Selucia

=Imperium Selucium= An awestriking nation, a nation of proud people and true believers in the almightiness of the Empire, and the wishes of the gods, creators of Terra.

Based on three islands, Selucia is rich in culture and beautiful places, whether you want to relax on one of Selucia's beaches or to climb in the mountains. The normal progression of seasons is not part of the Empire's enviroment as it straddles the Equator and gets nearly 330 days of sunshine every year. But the mountains and inner valleys offer cool places and the clouds get caught in the mountaintops to unload their weight, rain. The three islands offer three different cultures but they are not as different as one may think. It is more or less the people's behaviour, how they deal with situations and how they handle the climate, that differentiate them.

The capital, Auroria, is the biggest city in the Empire and seat of the government and senate. The foundation of this wonderful and mighty city was in 753 B.C.E.

Another major part of the Empire are the major families of Selucia. In modern times they are called parties, but that is mostly in foreign countries. Some of them are so old, the Selucian people are sure they are of divine origin. Travellers who are visiting Selucia are marveling as soon as they leave the ship or plan. Busy sidewalks and well visit cafes and bar take their attention and the Selucian citizens are still walking in their traditional robes, a tunica with and without a toga.

Those who booked their vacations in a travel agency are wondering as the reality is far better then any photo in the magazins. Soon you find companionship with the citizens who may invite you into a bar to drink something ar just explain you the best way to one of the beaches. The streets are wide with trees along their side so you have the feeling every street is an alley just bigger. The sidewalks are made out of granit, the places paved with marble. Femal beauties are walking up and down carring their shopping stuff home or are chatting with their friends under a shadow spending tree. If you think political matters are dealed with in privat or in the newspaper you will be surprised to notice it is a public topic for the most citizens. You will find them in restaurants talking and discussing about political laws, inner politics or the international situation while eating a dinner with the family.

Senatus Seluciorum
The Selucian Senate is one of the major bodies to govern the Empire. Though the ministers of the government are on the top of the ladder, important laws and treaties can only be ratified by this group.

Heated debates and also funny little stories are always part of a discussion here. The Selucian Senate is often the place of international meetings but also to celebrate the new year with the Selucian citizens invited by the government. Famous debates between VBS and IPS were held here and the Imperator was seen to be amused while sipping Uleroth's finest whisky.

Nethertheless the people of Majatra seem to believe this place is one of the major powers that others cannot deny to listen to from time to time. The Southern Oceanic Treaty Organization was founded here and subsequently spread across the Majatran continenet.

In the rich history of the Selucian Empire important decisions were made here, deciding between war and peace, aid and pressure, and common free trade and single economical arrogance.

Its major importance for the Empire is well known in the myths and tales of Selucia. Every 1st of Janurary the government thanks the gods for their leadership, inspiration and wisdom. The citizens of Selucia are sure their Senate is the place of all Selucian wisdom and truly the holder of the gods' wishes.

Curia Provinia
Each town and city has its own Curia where elected and appointed magistrates handle the tasks of daily life. The villages and rural districts are mostly connected with governmental structures of neighbouring towns and cities.

It is a tradition in modern Selucia to be dressed in traditional clothes during the daily work in worship of the Empire's history and culture. Beside this these clothes are pretty breezy which is a great benefit in the Selucian climate.

Though in modern times ballots can be handled electronically the Empire went through several crises with this system. Therefore Selucia changed the method and went back to an easier and more traditional way. Now the voters tick the box next to the name of their favored candidate and stuff the ballot in a box. Two members of each party then count the ballots. This prevents cheating of any kind. The Selucian citizens are proud to combine modernity and traditional elements in the Empire.

Prudentia civilis (politics)
"Aequam memento rebus in arduis servare mentem! Remember to retain in difficult situations!"

Politics in the Empire is mostly a debate between the three elder families (parties). Differences in how to model the society are often the cause of heated debates and the involved families are not always able to find a consensus. From time to time some citizens form another party manage to take part in the senate but mostly this sort of tomfoolery is short-lived. Usually it signals the political ascendancy of a different family.

The political spectrum wavers between centrist and centre-right. The Empire never saw a strong left wing while some enviromental parties have come and gone in the past centuries. This, of course, influenced the other players on the political stage and today the most of them have their own stance on this topic.

The primary cause of passionate debates has become taxation policy as more industry-leaning families clash with those who try to balance the taxation between the upper hundreds and those who are of middling or minor income.

Senatus
"Deliberandum est saepe, statuendum est semel. One must considering often, decide however only once"

The members of the Selucian Senate are called Senatores. A single members is called Senator. Each member has to run his own election tour for his favorite family. Therefore it is pretty normal the candidate restricts himself to one location, mostly a city, town, village or a rural district.

His most used platform is the rostrum, a traditional concession when modern communication tools weren't present. But modern tools are used to contact his voters like TV-shows, blogs, advertising, posters and homepages. An election campaign can be pretty expensive so most candidates have a comfortable family background. But from time to time Selucian citizens come together to form a new party and are collecting money for their stance.

Depending on the results of the last election campaign the Senate pays up to 35% of the costs. But the salary of a Senator is strongly fixed to twice the minimum income of a regular Selucian worker. The magistrates (ministers) of the government receive quadruple the minimum income. The only exeption is the Imperator. He receives the parts of the luxury taxes income. This is used to maintain the palaces and governmental ceremonies for visting foreign politcians as well as for the Cohors Praetoria.

Imperator
The Selucian Empire's Head of State is the Imperator. The differences between monarchies of modern times, as most know them, is the election of the Selucian Imperator. It is one of the oldest traditions in Selucia. The citizens and people are voting for a person they trust most and in the trust the elected Imperator will find the right magistrates for the government. He holds a lot of powers in his hands and is also the Pontifex Maximus of the Religio Selucia. Traditionally the Imperator propose cabinets of a wide political spectrum to include the most political opinions inhis daily work. Thou he holds immense power and the possibility to send out troops or to offer aid he needs the support of other magistrates as well. The full titel which is part of the name is: Imperator Caesar Augustus Pontifex Maximus

The Selucian Empire is blessed the most Imperatores in the history of this nation were moderate, trustfull and hard working persons thou few were also lunatic or just unable to fill this position. Those who are interested in can find an overview in the Index Imperatorum.

Magistratus
"Ut corpora nostra sine mente, sic civitas sine lege. Like our bodies without spirit, is a country without law"

Those who the Imperator elected are forming the government of the Selucian Empire. We can assume to see a wide spectrum of political meanings within the cabinet but all offices are filled with the best possible persons. One of the differences in compare with other nations on Terra is the power of each office. Some of them have more power then others or are sharing power with the Imperator or the Consules. But all are responsible for their office alone and have to give a vindication speech after their turn. They can't get punished as member of the cabinet but later when they are just senatores again their illegal acting acting can be punished. Nether the less it is a high honour to be elected to hold an office and the most, if not all, senatores are working hard for this goal. It offers high reputation and influence and their descendants are proud to have well known if not famous family members within their rows. To see the current cabinet visit the Index Magistratuum.

Familiae
Selucian Politics is a matter of families. Thou all people are free to vote for their candidate the basic system functions like in ancient times with patrons and clients. Other nations are holding campaign rallies to collect money and support but here in Selucia things are using a different way. Politics is a costly work and needs lots of money to run a campaign and later to fulfill the tasks, be it the construction of new parks or statues, temples or just social programs. Not only husband, wife and children are forming the family but also all those who are working for the patron like attendants, housekeeper or the farmers on the family's land and beside this also the clients. Therefore a family can count hundreds of persons.

= Municipia, coloniae et vici = The Selucian Empire is rich in beautiful villages, towns and cities. Though today the Empire has 10 major metropolises and lots of medium-sized towns and small wonderful villages, it started in the ancient times of Selucia. The Selucian peoples lived in small villages and worked hard on their fields or as fishers on the sea to earn their daily income around 800 B.C.E. But in 753 B.C.E. something happened which changed their lives and lifespans.

Selucius Maximus returned from one of his daily hunting trips just to call the circle of elders together. He suggested building a town! After intensive debates and discussions Selucius was victorious with his plan and convinced the others to support him. This was the birth of the first Selucian town, Auroria.

In the year 753 B.C.E. Auroria was build up and functioned as the main trading market for the neighbouring districts and regions in Korgana. Her place near the sea and her port also helped her to became a keystone for trading with Shadar Island. Around 685 B.C.E. the Selucian natives were united under one roof bound together by the same religion and origin. Just 5 years later in worship of Selucius Maximus all people of the three islands began to call themself Selucian, and have continued to do so up to the present day.

Since the foundation of Auroria the Selucian people worked hard to improve their architectural skills and they started to build up villages and small towns over the islands and connected them with roads. These skills and the improvement of infrastructure boosted the Selucian society. Faster travelling and trading, better communities and laws and administrations helped them to go farther. And now the Selucian Empire is blessed with these wonderful towns and cities. To give you a first impression you will find some towns and cities described here. Below an overview about two important Municipiae

Auroria
"Auroria, oh Auroria! My sweet heart and hope of my life. Without you I am lost and with you I am lost in eternal love. Nothing else tasts so sweet. Nothing else is holding me like you in your warm and comfortable coat of divine love. Fortunate those who ever felt your affection and miserable those who felt you anger. The pearl of all towns shining brigth golden in eternity. -- Epistula 1,20 Titus Literatus"

These words describe the feelings of the Selucian citizens best. There is no person who never wants to visit Auroria once in his life. Marble and granite, golden roofs and impressive public buildings, temples of the Selucian religion and churches of other religions, wide market places called forum (fora, pl.), wide streets and avenues, green parks and also silent places to recover, all this is Auroria, Caput Mundi, Caput Selucia.

One of the main avenues is the Via Imperatoris dividing Auroria from NE to SW. This avenue has a width of 50 meters with a green strip planted with trees and a sidewalk in its middle, and each 100 meters a fontain. It is also the place for parades of all kinds - be it after a military victory or the new year's parade. Important festivities are also held here, like the three religious parades to honor the three main gods.

The inhabitants come from all over the Empire and strong communities of foreign people form other Majatran coutries live here too. Auroria is a multicosmos of people bound by the divine might of this city. The inhabitants, despite their varied origins, say in unison: Civis Selucium ego.

The biggest market place is the Forum Selucium. It is a combination of religious buildings, stores and market halls as well as cafés, bars, cigar lounges, bistros, restaurants and of course embassies of other nations. Here the inhabitants live their daily life, their joy and their culture. As the capital of the Selucian Empire lots of important buildings and companies have their seats here. Big trading guilds and universities of all kinds make this metropolis really the most important city, not only of the Empire but also for the neighbouring nations.

Important buildings and places

 * Domicilium Imperatoris (Palace of the Emperor)
 * Senatus
 * Magistratus (ministries)
 * Pantheon
 * Sepulcrum Imperatorum (Mausoleum of the Emperors)
 * Domicilium SOTO
 * Domicilium Allied Nations
 * Academia legis navalis (of the law of the sea)
 * Academia legis omnium gentium (of international laws)
 * Academia legum peregrinarum (of foreign laws)
 * Academia legum rerum publicarum (of the national laws)
 * Summum Praetorium Selucium
 * Academia Militaria
 * Academia Navalis
 * Praetorium regionalis II aeriae navigationis Seluciae
 * Emporium Maximum Mercatorum (The biggest trading market)
 * Via Imperatoris
 * Via Selucia
 * Forum Selucium
 * Forum Publicum
 * Forum Aureum
 * Schola Magna
 * Officinae (industries)
 * Colosseum Imperatoris
 * Circus Maximus
 * Circus Publicus Magnus
 * Theatrum Selucium
 * Theatrum Majatrum
 * Castra Legionis (5x)
 * Castra Legionis Praetoriae (5x)

Assedo
Once upon a time in Selucia the city Assedo was the capital of the northern regions of Korgana. The family Asseda (nowadays known as the House of Assedo) gave this city her name. During the unification wars between 500 and 437 B.C.E. the Familia Asseda joined the site of the Familia Selucia and Korgana became the first unified province of Selucia. Assedo's early contacts with northern babarians between 387 and 354 B.C.E. developed this city into the first overseas trading port and meeting point for foreign relations.

