Prinnia

Prinnia, The Caliphate of Prinnia, or " الكونفدرالية الإسلامية", is one of the few Islamic states sitting on the very eastern edge of Amplector and marks the beginning of the Promethian continent. Historically referred to as simply The Caliphate, or as The Islamic State by Amplectorians, the Prinnian nation began in 998 when Shamballa monks beneath Imam Muzammil Habeeb. Starting as the Holy City of Shuwa, serving as a city state for Shamballa muslims. With the conquest east during the War of Unification, between the years 1112 and 1200, Prinnia took on her current shape with a confederacy of twelve Islamic tribal kingdoms. In 1350, with the twelve tribes under the control of the Warrior King Ziyaad Amber, the Islamic Confederacy transformed into a Caliphate.

The Caliphate of Prinnia, consists of twelve provinces, controlled by the twelve Muslim Kingdoms, which remain semi-autonomous. Mosul, is the second largest city in the caliphate and serves as the seat of power to the caliph, with Shuwa being the largest city. Prinnia while unified and all in favor of the caliph, maintains a distinct and diverse culture unique to each kingdom. She is also a host to various different geological terrains allowing for a diverse environment, ranging from sandy deserts, cold mountain tops, to pleasurable hot springs. This multitude of biodiversity has led to Prinnia becoming a get away resort nation for the rich and affluent, with skii resorts and hot spring casinos becoming all the rage to depart from the restrictive morals of Amplectorian nations. Despite Prinnia being an Islamic nation, and her people subject to relgious law, she has created "Amplectorian zones" which allows tourists to circumvent many of the tenants of Islam. Despite this Prinnia has become in recent times militarily aggressive, and though she is rich merchant nation with a growing industrial capacity, she is still considered to be a secondary power compared to nations such as Fanaglia or Inoroth.

Name
The word "Prinn" or المؤمنين comes from the arabic phrase translating directly to "The faithful", which was what Imam Muzammil Habeeb called his congregation at the time of the nations conception in Shuwa. Thus the name "Prinnia" is considered to be literally translated into "The Nation of the Faithful".

Since then Prinnia has begun to be associated with unity of the twelve Islamic kingdoms.

Unification
Before the conception of the modern Prinnian Caliphate the region consisted of twelve small Islamic kingdoms: Kuria, Erana, Ejoeswines, Qoedan, Siehaela, Shuwa, Vogro, Yaienia, Obeiplary, Soipolia, Tomekia, and Peijiti. Each kingdom was governed by tribal elders and though they were separate entities, they freely traded and exchanged ideas. Unification was not considered until the outside threat of the Rothian empire demanded a strong fighting forces, capable to hold off imperial legions. Yet no one leader was chosen and the Rothian empire quickly crushed the Islamic kingdoms in 430, it would not be until the collapse of the Rothian empire that the kingdoms regained independence.

In 1350 Warrior Imam Ziyaad Amber led the Shuwa warrior monks, who at the time had been acting as pirates on the coast, and seized the entirety of the region on the promise of never allowing an outside force subjugate the muslim peoples. Under Ziyaad the twelve kingdoms pledged fealty to form the first Caliphate with Ziyaad the first Caliph, and thus begin the transition into the confederate state. It would be during this time that muslims in the region now known currently as Dalruanazkal refused to accept Ziyaad's appointment, from then on Prinnia has considered the people of Dalruanazkal to be heretics.



Political System of Rule
Once unified by Ziyaad the twelve kingdoms demanded a system of government, that while respecting the Caliph as the central figure of not only the people, but as well as matters of faith, still allowed the kingdoms some sense of self rule. It was after several years of infighting in the newly established Caliphate that, in 1354, KingTughiril Mahmut of Soipolia helped establish and support the creation of a stratocracy.

