Despite some establishment of Royal Authority within the Durdzuk kingdom, it is highly regionalized leaving the regions with more authority than its ruling king.
A King in name along, an effort would have to be conducted to expand royal authority to right this offense to the king. But, such an effort would almost certainly invite substantial opposition, so for now the crown shall focus on gathering its soft influence till a time it can properly begin efforts to assert its authority in full.
The effort shall occur in Six steps, that together would form a firm basis for a new Autocracy:
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Establishing permanent representatives of the king amongst the Teips, to serve as advisors to said teips and work on the king’s behalf to build his prestige and assert his authority. [M] Pretty much permanent internal ambassadors [/M]
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Utilize the currently assembled forces, to establish order in the Kingdom and build goodwill. Mainly by repulsing raids from foreign states and cracking down on banditry, which would increase the revenue to the King’s coffers and allow the force to maintain itself.
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Begin positioning the King himself as protector of the peasantry against the corrupt and out of touch tiep aristocracy. This is leaning in to the existing undercurrent of anger/opposition to the aristocracy given the failure of the last kingdom and themselves to hold back the mongol tide, instead we will push Khour Ela as this protector and one more open to change given the developing support for egalitarianism due to the mongol wars. [M] Nothing radical obviously, but more so a push along the lines of the Danish Monarchy and a popular absolutism over time [/M]
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Pushing the Importance of the ruling King as a mediator of the Teips rather than their displacer by having our king settle the numerous teip disputes within his court, rather than more traditional methods, with the purpose of gradually uniting the teips and their interests.
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Looking for a new source of royal authority through god, with some calling for a reform of the old Vainkh Faith, or conversion to Christianity or Islam.
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While the Vainkh written language has been snuffed out, a eventual revival should be considered to make long-distance communication easier and sustainable.
If even 3 out of these six is achieved, it would form a stronger basis for Khour Ela and his blind son to rule the Durdzuks. All the while without the significant resistance of outright enforcing a new autocracy. If Khour Ela
... keep reading on reddit ➡Era nestled in the 16th century. At a small island in the river a number of people walk aboard. Elites among the party a petite, pretty dog and among that The Duchess, fan in hand and accentuated by a fancy corset gown dress, suitable for one of her rank. They are greeted by the captain who says his responsibility to ferry them safely. He warmly told no need to reiterate duty.
It expected to be something of dull view travelling the river, long the practice to have some fun distraction. The atmosphere cordial.
The ship by wind sail fluttering, eases away from the pier. The band of elites well-dressed get to work chatting and card playing. Light food and wine order of the day.
Game of Baccarat. More and more rounds. The Duchess’ jewelry a center of discourse. A bet is made on them, which she doesn’t win – the match was given to her. She answers she not so much of a woman she cannot stomach defeat, a player brings up what would have happened were they really on the line, a mock bet after all. Something from behind her eye made visible. ‘Would adorn another fine woman. Are we little in your eyes? Royalty are if anything true to their word.’ she says sincerely.
The duchess expresses wish to retire to her quarters, she is reminded to be on time for the lyre playing. ‘If only enough for a whole concert,’ someone remarks convivially. The captain gracious escort. He as they walk the vessel gives stern looks to crew hands. She is deposited and with a bow he takes his leave, gently reminded to grace them with her presence that evening for lyre. ‘Noblesse.’
The tranquil waterway leaves as ever a wake, reminder of the vessel’s passage. The ball of light hanging in the sky begins to sink, the clouds take a different color reflecting the hour.
The duchess wakes from her nap, sitting on her bed. ‘I slept longer than I would have. The ship’s movement so accommodating.’ She could feel the ship’s gentle progress. A dab of perfume for good measure, before stepping out.
She finds her way on deck alone, hands on the gunwale or top edge of its hull, the island out of sight of course. Wished to have fresh air before the smoke again. A lyre’s sweetness for the ears cannot make up for what bad for the lungs, she thinks. Her dress and hair blow in the wind.
Feels she can do this an éternité. Later dips fingers into the pristine aqua, then in a while, captivated by the water passing through, the whole manicured hand into the water and keeps it there. Creatin
... keep reading on reddit ➡Looking specifically in medieval europe and the Mediterranean, but interested in any examples from anywhere :)
“Lèse-majesté, a French term meaning "to do wrong to majesty", is an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state.”
For example in 2007 a man called HM Queen Beatrix a “whore” and that he wanted to have anal sex because “she would like it” and he was fined and jailed for a week. Or in 2016 when a man called HM King Williem-Alexander a rapist thief and murderer, he was also fined and imprisoned.
In Thailand it’s not precisely defined but very strict. Essentially any criticism or anything non positive is banned. For example in 2008 a BBC reporter was charged for saying that HRH crown prince Vajiralongkorn would “find it hard to fill his fathers shoes” this is illegal as it suggests HRH is incompetent.
