Qarez

Flag of Qarez
Motto: "Death Before Dishonor"'
Region	Zurich
Capital	Qarez City
Official Language(s)	English, Arabic
Leader	Emperor
Population	~30,000,000+
Currency	The Dollar
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The Holy Empire of Qarez is a large, economically powerful nation, notable for its complete absence of social welfare. Its compassionate, hard-working, cynical population of 32 million are kept under strict control by the oppressive government, which measures its success by the nation's GDP and refers to individual citizens as "human resources."

The small, corrupt government juggles the competing demands of Defence, Law & Order, and Commerce. Citizens pay a flat income tax of 6%. A powerhouse of a private sector is led by the Automobile Manufacturing industry, followed by Gambling and Basket Weaving.

Small businesses are gobbled up almost daily by corporate giants, inheritance tax has recently been abolished, citizens are expected to be proficient in at least five languages, and prime commercial land is being swamped with archaeological teams. Crime -- especially youth-related -- is well under control, thanks to the all-pervasive police force. Qarez's national animal is the scorpion, which teeters on the brink of extinction due to widespread deforestation, and its currency is the dollar.

Modern Qarez

Today, Qarez is a fast evolving, economically powerful country, which prides itself on its growing military, public transit system, and rich history.

Ancient History

From the 3rd millenium BC until the 16th century AD, Qarez was a sparsely inhabitated region, insolated because of its geographical features. Seven nomadic tribes roamed the land.

• The mountain peoples
• Peoples of the wasteland
• The lake peoples
• The rainforest tribe
• The beach peoples
• The desert clan
• The south-desert clan

Besides oil, which was then both undiscovered and useless, and the rainforest, which was guarded fiercely by its tribe, the region was of no interest to other nations, from ancient explorers to the Romans. However, in 537 AD a large asteroid struck down in the northern desert, bringing with it gold. By 545 AD the ancient nation was threatened with invasion by outside barbarians.

The 7 tribes, while nomadic, seldomly moved outside their regions and had little contact. There is archeological evidence of small trade routes, but for the most part they had each adapted to subsist off their own surroundings. However, when the news of the asteroid spread around, and tribes began sending messengers to view it, contact increased. But when the first tribe was attacked by outsiders, a man stood up and organized the country for the first time ever. This man was Sayid Al-Qarez.

=Sayid Al-Qarez

Sayid Al-Qarez is a legendary figure in Qarezian history, and obviously the country is named for him. Faced with the prospect of losing control of the country to outsiders, he united the seven tribes under his name. A member of the lake peoples, they began setting up a city, which is even today the most populous city in Qarez. With his military philosophy and love of his country, he inspired all regional residents, regardless of origin, to fight for their land, and they did, for several decades. The barbaric tribes were eventually pushed out of the country, and control was established by 700 AD.

Colonization

Sayid Al-Qarez was made emperor over the seven tribes after the war, and the country became a monarchy. Each tribe moved back to their origins, but stayed connected to the others through as principalities, each with an appointed sultan. With the gold, Qarez began to trade with other countries.

With the onset of the era of colonization, Qarez was claimed as a territory by 18th Century America. Like India and England or Canada and France, Qarez was treated as a son, not a slave. The unique brand of western thought that is America greatly influenced Qarez, and is still noticable today. However, as Qarez was milked for its gold and other valuables with little return profit, many began to feel this was unfair.

The fight for independance

Geography

Qarez is a reasonably large nation, roughly shaped like Africa but closer in size to Saudi Arabia. While 85% of Qarez is desert, it has some distinguishable features. A large mountain range in the north-west housed one of the seven ancient tribes, and even today helps protect the nation from land invasions. To the north-east is a barren wasteland, little more than rocks and dirt. On the west and east coasts are two large beaches. The western coast houses the third largest city in Qarez, on the north part of the beach. On the east coast, adjacent to the largest lake in the nation, is the largest city in the country.

The most remarkable feature of Qarez is the large rainforest in the south-west, a rarity for a desert nation. This is the lifeblood of Qarez, as, excluding oil, it accounts for 65% of all exports. The capital city is located on the edge of the rainforest, near the coast, and another large city sits to the south, even closer to the forests edge on the south coast.

Trivia

• Qarez is the home country of the Qarez International News Network.