A stratocracy (from στρατός, stratos, "army" and κράτος, kratos, "dominion", "power") is a form of government headed by military chiefs.[1] It is not the same as a military dictatorship or military junta where the military's political power is not enforced or even supported by other laws. Rather, stratocracy is a form of military government in which the state and the military are traditionally or constitutionally the same entity, and government positions are always occupied by commissioned officers and military leaders. Citizens with mandatory and/or voluntary military service, or who have been honorably discharged, have the right to elect and/or govern. The military's political power is supported by law, the constitution, and the society. A stratocracy therefore is more often a meritocracy and does not have to be autocratic by nature in order to preserve its right to rule.The Prinnian system has several high ranking servants:

The Illyad Caliph
خليفة, خليفة المسلمين, Illyad Caliph, Is the single ruler over all of the Islamic Confederacy or Caliphate, not only that but he is also the head of the Islam for Shamballa Muslims and represents the successor to the prophet Muhammad. He rules with the power of an absolute monarch, but despite this generally Caliphs make it a point to listen to their Pashas and make major decisions after many days of meditation and consideration. In this way the Caliph is seen as the leader of the people and Islam as a whole, with his position being filled by an election of the Diwan. A Sultan Pasha is elected and usually goes to the most experienced king, but once elected the Caliph serves for life, only to removed by the a majority vote by a reconvened Diwan.

Ziyaad became the first Caliph of the Islamic Confederacy, with the current Caliph Ishaaq Ahmed "Trescott" being one of his direct blood lineage.

Sultan Pasha
سلطان باشا, Sultan Pasha, or referred to as Sultan, marks the highest ranking officers, both civil and militarily in the political system of the Caliphate. This rank is typically granted to generals or members of the civil population who have made great strides in advancing the goals of the Caliph and thus, typically is given only to devout or seemingly devout muslims. The rank of Sultan was created out of the necessity to tie the old kingdom system into the modern stratocracy adopted by the Caliphate as a whole. Many of the kings who followed Ziyaad on his path to unification were granted the rank of Sultan Pasha and allowed to continually rule over their own kingdoms.

Though the change to a meritocracy meant that the sons of the previous kings would have to prove themselves worthy to the populace though civil projects or glory on the field of battle, rather than inheriting the throne. Thus Sultan Pasha's take great care in raising their sons to become great leaders of the people in hopes one may take his place. A Sultan may be removed only through a collective vote of all other Pasha, usually noted as a vote of no confidence.

Though the Sultan Pasha is the ruler of a kingdom, his projects are more broadly based and the daily tasks of running the kingdom usually fall to the Buyuk Pasha's and VIzers. In total there are only twelve Sultan Pashas, signifying the twelve kingdoms of the Caliphate, with King Tughiril becoming the first Sultan Pasha of Soipolia.

The Buyuk Pasha
باشا لقب تركي قديم, Buyuk Pasha, or simply Pasha, is the second ranking officer in both the military and political system in the Caliphate. This rank is typically granted to the generals and/or to Bureau heads of the unified kingdoms. Though the king in the kingdoms was usually chosen through birth, the stratocracy changed this position to one of merit, meaning as long as a solider served his Caliph faithfully he may one day be respected enough to be voted to rule his native kingdom. Buyuk Pasha simply denotes the rank of Pasha upon one who does not govern over one of the twelve kingdoms. Yet this system of meritocracy allows even the lowliest officers in the Caliphate to one day aspire to rule his own native kingdom.

This of course led to many rulers and influential citizens who had been put into position by birth to become disgruntled, but rather than fight they joined the armed forces to maintain authority. This formation of a unified armed forces not only strengthened the Prinnian people it also created a sense of kinship among the different kingdoms. There are some 300 Buyuk Pasha's within the Caliphate.

Vizer
Serve as second rank officials in both politics and in the military, they are common place in the government, serving as stewards and aids.

The Diwan and Fatwa
The Diwan, ديوان, is the council at the highest administrative level within the Caliphate and is formed by the bulk Pashas, headed by the Caliph. The Diwan acts as the main decision making power behind the Caliph and deals with various issues which effect the Caliphate as a whole. While there are lesser versions of the Diwan which convene in the centers of each kingdom, the Diwan is often referring to that of the entirety of the confederacy. This council is made up of one hundred and one Buyuk Pasha as well as including the twelve Sultan Pasha. Dealing with various nationally important issues ranging from foreign affairs to civil issues, the Diwan comes together once at the end of every month.

While the Caliph himself does not vote, his thoughts are highly regarded and it is ultimately his decision on how to continually enforce the Diwan's decision. This way the Caliph's power is kept in check and not regarded as absolute.

