Sibinia

The Republic of Sibinia Men Republikes ai Sibiniu
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Mindar hari páhlivana" (Unity makes strength)
Anthem: Mulis i Hayshara (Land of Glory)
Location of Sibinia is Internatia
Capital	Harmir (220,523 people, 2013 est.)
Largest city	Alsace (5,780,095 people, 2013 est.)
Official languages	Sibinian
Recognised regional languages	Spirevan, Miltenian
Demonym	Sibinian
Government	Multi-party representative democracy
• President	Sarin Auriga
• Prime Minister	Raumil Tarman
Area
• Proper	157,698 km2 (60,888 sq mi) (22nd)
• Overseas	203 662 km2
• Total	361 360 km2
Population
• 2013 estimate	32,923,918 (7th)
• 2011 census	32,909,388
• Density	208/km2 (538.7/sq mi) (5th)
GDP (PPP)	2012 estimate
• Total	$972 billion (6th)
• Per capita	$29,562 (8th)
GDP (nominal)	2012 estimate
• Total	$1,190,787 million (4th)
• Per capita	$36,216 (7th)
Gini (2012)	0.43 low · 18th
HDI (2012)	0.859 very high · 11th
Currency	Sibinian sijiba (SBN)
Date format	DD/MM/YY
Drives on the	right
Calling code	+377
Internet TLD	.sn

Sibinia (Sibinian: Sibinia, Spirevan: Sévinati), officially The Republic of Sibinia (Sibinian: Men Republikes ai Sibiniu) is a country located in the central parts of Avantia, in the northeastern part of the Internatian continent. To the north it's bordered by Pebbleland and to the south lie the United States of Beige. The country is located in a mountainous region, comprising one of the highest mountain ranges in Internatia - the Sijaric mountain range (including the Meridia, Magura, Sijar, Feher and Lobos mountain masiffs), with highest point Mount Azuga (9216 m) - the highest peak of all of Internatia. Apart from the mountains it comprises the fertile valley of the Mauser (also called Sibinian Valley) between the Meridia and Feher mountains, the Sylvanian plain to the east and the Miranda plateau to the west.

Sibinia is a republic, implementing a multi-party representative democracy political system. Though, it's still far off being a real democratic state, but rather a country in transition after almost three decades of military rule implemented ever since the proclamation of the republic in 1979 after a militarist coup d'état until the recent nationalwide protests that occured in 2013 that forced the last junta government of generalissimo Milen Florescu to resign. The country, though, has a very stable market economy, registering a growth of around 7% in 2013. It had a nominal value of its gross domestic product of $1,190,787 million which ranks it as the fourth biggest economy in Internatia, only beaten by DPR Jindalea, Tashkveny and Tikata. This is due to the rapid industrialization, going on even since the middle of the 19th century and the vast natural resources the country has (biggest deposits of iron, copper, gold, silver and lead, the second biggest oil field in the world - Alavir-Artaral in western Sibinia, 3,750,000 barrels per day, the third biggest gas field in the world - Samura, near the city of Manukillamil, with estimated deposits of 8,198.9×109 m³). The mountains make it a perfect location for winter tourism, a field where Sibinia is a leading power and ensures almost a tenth of its economy every year.

Sibinia is an unitary state, meaning it has a centralized government. The country is divided into seven provinces and one capital district, encompassing the capital city Harmir and its metropolitan area. Apart from that, Sibinia posesses two overseas territories - Almarania and Saída, which were both granted home rule in 1995, making them the first territories on the Western Continent with some degree of independence.

Name

Main article: Name of Sibinia

The origin of the name of Sibinia is still a mystery for the scholars. It is often connected with the ancient ethnonym "Seubia" used by Moesians and Cephalonians for the far eastern lands, which in turn derives from the Avestinian (predecessor of Albanian) "sauba" meaning "silver". Other connect it with "Surban", the ancient name for the Mauser (Meijar) river. It was first mentioned in the 9th century in the Tikatan Chronicle of Fulderich and became widely used in the 11th century.

History

Main article: History of Sibinia

Prehistory and Antiquity

Main articles: Prehistory of Sibinia and Kingdom of Carminia

Cave painting of an equine in the Algida Cave.

Due to their inhospitable geographic location the lands of Sibinia were populated by humans quite late. Neanderthals are known to have arrived here around 170,000 years ago as suggest fossils found in the Amradia Cave in the Feher Mountains, near the city of Arzamas, and are known to have had a stable colony on the lower mountainous regions of eastern central Sibinia. Homo sapiens are known to have inhabited the lands along the basin of the Mauser since 35,000 years ago at earliest, gradually migrating to the mountainous areas and displacing the neanderthals out of there, ending around 22,000 years ago. The first documented traces of cooperation between Homo sapiens and canines in the world were found in the Algida Cave near the village of Chatel, Feher Province in the Feher Mountains, dating back from roughly 26,000 years ago. The cave is also noted for one of the best-preserved collections of cave paintings in Internatia. Civilization is though to have appeared here around 5500-4500 BC.

