The Tagmatine Q and A, both OOC and IC!
I'm going to mix this up a bit and give you a bit of information about myself and my nation, rather than just await questions.
First off, I'm a twenty-two year old male from the United Kingdom, specifically England and more specifically the city of Bristol.
I recently finished an Archaeology degree and I am currently unemployed, although I'm looking for work, primarily just to get some money together. Turns out, archaeology isn't that helpful
I'm planning on going into a Masters' degree next year, although this currently hinges on a few different things. It'll probably be on the Baltic Crusades, as I found them interesting and it seems like I might be able to attach myself to a project that's just starting up which is looking at the affect the Baltic Crusades had on the ecology.
At the moment, I'm living with three guys in the town where I went to uni. Moving back home would've killed me after four years of independence.
But, enough of me for the moment. Now on to one of my more enduring creations:
The Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium
It was initially created when I was linked to NS years ago, and I created a nation. I wanted it to be Byzantine-based, as I was doing a research project on it. All the Byzantine-based names I could think off were taken, so I chose a more obscure one, basing the name on a unit of the Byzantine army, the Tagmata, which was at various times an Imperial Guard regiment or a way of describing a number of troops, similar to regiment or brigade.
The culture of Tagmatium has ricocheted around a bit, usually mirroring my own knowledge. Initially, it was basically a crude mix of Rome and England, primarily because of my own lack of knowledge. Now it has become much more Byzantine-based, mostly through gaining more knowledge over the years. At the moment, spelling has begun to reflect this, and I've found myself removing the more obvious Latin names.
Ideally, it'd mean there was a Tagmation rather than a Tagmatium, but that's something that can't be changed now. At least, it wouldn’t be the powerhouse time has made it. And they wouldn’t be able to indulge in their favourite pastime, scowling across their northern border at Machina Haruspex.
General (and brief) History
The idea behind Tagmatium was that it was a Roman/Byzantine outpost and became a haven for Iconoclasts fleeing the Byzantine Empire in the 700s and 800s. The garrison commander decided that he’d like to rule it as his own personal domain, and seceded. The weak, nascent state then allied with a number of small tribes and set about carving out larger territories, leading to the Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium. It remained a strong, powerful state with a professional army until Tagmatium’s own version of That Terrible Day, when a nomadic people who’d be slowly moving into Tagmatine territory smashed the Imperial Army and killed the Holy Emperor in 1304. Large portions of Tagmatium were lost, only being reunited in the early 2000s.
The rest of the medieval period and early modern saw Tagmatium slowly pull itself back. By the 1900s, it was once again a powerful nation. A long war against a communist insurrection in an allied nation (known as the Long War, from 1932 to 1956) ruined Tagmatium economically and caused massive social upheaval, including the execution of the reigning Holy Emperor, Konstantine VIII (“the Mad”). A military coup ended Tagmatium’s involvement in the war, and the general who had been installed as monarch set about introducing democracy into the hidebound Greater Holy Empire. When he stepped down (the only Holy Emperor to do so) and called a general election, a socialist was elected. This ended in a second military coup, in 1969, which saw the Republic of Tagmatium (now known within Tagmatium as “the Old Republic”), essentially a militaristic dictatorship along the lines of the various South American ones of the mid-to-late 1900s. The Imperial Government fled and formed the Empire-in-Exile.
This was toppled in 1995 by the Empire-in-Exile, which then set about piecing things back together. In 2005, another military coup attempt was made, but ultimately crushed, although the Holy Emperor was assassinated in the opening moves. The war ended with the election of the current Holy Emperor, Kommodos Mikael James.
Culture (also brief)
Tagmatium regards itself as the successor to both Rome and Byzantium. All other nations are nothing but semi-civilised savages and barbarians, albeit ones that Tagmatium is often forced to regard as equals, begrudgingly. Other nations are always lesser when compared to the glorious history of the Greater Holy Empire. If another nation is older or also claims to be a successor of the Romans, Tagmatium will often indulge in its own “No True Scotsman” fallacy.
The Greater Holy Empire is also very conservative and traditionalist. Many inhabitants, no matter their station in society, can draw thousand-year lineages, and great store is often set by them. The nation is also very class-ridden, although this has begun to weaken. Until relatively recently, many jobs were hereditary (at least in practice) and only the Great and the Good were allowed to vote in the election of the Holy Emperor. The Imperial Court played a large role, keeping the balance between the military and the bureaucracy by elaborate proceedings. The economic crisis caused by the Long War and the turmoil afterwards eroded this as an aspect of the government of Tagmatium, and it is regarded by the current Holy Emperor as a waste of time. The Imperial Court views the current Holy Emperor as an upstart
The military is also very strong within Tagmatium. Participation within the armed forces is greatly respected, although soldiers stand somewhat apart from the rest of society, due to the idea that whilst what they do is certainly for the good of Tagmatium and its people, they are still perceived as killers by definition. This often manifests amongst members of the armed forces as either a flippancy towards the idea of sinning, or acts of penance to absolve the soldiers of actions.
It’s a bit brief, and I’ve not touched on everything, but I’ve also run out of willpower to continue this for the moment.
