Itinerate Tree Dweller

The Illustrious Empire of Itinerate Tree Dweller is a historically powerful nation, rich in history and traditions. Having been exiled from the Roman Empire in 130 A.D., large groups of the roman elite, along with soldiers and Germanic slaves, moved eastward toward India, following a newly opened trade route to the east. The Romans hoped to found a new city-state further from mainland Rome; they had fallen out of favor with the established Roman Emperor, Hadrian, and were exiled from Rome 'until the end of time.' A Roman Elite by the name of Xerik, or Xericus in latin maintained order within the group, leading them further east without much incident. Having reached the southern coast of India, the group decided to move further, building large boats and setting sail. Nearly 2000 years later, their hopes and dreams have turned into the nation of Itinerate Tree Dweller.

Maps & Topography

 * Pretty Much The Entire Empire
 * Map Of Western Hataria (Now Called Free Haven Colony)

Environmental Issues
Climate: Tropical on large portions of coastal regions. Industrialized central regions, with large mountainous regions as well. Some areas barren from desertification, requiring careful management of water resources.

Terrain: Large island system. Several medium size continents.

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Valley of the Weeping -86 m highest point: Mountain of the Sorrowful 6,194 m

Natural Resources: coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber, titanium, hydropower, tantalum, graphite, diamonds, fish, timber, wildlife, beryllium, magnesium, molybdenum, asbestos, barite, boron, bromine, cement, clays, diatomite, feldspar, fluorspar, garnet, gemstones, gypsum, helium (gas and solid), iodine, lime, mica, peat, perlite, phosphate rock, pumice, pumicite, salt, sand, gravel, soda ash, sodium sulfate, stone, talc, vermiculite, antimony, barite, chromium, tantalum, cobalt, tin, arsenic

Natural Hazards: tsunamis, volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, mud slides, forest fires, flooding, permafrost, drought, steam geysers, sulphur laced water supply, sinkholes, ice storms, heat waves, hail storms, lahars

Current Issues: air pollution resulting in acid rain. large emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification

Culture
Itinerate Tree Dweller has a very diverse group of european citizens that still retain their ancient beliefs and customs. Most notably is the celebration of Saturnalia which is an ancient Roman cultural festival where offerings are made to the Roman Gods.

Also celebrated are the birthdates of current monarchs, which are celebrated for a full week prior to the birthdate, culmination on the exact date of the birth of the monarch. During these festivals, all temples are usually decorated and sacrifies are made to the ancient Roman Gods, paying special attention to Zeus, who is said to have shown special favor to the royal line.

Christmas and other Judaeo-Christian festivals are also common, considering a majority of the nation is Roman Catholic.

Ethnic Groups
Itinerate Tree Dweller contains several ethnic groups that have had deep influence on the nature of the nation. The ethnic groups have been seperated into organized tribes, several of which do not currently operate as an organized tribe.

The basic structure of the original nation of Itinerate Tree Dweller was that of 9 tribes. The first 8 of the 9 tribes developed and eventually grew closer together and formed a republic. The 9th tribe maintained a closed border and allowed no other tribe to enter, even trade was illegal.

The ancient tribes: Unukith, Duok, Tref, Quarz, Unknown, Chartekians, Septz, Ocdovian and Ninthian

Constitution
The basic laws of the land can be found entirely within the ITD Constitution which is designed to cover the basics of the nations laws.

Government Organization
First two terms must be clearly defined, a citizen versus a civilian. In many nations, these two terms have but one meaning, but in ITD the differences are clearly layed out.

A citizen is a person who has performed service for the Imperium, having completed the oath of citizenship and having served their time, honorably and without incident. If a person dies before completing their tour of duty for the Imperium, they are awarded their citizenship and they are given a citizen burial. Citizens have rights that do not extend to civilians.