Ruins of the Carminian capital of Samarna.

Early states in the region of what is now Sibinia benefited a lot from trading precious metals, iron, copper and lead, vast deposits of which are found in the mountains of Sibinia. The Mauser was also an important trade route itself, as it connected the people in the mountains with the Silent Sea, from where the riches were exported to the empires in the West. Around 2nd century BC a ruler named Carmin I managed to unite all the kingdoms on the territory of modern Sibinia, Beige, southeastern Pebbleland and northern Spirevo and created the powerful Kingdom of Carminia. The intersection of many important trading routes on its territory made it a leading power in eastern Avantia and made it a magnet for western traders who called it Seubia ("land of silver"), where the modern name Sibinia is thought to derive from. In the 2nd century AD the rising Moesian Empire, centered in modern-day Holy Kim Jong Il's AD Hangug, conquered Carminia, seeking for expansion and exploitation of the riches of eastern Avantia. The Sibinians managed to get their independence back from Moesia in the late 3rd century, during a period of a serious internal crisis in the empire.

In the following centuries the territory of modern Sibinia split into a couple of barbarian kingdoms, some of which converted into Christianity in late 3rd-early 4th century AD. The most prominent one was the Kingdom of Feher, which managed to unite the territories in the Miranda plateau, Sijaric Mountains and southwards along the valley of the Mauser to the Silent Sea. It also managed to repel the Albanian (Xhan) attacks from the north in 494 in the battle of Marcellae. Its glory was about to be short-lasting though, as it split again in 528 into three kingdoms as a result of internal conficts among the aristocracy.

Middle Ages

Main articles: Islamic conquest of Sibinia, Emirate of Meijar, and Pebblelandian conquest of Sibinia

File:Tsarevets-gruev-2.JPG

Emir's Fortress, overlooking the city of Meijar.

The divided kingdoms in the Sibinian lands were frequently involved in mutual wars and conflicts which made them an easy prey for the Islamic forces coming from the southwest. Caliph Omar al-Senoussi conquered the lands of what is now Sibinia and Beige between 668 and 674 and most of the population of these lands got converted to Islam in the years to follow. Nowadays Islam is still the dominant religion in Sibinia, confessed by around 72% of the population. In the 9th century the local Sibinians rebelled against the Arabic rule and in 873 a new Islamic state was formed - the Emirate of Meijar, roughly comprising the lands of the ancient Kingdom of Carminia at first. Its center was the wealthy city of Meijar, located on the strategic point where the Mauser accepts its biggest tributary on Sibinian territory - the Glazne. The Emir's Fortress (built in mid-10th century), located on a hilltop over the confluence of the two rivers, was the strongest fortification in the world back then.

Oalian troops in the battle of Pungertar (1348). According to a Spirevan chronicler "the Alassians [Sibinians] fought under a banner of blue, white and green and a mighty eagle was shining in the middle".

In late 11th century and early 12th century, following the weakening of the adjacent Rehawid Caliphate by its constant wars with the crusaders coming from its neighbouring Christian kingdoms of Kosma, Cephalonia and Volnytaria, the Emirate of Meijar, already often referred to as Sibinia, became the leading power in the Islamic world. It took the lead of the struggle against the Christian invaders and in less than twenty years Emir Raumil I managed to unify the territories from what's now Bitland and the northern parts of the Keewenaw Peninsula (Havina) to modern-day Edoriada and Oalia, the biggest Muslim state ever to exist in Internatia. Meijar, as a center of that entity, became a cultural hub for all the eastern world, which is reflected in the beauty and grandure of the buildings in the city dating from that period.

After a short decline in late 13th century, during which Sibinia lost its westernmost territories, the Emirate rose again under its last and most famous dynasty of rulers, the Samoyeds. They had a new enemy to face from the southeast - the rising kingdom of Oalia. They fought over the control of Spirevan lands, especially over the posession of the southern Spirevan ports, most notably Sansalis (Sendzem), where trade of frankincense, myrrh, tar and areca nut was performed. The Samoyed rule marked a new period of cultural flourishing of the Sibinian people and is known for one of the most glorious battles in Sibinian history, like the battle of Pungertar (nowadays in Amisags, Spirevo), where the modern Sibinian flag had its first documented use. In the late 15th century though, the Sibinian state was swept away by Pebblelanders invading from the north and remained under their rule for almost a century to come.

Independence and domination of the Silent Sea

Main articles: Sibinian War of Independence and Sibinian domination of the Silent Sea

Even severely weakened by internal conflicts and severe loses from the Oalians in the south, who practically conquered the whole coastline Sibinia posessed, it wasn't an easy prey for the Pebblelandian tribes invading from the north. Legends have it that the courageous Sibinian commanders managed to hold some important fortresses like Samigal, Saimanabad and Lazibegli (now Almond, Beige) for over 50 years after the fall of Meijar in 1479. The mountainous regions in southern and central Sibinia never got de facto under Pebblelandian control.