Any questions?
I'm going to mix this up a bit and give you a bit of information about myself and my nation, rather than just await questions.
First off, I'm a twenty-two year old male from the United Kingdom, specifically England and more specifically the city of Bristol.
I recently finished an Archaeology degree and I am currently unemployed, although I'm looking for work, primarily just to get some money together. Turns out, archaeology isn't that helpful
I'm planning on going into a Masters' degree next year, although this currently hinges on a few different things. It'll probably be on the Baltic Crusades, as I found them interesting and it seems like I might be able to attach myself to a project that's just starting up which is looking at the affect the Baltic Crusades had on the ecology.
At the moment, I'm living with three guys in the town where I went to uni. Moving back home would've killed me after four years of independence.
But, enough of me for the moment. Now on to one of my more enduring creations:
The Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium
It was initially created when I was linked to NS years ago, and I created a nation. I wanted it to be Byzantine-based, as I was doing a research project on it. All the Byzantine-based names I could think off were taken, so I chose a more obscure one, basing the name on a unit of the Byzantine army, the Tagmata, which was at various times an Imperial Guard regiment or a way of describing a number of troops, similar to regiment or brigade.
The culture of Tagmatium has ricocheted around a bit, usually mirroring my own knowledge. Initially, it was basically a crude mix of Rome and England, primarily because of my own lack of knowledge. Now it has become much more Byzantine-based, mostly through gaining more knowledge over the years. At the moment, spelling has begun to reflect this, and I've found myself removing the more obvious Latin names.
Ideally, it'd mean there was a Tagmation rather than a Tagmatium, but that's something that can't be changed now. At least, it wouldn’t be the powerhouse time has made it. And they wouldn’t be able to indulge in their favourite pastime, scowling across their northern border at Machina Haruspex.
General (and brief) History
The idea behind Tagmatium was that it was a Roman/Byzantine outpost and became a haven for Iconoclasts fleeing the Byzantine Empire in the 700s and 800s. The garrison commander decided that he’d like to rule it as his own personal domain, and seceded. The weak, nascent state then allied with a number of small tribes and set about carving out larger territories, leading to the Greater Holy Empire of Tagmatium. It remained a strong, powerful state with a professional army until Tagmatium’s own version of That Terrible Day, when a nomadic people who’d be slowly moving into Tagmatine territory smashed the Imperial Army and killed the Holy Emperor in 1304. Large portions of Tagmatium were lost, only being reunited in the early 2000s.
The rest of the medieval period and early modern saw Tagmatium slowly pull itself back. By the 1900s, it was once again a powerful nation. A long war against a communist insurrection in an allied nation (known as the Long War, from 1932 to 1956) ruined Tagmatium economically and caused massive social upheaval, including the execution of the reigning Holy Emperor, Konstantine VIII (“the Mad”). A military coup ended Tagmatium’s involvement in the war, and the general who had been installed as monarch set about introducing democracy into the hidebound Greater Holy Empire. When he stepped down (the only Holy Emperor to do so) and called a general election, a socialist was elected. This ended in a second military coup, in 1969, which saw the Republic of Tagmatium (now known within Tagmatium as “the Old Republic”), essentially a militaristic dictatorship along the lines of the various South American ones of the mid-to-late 1900s. The Imperial Government fled and formed the Empire-in-Exile.
This was toppled in 1995 by the Empire-in-Exile, which then set about piecing things back together. In 2005, another military coup attempt was made, but ultimately crushed, although the Holy Emperor was assassinated in the opening moves. The war ended with the election of the current Holy Emperor, Kommodos Mikael James.
Culture (also brief)
Tagmatium regards itself as the successor to both Rome and Byzantium. All other nations are nothing but semi-civilised savages and barbarians, albeit ones that Tagmatium is often forced to regard as equals, begrudgingly. Other nations are always lesser when compared to the glorious history of the Greater Holy Empire. If another nation is older or also claims to be a successor of the Romans, Tagmatium will often indulge in its own “No True Scotsman” fallacy.
The Greater Holy Empire is also very conservative and traditionalist. Many inhabitants, no matter their station in society, can draw thousand-year lineages, and great store is often set by them. The nation is also very class-ridden, although this has begun to weaken. Until relatively recently, many jobs were hereditary (at least in practice) and only the Great and the Good were allowed to vote in the election of the Holy Emperor. The Imperial Court played a large role, keeping the balance between the military and the bureaucracy by elaborate proceedings. The economic crisis caused by the Long War and the turmoil afterwards eroded this as an aspect of the government of Tagmatium, and it is regarded by the current Holy Emperor as a waste of time. The Imperial Court views the current Holy Emperor as an upstart
The military is also very strong within Tagmatium. Participation within the armed forces is greatly respected, although soldiers stand somewhat apart from the rest of society, due to the idea that whilst what they do is certainly for the good of Tagmatium and its people, they are still perceived as killers by definition. This often manifests amongst members of the armed forces as either a flippancy towards the idea of sinning, or acts of penance to absolve the soldiers of actions.
It’s a bit brief, and I’ve not touched on everything, but I’ve also run out of willpower to continue this for the moment.
Any questions?