The Fatwa, الفتوى, is a purely religious council formed of the highest respected Imam's of Islam and is headed as is the Caliphate in its entirety by the Caliph. Much like the Diwan is the center of administrative power the Fatwa shares the same sort of power over religious matters. The council is intended to keep Shamballa muslims faithful to the true form of Islam, ensuring that heretical ideas are also removed as quickly as possible. Despite there role as being overtly oppressive to Amplectorian nations, the Fatwa rarely hashes out extreme punishment and an unwritten rule of religious freedom is generally applied to all. Though many religious laws, Sharia, الشريعة, are instituted the enforcement of several topics including: crime, politics, and economics, as well as personal matters such as sexual intercourse, hygiene, diet, prayer, everyday etiquette and fasting, these laws are lax at best. The Caliph is considered the direct successor to the prophet Muhammad, thus his influence is clearly established and unlike the Diwan, the Caliph has a direct control over the decisions of the Fatwa.

Religion
Religion of course for the Confederate Caliphate is at the forefront of thought for all citizens, of course this is merely an appearance to keep the more conservative population appeased. With religious, Sharia law, being enforced only for major infractions, that have been made public atleast. That said the contraband of various beverages, such as those with alcohol are officially banned, but many including the Caliph himself find no trouble in indulging in the forbidden fruit.

Enforcement also does not apply to those who do not believe in Islam, this usually applying to foreigners who supplement the Caliphates economy through tourism of the "Western Zones". These zones are overseen by Buyuk Pashas but are largely left for western companies to do business with impunity and conduct themselves however they feel. Generation of continual revenue from these zones is one of the highest priorities for the Caliphate, though in 1910, with the conquest of Averi's industrial region, industry has become another large part of the economy.

Shamballa Islam,  نور, نهار, ضوء, is the most prominent and official form of Islam in the Caliphate. Shamballa Islam adheres to six major tenants of belief: As well as ensuring the following of along the 105 key points of creed mentioned in "Aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī's Islamic Theology.
 * Reality of the one true God (see Tawhid)
 * Existence of the angels of God
 * Authority of the books of God which are Books of Abraham, the Torah, the Psalms, the Gospel, and the Quran
 * Following the prophets of God
 * Preparation for and belief in the Day of Judgment
 * Supremacy of God's will, i.e. belief in predestination good or bad is from God alone

Theological Traditions:

Some Islamic scholars faced questions that they felt were not explicitly answered in the Quran and the Sunnah, especially questions with regard to philosophical conundra such as the nature of God, the existence of human free will, or the eternal existence of the Quran. Various schools of theology and philosophy developed to answer these questions, each claiming to be true to the Quran and the Muslim tradition (sunnah). Among Shamballa Muslims, various schools of thought in theology began to be born out of the sciences of kalam in opposition to the textualists who stood by affirming texts without delving into philosophical speculation as they saw it as an innovation in Islam. The following were the three dominant schools of theology that grew. All three of these are accepted by Muslims around the globe, and are considered within "Islamic orthodoxy". The key beliefs of Shamballa Islam are all agreed upon (being the six pillars of Iman) and codified in the treatise on Aqeedah by Imam Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Tahawi in his Aqeedat Tahawiyyah.

Maturidi
Founded by Abu Mansur al-Maturidi (died 944). Maturidiyyah was a minority tradition until it was accepted by the Yaienia kingdom  (previously they had been Ash'ari and followers of the Shafi'ischool, it was only later on migration into the Prinnian region that they became Hanafi and followers of the Maturidi creed. One of the tribes, the Seljuk Kuria, migrated to Shuwa, where later the idea of Prinnia was established. Their preferred school of law achieved a new prominence throughout their whole empire although it continued to be followed almost exclusively by followers of the Hanafi school while followers of the Shafi and Maliki schools within the empire followed the Ash'ari and Athari schools of thought. Thus, wherever can be found Hanafi followers, there can be found the Maturidi creed.

Ash'ari
Founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari (873–935). This theological school of Aqeedah was embraced by many Muslim scholars and developed in parts of the Islamic world throughout history; the Imam al-Ghazali wrote on the creed discussing it and agreeing upon some of its principles.

Ash'ari theology stresses divine revelation over human reason. Contrary to the Mu'tazilites, they say that ethics cannot be derived from human reason, but that God's commands, as revealed in the Quran and theSunnah (the practices of Muhammad and his companions as recorded in the traditions, or hadith), are the sole source of all morality and ethics.

