The Grand Khartumian Empire of BettaMin

BettaMin, officially known as The Khartumian Empire of BettaMin, is a large Turkish nation located in SIlver Anatolia, located towards the South of the Atoll. It borders the nations of Wyztrkstan and New Embossia. Throughout its existence as a nation, its priorities have been to expand and to maintain a strong economy.

Fauna and Tribal Life of BettaMin
The Silver Anatolia is home to many species of animals, from the fast horses of the steppe, to the giant elephants of the savannah.

Why? The secret lies in the formation of the Silver Isles. The Isles were formed by a period of great volcanic activity, primarily by the eruption of the giant volcano known today as The Silver Mountain, which led to the formation of the atoll. Silver Anatolia itself was once at the location of a cluster of small volcanos. During the period of the Silver Mountains highest activity, these volcanos were beginning to become active as well. As materials from the ocean floor and the Silver Mountains eruption clustered against the volcano cluster, coral would begin to skirt the slowly forming landmass. Once every few hundred years, the volcanos would erupt again to extend the landmass, and grow themselves. Eventually, the volcanic activity ceased. Along the shores, the volcanic rock eroded into mineral rich dirt. At this point, only theories can be made. A commonly accepted theory is that strong southern winds combined with a lack of water in the inner area of the land mass led to the accumulation of sand in between and around the mountains that once were the volcanos, also blowing around soil to form the perfect conditions for a coastal steppe, a savannah below it, a lifeless desert around mountains, which provided water for the rivers that brought water to the jungles of the southern coast.

The steppe is a warm place, never humid, receiving moderate rain. Animals here are large grazing animals, consuming lots of grass, and walking for miles to find a pond or river. Good soil is only found under a layer of dirt hardened with grass roots. Hills are absent, leaving miles of flat grassland for horses, such as the Arabian, and Turkoman breeds, to gallop and graze. Buffalo and sheep roam the land as well, followed by native tribes of Turks who depend on them for food.

The savannah is hot, and has only two seasons. Dry, and rainy. Grass grows almost everywhere, broken up by sparse trees. Water is found around rivers and in oases. Here, camels, horses, elephants, ostriches, and bison roam, often moving here during the dry season to feast upon the new grass that has risen to replace the old during the rainy season. Predatorial creatures, such as the cheetah and lion, hunt these large grazing animals. Here, in the savannah, tribes come to hunt when following bison.

However, the tribes come here not only for the bison. Here, many of the rights of manhood are conducted. At age three, the child learns to ride a horse. At four, he learns how to shoot a bow. At six, he learns how to tame a horse. At eight, he learns how to tame a camel. At ten, he learns to hunt. At fifteen, he takes part in a hunt for an elephant or a cheetah. At eighteen, he kills an elephant and a lion, by his self. Tribes hunt in an educated, sophisticated matter. They hunt the lions, cheetahs, and elephants in a short part of the year, and choose which to kill depending on the population. This method ensures the survival of all of the species, so that none kills off the other, so that when the tribes return, they can again hunt the same animals. The goods obtained from these animals are essential to their survival and status. Cheetah pelts are used to clothe warriors. Lion pelts make good materials for tents for camping in the steppe. Ivory is is used for crafts, to be used as personal decoration, or sold in bazaars to purchase much needed goods from other tribes. Bones are used to make arrowheads, armor, and other practical objects.

One of the most well known species from the savannah is the Loxodontia Mineus. It has two sub species. The L. Mineus Minores and the L. Mineus Gigantus. Both are similar in appearance. They are a hybrid species, a result of an ancient pairing between an ancestor of the elephant and rhinoceros. They are similar in appearance to an African Elephant, but with several differences. The elephant features an armor like body similar to the rhinoceros, covering the knees, shoulders, sides, back, upper head, and cheeks. It  has a horn in the center of its head. Its tusks are slightly longer and a little more curved. The Gigantus subspecies reaches heights of up to fifteen meters, quite possibly the largest land mammal in existence. The Minores, the more common species, reaches heights of up to thirteen meters, and features a much larger, complex brain. Scientists say that this brain can rival the brain of a human, able to conduct similar thought processes at faster rates. The Gigantus, despite its need for much more food, and large number of possible predators, remains strong due to its protection by tribes and a cultural symbol, used in military parades for its old use as a war elephant.

The desert, known in Arabic as the Desert of Lost Souls, is possibly one of the most hostile environments of the Silver Isles, next to the defiled lands of New Cinoth. Water almost never falls here, and when it does, heat is often so significant that most of it evaporates before it hits the ground. Temperatures go as high as 143 degrees Fahrenheit, making it an absolute wasteland for life. Only tribes, in caravans full of camels carrying trade goods and cloths soaked in water, juices, and milk, and people in cars, ever pass through. Tribal Turks simply use the cloths as sources of liquid, sucking on the cloth to keep hydrated.

The mountains, and the area around the waters they secrete, are possibly the richest lands in BettaMin. They are home to jungles, always full of life, fruit, water, and timber. Bird feathers, silkworms, minerals such as iron, copper, silver, emeralds and jets, and many other principal parts of BettaMins economy are found here. Tribes pass through here on their way to bazaars, picking many sweet fruits to eat, and drying the rest for use throughout the year.

Within the mountains is a small savannah, known as the Land of the Phoenix. Here, the tribes from all over BettaMin gather for a yearly Bazaar. Here, they take part in giant festivals and feasts, and trade goods for money or for goods they need, for two weeks. The tribes then seperate, and head back off to their lands, to hunt bison, herd sheep, and survive. The land is named after the nickname of the majestic Banner-Lord Eagle, A black, large relative of the Harpy Eagle, with a red crownlike crest and belly. Females, the larger of the species, are adorned with orange feathers that make it look similar to the mythical phoenix. The eagles are large, much larger than any other eagle, known for three things. It is the national bird of the Empire. It is known to, rarely, come in packs during times of struggle, to hunt animals far larger than them, such as horses and lions. It is also known for its common settling on banners. It famously signaled the start of the Khartumian Revolution by settling on the Black War Banner of Khartum before it was almost burned, giving the look of blood spilled on the black flag, and earning its name, the Bannerlord.

Life in BettaMin
History has made BettaMin a mixing pot of culture. Its coastal steppes, giant mountains, and endless deserts, were long ago inhabited by the Greeks that later created the Kingdom of Celeria. With the incursion of Turkish tribes from the north, the Greeks left, but not without rubbing off some culture on the Turks. Many Turks adopted the lifestyle of the Greek Farmers, settling down and building homes, farming various grains and a silk from an indigenous species of silkworm upon the steppe, and grapes upon the mountainsides. Men and women both participated in labor, taking part an equal share of all work. Children assisted, but were in charge of feeding the tired adults when they returned from the field. Winter months were spent making amphoras from the abundant clay found in the soil, for storing goods from wine to grains for later use or to be carried far off to the Grand Bazaars in the middle of the country, during late summer, to be bartered for in exchange for needed supplies for the winter. Some Turks retained their nomadic lifestyle, however. Some continued to hunt indigenous game, while many became shepherds of sheep and camels, traveling in small families to raise the animals to be used for profit in the Grand Bazaars. These lifestyles still exist today, quite frequently in Minea, eastern BettaMin.

Today, particularly in the West and South, the Agrarian culture has been slowly disappearing and being replaced by a more modern business culture. Since the tenth century, cities along the south western coast, like Ater'Salam, have served as major trading centers for the Silver Isles. This region, lying at the end of a river that connects the Silver Lagoon to the surrounding ocean, benefits from much traffic bringing goods to be shipped into or out of the Silver Isles. Merchants, also seeing business towards the modernized west, by land, constructed factories to mass produce goods such as textiles and jewelry to be shipped out to major western and overseas markets. Here, tradition and honor has disappeared, creating a capitalist society, westernizing so fast, that the government had little time to adapt, an absence of economic laws making it the ultimate free for all of corporations, the purest state of Capitalism. Skyscrapers rise up every day in the west, too serve as offices and homes to a new generation of westernized minds, bent on acquisition of power and money.

Architecture, however, remains unchanged in thousands of ways. The first Silver Turks lived in dome like tents, simple and large, designed not only to shelter a family from the brutal conditions of harsh weather, from typhoons, to sandstorms, but to serve as a workplace. The encampment was essentially a portable community, each tent serving an important, separate function for the tribe. Today, in all parts of BettaMin, villages heavily resemble the encampments of their ancestors.

Minean villages, in the East, consist of large, single story sandstone and clay villas built around a courtyard. The courtyard features a large basin, designed to catch rainwater for use as a bath, and to water crops. A shaded pathway goes around the basin, providing an escape from the hot sun. At each corner of the house is a dome, each one over the most important features of the house. The bedroom, the kitchen, the salla'han, a living and dining room, and the prayer room. The rest of the house is used for storage. The village is organized in the same way as the ancestral camps, with the Bey, or Governors Residence taking place of the Chiefs Tent, the open yard of prater replaced by a Mosque and its various facilities, such as the bazaar, and the Stables replaced by a Caravansarai, a place for merchants and travelers to rest, eat, and catch a bus or find another means to continue their journey.

In the port cities such as Ater'Salam, a much more modern version of this architecture is seen. These cities are filled with winding cobblestone roads, dated back to the golden age of the Khartumian Empire, when cities such as these were made rich through the colonization of foreign lands. Houses are two or three stories tall, consisting of a stone brick bottom, usually occupied by a storefront, and a clay and wood upper floors, with a flat roof hanging over the edges. A small dome sits above the house. The clay is usually painted in brilliantly bright colors such as green, orange, blue, red, and yellow. Similar to the old tents of the old Turks, the houses have a domelike feature, and function as both the home and the workplace of the residents. The

