The Grand Duchy of Jow

The Grand Duchy of Jow is a Hereditary Grand Ducal State, and one of the Imperial States of Celestria. The Grand Duchy's Head of State is the Grand Duke of Jow, whose title, estate, and powers are passed down through absolute primogeniture. The government of the Grand Duchy of Jow takes the form of a parliamentary autocracy and a Celestrian State Government as of 2015.

The Grand Duchy of Jow, with an area of 2,423,881 km squared, it copmrises the southern tip of the Celestrian continent. As of the 2014 census it has a population of 46 million people. The capital, and seat of government, of the Grand Duchy is the City of Telperion, located on the River Tarya.

The Grand Duchy of Jow has an immensely meretocratic society, with a strict class system. Academics and nobility are among the elite of society, and have a great deal of powers and priveleges granted to them by the government, which is comprised mostly of the elite themselves. Though relatively small in terms of land mass and populations in comparison to other Celestrian states and territories, the State of Jow is extremely influential of Imperial political matters, most notably because the current Grand Duke of Jow is also the Lord Chancellor of Celestria.

The Imperial State of Jow is a leader of scientific and academic progress, both within the Empire of Celestria and the world. It has the greatest density of Universities, Research Institutes, and PhDs, than any other place in the world, and is a haven for academics, particularly its capital city, Telperion, which is home to the world's leading research universtiy, the University of Telperion.

Early History
The people of the Tribes of Athra first settled in the region as early as the 6th Century BC coming to the regions from previously established permanent settlements along the bakns of the Lilacuna. However, there is some evidence that even before the people of Athra came to the region it was already inhabited by a group of nomadic hunters, known today as the Ayla. The Ayla may have been Athrarians who had ventured southwards around the time the first settlements on the Lilacuna began, though some believe the Ayla arrived on the Celestrian continent independantly of the Athrarians. In either case, the Ayla were assimilated into the Athrarian race soon after the Tribes of Athra arrived on the southern tip of the continent. After that, the Athrarians in the region developed quite separately from Athrarians in other regions of the Celestrian continent. Some time after the 5th Century BC they began using a different name for themselves: the Telyar.

Quite early in their history, the Telyar developed efficient systems of agriculture, with vast and complex irrigation systems. As a result, they were able to build fairly large cities. By around 400 BC several city states were formed and the seeds of the complex political structures that continues to dominate Telyaran society. This early period in which city-states dominated the political land scape lasted approximately from 400 BC to 0 AD. It was during this time that the aristocracy first came to prominence. The city-states formed oligarchical political structures with various ranks of nobels holding various powers. The powers and titles of these nobels were passed down to their children, through male primogeniture, and, thus the aristocracy was born.

The First Goryan Invasion
In the fourth century BC the warrior clans known as the Goryans began their inavsion of Celestria. The Goryans inhabitted those lands the north and west of the Telyaran city-states. The Goryans only invaded Celestria at first, but began attaking the Telyar midway through the invasion of the north. The Goryans were quickly expunged from the city-states with relatively little cost.

The Second Goryan Invasion
The Second Goryan Invasion occured around 100 BC. This time, the Goryans were far more organized, and sophisticated in their tactics. The strength of the Goryans was unanticipated by the city-states and many of them were completely destroyed, while those that remain were greatly diminished. Eventually the Goryan forces were driven back, most likely due to famine and several harsh winters. As a result of the invasion the great city-states were no more. Most of those that were not copmletely destroyed were more or less abandoned by their people, who fled into the country side, setting up agrarian villages and towns.

Feudal Jow (50BC - 1350)
One city-state, the City of Arathrian, did manage to survive the Second Goryan invasion reltivelyy unscathed, and it was to Arathrian that many of the nobles fled after the destruction of their home. Arathrian, being situated on the southernmost tip of the Celestrian continent where the ground is covered in snow all year round, and the temperatures can reach frightening depths, was nearly impregnable, as any attempt on the city that last more than a few days would almost invariably lead to the deaths of most of any army. Moreover, Cyllanthrus I, Duke of Arathrian, had, years before the Second Goryan Invasion, built up an army of skilled fighters to defend his city, as he was paranoid that the rulers of the other city-states were plotting against him. The harsh winters and his paranoid delusions ultimately saved Arathrian from destruction.

Being the only ruler with a city and a subtantiall army left, Cyllanthrus gathered the nobles who had fled to his city and forced them to pledge allegiance to him as King, lest expel them from his city so that they might freeze to death in the snow. The nobles weary from their losses obliged, and thus Cyllanthrus I, Duke of Arathrian was crowned King Arathrian I of the newly formed Kingdom of Jow. Why the name Jow was chosen is unknown as it is unlike any known word in the old Telyaran languages. The borders of the Kingdom of Jow were defined by regions the Telyar inhabited, which at the time consisted of approximately all the lands south of where the River Tarya joins the River Cartesia, and much of the land along the River Cartesia. After being crowned King and Ruler of Jow, Cyllanthrus divided his kingdom into many counties, dominion over which he gave to nobles of varying rank, depending on the logistical, and resource value of the region. Each region was further subdivided and the land was given to various nobles of lesser rank.

Thus the political structure of the Kingdom of Jow became a feudal structure.

The Rise of Philosophy and Education in Jow
King Cyllanthrus I was an extremely paranoid ruler. He constantly feared another invasion from the Goryans, and as a result he would often scour the countryside forcibly recruiting young peasant men to fight in his army. He not only recognized the military prowess of the Goryans, but also their rising intellectual prowess. The Goryans had, during his reign, implemented systems of examinations, and had increased literacy among the populace. Threatened by this, Cyllanthrus began a search of the entire Kingdom of Jow to find the most intelligent minds. He dveloped a standardized test with the aid of his most intelligent courtiers to devise an unbiased oral (so as not to exclude illiterate minds that were nonetheless brilliant) test for clarity of thought, and using it identified many of his brightest subjects. Having identified them Cyllanthrus gathered them to Arathrian where he set up an establishment, which he termed, the University, a Telyaran word for "Place of Mind", where the thinkers would spend their time free of burdens. Thus the tradition of philosophy began, and a new class of citizens was born in Jow: the academics.

These great thinkers for the next several hundred years would lay down the foundations for much of philosophy, science, and mathematics. Astrophila one of the first of the Telyaran philosophers, along with many of her successors, layed down the fundamental principles of logic and rhetoric. One of the greatest achievements of the Telyaran philosophers was the in depth study of geometry and mathematics. Elsewhere in the world, mathematics consisted essentially of only arithmetic. The Telyaran philosophers, on the other hand, realized the immense potential and importance of geometry. However, the early Telyaran philosophers rejected the idea of experimentation, and sought purely rational explanations of observable phenomena, delaying the development of the modern scientific method.

Following the Death of Cyllanthrus in 20 BC, his son King George I recognized that the process for finding and training new philosophers that his father devised was dreadfully inefficient. Sending soldiers to travel throughout the kingdom to administer examinations every ten years was not only expensive, but it also meant that there was not a steady influx of philosophical minds. Moreover, the lack of basic training of new philosophers before they came to the university, including in many cases the inability to read, meant that the established philosophers would have to spend their time teaching incumbents remedial lessons. To tackle these issues George created the first public education system in Jow, which sought to teach students basic mathematical skills, rhetoric, and logic. The schools would also administer the examinations more frequently; kingdom wide examinations would still occur but only every twentyfivee years.

The effort to educate the general public was largely unsuccessful. The lack of a strong centralized government, and a weak taxation system meant that the task of funding and maintaining schools was left to indiviuall cities and villages. As a result, only the richest communities had accessible schools, and only the wealthiest members of the community ever attended.

Rise of Crestianism in Jow
Around 150 AD missionaries sent from the Yeung Empire entered the Kingdom of Jow, attempting to spread the religion of Crestianism. The religion was initially rejected by the academics and aristocrats throughout the kingdom as the prevailing view on theology in the kingdom tended to be agnostic. However, the lower classes identified with many of the aspects of the Crestian theology and were quick to adopt it. Over the next hundred years that Crestian religion became the main religion of the poor in Celestria, though this was heeded little by the social elites, for they rarely concerned themselves with the issues of the poor unless they somehow affected their wealth. It was only after the philosopher David Lewis wrote his famous Treatise on the Value of Theism did Crestianism become favoured by the academics, and later the aristocrats. However, though the religion did eventually pervade all of Telyaran society, much of the politics of the region remained secular; or at least non-sectarian.

Due to the coming of the Church to Jow education rose in the lower class, as the Church provided free education to those willing to attend. Though the quality of education was much lower than in the official public education system in Jow, and though attendance was sporadic and often short lived, literacy rates among the population grew. The Church also was the sole provider of public health care and many other services.

The Voyages of Mithros The Fair
King Mithros I, called The Fair for his blond hair and pale complexion, was King of Jow from about 402 BC to 453 AD. Though he was a diligent ruler he also had great love of the sea, and would often go on sea voyages in his gleaming white ship, Mitharia, for long stretches of time. Though many of his voyages went unrecorded it is often said that he was one of the few mariners in that time to circumnavigate the globe. Many fantastical and undoubtedly untrue stories sprung up about his voyages concerning wizards and fairies that have become favourites of children throughout Jow. From his voyages, however, he often brought back goods from other lands, such as sugars and spices. It was Mithros that was responsible for bringing the first tea leaves and tea plant to Jow,

During his leaves of absense, Mithros would leave his most trusted friend, cousin and courtier Sindoré Holloway, Duke of Hithmir, in charge of the Kingdom. King Mithros The Fair made his final voyage in 453 AD on his ship Mitharia leaving his son, Richard as King. Many say that as they watched the elderly king sail away they saw Mitharia rise far into the heavens and out of sight. Before this final journey, however, Mithros appointed Sindoré, and all the descendents of the House of Holloway to be Stewards of the Kingdom of Jow.

End of Feudalism In Jow
The voyages of King Mithros the Fair brought many new riches to the upper classes of the Kingdom of Jow, the most coveted of which was tea. At the time of Mithros' reign and death there was little trade between the Kingdom of Jow and other nations. With growing demand for new riches trade began to increase between Jow and many of the other nations on what is now known as the Celestrian continent. In particular, trade flourished between Jow and the Tai Empire, the worlds main source of tea. The rise of trade was responsible for three major shifts in Telyaran society that lead to the end of the Feudal era: the creation of the middle class, the growth of cities, and a dramatic increase in bureaucracy.

With the rise in trade, many formerly poor citizens could make booming businesses as merchants, or other workers in the trade industry. As a result the middle class was born. They were no longer peasants, but they remained socially inferior to the aristocrats and academics. In some cases, though, some merchants became more wealthy than the upper class. Cities also began growing up around trade centres. Life in the city was often seen as substantially bettwe than rural life, so many people began moving to more urban centre.

Much of the initial trade in Jow was completely unrestricted by the King. Many aristocrats worried that if trade remained so free merchants might become far to powerful, and would threaten the rigid social hierarchy established in the Kingdom. Also, it became clear to the rulers of Jow that trade could be taxed in order to grow the Kingdom. As a result of these pressures, in 1213 AD Queen Rosemund II instituted a vast bureaucracy to regulate trade and other aspects of the governing of the Kingdom of Jow. This bureaucracy consisted of several different ministerial offices, whose heads were appointed by the ruling monarch, with the advice of the nwely appointed privy council. The newly fashioned government placed many regulations on trade, and for a long time these regulations were unopposed by the merchant class, for initially the regulations benefited merchants, though they benefited aristocrats more. It was only until much later when the restrictions became extremely strict that the merchants first objected.

These major shifts in Telyaran governance and society marked the end of feudalism in Jow. Though no exact date exists for the end of feudalism, most historians would agree that feudalism had definitely ended by 1350 AD.

Post Feudalism (1350 - 1597)
The era that followed the end of feudalism was dominated by many great shifts in many aspects of the Kingdom of Jow. With increased contact with other nations the scholarly pursuits of the philosophers and natural philosophers in Jow were influenced by ideas from outside of Jow. Greater collaboration, particularly with the Celestrian Empire, resulted in great advancements in science and philosophy. During htis era the scientific method was first rigorously developed, which lead to a great deal of discoveries in all areas of scientific inquiry. Also, during this period algebra gained prominence over the purely geometric approach of the past Telyaran philosophers. During this time the universities of Jow began accepting scholars from all nations, resulting in rapid expansion of many of the universities and the cities associated with them.

There was also great cultural change during that time. An increased influx of immigrants resulted in the integration of many different cultures into Telyaran society. It was during this period that the demonym Telyaran for the people of Jow was replaced in favour of Jowite, as the people Jow became of increasingly mixed ethnicity.

The Foundation of Telperion and its Dukedom (1454 - 1519)
With an increasing number of scholars entering Jow, old universities grew in size, and many new universities were formed. For a long time the largest and most prestigious university remained the University of Arathrian. However, the harsh climate of the city caused great disresss in many of the newly arrived scholars. Indeed, for centuries even many of the Telyaran philosophers desired to move to a university in even marginally milder weather.

In 1454 the University of Telperion was founded, and a small town grew up around it. It's location on the River Cartesia, however, made it an ideal location for trade as one could easily sail down the river into the central region of the Kingdom. Moreover, the climate was far more temperate (albeit wet) than the south of Jow. As a result many people migrated to the new city of Telperion, and the University of Telperion even grew to be greater in size and prestige than the University of Arathrian.

Due to the rapid growth and expansion of Telperion, King Ethran II decided that the city should have its own dukedom. He himself would have moved his own seat of power to Telperion as it seemed to be quickly overtaking Arathrian as political, economic, and cultural centre of Jow; however, for the sake of tradition he kept the seat of the King located in Arathrian. Instead, he appointed Matthew, Duke of Hithmir, of the House of Holloway, to be Duke of Telperion. Thus the two highest Dukedoms of the Kingdom of Jow, Hithmir and Telperion, as well as the office of Steward of the Kingdom of Jow came to the House of Holloway.

The Beginning of Political Unrest in Jow
Throughout this era there was increasing political unrest in Jow, caused mostly by discontent merchants. The immense bureaucracy that had been established in Jow had begun to impose strict regulations on trade that benefited almost exculsively the King and the social elite. The merchants began to find conducting their business extremely difficult due to many restrictions, and were displeased with the large portion of their profits being take from high tax rates. In response many of the merchants made open protest of the unjust system. Some of the welathiest sought to buy influence in the government. though this was ultimately fruitless as most of the government officials were either retired academics or aristocrats. These officials feared that if they relaxed restrictions the merchants would become overly powerful and usurp their position, and hte benefits that came to them from high taxation rates were often seen to outweigh any sum of money the merchants could offer. By 1597 their was immense political unrest in the Kingdom of Jow, and a revolution seemed imminent.

The (Adjective) Coup (1597)
In 1591 King Aragnor IV was crowned King of Jow. Aragnor was the son to King Cyllanthrus IX and Lucia of Tavaria, but had been raised primarily by his mother on the Isle of Tavaria, rather than in Jow. Lucia who's father, the ruler of Tavaria, was murdered in a minor skirmish with the Empire of Celestria had grown to hate all things Celestrian, and had passed her prejudice on to her son. Many claim also that Lucia participated in many occult practices and had passed on an evil spirit to her son.

When Aragnor ascended to the throne after his father's death he was malicious, uneducated, brutish and completely foreign to the society of the Kingdom of Jow. As King he cut funding to the universities, not appreciating the need for them; he increased taxes on trade hoarding the wealth for himself; and due to his immense hatred for Celestria he banned all trade and contact between the Kingdom of Jow and the Empire. However, Aragnor's reign did not last long, as in 1592 he died of a sudden cardiac arrest. Many historians believe, however, that his death was a covert assassination.

As Aragnor had no children, the kingship past to Cyllanthrus IX's brother, George III. King George III was elderly when he took the throne, being 73 years of age, and though he was of a kind heart, desiring only the best for his people, he was feeble minded and easily manipulated. In particular he was manipulated by three of his courtiers who convinced him to maintain the kingdom's islationn from the Celestrian Empire, though all other of Aragnor IV's policies were repealed. These three courtiers were under the influence of the Goryan's who planned on attacking the Empire of Celestria once again but desired the economic stability of the Empire to be weakened first. The majority of Jowian aristocrats were apathetic to the Kingdom's relationship with Celestria; however, the merchants and academics were eager to resume contact with their colleagues to the north.

It was at this time that Alizarin, the Duke of Telperion and Hithmir, recognized that he was in the ideal position to seixe power. Not only had Telperion already outstripped Arathrian as the economic, social, and academic centre of Jow, many academics, merchants, and some aristocrats had expressed support for Alizarin as ruler during Aragnor's reign. To put his plan for power into motion, in 1597 Alizarin secretly travelled north and met with the Emperor of Celestria to obtain his help in overthrowing King George. Eager to establish trade, the Emperor agreed with the condition that Jow join the Empire of Celestria. To this Alizarin conesnted as he would gain more power as ruler of Jow under he Emperor, than Duke of Telperion under the King.

Alizarin returned directly to Arathrian, where he forged an order from the King declaring war on Celestria, and ordering the army of Jow to march northwards immediately. In response, and as planned, the Emperor of Celestria sent an ultimatum to the people of Jow to either rebel against their King or face utter destruction at the hands of the Imperial army. Mass panic ensued as the might of the Celestrian army was well known to all in Jow. Returning to Telperion, Alizarin mustered the regiment of the army under the direct command of the Duke of Telperion, and with the academics and merchants of Telperion marched to Arathrian where he overthrew George, sending him into exile on a frozen island in north. He then declared himself the Duke of Jow, and the Kingdom of Jow ended. Quickly thereafter he hanged the Goryan courtiers, and made an official surrender to the Celestrian Empire on October 31st 1597, two days after the war had been declared.

In the aftermath of what was later called 'the (adjective) coup' Jow officially entered the Empire of Celestria, and was newly formed as the Grand Duchy of Jow. The kingship was dissovled, Telperion made the official capital and seat of power in Jow, and Alizarin became Alizarin I, first Grand Duke of Jow.

Democracy in Jow
Though much of the political unrest was quelled by the coup there was still a certain amount of disquietude in the lower classes. Though Duke Alizarin I was well received by almost everyone, many feared that one of his successers could easily throw the Dukedom into a state of dissaray, as did King Aragnor. Moreover, while Jow maintained much of its former autonomy, many felt that Alizarin and his successors, due to their great friendship with the Emperors of Celestria, were far too much under the sway of the Empire. Alexander II, Duke of Jow, addressed these concerned, to head off any future dissent. As a result, the parliament of Jow was formed under the Great Charter of Authorization, which was signed by Alexander in 1713. The charter acted as a constitution and dictated the powers and authorities of parliament, as well as its structure. Contrary to the desires of the populace the charter resulted in no restrictions of the Duke's power, and indeed the parliament formed under it was extremely limited. However, Alexander had purposefully filled the charter with a tangled web of legal jargon and loopholes that this lack of change went widely unnoticed. The year after the charter was formed parliament, under the sway of Alexander, passed a law giving the authorities more powers when dealing with suspected treason, and harsher punishments. Afterwards anyone who publicly noticed the charters' discrepancies were unable to do so for long. Thus democracy and liberty came to the people of Jow.

The Constitution Act of 2014
In 2014, under Dylan, Grand Duke of Jow, an official Constitution was drafted by the parliament of Jow and received assent by Lucas, Emperor of Celestria, replacing the Great Charter of Authorization. The constitution more rigorously and officially defined the role and structure of parliament as well as the powers of the Duke of Jow.

Government and Politics
The government of the Grand Duchy of Jow is often classified as a parliamentryy autocracy. It has a parliament made of appointed, as well as elected members; however, the Duke of Jow Under the constitution of Jow has essentially unlimited power.

Executive Branch
The executive branch is comprised mainly of the Duke of Jow, who has the power to veto and make laws and levy taxes without the consent of parliament. The Privy Council of Jow is a body in the executive branch appointed by the Duke of Jow to advise him, or her in the governing of the Duchy. The Privy Council also oversees several other official bodies. The Duke of Jow may also transfer any number of his powers to the Governor General (also appointed by the Duke) at times he deems appropriate, though this has been done very rarely in the history of the Duchy.

Legislative Branch
The Parliament of Jow is made up of two bodies: the House of Commons, and the House of Academics. The House of Commons is made up of members elected by the public, whereas the House of Academics is an appointed body of academics from a range of different fields. Together the two houses pass laws, levy taxes, and oversee the day-to-day running of the Duchy.

Economy
The Grand Duchy of Jow has a large industrial capacity capacity, and is home to some of the largest and most technologically advanced producers of electronics, machine tools, steel and nonferrous metals, and chemical substances. Jow is also home to a vast supply of uranium ore, accounting for nearly 21% of the world's primary uranium production, as well as a large forestry industry. Jow has an unemployment rate of 2.61% and a GDP per capita of 19,743 Celestrian pounds. Jow's main imports are machinery, chemicals, foodstuffs, and other manufactured goods.

Science and Technology
Jow is a leading nation in scienctific research, especially in the areas of physics, and mathematics, as well as biomedical research. There is also growing interest among the State's researchers in theoretical ecology. Jow has more PhDs per capita than any region in the world, not including the large number of visiting researchers from other regions. Many of the world's greatest scientific innovations come from Jow, particularly in the fundamental sciences. Jow is also a major contributor to the Celestrian space program.

Infrastructure
As of 2014, 47.5% of Jow's energy comes from nuclear energy, 22.3% from solar and wind power, 15.7% from hydroelectricity, 12.2% from natural gas, and the rest from non-conventional energy sources. Jow is a world leader in clean energy sources, particularly nuclear energy.

Jow's spending on transportation has been extensive, resulting in a vast network of railways, roads, and intracity light rail. However, as of 2014 Jow's spending on transportation has fallen to only 4% of the State's expenditures.

Culture
Much of Jowian culture arises from many of the original Telyaran practices and customs. However, since Jow has been highly influenced by immigrants the culture is extremely diverse. Academia also plays an important role in Jowian culture, and modern academic thoughts and trends tend to pervade the duchy's entire society. Jow is known for its large number of museums, art galleries, and concert halls.

Art
Jow has had a long and rich history of the visual arts. In Jow's early history the emphasis was on realism; sculptures and paintings were expected to nearly perfectly reflect their subjects. The subjects of art during this time were typically real objects or landscapes. As Jow transitioned into its feudal stage of history artists began depicting fictional scenes, particularly mythological scenes, with greater frequency, however, the artists maintained the realist style. In the late 1800s many artists abandoned realism and began painting in a more impressionistic style. The 20th century was an incredibly turbulent period for art. New forms and stules arose, and there was great debate over the true nature of art among artists and philosophers. During this time, however, art became increasingly more abstract, a tradition which continues today.

Music
Early music in Jow was mostly folk music concerning scenes of mythology. This early Telyaran music tended to be sung with relatively little instrumental accompaniment, and is often compared to eclisiaticalal musical, and sometimes even modern day a capellaa. With increased contact with the rest of the Celestrian contact, particularly Jow's entrance into the Celestrian empire music in Jow shifted towards the classical tradition, though the early style was not forgotenn. Unlike many other nations, music in Jow has closely the classical tradition even into modern times.

Literature
Jow has an rich and immense mythological tradition, that predates even the Telyaran city states in Jow's early history. The bulk of the mythology concerns mostly the creation of the world and the fate of the two children of God; humans and elvenkind. The mythology holds that the Telyar are the descendants of Beronias, a man, and Lythelia, an elf, making them the last race containing elvish blood on earth. Early authors of the mythology and other works wrote in Old Telyaran. Jow has also had a strong literary tradition throughout its history apart from its mythology, and a fair number of the greatest Celestrian authors and poets hail from Jow, such as Sir John Reuel, and Emily Bronsted.

Cuisine
Cuisine in Jow is extremely diverse, with each region and city known for a specific specialty food. However, Jow can be split into two major regions with respect to cuisine; the north and the south. Cuisine in the south is characterized by its heartiness and simplicity. Pies and roasts are particularly popular in the south. On the other hand, the north is dominated by a more refined cuisine that relies heavily on high quality produce and other ingredients. Duck is especially popular in the north, with the most popular dishes being foie gras, duck pate, and duck confit. Cuisine in all parts of Jow often uses high amounts of fat, mostly butter. Desserts that come from Jow tend to either be extremely rich and decadent, or very simple and light.

Jow is one of the largest consumers of tea in the world, importing all manner of teas from all around the world. This has led to the saying "the best way to win a war with Celestria is to deprive them of tea; if Illustrat doesn't revolt, Telperion will."