner social class and were ranked just below nobles in social prestige. A variety of occupations could be chosen or inherited from a father's line of work. This would include – but was not limited to – coffinmakers, ironworkers and blacksmiths, tailors, cooks and noodle-makers, retail merchants, tavern, teahouse, or winehouse managers, shoemakers, seal cutters, pawnshop owners, brothel heads, and merchant bankers engaging in a proto-banking system involving notes of exchange. Virtually every town had a brothel where female and male prostitutes could be had. Male prositutes fetched a higher price than female concubines since lying with a teenage boy was seen as a mark of elite status, regardless of sodomy being repugnant to sexual norms. Public bathing is common. Urban shops and retailers sold a variety of goods such as special paper money to burn at ancestral sacrifices, specialized luxury goods, headgear, fine cloth, teas, and others. Smaller communities and townships too poor or scattered to support shops and artisans obtained their goods from periodic market fairs and traveling peddlers. A small township also provided a place for simple schooling, news and gossip, matchmaking, religious festivals, traveling theater groups, tax collection, and bases of famine relief distribution.Assets
Red Vollonite (Magic Crystals) are found in large concentrations in the southern province of Geas.
Demography and Population
FIEFDOMS
Merogi - The second most recent fiefdom. Was once a separate country with it’s own King and royal family. During the great war between Merogi and the Dukana Empire, when the tides turned in Dukana’s favour, the King hid many of his family members on small farms, posing them as peasants to protect them. The King even went as far as to wipe the records of two of his children, a boy and girl. The king was right to do so, as upon defeat the entire royal family was executed all the way down to cousins of the royal family. The Prince and Princess were 7 and 3 at the time of the massacre. They were raised with the knowledge of who they were by faithful supporters, but as the girl grew into her teens the rumor of her and her brother’s existence reached Emperor Bo. She married quickly to a man headed for the new Fiefdom, Iridan in hopes to avoid death. Her brother was not so lucky as he died in the rebellion to retake the throne from Dukana forces. Merogi is currently held by Emperor Jon’s first daughter and her husband.Jingu - An agricultural hub for the empire, providing much of the plant food consumed by the Empire.
Soga - Where the base of the military is housed for the Empire.
Hann - The home of the Empire's Capital, the Golden City. Where the Emperor lives. The oldest part of the Empire.
Geas - Where the bulk of the Red Vollonite is mined from.
Siadda - Home of silent ninjas with elf-like ears. These Ninja warriors were key to the Empires sucess and were the second kingdom to bend a knee to the Emperor. They are loyal to the Emperor.
Iridan - Where the "Black Shadow" series takes place.
Technological Level
Basically 1850's American level technology. Late steam usage, playing with Automatons, testing early flight machines.
Religion
Lamshire
All lands under Heaven belong to the Emperor, and all people under Heaven are subjects of the Emperor.
Maps
-
Dukana Empire
Map of the Dukana Empire Dukana Empire, which spans the Eastern Continent. To the North lies the Black Teeth, impassable rocky isles that are the breeding ground of the worlds largest @Sea Serpents. To the South-West are the Volcanic Islands of Elcaio, which a large group of @Golums call home and the Eastern gateway to the @Prymese Commonwealth.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Alternative Names
Dukana, Dondor Dynasty
Demonym
Dukana
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
1 Bo Lang = $0.50
1 Lang = $1
1 Qin = $2
Typical Costs:
A horse = 4,400–4,500 Ling.
A labourer earnings = 150 Ling a month
A merchant earnings = 2,000 Ling a month.
1 Lang = $1
1 Qin = $2
Typical Costs:
A horse = 4,400–4,500 Ling.
A labourer earnings = 150 Ling a month
A merchant earnings = 2,000 Ling a month.
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments