WIKI

Erlah

Erlah (spelt EHR-LAH) is one of the Three Tribes of Tharelia. Its capital is the city of Erinah. It is the cradle of the oldest Hemitic humanoid settlement.

GEOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE

Geopolitical map of Erlah

Erlah is located between the longitudes 0° and 85° E and the latitudes 0° and 50° N. Once dominated by forests of conifers, the continent today has vast deserts at the West and the Great Tundra at the North. The land called The Great Narah is the biggest island of Tharelia. High mountains dominate the Northwest of the continent.

Temperatures vary from +30° C at the South to -45° C at the Northern Tundras. The capital Erinah has a temperature range of 5° C to 18°C.

HISTORY

Primitive humanoid communities were formed about 1 million years ago at the valleys of The Great Narah. The Makhbath, the sacred scriptures of Tharelia, says:

Before the zero hour, the Nazhdar was all it could be

So the Guardians of Time created the land and the cypress tree

The swallow sang and flew, the stallion ran free

And at the valleys of the Narah, the first man could see.

The Makhbath, Vol. 1, verse 1

10,000 years ago Hemitic communities sailed across the Narah Channel and arrived at the valleys of the Erinah, creating a settlement that flourished in the next 5,000 years. The development of big ships and more sophisticated knowledge of sea navigation led to the discovery and colonization of the other continents, Surnah and Nopah. The creation of the Erlah Orthodox Church 3,000 years ago by the Patriarch Thar the Elder brought unity and was an important element of national identity to the people of Tharelia.

DEMOGRAPHY

Erlah ethnicity is the original Hemitic. The population of the country is 1,569,447,350. There are also c. 5,500,000 Ashkaris (Nopah Hemitics) and 3,240,000 Akhats (Surnah Hemitics). The capital Erinah has 15,780,000 inhabitants. 45% of the country's population live below the poverty line.

POLITICAL ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT

Erlah flag

Erlah basically follows the autocratic model of the other nations of Tharelia. Presidential candidates are chosen from a group of prominent personalities of the society and the President is elected by the High Ashtars of the Church. Presidential term has 7 years.

People above 20 years old are allowed to vote on local representatives, with a term of 5 years.

CULTURE AND SOCIETY

92% of Erlah population follow the Orthodox Church. 3% follow Surnah pagan cults and 5% are atheists. Religious population are told to follow the determinations of the Church, observing the dates and the costumes related to diet and personal behaviour at work and at home. Married and single women from the age of 20 wear the black haji, a scarf that covers her hair, head and shoulders.

Religious male leaders are called Ashtars, and the female priests are called Ashtari. The centre of religious studies is always the Sedrah, where young boys and girls from the age of 10 receive lessons about the Makhbath.

The National Date is the Thar Shvar, that remembers the unification of the Three Tribes and the creation of the Erlah Church. It is celebrated on the 20th day of the 10th month of the Tharelian year.

Erlah alphabet uses the original Hemitic characters from the times of the Scriptures.

ECONOMY

Erlah doesn't have an advanced industrial park, and imports consumer goods from Nopah. Livestock farms are frequent in the East of the country. Northern communities rely on fishing at the frozen North Sea. Energy is generated through oil and coal power plants. The country exports 75% of the coal burned in the other regions of the planet.

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Erlah is seen as a mediator of the constant clashes between Nopah and Surnah governments. Erlah Church leaders warn Nopah governors about the trading of weapons to warlords and chieftains of Surnah.

Corruption in Erlah Orthodox Church is endemic today. Recently, several Ashtars received bribes to vote for Presidential and Communal candidates, a scandal known as "The Big Trikhal".