The Oath of Citizenship
"I, state your full name, of my own free will, without promise, coercion, or inducement, after having been duly advised and warned of the meaning and consequences of this oath, do now enroll in the Imperial Service of the ITD Empire for not less than two years and as much longer as may be required by the needs of the Service.

I swear to uphold and defend the Constitution of the Imperium against all its enemies foreign or domestic, to protect and defend the Constitutional liberties and privileges of all citizens and lawful residents of the Empire, its associate states and territories, to perform, home or abroad, such duties of any lawful nature as may be assigned to me by lawful direct or delegated authority.

-And to obey all lawful orders of the Emperor of the Imperial Service and of all officers or delegated persons placed over me.

-And to require such obedience from all members of the Service or other persons or non-human beings lawfully placed under my orders.

-And, on being honorably discharged at the completion of my full term of active service or upon being placed on inactive retired status after having completed such full term, to carry out all duties and obligations and to enjoy all privileges of Imperial citizenship including but not limited to the duty, obligation and privilege of exercising sovereign franchise for the rest of my natural life unless stripped of my honor by verdict, finally sustained, of court of my sovereign peers."

Rights of a Citizen

 * The right to vote in Imperial elections and the right to hold political office.
 * The right to address the Imperial Senate.
 * The responsibility to protect the body politic.

Civilians have little political rights, but the same economic rights as citizens. No civilian may hold political office, but they can hold positions of power in economic groups and corporations.

Now that we have these two terms defined, we can better define the government of Itinerate Tree Dweller. ITD has a unique government system which is derived from the ancient oligarchy-republic of Rome and centered in power around the Consul-General/Emperor.

The Emperor has absolute power to govern the Imperium, but must consult the Senate before making any fiscal decision or military, except for emergency situations. The Senate writes legislation and votes on it; if the legislation passes, it is sent to the Emperor for final approval. The Emperor has absolute authority over legislation in regards to it passing or failing, but cannot edit the legislation without it being sent back to the Senate for another vote.

The Senate is composed of three houses and they are described below.

The Imperium's Judicial system is entirely up to the Emperor to design and implement.

Imperial Council
The Emperor is the sole seat of power and oversees all other sections of government. However, such responsibility can be tiring and exhausting, so he appoints ministers to watch over specific sections of the national government.
 * Secretary of Military: Darius Tinnell
 * Secretary of Education: [post has been disbanded indefinitely]
 * Secretary of Security: Mikael Romult
 * Secretary of Media: Kendrick Rinjos
 * Secretary of Science, Industry & Technology: Dane Landrus
 * Secretary of Intelligence: Thadeus Doom
 * Secretary of International Relations: Jeffery Kandel
 * Secretary of Economy, Trade & Finance: Jackson Blaydes
 * Secretary of Justice & Law: Martin Shilvey
 * Secretary of Internal Investigations: Nolan Kucharik
 * Secretary of Populace Control: Rob Coln
 * Secretary of Culture & Society: Javier Loud
 * Secretary of Labor: Nelson Fritze
 * Secretary of Agriculture & Interior: Son Bosman
 * Secretary of Research: Bryon Karpel

Three (3) additional seats on the council are awared to specially elected members from each legislative house.

Executive Organization
The following chart outlines the basic structure of the Imperial government, specifically the executive branch and how it relates to the national military and intelligence groups.

Special Executive Agencies
ESC - Empire Security Council
 * Primary responsibility is to keep the borders secure and the cities safe. (Equivalent to the USA's FBI)

EII - Empire Intelligence Initiative
 * Formed to conduct foreign intelligence collection, covert action, and counterintelligence operations abroad. Also responsible for providing finished intelligence to ITD policymakers. (Equivalent to the USA's CIA)

EDOIA - Empire Defense, Offense, Intelligence Admininistration
 * Formed to coordinate all government military forces at home and abroad. Consists of the Imperial Council and all of the Emperor's Generals and Admirals.