Regarding the nature of God and the divine attributes, the Ash'ari rejected the Mu'tazili position that all Quranic references to God as having real attributes were metaphorical. The Ash'aris insisted that these attributes were as they "best befit His Majesty". The Arabic language is a wide language in which one word can have 15 different meanings, so the Ash'aris endeavor to find the meaning that best befits God and is not contradicted by the Quran. Therefore when God states in the Quran, "He who does not resemble any of His creation," this clearly means that God cannot be attributed with body parts because He created body parts. Ash'aris tend to stress divine omnipotence over human free will and they believe that the Quran is eternal and uncreated.

Athari
Athari (Classical Arabic: أثري), or "textualism", is derived from the Arabic word athar, literally meaning "remnant", and also referring to "narrations". Their disciples are called the Atharis or al-Atharia. The Atharis are considered to be one of three Shamballa schools ofAqidah.

The Athari methodology of textual or literal interpretation is to avoid delving into any extensive theological speculation. They believe in God and his attributes in the exact fashion that they were mentioned in the Quran, the Sunnah, and by the Sahabah. They do not attempt to further interpret the aforementioned texts by giving an altered meaning like the Tashbih (simile or likening), nor through tahrif (distortion), nor ta`weel (allegory or metaphor), nor ta'teel (denial). They avoid entering into deep rational philosophical discussions of matters relating to Islamic beliefs that are not supported by the Quran, the Sunnah or the understanding of the Sahabah with specific wording; rather, their discussion and presentation of beliefs revolves entirely around textual evidences found in these three main sources, while remaining cautious to avoid taking the path of non-Atharis either. The Atharis believe this to be the methodology adhered to by the first three generations of Muslims (i.e. the Salaf), therefore making it the school of Shamballa Aqeedah that they believe is adhering to the truth and keeping to the balanced middle path of Islam.

The codifier of the Athari Aqeedah was the great classical Islamic scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal who today is perhaps better known for his School of Jurisprudence than his school of Aqeedah. Prominent proponents of Classical Atharism today include, among others, Yusuf al-Qaradawi and Mauritanian scholar Sheikh Muhammad Al-Hassan Ad-Dedew.

Culture
The culture of the Caliphate is one unique to Promethia and perhaps owes this to the relatively few influential Islamic nations around the world, regardless of this though Prinnia is a place of free learning and expression. Despite her continued implication of Sharia law, the people of Prinnia enjoy a flow of new ideas and innovations as they cross from further east in Promethia on their way to Amplector. Poetic writing and theatrical performances have become all the rage among the people.

Due to the meritocracy aspect of the Caliphate, many civil servants who cannot find glory on the battle field must show their worth through public works. These usually take on the form of large constructions such as bath houses or places of learning, allowing the public to enjoy simple amenities which bare the perspective pashas name. These bath houses, parks, or other places of leisure often are paid for out of pocket and makes for an effective building strategy in the Caliphate that the government does not waste its wealth on such things. As well as the locals knowing what they desire most.

Commerce
Bazaars are often a special place of interest for foreigners when they travel to the Caliphate. Merchants from all across the globe gather there selling exotic wares, thanks to Prinnia's location as the gate way into both the east and west she has exposure to all cultures. These markets are often the center piece of each kingdom and one can find anything from rare gems to simple trinkets there, allowing a mixture of all walks of life to flow in one place.

Typically the Bazaar is added onto with each no Sultan Pasha, each noting the importance of such a place of free trade, thus Bazaars tend to have large indoor spaces where trade can occur regardless of weather.

Architecture






Military
The Prinnian Confederate Army, or Army of the Caliphate, is a well organized and well disciplined fighting force. Though the Islamic Caliphate is considered a secondary power, her promise in military strength has begun to turn other nations heads, especially after the display of force in the Averi-Prinnia conflict. She maintains a modern fighting force capable of fielding large numbers of troops in well orchestrated attacks, in support with heavy equipment such tanks and howitzers. The air fleet has proven itself capable of defeating another powers and is in league with other first world powers. Despite this success on the field, Prinnian Pashas are quick to dismiss any idea which may bring them into armed conflict with major world players such as Inoroth, choosing instead to run scenarios for military action in lesser states.

The Caliphate maintains an a united official force in which men from all kingdoms are used in a well organized manner. Though each kingdom is allowed, with its own budget of course, to raise its own personal armies, these armies are deployed alongside the main force ad serve as special forces of elite nature. Prinnia also makes use of elephants to pull heavy siege guns and cavalry units often substitute camels for horses.