Over the past month, there has been an intense level of activity on this subreddit due to recent events surrounding the Thai monarchy.
We have to give all members of r/Thailand a reminder that while discussions and opinions surrounding the monarchy are more free on Reddit than on other platforms, lèse-majesté is still not permitted. This includes blatant threats against specific invidividuals, or anything that might cause real trouble for members currently in Thailand.
Please protect yourself and other members of this community by not breaking rule 5.
Lese-majesté, a French term meaning "to do wrong to majesty", is an offence against the dignity of a reigning sovereign or against a state. This behaviour was first classified as a criminal offence against the dignity of the Roman Republic of ancient Rome. -Wikipedia
King Sihamoni
Prior to the rule of King Sihamoni, Cambodia had no lèse-majesté laws (laws which prohibit insulting the monarchy and its members). In 2018, the ruling Cambodian People’s Party’s (C.P.P.) members of the National Assembly passed a bill into law that criminalized speaking ill of the king. King Sihamoni was actually criticized by the popular opposition for allowing this anti-lèse-majesté crusade to happen -- this was before he became an influential symbol of the same anti-C.P.P. opposition. This law might have been an attempt to curry favor with the gay king or to alienate him from the opposition.
These attempts failed though. When it was revealed he was a homosexual and the conservative press was printing vile denunciations of the queer ruler, he refused to press charges in accordance with the lèse-majesté laws passed. This noble quietism along with his refusal to give into C.P.P. demands that he should abdicate are what made him such a powerful catalyst for the opposition. Events surrounding the discovery of King Sihamoni’s homophilic sexual proclivity launched Cambodia into a two year long period of perpetual protests and demonstrations spanning 2020 and 2021.
Queen Devi
King Sihamoni has passed into immortality. It was up to the C.P.P. dominated Royal Council of the Throne (consisting of various executive and legislative leaders) to pick a successor from the ruling House of Norodom. Careful to select a candidate who would not become a symbol of anti-C.P.P. resistance, they chose Norodom Devi for the job. For the most part, the beginning of Queen Devi’s reign was perfectly uneventful -- just as the C.P.P. hoped it to be. Recent events, though, have launched her into a controversy widely covered by the Cambodian oppositional press.
Unlike her stoic predecessor, the Queen chose to press charges against her critics as permitted by the lèse-majesté laws of 2018. Four particular cases, all of whom were found guilty and sentenced to 40 years in prison, have been the most publicized.
Dam Sith
Like most working in the fairly rag tag Cambodian press, especially those with papers not receiving C.P.P. funding, Dam Sith does it all. While his work -- incriminating images of Queen Devi and scathing critiques of her conduct -- was widely consumed when published by the popular opposition newspaper Moneaksekar Khmer, people only starting recognizing his name after he was tried for
... keep reading on reddit ➡Era nestled in the 16th century. At a small island in the river a number of people walk aboard. Elites among the party a petite, pretty dog and among that The Duchess, fan in hand and accentuated by a fancy corset gown dress, suitable for one of her rank. They are greeted by the captain who says his responsibility to ferry them safely. He warmly told no need to reiterate duty.
It expected to be something of dull view travelling the river, long the practice to have some fun distraction. The atmosphere cordial.
The ship by wind sail fluttering, eases away from the pier. The band of elites well-dressed get to work chatting and card playing. Light food and wine order of the day.
Game of Baccarat. More and more rounds. The Duchess’ jewelry a center of discourse. A bet is made on them, which she doesn’t win – the match was given to her. She answers she not so much of a woman she cannot stomach defeat, a player brings up what would have happened were they really on the line, a mock bet after all. Something from behind her eye made visible. ‘Would adorn another fine woman. Are we little in your eyes? Royalty are if anything true to their word.’ she says sincerely.
The duchess expresses wish to retire to her quarters, she is reminded to be on time for the lyre playing. ‘If only enough for a whole concert,’ someone remarks convivially. The captain gracious escort. He as they walk the vessel gives stern looks to crew hands. She is deposited and with a bow he takes his leave, gently reminded to grace them with her presence that evening for lyre. ‘Noblesse.’
The tranquil waterway leaves as ever a wake, reminder of the vessel’s passage. The ball of light hanging in the sky begins to sink, the clouds take a different color reflecting the hour.
The duchess wakes from her nap, sitting on her bed. ‘I slept longer than I would have. The ship’s movement so accommodating.’ She could feel the ship’s gentle progress. A dab of perfume for good measure, before stepping out.
She finds her way on deck alone, hands on the gunwale or top edge of its hull, the island out of sight of course. Wished to have fresh air before the smoke again. A lyre’s sweetness for the ears cannot make up for what bad for the lungs, she thinks. Her dress and hair blow in the wind.
Feels she can do this an éternité. Later dips fingers into the pristine aqua, then in a while, captivated by the water passing through, the whole manicured hand into the water and keeps it there. Creatin
... keep reading on reddit ➡