But the time wasn't always peaceful and soon the first clashes between Selucians and barbarians occured. Assedo was forced to build walls and barracks to defend herself during barbarian sieges. This is one of the reasons why some of the most important weapons factories have their facilities in and around Assado.

The inhabitants are proud of their eldest family and the Familia Asseda sponsored huge parks and gardens for the people. Today Assedo is one of the most important cities and offers well signed recreation areas.

Assedo is also a garrison city and 5 Legions are stationed here with the possibility to use two big training fields outside the city. The major seaport is an important keystone for the northern trading routes and several merchant companies founded their HQs here. So there is no doubt the gods Neptunus and Mercurius are highly venerated with huge temples. In the surrounding villages and towns the citizens developed fine wines using the hills with their good earth and some tabacco plantations are also working.

Important buildings and places

 * Praetorium Provincialis
 * Praetorium regionalis I aeriae navigationis Seluciae
 * Circus Assedi
 * Theatrum Assedi
 * Theatrum Poeticum
 * Portus Magnus Mercatorum
 * Portus Classis Seluciae (Selucian Fleet Port)
 * Officinae (industries)
 * Forum Assedi
 * Forum Hobraziae
 * Emporium Korganae
 * Castra Legionis (5x)
 * Academia Legum Korganis
 * Scriptorium

= Religio (religion) = The Selucian Religion (run by the Selucian Church) has 27 main gods and lots of minor gods and spirits - collectively known as the Divine Pantheon. The gods are pooled in groups of three each.
 * The first group contains the three gods for the state: Sol Invictus, Magna Mater and Neptunus who represent the sun, the earth and the water respectively.
 * The second group contains the three gods for growth, breeding and health: Ceres, Diana and Aesculapius.
 * The third group contains the gods of trade, luck and war: Mercurius, Fortuna and Mars Ultor.
 * The fourth group deals with matters of the islands of Korgana and Kal Serathi but is also present on the other islands. These gods handle matters of wine (and other alcoholic drinks), crops and manufacturing: Bacchus, Iuno and Minerva.
 * The fifth group deals with matters of the island of Uleroth. These gods, also more or less represented in other provinces, handle matters of love and gardens, ethics and sea ports: Venus, Vesta and Portunus.
 * The sixth group deals Shadaran matters, though, as with the other groups, you can also find them on the other islands. Stock farming and death, flowers and gardens as well as of the beginning and ending: Dis Pater, Flora and Ianus.
 * The seventh division contains gods for newly-born Ops, fruits and gardens Pomona, and for woods and mineral springs Feronia.
 * The eighth group consists of Carna for homeostasis, Pales for the willow and herders and Consus for the harvest.
 * In the ninth group are the gods Vertumnus for the seasons, Volcanus for fire, iron and blacksmiths and Apollo, the patron of herds, musicians and artists.

Further there are many ghosts and spirits who influence the Selucian daily life:
 * Lares (also called Genii Loci) are Selucian deities protecting the house and the family - household gods. They are deeply venerated by Selucians through small statues, usually put in high places within the house, far from the floor. Types of Lares include:
 * Lares Familiaris - family
 * Lares Loci - for a certain place (the family house)
 * Lares Publici - (small) town
 * Lares Compitales - crossroads
 * Lares Paganalis - villages
 * Lares Permarini - the sea
 * Lares Rurales - land
 * Lares Viales - travellers
 * In Selucian mythology, the Manes are the souls of deceased love ones. As minor spirits, they were similar to the Lares, Genii and Di Penates. They are also called the Di Manes (Di meaning "Gods"), and Selucian tombstones often include the letters D.M., which stood for dis manibus, or "dedicated to the Manes-gods". The word is also used as a metaphor to refer to the underworld.
 * Di Penates or briefly Penates are originally patron gods (really geniuses) of the storeroom and are household gods guarding the entire household.
 * Lemures mark the dead spirits in Selucia generally. The good were considered as lares (see above), the bad as larvae and the neutral as manes. Lemures are those, which had not gotten an appropriate burial place or had committed criminal offences during lifetimes.
 * The Larvae are usually dead spirits of people who haunt and harm. Their appearance is skeleton-like and their effect is similar to the Greek nekydaimones. They agonise the dead ones exactly the same as the living persons, which they can cause delusions. A person with delusions is called Larvatus. Because they are spirits of the underworld, Selucian people sacrifice only at night to them.