Armed Forces of BettaMin
The Education, Security, and Defense of BettaMin are all rolled up into one financial package, which for the purpose of this post will be called the Triple-Point Budget, or TPB. Schools are either private or funded by the TPB, which educates student from 6th-12th grade with military grade medical and physical skills. Any graduate of a public school knows how to treat standard wounds, operate a simple rifle, survive in the wild for a week, and fight. Then, a conscription program begins. Soldiers are sent to eight month training camps, where they are trained to be superior marksmen. Then, they undergo a two year and four month service. A maximum of 1,200,000 soldier of the active army are conscripts, however. Most conscripts are used as firemen, paramedics, and policemen during their service. During peacetime, every single member of the Armed Forces participates in these jobs. Soldiers who return to duty after their conscription service is over are offered larger wages than a standard soldier, and sent off to an eight month training course in New Cinoth. This option is considered very favorable, as the higher ranks of BettaMin's military are the most prestigious, well paid positions in the country. In this manner, the Sultanate can maintain its law an order, educate the young, and field a large standing army of truly elite soldiers.

OLD - - - The Armed Forces of BettaMin consist of 2,000,000 conscripts. It is primarily known for its long, intensive training and its curious battle tactics that trace their origins back to the horse archers of medieval BettaMin. The Police Force is a branch of the Armed Forces, receiving most of the same training and gear, with only extra sensitivity training and different standard weaponry.

The budget for the Armed Forces is $5,355,575,515,250 ĐS. (Part of the Law and Order Budget is placed in this budget.)

Arms are provided by Apex Weapons and Technology Internationale, an Elipian Weapons Manufacturer.

-The AG-32 DMR is the primary firearm of the Armed Forces of BettaMin. It is highly favored, as it provides an easy to customize, accurate rifle at a cheap cost, suiting BettaMin's Military tactics. -The APs-18 is the standard sidearm for nearly all of the military and police force, known for its great reliability. -The S-42 and S-108 are the primary snipers.

Training begins in Sixth Grade, where military funded Physical Education Programs teach marching, how to respond to commands, as well as all other basic military practices. During the Summer between Freshman and Sophomore year of High School, as well as between Junior and Senior year of High School, the males must attend a Boot Camp. Immediately after graduation, males must attend a year long training session in the Bilmadhyat Archipelago. After this year long training program, costing about $4,500 ĐS, the conscripts assume the rank of Jesnam, the equivalent of a Private First Class. They take their first payroll of $22,000 ĐS, not including the sum of their expenses, which are provided for, and are sent to a facility to be stationed. For the next two years, they must serve. Returning soldiers may choose to enlist again, for terms of two years. During these terms, soldiers are provided with food, housing, healthcare, and basic self education programs, and are exempt from taxes. Returning soldiers, after a voluntary term, are given scholarships by the state, if they desire to attend a University. After a voluntary term, the returning vets are given a six months payroll of at least $32,000, and are also pay half taxes, giving vets an opportunity to get back on their feet.

The typical squad is a twenty two man section. The section operates in two parts, assisting each other to complete objectives. The Yuznam, or Corporal, leads a ten man section, while a Muhefi, or Sergeant, leads another. These sections are divided into five man fire teams. Four men in each fire team are equipped with AG-32 Rifles, while one man serves as a marksman, equipped with a sniper rifle model. A single Missile Launcher is allotted to each ten man section. The officers themselves are armed with AG-32 Rifles. The sections two parts are designed to act independently while assisting the other, using communication to discover threats to one section and eliminating the threat with the second, with fire teams acting similarly within the section. While all highly trained marksmen, the Designated Marksmen are the best marksmen of the fire team, using their high powered rifles to identify and eliminate important targets.

During parade, the soldiers of the Armed Forces of BettaMin dress in the manner of the Khartumian Imperial Guards from the Golden Age Khartum. The uniform consists of: black riding boots, used in parade on foot or on horse, always cleaned, but only polished in the case of an occasion of monumental importance. Billowing black pants made of a poly-weave of silk and cotton are worn, pulled up to the edge of the boot and puffed out. Over a white silk shirt, soldiers wear a cotton jacket with skirts reaching to the knee, buttoned from waist to neck in a slope towards the right, retreating back quickly to a mandarin collar sometimes decorated by fur, in the color of their branch, faced with black. The sleeves are long, and the cuffs three inches long. Officers wear gold facings, and soldiers wear their medals and ribbons on the left side of the jacket. The soldiers are permitted to wear rings and other jewelry during parade, as well as black fingerless gloves, if they operate heavy weaponry or are members of the cavalry. Soldiers also wear a black turban, surmounted with a prayer cap of their branches color. Colors of the jacket and prayer cap determine which branch the soldier is from. Scarlet colors are for the Army, consisting of almost all infantry forces of Khartum. A bright indigo is reserved to the navy and its various subgroups, such as the Khartumian Marines and the Coast Guard. The Armored Cavalry receive a bright Dandelion Yellow, encompassing all tank crew members of the Khartumian Armed Forces. A mildly dark Green is reserved for the Special Forces. The bright colors, noticeable from great distance, make the military parades seem like a rainbow as the soldiers march to the deep bass of giant timpanis and the shrill sounds of Turkish wind and brass instruments, joined in by the thousands of music performers on various instruents that typically inhabit the streets, trying to imitate the sound of the march tune.