Colonial period

Main article: Sibinian outremer

Beigean War and the Black Decades

Main articles: Beigean War and Black Decades

Fall of monarchy and military rule

Main articles: 1979 Sibinian coup d'état and Military junta in Sibinia

Revolution of 2013

Main article: Sibinian revolution of 2013

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Sibinia

Sibinia is an unitary state, meaning there's only one central government, which has subordinate provincial authorities. The country is divided into seven provinces (pashalik) in Sibinia and one capital district (mir al astana). Each province is divided into several counties (jadis), whose count depends on its population. The capital district is divided into seven areas (areal).

	Province	Capital	Area	Population
Harmir, D.C. Alavir Meridia Northern Sijar Amirjat Feher Northern Spirevo Southern Spirevo Beige Pebbleland
	Harmir, D.C.	Harmir		582,886
	Alavir	Alavir		7,200,900
	Meridia	Alsace		9,620,152
	Northern Sijar	Saimanabad		2,355,980
	Amirjat	Meijar		5,119,200
	Feher	Ghaznavim		1,320,000
	Northern Spirevo	Hashalan		3,730,950
	Southern Spirevo	Labayas		2,979,320

Demographics

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1891	12,895,730	—
1901	13,448,630	+4.3%
1911	13,809,556	+2.7%
1917	10,255,943	−25.7%
1921	14,626,889	+42.6%
1931	16,889,225	+15.5%
1941	17,112,903	+1.3%
1945	16,299,005	−4.8%
1951	21,338,113	+30.9%
1961	22,748,119	+6.6%
1971	25,840,997	+13.6%
1981	26,032,118	+0.7%
1991	26,395,940	+1.4%
2001	31,779,820	+20.4%
2011	32,909,388	+3.6%
2021?	33,859,662	+2.9%

Sibinia has had a quite stable growth of population nowadays, estimated at 0.29% for 2013, with a birth rate of 1.05% and a death rate of 0.76%. This would mean a relative preservance of the population count is expected in the following years, with an increase of around a million over every 10 years. This growth rate is unusually low for a predominantly Muslim country like Sibinia, given the fact Islam is the religion that stimulates birth most thoroughly, and is thought to be influenced by the relative secularity of the country's government ever since its re-establishment as a kingdom in the 16th century and the state efforts to control the population growth and promote family planning, dating as far back as the 19th century. Though, during the last century, the population growth of Sibinia has been quite unstable, ranging from a decline of -25.7% during the 1911-1917 period, caused by the severities during the First World War to a growth of +42.6% in the 1917-1921 period following a huge demographic compensation as an aftermath of WWI. Periods of big growth are observed also after WWII (1945-1951), again due to demographic compensation, and after the Revolution of 1993, which brought new security in the country and stimulated birth and immigration, which resulted in a tremendous increase of almost 5 million people in the 1991-2001 period. The lowest growth period was observed during the military junta of 1979-1993. Declines have been observed only during war periods.

Sibinia is noted for being a multicultural country. The primary ethnic group in the country are Sibinians, accounting for 20,523,548 people or 62.3% of the total population according to the 2012 census. The second biggest group are the Spirevans

Culture

Internatia Song Contest

Main article: Sibinia in the Internatia Song Contest

Alan Dawa Dolma, Sibinia's first ISC winner.

Sibinia has shown interest in participating in the Internatia Song Contest ever since the first edition of the contest where it was supposed to enter with Valentina Hassan's song "Ken Lee". A political decision was though made, stopping this participation.

The country made its debut in the second ISC, held in Zinzolin, Spirevo, with the song "The Crow, the Owl and the Dove", sung by Nightwish, scoring a respectable 7th place in the final ranking. This was the start of a streak of success for the country, marked with two consecutive wins in ISC 3 with Alan Dawa Dolma's "Kuon no Kawa" and in ISC 4 with NOX's "Szeretem", and a second place in ISC 7, scored by Sertab Erener with the song "Here I Am". The country hosted the 5th Internatia Song Contest in Riverside Arena in the second biggest city of Meijar.

The streak of good luck was to last until ISC 8, the first one with semi-finals implemented, where the Sibinian entry "Livre", sung by Fox Lima, shockingly failed to qualify to the final, getting only 15th in its semi. In ISC 9 Sibinia, represented by Armin van Buuren and Sharon den Adel with their collboration "In And Out of Love", which went on to become a chart-topping hit all over Internatia afterwards, managed to pass its semi and gave another top 10 placing to Sibinia, reaching 8th. It was followed, though, by yet another two non-qualifications. In ISC 12, held in Platonia, Novatlantida, Sibinia reached the final for a second time, this time with Raluka's song "All For You".

External links

• Sibinia's page at escforum.net