Other Religio
Of course the Empire contains other beliefs and religions than the native folk religion, the most colorful of these is Helatrobusism, a religion that believes that an alien race known as the Helatrobus created all life on Terra as part of an experiment to understand their own development and that the gods of the native folk faith of Selucia were in fact members of the Helatrobus visiting Terra to observe the experiment first hand. Meanwhile the Helatrobusism is vanished and can be found only in old books which tell the readers about a party who tried to change the national believe but lost against the Selucian tradition.

The most common religions of Terra - Christianity, Islam & Judaism - also have minority representation in the Selucian population. Members of these religions often tend to form close-knit communities, to maintain their religious independence.

A Selucian Religion Census reports that 7% of the population are Muslims another 7% Christs and 1% Jews. Thou they are not that major minority like other nations have they influenced the Empirein their way and build some wonderful religious buildings. The most Christs you can find in eastern Kal Serathi and Eastern Uleroth but there is also a community in Auroria and East Shadar has the second largest Christian community. The Islam is mostly present in southern Uleroth and West Shader with outposts in Korgana in the regions around Auroria and Assedo. On the other side there is the Jewish community which is spread over the Empire. They mostly don't have big communities but are present in the most cities and towns.

= Cultus Humanus (culture) = The Empire's culture is rich in festivities and arts. There are three kinds of Selucian marriage: A more traditional and religious one, a traditional family marriage and a marriage by living together for a minimum of one year. All of these are celebrated with lots of friends and family. If a family member died 6 professional mourners are called, always women, to cry and express how sad and shocked the family is. The body will be paced on a bier for 3 days to offer all family members and friends to say goodby. After this he will be nurned and his ash put in an urne.

The daily life is influenced by the weather conditions here in Selucia. The people are sitting in the different cafes and cigar lounges, discuss daily news on the fora (market places) or just make a trip to the beach and relax in the sun or ride a wave. Open minded and warm heartly foreign visitors will soon find themselves involved in daily small talks together with the natives sipping some Ulerothi Whiskey.

It is quite normal in Selucia to have foreign communities due to the fact to be a trading and maritime nation. In Assedo and Auroria Hobrazian people build up a large community since centuries and the population census counts around 650.000 persons who are of Hobrazian origin. The most of them, ca 73%, are here in the 5th or more generation. A lot of them are involved in trading between Hobrazia and Selucia others founded Hobrazian-Selucian Cultur Centers and wrote some well known lyrics and poems. The Hobrazian Comedian Society in Auroria is known for her great satire and slap-sticks and their programs are always sold out.

Another major community are the Deltarian immigrants who left their home country to find a better place to live. The most of them are living in East Uleroth and West Shadar with a big community also in Auroria. Around 810.000 persons are of Deltarian origin. A lot of them joined the SS to form 15. Waffen-Grenadier-Division. They are known for their dark humor and parody about the regime in Deltaria.

The Arabian community contains mostly Al'Badarian and Kafuristanian people. They arrived Selucia via the trade routes but they also left Al'Badara as the civil war ruined this nation. Today they are a stronghold in Selucia's maritime trade with Arabian nations. 390.000 person are of Arabian origin who seem to prefer the Shadar island as their primary living point

Ludi Gladiatorum
The Ludi Gladiatorum are one of the biggest games in the Empire. The first game was held in 347 BCE and since then the strict rules haven't changed. It can be bloody and can even lead to death but this doesn't often happen. People cheer the gladiators and a successful fighter can become very rich and very well known, a real hero.

Each provincial capital and also most of the bigger towns have an arena for these games. There are special gladiator schools to train the participants before one of them ever sees the arena. While in ancient times prisoners of war were trained to fight in the arena, today this is a voluntary option. It is always a fight between two men, each of whom chooses one of the four fighter 'archetypes' once they begin their training.

