The Republic of Dobruja
A city state and mercentile republic sitting on the river delta where the Dobruja River and the Little Sister River meet.
Structure
The merchants republic is a semi-direct democracy where decisions and matters of state are dealt with in the house of the Peoples Magnar's, a large arguement room, where any whom give to the state may speak and vote. Core to the system is taxation, for almost all taxes in the city are option. Instead the democracy allows only those whom pay their fortunes to the state to vote, or otherwise provide material and means for the states function. The amount one gives magnifies its power. Here a wealthy man may have twenty times the voting power, if he himself gives fourty times the amount of the state. The weight of this is recorded in the cities House of Records, which connects directly to the other government houses. Calculating the values of your gifts in the last year and where you stand. As such this system both attracts merchants as ones unwishing to pay much beyond low tarrifs may open a buisness here, yet any whom wish to steer the state, one they often have invested heavily in, must fund the state.
This however, means that corruption is considered a natural part of democracy, where merchants rich from trade running all sections of government, buying their way there is considered not a bug of the system, but a way to suss out merit. However, when matters are minute or too much in need of haste for votes and values to be calculated, the decision can be rested on the Kral or people's king. A sort of head administrator and chief of the Dobrujan mercenary army. This position is voted for every year and after that year, the Kral is forced to face a public trial to justify their leadership. As Krals tend to be wealthy and connected merchants, rarely, but in cases of obvious tyranny, do they face any consiquence.
Culture
Dobrujan culture prides itself in weslth and the "postitives" of their sort of capitalistic focus. Great architectual works of stone marble and wood can be found brandishing the name of the great merchant whome funded them, and temples to every god can be found and by whose coin it was made possible. Luxury paintings, arts, and tapistiries are traded in bulk and much literature is written about the nature of coin and trade. Here a sort of clever egoism is considered a virtue above all, and while humans dominate, racism is seen as at best useful for making money, and at worse, a foolish backwater way. However utility is key and only idiots are too focused on virtue over coin.
Public Agenda
The city wishes to retain its strong hegemony on trade between the mainland and the lucrative sea kingdoms, and the soul means of Wallachian grain flowing out into the rest of the world. In this way the state, and its substantial navy serve the primary interests of the merchants of Dobruja.
History
The republic always existed in some seense since the first empire, originally as a city governorial system unique to the empire's largest port, however its first taste of independence was as part of the Kingdom of Wallachia under the short reign of the rebel king Barov.
Yet as his family passed and the kingdom turned into the modern The Confederation of Wallachia the republic saw its position as uniquely strong, richer, stable, well defended and only assaiable by sea, and most importantly capable of funding mercenary armies and hold all the Wallachian Boyar's collective debt, the republic saw no need to be run by Boyars and their families, and instead won a very effective war of indepedence estabish the republic as a fully free entity.
Education
College of Whispers, Dobrujan University of Magics
Founding Date
45
Type
Geopolitical, Republic
Capital
Alternative Names
Dobruja, The Merchant's Republic, Green Republic
Demonym
Dobrujans
Leader
Leader Title
Government System
Plutocracy
Power Structure
Thalassocracy
Economic System
Market economy
Deities
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments