Besaid

Besaid
capital city of the
Grand Besaid
City Flag
Besaid from the eastern side of the Konjian River
Nation	Grand Besaid
Location	Southernmost point of the Oyenese Peninsula
Area	874.23 miles2
Population	42,679,155

Besaid is the largest city and capital of Grand Besaid. It is the center of the surrounding Besaidian Metropolitan Area – one of the largest in the world. Besaid is located near the tip of the Oyenese Peninsula, which is more commonly known as the Malay Peninsula.

Besaid has a massive impact on the world economy and is generally considered an alpha++ global city. Home to the United Nations Headquarters, the World Institute of Peace, and the World Trade Organization, Besaid is considered vital to international affairs and is often cited as the financial, educational, technological and cultural capital of the world. Besaid is the most visited city in the world with over 70 million tourists annually, and is host to many renounced buildings, including the three tallest in the world. The University of Besaid, the University of Dynes, Nos University, and the University of Kalasa – four of the top fifteen universities in the world – are located in the city of Besaid. The city has become a model for environmentally green movements, public transportation and a high quality of life in urban areas.

It is believed that Besaid was founded roughly three thousand years ago by migrations of people from what is today India and China, who in China were persecuted for their monotheistic faith and in India for challenging the authority of monarchies. Besaid is believed to be the location of the first liberal democracy and the first direct democracy in the world. It played host as the capital of the massive Besaidian Empire, one of the largest in the history of the world before being conquered by a coalition of nations and again by the nation of Olaza. Besaid played a critical role in Grand Besaid’s War of Independence and was the site of the horrific Battle of Besaid. Today, the city of Besaid is considered the fastest growing city in the world and a candidate for hosting both the 2024 Olympics and the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Skyline

A Picture of Besaid's Skyline during the day

Besaid's skyline is vast, stretching on for endless miles. It is home to many of the world's tallest buildings, and vast quantities of people. The Skyline has been ever growing since the city's founding thousands of years ago. Though the city no longer has large continuous stone walls that completely encase the city, it has large buildings of glass, steel, and stone that many say shine off into the distance with a majestic radiance.

History

Besaid is the current capital, and has always been the capital of Grand Besaid, from the day Grand Besaid declared its independence from Eperyllia. Besaid, previous to Grand Besaid’s Session from the Eperyllian Empire, was the Empire’s economic, commercial, and industrial powerhouse, being the capital of the most populous region in the former Empire.

Etymology

Besaid comes from the name of the most prominent tribe, and the agreed upon name of the collective tribes of the different nomads during Besaid’s founding. How the name of the tribe and of the collective tribes came to be is shrouded in mystery and legend.

Early History

Remnants of the Ancient Walls of Besaid

The city was founded some three thousand years ago by Nomads seeking to worship God without being persecuted by the Kings of the North. Soon after, the people of the city made a constitution and became a democratic republic with both representative and direct democratic means, similarly to today.

It, however, was under constant invasion from other peoples, and thus, the multiple tribes within the group of Besaidians put their unique skills together to build massive walls, some of the thickest and largest in the world at the time. After that, the city began to grow in population and size so much that expanding the wall and preserving an ever so small piece of the previous ones was an annual tradition.

Capital of Trade

Soon the city began to handle almost every trade that went near it’s region, and it began to mine, and harvest heavily. It’s economy boomed for years on end and the population skyrocketed for years and years. Soon, the city was so massive that neighboring regions and city-states willingly threw away their sovereignty, and joined Besaid, this lead to a great Expansion for the city.

Building an Empire

Quickly the city expanded great distances and began to conquer and rule many lands. Ruler after ruler went on campaigns to expand the Empire of Besaid, with each hoping to gain popularity and a spot in history by doing so.

A Map of the Besaidian Empire at it's peak

An artist's Depiction of a raid on a foreign city

The Peak of the Empire

The Empire of Besaid was a gigantic powerhouse of an empire at its peak, controlling almost 3/4ths of the world's economy and close to 1/3rd of the entire landmass of the world. The Empire at its peak was not only astounding for being as large and powerful as it was, but it was also astounding for being as democratic as it was, among other reasons. Overall, the Empire at its peak was one of faith and influence.

Decline of the Empire

The Empire of Besaid flourished for well over two-thousand years before slowly shrinking due to a wide array of reasons ranging from corruption and internal collapse to economic fall, the betrayal of allies, and the threat of enemies, amongst other reasons like trade decline and rebellion. It took nearly one-hundred and fifty years for the Empire to shrink back down into a mere city state surrounded by a few villages, cities, and plains.

Only a few years after Besaid’s great decline, rebels and bandits began to form federations and organizations to try and bring Besaid down and under their control. Though these numerous rebellions were put down by the still strong Besaidian Government, they leaked information that would lead to the conquering of the mighty city.

Conquered

The rebels leaked the information about the building and expanding of the city’s walls, and where along the coast the least amount of patrolling took place. This, along with other information, and a series of crisis within the city like assassination attempts and the protest of miners lead to the weakening and disorganization of Besaid’s military forces when a neighboring, and far reaching coalition of empires and nations decided to hit Besaid head on. Though the city put up a good, long, hard fight, it eventually fell to the coalition who began to argue over ownership.

New Empire

As the new occupants of the coalition babbled and argued over how to control Besaid, a new, bigger, Empire from the east attacked the city while few defenses were yet rebuilt, and little military forces presently occupied the city. It was a cinch for the Eperyllian Empire to take over Besaid.

An Eperyllian Cannon Squad not long after Besaid fell into Eperyllian hands

Eperyllian Occupation

For a few hundred years, the Empire of Eperyllia occupied the city of Besaid, and the nation later it would later be Capital of. While the occupation began out as easy and fine, it quickly escalated to become a nightmare for the Besaidian People. This helped lead to Besaidian session.

War for Independence

As the people of Besaid realized that they were Eperyllia's strongest providence by far, they began to wonder why they were treated so poorly. However, lead by the message of strength and independence that Dynasty gave the Besaidians, one where Besaid was Independent with its lands of influence under its sovereign control, one where the nation was strong, like the empire of its old self, and one where Democracy, Liberty, and their Faith could shine brightly in the lives of all Besaidians, the people decided to revolt against Eperyllia. On June 1, from the epicenter of Besaid, Dynasty announced to the world that the nation of Grand Besaid, starting with Besaid, was independent from Eperyllia. Many of the people who joined Dynasty in this struggle for independence did so because of the New Act of the Besaidian Providence, an act, which tried to strip the Besaidian people of all they had left. This declaration also caused Grand Besaid to become a Republic, and a direct democracy simultaneously, causing Besaid to keep its democratic roots of the past while allowing It to progress to its republican roots of the future.

Battle of Besaid

Not long after Besaid’s declaration of independence, Eperyllia sent a large nume rof forces to besiege the city of Besaid in hopes that it would cause the revolution to come to a halt. The Besaidians, however, came up with an ingenious system of tunnels that allowed for supplies and men to get around the Eperyllian forces without them knowing. While this proved useful for negating the siege, it didn’t help them to physically fight the Eperyllians. Wave after wave of Besaidian artillery and infantry were launched against Eperyllian forces without any luck. While both sides were sustaining heavy casualties, the Besaidians were getting hit the worst. Dynasty and Norman Isable, after seeing this over and over, devised a plan to create a force that would surely prove victorious.

The two founded the Knights of Besaid, an elite military force to combat the Eperyllians. During the battle, the Knights of Besaid managed to acquire and train some 1,750 elite forces for combat. These “Knights” then fought the Eperyllian forces far out of town, and even across their own boarder, in a mere matter of days. The Knights of Besaid not only used their brutal skills and strength to fight, but also their cunning strategy and knowledge of traps and terrain warfare. The Battle of Besaid, is also the time when the Knights took the most causalities ever. These "Knights" were so well known for their protection and loyalty to Besaid and Grand Besaid as a whole, that they were officially proclaimed "The Protectors of Besaid". This helped to establish their three specific duties- the protection of Besaid, the guarding of dignitaries, and ability to be an elite military force when called upon. Dynasty and Norman Isable, quickly came up with procedures and rules for the organization that would make it more elite as time goes on.

Today

Today Besaid is the economic and political capital of Grand Besaid, being the nation's most populous city and seat of government. The city is still growing at exponential rates and appears to be a candidate for the 2018 Olympics. It is currently undergoing a modernization of its public transportation, and a renaissance of city flora.

A picture of Besaid's second newest district, with all the current construction in the background

Government

The government of Besaid is divided into four branches, Executive, Legislative, Judicial, and Administrative. The city also has its own Democratic Assembly.

Legislative Branch

The Legislative branch consists of a Senate and a Council of the Elders. The Senate consists of 20 members, who serve out four year terms, with five being elected each year. The city is divided into five equal sections of population who each elect one Senator a year, and who have a total of four senators representing their district. The Senate serves as the lower house, and it's requirements are that it's members must be at least 20 years old, they must have been a resident of Besaid for at least four years, and have been a citizen of Grand Besaid for at least sixteen years. The senate elects from its own members a Speaker of the Senate, who can cast a second tie breaking vote, and who moderates the sessions of the Senate. The Council of the Elders consists of 7 members, who serve out seven year terms, with one being elected each year. The city as a whole elected each Elder on the council. The Council of the Elders serves as the upper house, and it's requirements are that it's members must be at least 60 years old, they must have been a resident of Besaid for at least eight years, and have been a citizen of Grand Besaid for at least forty years. There is no Speaker of the Council of the Elders, rather special procedures allow for it to be very organized.

Executive

The Executive branch consists of a Triumvirate and a Chancellor. The Triumvirate consists of three members, an Executive Triumvir, a Senior Triumvir, and a Junior Triumvir. The Executive Triumvir is elected by the whole city every two years. The Senior Triumvir is appointed by the Council of the Elders and approved by the Senate for eighteen month terms. The Junior Triumvir is appointed by the Senate and approved by the Council of the Elders for eighteen month terms. A Triumvir can only serve two consecutive terms. The Triumvirate can do different things with 2/3rds votes and 3/3rds votes. The Chancellor is elected by the people of the entire city for twenty four month terms. The Chancellor is for the most part, in charge of things other than the Triumvirate, though he constantly works with the Triumvirate, being it's presiding, non-voting officer. The Chancellor is comparable to a mayor.

Judicial

The Judicial branch consists of a Supreme court of eleven members, and inferior federal courts. The Supreme Court Justices are elected by the people of the entire city for five year terms, with two being elected each year. The eleventh member, that of the Chief Justice, is elected by the people for one year terms.

Administrative

The Administrative branch consists of the commissions and managers of the city. It's responsible for the day to day functions of the city such as road maintenance, law enforcement, medical facilities, and other municipality facilities and functions. It consists of twenty commission like Law Enforcement, Public Services, Transportation, Education and others whom are in charge of their corresponding functions and duties. Each commission is headed up by a manager. Each commission consists of nine members who are elected for three year terms, with three being elected each year, every commissioner is elected by the city as a whole. Commissioners may only serve three consecutive terms on any combination of city commissions before serving on a commission again. Each Manager is elected by the people of the whole city for two year terms, with ten of the twenty being elected each year. Managers help to carry out actions of their commissions, they oversee their commission, and act as the manager and Chief Officer of their commission, as well as non-voting presiding officer of their commission. Managers may only serve two consecutive terms in any combination of city manager position before serving as a manager again.