Praetorian Guard - Itinerate Tree Dweller Government Forces
 * Elite forces of the Empire. Formally reports to the Emperor's EDOIA, but truly reports directly to the Emperor. These forces are only allowed to be of Ninthian origin. Traditionally listed as part of the military, but they rarely operate with the standard military. Head Commander: Lt. General Daniel Reck

IMCC - Imperial Media Control Center
 * The government agency responsible for regulating telecommunications.

Legislative Branch
The legislative body of ITD consists of three separate houses, all with unique functions and powers.

Party Dominance
There are currently 3 parties that hold seats in the Imperial Senate.

The House of Commons
The House of Commons is what the original Imperial Senate evolved into. With its members elected directly by the populace, this house remains the sole section of power that regular citizens hold in the Imperial government. The House of Commons can levy taxes and remains the only government venue where private citizens can address the government. This house checks the House of Lords by levying land taxes on estates. This house checks the House of Appointees by regulating how many representatives a Governor-General may appoint.

The House of Appointees
The House of Appointees consists of those representatives appointed by regional Governor-Generals, and is charged with maintaining trade and commerce between the various territories. All territorial disputes between regions are settled on the floor of the House of Appointees. This house checks the House of Lords by overseeing all land entitlements that members of the House of Lords may own. This house checks the House of Commons by regulating how many representatives the people may elect.

The House of Lords
The House of Lords consists of those representatives appointed directly by the Emperor, they usually come from the well off, or the historically noble families of the empire. This house can issue declaration of wars, and can regulate international trade with regards to the empire. This house also appoints ambassadors and maintains embassies. This house checks the House of Commons and the House of Appointees by regulating salaries for all three houses.

All three houses can issue laws falling under the "general" category, but all three houses still report to the Emperor, who must sign all laws before they can be enforced; in addition to this, the Emperor can remove representatives at will.

The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of ITD consists of ten Judges, all of whom are appointed by the Emperor every decade. Each Judge is given a term of one year as Supreme Court Chief Justice. During this time as Chief Justice, the Judge has the ability to overrule fellow Judges and may have one extra vote, but only in cases of a tie vote.

If a Judge were to die in their term, the Emperor may appoint a Judge from one of the lower courts to take their place, but this judge is not eligible for a term as Chief Justice. If a deceased Judge's term as Chief Justice approaches, the remaining Judges vote on which of the remaining eligible Judges will sit in as the Chief Justice. No Judge may serve more than two years in a row as Chief Justice.

The Court of Justice
In cases of capital crimes, a jury of randomly selected but carefully screened private citizens tries an individual or group in an open and public court.

The Court of Disputes
In cases of private disputes involving property, fiscal disputes and personal injury, this court is employed. Citizens present their claims to a Judge or Jury and receive their ruling from the same source. Juries are only appointed at the request of the plaintiff or defendant, but both must agree to a jury trial.

The Court of Military Justice
This court is employed in cases of military misconduct and is thus overseen by the Imperial Security Council and the Emperor's Praetorian Guard. Trials in this court are not public and are considered classified unless otherwise noted.

Economic Stats
ITD has a large and technologically powerful economy. In this economy, private individuals and business firms make the decisions, and the federal government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. ITD companies face little regulation and have little outside competition from foreign companies. ITD firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers, medical, aerospace, and military equipment. Citizens are given health and life insurance by the state; the beneficiary is the government. All services and goods are property of either private businesses or the government. No citizen group or individual may create a private corporation without asking permission from the government.

