Imperial Government

As may be imagined, the Empire is ruled by a single person (an 'Emperor') but all of the countries that make up the Empire (except Bal-Morath) also maintain a basic feudal system. Hence it can be said that the Merebian Empire has a 'binary' governmental system.

In many ways the distinction can be viewed as the same between the Federal government in the USA and the government of the individual states. Although a single state in the USA retains tax-raising powers, law-enforcement, some local legislative powers, and decides how to spend those taxes it is the Federal government that sets rules on the Army, legislation that affects all States, foreign policy and many others.

As in the USA, the two government branches of the Merebian Empire to occasionally come into conflict. When this happens between two governmental powers at the same level, the Imperial branch always takes precedence; when between mismatched levels the higher level branch has the final say.

Imperial Hierarchy

The Imperial hierarchy deals with Imperial matters and has the Emperor at the head of it.

The Imperial strand of Government is concerned only with matters that directly affect the stability of the Empire. Exactly what constitutes a threat to the Empire is often not clear. In the past, just having a friendly nation on the borders whom won't allow an Imperial military presence has been seen as a threat to the Empire.

EMPEROR
Senators
Governors
Magistrates
Councillors
Free men

At the top of the structure is the Emperor. His role is to ratify or veto the demands of the Senate. It is important to remember the Emperor's role for it directly voids the notion that the Imperial Government is in any way democratic.

Directly below the Emperor is the Senate. The Senate consists of eight Senators from every Kingdom (so, currently, there are 56 Senators) and are appointed by the King of the country from which they originate. Although, in theory, anyone could be appointed as Senator in practice they come from those military officers who have achieved the rank of ‘Legate’ in the Imperial Army.

Senators live in the Imperial capital of Merebia and their role is to create the laws that affect the whole of the Empire and advise the Emperor upon those matters that affect Imperial stability.

In order to maintain contact with their country of origin, every Senator has 2 advisors known as Governors. These Governors are continually travelling back and forth from their country of origin to the capital with updates and requests.

The Governors have regular meetings with Magistrates, Imperially appointed representatives of the people whose job it is to ensure that the criminal courts run and that the laws of the Empire are enforced. There are dozens of magistrates in every country but their jurisdiction only extends to their home nation’s borders.

Below Magistrates are the Councillors. These are a body of men determined randomly from the populace who ensure that local issues that affect the Empire are heard but also to pass Imperial Laws onto the people. Lastly there is the populace, called Free men because they are not slaves.

Their only function in this hierarchy is to obey and ensure that the interests of the Empire are upheld.

Feudal Hierarchy

The role of the Feudal hierarchy is to maintain the ability of the individual countries to function within the Empire. Hence it is concerned with civic law, production of resources and tax-raising.

KING
Lords
Knights
Sheriffs
Mayors
Free men

At the head of the feudal hierarchy is the King of each nation. Although subservient to the Emperor where matters if Imperial importance are concerned, the Kings are all-powerful in their own nation.

Note: Although the title “King” is used here, it applies equally to “Queen” as well where appropriate.

The King’s primary function is to be obedient to the Empire and to pay any taxes that the Empire levies in return of its protection and provision of trade agreements. The King’s secondary function is to rule their lands in such a manner so that raising these taxes is not a problem, while keeping their populace under control.

Beneath the King are a number of Lords. The Lords help the King decide upon the national laws. They are given a region of land to govern called a ‘County’, on the understanding that the King’s treasury receive all funds due to it. Unlike a 'traditional' feudal society, the title of 'Lord' is not usually hereditary - the King can decide to remove or appoint Lords as they see fit and a change of King often sees many Lords lose their lands or be moved to other areas.

The public faces of the Lords in their area are the Knights. Knights are wealthy land owners who are given land, called ‘demes’ (pronounced ‘deems’) and title by the King. Unlike Lords, a Knight’s land rarely changes when a King does which aids in maintaining stability, and because land-ownership tends to stay in family lines the title of 'Knight' is often hereditary. An individual county may have many Knights in their area but typically a dozen or so is common.

Knights are the highest local legal authority. Although a commoner may present a civil case of dispute to a Lord (or even a King in rare circumstances) they may only do so if a Knight sponsors them to do so. Knights have pressures from Lords to provide enough tax while ensuring that the local populace are not forced into rebellion.

Knights employ Sheriffs to keep the peace and to act as local judges. A ‘Sheriff’ is a salaried post and is chosen by the Knight from a pool of people nominated by local vote. Sheriffs spend much of their time visiting towns and villages listening to civil disputes and performing accountancy functions. They have the power to imprison anyone of lower rank than Knight but generally hand out fines. Although some Sheriffs have a bad reputation, many are actually quite respectable and not at all like the kind found in “Robin Hood” stories.

Towns and villages, when a Sheriff is not available, are able to draw upon a form of self-government through the appointment of a Mayor. Mayors are elected by the people of the town or village that they serve. They have little legal authority on their own but many Sheriffs rely on them to keep the peace in their absence. Any settlement of more than 50 people can have a Mayor and it is up to the people to decide how long their mayor stays in power and who is eligible. Although there have been a few cases of villagers voting for inanimate objects as Mayor generally they vote for someone sensible. As proof that the people have a completely free hand in deciding their Mayor the most famous Mayor in the Empire is Hector, the talking goat.

Legal Rights and Responsibilities

The Empire as a whole is very keen on individuals being (seen to be) given rights. Giving everyone the sense that being part of the Empire is much better than not is how the Empire has lasted so long and withstood so many threats to its survival.

A free (non-slave, non-criminal) individual generally has these rights, enshrined in Imperial Law.

• The right to freely practice the worship of the “Church of the Twelve”
• The right to speak and teach their native tongue
• The right to ply their trade and to charge a reasonable rate for it
• The right to freely travel across the lands of the Empire
• The right to own slaves bought from a licensed slave-trader

In exchange any people of the Empire have the following legal responsibilities;

• The responsibility to not follow the false gods of lands outside of Imperial control
• The responsibility to learn the language of the Empire and to speak it when told to do so by a representative of the Empire
• The responsibility to join Imperial Army for three years conscription
• The responsibility not to aid or to associate with the enemies of the Empire
• The Responsibility to dispose of slaves in the manner dictated by the laws of the Empire