Democratic Assembly

The Democratic Assembly's Meeting House

Consists of every citizen over the age of sixteen who is also eligible to be a registered voter within the city of Besaid. It meets once a year unless otherwise decided by its members, or unless called to an emergency meeting by an unanimous proclamation of the Triumvirate. The Democratic Assembly has the power to recall officials, amend most any section of the city charter, overturn or repeal close to any act made by the government, and pass a wide range of possible laws and ordinances. While the Assembly does have its limits, it is a very powerful, direct democratic body within the city. It was modeled after both the now former National Democratic Assembly, and the ancient Besaidian Democratic Assembly.

Regions

The city is split into five geographical and political regions which are known as: Rabon, Centennial, Olbesk, Puessumbre, and Des. Each region elects its own city senators and has its own Geographical features.

Every region also has its own Regional Council and "Mayor Minor" to help govern it, and many of them have smaller versions of the Administrative organizations. Such regions and their government's abilities and authority are prescribed by the City of Besaid's charter.

Notable Locations

Current Capitol Building

The Current Capitol Building of Grand Besaid

Besaid is home to the current Capitol building of the Grand Besaidian Government, as such, it is the seat of the government of Grand Besaid. The current Capitol building was built shortly after the War for Independence, when the National Assembly of Grand Besaid wanted to show the revolution and the nation's rebirth in the new by creating a new capitol building.

The current capitol building is home to both houses of the National Assembly, the official meeting places of the ministries' commissions, the ceremonial office of the President, the Library of the National Assembly, a Museum and even a Catholic Chapel among other things. The building stands at an impressive 324 feet tall, and is crowned with the flag of Grand Besaid.

Old Capitol Building

The Old Capitol Building

Besaid is also home to the old, and first capitol building of Grand Besaid. This building was built shortly after Besaid was conquered by the Empire of Eperyllia. It served as home to the provincial government of Besaid during Eperyllian occuption and it was also the home of the government the First Republic.

Behind it lies seven other "capitol buildings" dating from ancient times, a number of gardens, a plethora of government building, small parks, and even some skyscrapers. The old capitol building is currently a museum.

Besaidian Currency Exchange Headquarters

Main article: Besaidian Currency Exchange

The Headquarters of the Besaidian Currency Exchange

The Besaidian Currency Exchange (BCE), is a bureaucratic body made and run by the National Assembly of Grand Besaid, with oversight from the Ministry of the Treasure. Its headquarters are near the heart of Besaid, the Capital of Grand Besaid. The bureaucracy currently employs a total of 1,671 people, the majority of which live and work in Besaid.

Its primary is to regulate foreign currency in reference to the Besaidian Shilling. However, it mostly does so with regard to international standards and rates; rarely weakening currencies that belong to nations under sanction or that are at war with Grand Besaid. Its other major purpose is to act as a bank where currencies can be swapped out for another.

Besaidian Tower

Besaid is also home to the world's tallest building, the Besaidian Tower. Standing at an incredible 2.75 miles in height, the building's primary function is being home to the offices of major companies, though many restaurants, shops, hotel areas and residential sections also exist. There are even some government offices within the building, along with some theatres and indoor parks.

A Picture of the Besaidian Tower in the day time

The National Cathedral

National Cathedral

The City of Besaid is also home to the National Cathedral of Grand Besaid, the largest Cathedral and church in all the nation. It stands an impressive 647 feet high into the sky. It is the Cathedral of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Besaid, and it is one of the most beautifully decorated buildings in the area. Its denomination is Roman Catholic, and it holds many masses each day. It is not only a place of worship, but also a spectacle to be seen in the city.

Headquarters of the Knights of Besaid

Main article: Knights of Besaid

The city is also home to the Headquarters of it's most elite gaurd, the Knights of Besaid.

Besaid Stock Exchange

Main article: Besaid Stock Exchange

Besaid is also home to the most renowned and largest stock market in all of the country, that of the Besaid Stock Exchange. It is also one of the top one-hundred stock markets in the world, being the sight of many international and domestic trades and deals.