Telephone
Telephones: main lines in use: 3.943 billion

Telephones: mobile cellular: 2.65 billion

Telephone System:
 * General Assessment: a very large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system; a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country

Radio
Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 14,900, FM 73,000 Notable Stations: ITXR "The Best In Talk Radio", EMPZ "Today's Familiar Favorities", IMPR "The Imperial Eagle", HADE "Hade's Voice", IMPN "Government News and Imperial Radio"

Television
Television Broadcast Stations: more than 45,000 state controlled stations

Internet
Internet country code: .itd .td .etd .com.itd .com.td .com.etd .gov.itd .gov.td .gov.etd .edu.itd .edu.td .edu.etd .net.itd .net.td et.etd org.itd .org.td .org.etd

Internet Service Providers (ISP's): ITDnet

Internet users: 3.6 billion

Internet Top Level Domains: ITD has three base TLDs from which all commercial, organizational and network extensions can be appended. The three domains are .itd (.com.itd .gov.itd .edu.itd .net.itd org.itd) .td (.com.td .gov.td .edu.td .net.td .org.td) .etd (.com.etd .gov.etd .edu.etd et.etd .org.etd).

Military
The military of Itinerate Tree Dweller is divided into four branches, the Army, Navy, Airforce and Praetorian Guard.

Total Military Personnel: 130,000,000

ITD Army:
 * Personnel: 42,000,000
 * Commanding Officer: General Seth Rayne

ITD Navy:
 * Personnel: 42,000,000
 * Commanding Officer: Admiral Jason Gaz

ITD Airforce:
 * Personnel: 42,000,000
 * Commanding Officer: General Phillip Smith

Praetorian Guard:
 * Personnel: 4,000,000
 * Commanding Officer: Prince Daniel Reck Kersk

Branches
Click below for the main articles on each military branch.

Officers

 * The rank of O-11 is rarely seen, usually given post-mortem. Living O-11 soldiers are given a monthly pay of cr15,000.

Imperial Bloodline
ITD Imperial Bloodline Family Tree

Extended History
The following is taken from the extended and revised history.

Leaving the Old World
The Empire of Itinerate Tree Dweller is a nation forged in fire and cooled in the blood of its fallen foes. Following the destruction their various homelands in northern Africa, a large coterie of Roman soldiers and merchants decided to press eastward to find a mythical home that was spoken of by Alexandrian prophets. These Romans took with them slaves garnished from the wars with the Germanic tribes of northern Europe, ensuring a strong work force for the city the Romans were to found. The Romans pressed onwards, narrowly missing the foreign enemies and forces that would surely destroy them.

Always East
Always east was their motto, until they reached the southern tip of the Indus landmass. Upon reaching this southern tip, the Romans decided to build large ships and sail from this place, staying close to the shore to maintain a system of navigation. Their journey took them to various places in the pacific, taking them to China and beyond. At last to the very first island of what is now Hades Cluster, the "homeland" that these Romans were seeking. Comparable to a Mediterranean island, Hades was a large and fertile island with mountain protecting three sides of it, leaving one long stretch of land open for farming and settling.

A New Land
Along the massive mountain ridges of Hades sat a large but dormant volcano, which was named after the island itself, Hades. The new settlers thought of this place as a holy ground and established several temples at the volcanoes foot. Sulphur-laced water would pour from the springs of the volcano, flowing through the temples and providing visions to the oracles. These waters were sacred to the Roman settlers.

Brick and Mortar
Illness broke out, probably a result of Indus fever that some of the travelers brought over with them. Many of the Roman women died, leaving the Roman men largely without women. Out of fear and sadness, the Roman soldiers slew the Germanic men and took their women as their own. After several generations the two cultures mixed, forming the basis of the Ninthian tribe. The German wives never completely forgave the Roman men, so slowly they brought their children to follow a more German culture than Roman. Women slowly became active in government and introduced sweeping changes to the laws, "evening" the genders and eventually causing men to be over powered both economically and legally standing. The "last straw" was legislation that would allow for women soldiers. This led to a culture war, causing the men to overpower their women and lay the foundation that women could never be involved in politics and that men controlled every aspect of the household.

