Howdy folks. In an effort to add a bit of historical realism, and also to bring Beautancus' culture and language more in line with its Iranian/Persian cultural under and overtones, there will be a few changes coming up in Beautancus, many of which have already come into play. I probably won't be taking the time to go back and edit all of my posts, but if I come across some where it's really important, I will be editing them as I go along.

For starters, Beautancus will no longer be known as the "Glorious Dynamocracy." Dynamocracy was a cool word I came up with in my first year of Greek class, but it's not a real world, and it really doesn't reflect my vision of Beautancus that well. As such, the new title of Beautancus will be "The Glorious Dominate," as reflected in the Leopard and the Lion historical thread, and A River Runs Red. More often than not, Beautancus can be referred to as the Cussian Dominate, which is a pretty close translation of the what the official Iranian title "Shahr" would mean.

The Emperor of Beautancus is now, and should be hereafter, referred to by his Iranian title, "the Shahanshah," which means "Great King," or "King of Kings."

Likewise, the characters formerly referred to as Grand-Dukes (the rulers of the individual Provinces of the Dominate) will now be referred to as "Shahs" reflecting their status as regional Kings, subservient to the Cussian King of Kings. These men are the upper echelon of what is referred to as the "Shahrdaran," which is the uppermost level of Cussian nobility. The Shahrdaran are the center of the nation's industrial complex, providing the necessary capital for such ventures, and also directly overseeing the industries in cases where the military does not (though often, the military leadership and the Shahrdaran are one in the same). Shah Waelfwulf (to use his new, and correct title), and the President Eli Myllyharju are members of this class, as are most of the (note the loss of the "re" before the last name) Rostam/Rostem characters.

Beneath the Shahrdaran are the "Vurzurgan", which might be best described as the "Grandees" of the Cussian Dominate. They are the middle rank of the nobility, and often entrusted with sub-regional and district governorships, and make up the majority of the highest ranking bureaucrats in the government of the Dominate.

The lowest, but perhaps most commonly encountered level of nobility are the "Azadan," who are in the nature most like European knights of old. Though wholly noble (Azadan means "Men of Noble Birth"), these men most often concern themselves with martial pursuits, preferring to leave industrial and commercial affairs to non-nobles and the Shahrdaran.

Keeping all of this in mind, the rights of the common-folk were greatly fortified and increased with the rise of the current Shahanshah, Janus, and his Regent- the President. Whereas before, the status of the lower classes had remained unchanged for almost 1500 years, now the general Cussian populace is free to roam as they see fit, and more importantly to buy as they see fit. Rather than being directly tied to the land (and through the land, the local Lord) Cussians are now only directly subservient to the will of the Shahanshah, who very rarely makes direct commandments.

Beautancus is a nation of laws, rather than a nation of sheer brutality and force. That all being said, most Cussians are still fairly conservative culturally. The overwhelming majority (somewhere around 87%) of the population is still vehemently Zoroastrian (one of the gradual changes I've brought into play), while most of the rest are Nestorian Christians. Only a very small percentrage of the population (perhaps around 1-2%, mostly involved in various fringe Socialist or Communist movements)) are atheistic or agnostic, and then only privately. With this in mind, the Priestly Class, of whom the militant Immortals are the best example, hold a tremendous level of influence over the Cussian people- influence that the Cussian people are more than happy to allow them to hold, going so far as to be willing to fight and die for it.

This post has been edited by Beautancus on Mar 22 2008, 07:06 PM