But it is not easy to gain the merits and reach the overall goal of success. The way to the Colosseum Imperatoris in Auroria is difficult as there is a strict hierarchy to claim the top. You have to become successful and well known to receive an invitation to the next higher level of arena. In the normal way a gladiator starts on the regional level somewhere in the Imperial Provinces. After several successful fights and a good reputation he might get an invitation by a next higher Circus to impress the spectators there. Once if he fights in one of the provincial capitals his reputation is high enough to be able to climb the highest level, the Colosseum Imperatoris.

With each higher level the money for a victory increases, and there have been previous instances where victorious gladiators have left the sport with a private means of 2,000,000 SEN and more. The highest victory sum ever payed to a victor was during the Victory Games after Terran War I - 500,000 SEN! (There is a description of the different arenas of Selucia here)

Parks and Gardens
Selucian citizens have a fine flair for gardens and parks. Not only the upper class likes to have a garden in their backyard but also the normal people who are living in their own houses. It is pretty popular to have odorous and colourful flowers and shade-providing trees or bushes. Families who want to spend a bit more money often have a fountain in the middle of their garden to impress visitors.

But this is the private sphere only. In the public the Empire is proud to have not only medium sized gardens for a short work break but also wide parks with arrangements of trees, flowers, fountains and sculptures of Selucian poets, Imperatores and other important Selucians. Some parks are so big you need more then an hour to walk through them to reach the other side. These big parks are often used for festivities and family holiday trips.

One of the biggest parks is the Imperial Park. Its arrangement contains lakes, eucalyptuses, colourful flowerbeds, cypresses, marmoreal statues, the gods' pantheon and the Imperators' mausoleum where all Selucian Imperators are buried. Fontains and little resting places are also part of the arrangement. Last but not least the major families also founded some parks over the past centuries so Auroria has a NPMP-memorial-park, a VBS-park, a BSP-park and IPS-park. But these parks founded by the families are nothing in comparison to those parks the families have in their strongholds.

= Oeconomia / Quod gignitur e terra = The Selucian Empire is proud to have a strong economy and a wide spectrum of products as well as some important raw materials. The merchant fleet contains 750 ships of all size to transport these goods to our trading partners Terra wide. Though foreign investors are not allowed to have a majority in Selucian companies the Empire is proud to annouce an average growth of 2.8 percent every year.

As founder of SOTO and the benefit to be one of its keystones lots of trading passes via the Empire to reach the northern nations. So it is quite normal foreign companies and nations founded trading posts and merchant companies in the Empire. Thou Auroria is the most important keystone the city Assedo plays a major role for the northern trade-routes and sea-lanes.

The Selucian Empire gurantees a save and secure sea not only in the national waters but also in those waters which are part of SOTO. For this measure Selucia provides permanent sea and air patrols. The Empire has to import most of the oil thou minor oil fields are present. The gold and silver mines in the mountains are used to pay for imports to produce jewelry and for the money. Coffee and tobacco are one of the major export goods beside marble, sugar cane and wine.

Visit also the indices of the Selucian Industries and the Selucian Resource Index

= Selucian Military = The Imperial Grand Headquater is the seat of all three branches of the Selucian Military. This includes also the Academia Militaria and the Academia Navalis.

This body has a long tradition and is well respected. All important decisions dealing with any kind of military situations and solutions as well as aid programs for foreign coutries are worked out here. Also the civilian merchant fleet has a seat here for better communication in times of need. With 11,000,000,000 SEN the defence budget is well filled.

Because of the huge knowledge the best cartographers come from this institution. One of their works you can see in the Selucian Atlas.

The Imperial Grand Headquarter replaces the former Summum Praetorium Selucium.

Another important headquarter is the Selucian Security Headquarter which is in command over all SS units, SS police units and other Selucian Security units.

= Lyrics = The Selucian Empire is rich in song lyrics and folk songs dealing with the deep love and pride to Selucia.

Of course the Empire has also songs which inspire and encourage the citizens to stand up and fight Selucia's foes.

We encourage the interested visitor to read our Lyric Book to get an impression.

One of the most traditional songs is "The Guard of Aurine". You may also be interested to listen to the Emperor's Hymn or in one of the other wonderful songs.

Another very populare part are the military marches you may also find here.