Social Progress
Having settled the gender differences, the Ninthians made sweeping changes to the caste system of the land. The prior caste system being two tiered, rich and poor, would not allow for a maintainable military force. Eventually the idea of a meritocratic government was instituted. Only men who severed two years in the military could vote in elections, this eliminated the aristocratic control of the government and allowed for poor citizens to better themselves. This system has more or less remained intact.

The Great Collapse
The idea of a "race" or "tribe" was not introduced until a growing group of non-Ninthians started integrating into the island. People came from all over the pacific to become part of this system. The Ninthians saw this situation and decided to further divide the social structure of the nation. There would be nine individual tribes which all had their own unique territory and local customs. These tribes would all follow the established meritocracy and the system could once again sustain itself. Non-Ninthians were moved out of Hades and onto nearby islands, they sent representatives to partake in the government. Unfortunately, this was disastrous for the Ninthians who found their former control of the government slipping. The Ninthians tribe, predicting a collapse in the government withdrew from the government and let the other tribes continue the system that was in place.

The Great Xerik
With the Ninthians in a state of seclusion from the outside world, the other tribes fell into civil war, mostly due to cultural differences, which had always been settled by the Ninthians who were experts at diplomacy. The other tribes begged the Ninthians to return to the government, but the Ninthians had long abandoned the democratic meritocracy, and opted for a monarchy under Xerik the Burning One. Xerik, seeing the poor state of the other tribes, decided to invade and take control of the other tribes, one at a time. He was successful for a while, but quickly met opposition from a large and angry eighth tribe, which broke through the Ninthians lines and managed to slay Xerik before being crushed by the Ninthians. The loss of their king but their victory over the other tribes led to an angry society, anger that was inflicted on members of the other tribes. About this time, the fifth tribe was wiped out by the Ninthians.

Birthright
The stage was set for a massive reclamation of land and wealth by the Ninthians, which was accomplished by the middle of the century. Other tribes were now serfs on Ninthian farms, which grew prosperous and fruitful. The descendants of Xerik were benevolent and often stepped aside so that a Ninthian Senate could rule; Xerik's line was only ever called in during times of decadence. Xerik's descendants would destroy the decadent Senators and restore rule to the Senate. For this reason, the Senate declared the lineage of Xerik to be permanent Consul-Generals. Over time the need for expansion became evident. Trade was common amongst the islands surrounding Hades, but many of the poor islanders were not wealthy enough to purchase the expensive goods produced in Hades. The Ninthians choose to take over these islands and establish heavy production and infrastructure in them; they were now wealthy enough to afford Hades’ goods. These islands swore allegiance to Hades and were dubbed Hades Cluster, and the whole region became quite prosperous.

Expansion
The population of the islands soon increased because of the boost in food production. The need for living space became evident, as did the need for expansion. Large islands were known of that were close to Hades, but already inhabited with persons whose technology and warrior skills matched those of the Ninthians. The Ninthians decided that in order for them to be victorious, they would require an edge in both technology and numbers. Technology was not a problem, as the Ninthians had always been apt at developing powerful tools of both civilian and military use. Despite the growth in population, however, their military numbers were lower than required. The Ninthian military had always been voluntary, based on the meritocratic system established long ago. Some people, especially merchants, saw no reason to do service for Hades as they were quite content not being involved in politics. In order to fix this situation, Hades turned to the line of Xerik, who were quickly placed in charge of the situation. For the first time in history a military draft was issued, forcing every one in twenty males into military service. These conscriptions would make the bulk of the military, but were merely foot soldiers. The heavy cavalry was composed of the volunteer military, which had experience in battle.

This expeditionary force was ordered to advance on the outlying islands one at a time, establishing a supply route and protecting the surrounding waters for shipping. Over a period of three years the outlying islands fell to Hades, many of the captured soldiers were conscripted as substitutes for the Hades soldiers who died in battle. Upon attaining victory and the capture of all the outlying islands, the Hades soldiers commenced an extensive campaign to eradicate the natives already inhabiting the newly acquired land. A veritable genocide took place. When it was time for a return to the homeland, the soldiers inquired as to their reward for service. They inquired if they were to attain citizenship and if they were to gain rights to the land taken. The Senate voted to give them citizenship, but not to give them any land. The sons of Xerik protested in favor of the soldiers, but were scoffed at by the Senate. From that point on, soldiers tended to be loyal only to their military commanders, remembering the betrayal handed down by the Senate.

A Time To Kill
Xerik’s descendants realized their reemerging power as both politicians and military commanders. They decided that the time was ripe for them to take control of what they saw as their nation by birth-right, the support of the military forces only reinforced their resolve. The sons of Xerik crossed the two rivers that guard the capital city of Hades and laid siege, hoping that the Senate would surrender, so that a bloodbath was avoided. The Senate, desperate to protect their own lives, voted unanimously to hand over all power to the sons of Xerik, a dynasty was established.

Unfortunately, a group of rogue senators decided that instead of a military based retribution, they would destroy the sons of Xerik, they figured that without a powerful leader, the military would fall in line with the wishes of the Senate. The senators hired assassins to kill the tree male members of the line of Xerik, they were successful in killing two, but the third son escaped the attempt and fled to the military encampment outside the walls of the city. The following morning, they military laid siege again, destroying the Senate and painting the palace with the blood of the slain senators. The remaining son of Xerik marched into the city and established his kingdom. With the Senate destroyed and the monarchy established, the nation was ripe for a rebirth both politically and militarily. The monarchy established a system of Governor-Generals each who controlled a territory awarded to them by the monarchy. Each Governor-General awarded tracts of land to his soldiers, down to the lowliest foot soldier. This system of government remains intact to this very day.

Holy Wars
Around this point in time, a new religion was starting to spread into the region. As the world grew, so did the spread of trade and as trade grew, culture and religion spread. Being so distanced from Rome allowed the people of Hades to maintain the ancient cultures of their people. While Rome fell to Christianity, Hades remained loyal to their pagan gods. Christianity came to Hades under the guise of the Roman Catholic Church. Priests came to the islands and spread word that all Romans must convert to Catholicism, saying that the pagan gods had confessed that they were merely demons that aimed to subtract worship from the god of the Israelites and Christians. Conversion took place, but was especially rampant in the poor. A few rogue groups remained loyal to the pagan faith, including many prominent members of the royal family. The Catholic Church attempted to form a coup within the government, they wished to bring the island of Hades into the Roman Empire, but this was rejected both by the people and the military. All the Roman priests and missionaries were executed. To appease the demands of the remnant Christians, a Ninthian papacy was formed.

Alliances

 * The Brotherhood Alliance
 * Right Wing Collective
 * LEAF
 * The Directorate

Famous Quotes

 * "People will believe what ever you tell them to believe." - Emperor Lazarus (Deceased)

Rankings
These rankings are updated when possible and when seen. Help would be appreciated, as I cannot always look at the rankings for my nation.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 24th in the region and 108,130th in the world for Most Compassionate Citizens.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 7th in the region and 3,404th in the world for Largest Nations.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 22nd in the region and 31,455th in the world for Highest Police Ratios.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 16th in the region and 11,109th in the world for Largest Agricultural Sector.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 13th in the region and 10,748th in the world for Greatest Rich-Poor Divides.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 2nd in the region and 1,788th in the world for Largest Automobile Manufacturing Sector.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 28th in the region and 100,229th in the world for Nudest.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 27th in the region and 110,439th in the world for Most Comprehensive Public Healthcare.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 20th in The region and 79968th in The world for Most Politically free Nations.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 28th in The region and 111236th in The world for Most Cultured.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 2nd in the region and 1,209th in the world for Largest Mining Sector.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 29th in the region and 111,936th in the world for Nicest Citizens.
 * Itinerate Tree Dweller is ranked 28th in the region and 113,113th in the world for Largest Welfare Programs (per capita).