Lein Administrative Units

The Lein Empire was divided into several levels of regional administration, the better to govern a territory its size. While the main divisions have relatively clear definitions, there are also several old titles and terms that are still confusingly used within the realms.

History

During old dynasties, political divisions were mostly dictated not by Imperial will but by feudal situations and subsequent decisions. Much of the Empire was divided up into 'States', highly autonomous and organised forces within the Empire itself; 'Fiefs', which were basically smaller but still mostly self-sufficient; and 'Villages', small fiefs whose leaders often were absent and who had to fend for themselves against incursions from other lords. The incredibly complex patchwork of states, fiefs and villages, which often changed by year as the lords of states instated new nobles or deposed certain fiefholders, made delineating any coherent political boundaries for administration very difficult.

When Lein Durun ascended the throne, he at first tried to follow the system while streamlining it to centralise power; while the feudal system was mostly abolished and appointed officials were sent to govern, the state and fief system remained in force. The historical ambiguity of borders, however, continued to plague the system; even if officials were not at loggerheads it was often hard to tell whose jurisdiction extended where.

Because of this, the second Emperor, Lein Kasan, decided to abolish the feudal system of divisions completely. After spending two years on planning, he then announced the new system of "Eleven Provinces", whereby the Empire was divided into 11 provinces, subdivided into counties and hamlets, with certain autonomous cities and ports, as well as certain family fiefs which were now well delineated.

Divisions

• Arsun - The Arsun, or Province, is the largest subdivision of the Empire; while the original division of the Empire called for eleven arsunon, the later expansion of the imperial lands would later carve out another nine, such that the Empire also became known as "demagach Arsunon", the Twenty Provinces. Each Arsunon is headed by a Parasgach, a provincial governor who oversees the branches of the administration within the province.
• Sheten - the Sheten, or County, is the subdivision of the Arsunon. On average, each Arsun is split into anywhere from 18 to 30 Sheten, which along with the provincial capital can make up millions of population altogether. While a small unit in the perspective of the Empire, each Sheten can contain thousands of households and their development and local governance is essential to the economic health of the Empire as a whole.
• Kasten - the Kasten is the capital of the Arsun, the seat of its administrative headquarters, and most often also the social and economic centre of a province. While they are on the same tier as the shetenon, their status tends to be higher as one takes into consideration their denser population and greater wealth. Many of these capitals are great cities in their own right.
• Mitel - the Mitel, or Hamlet, is the further subdivision of the Shetenon. Each Sheten tends to comprise around 6 to 10 Mitelnon, a few hundred housholds each - a village, or a cluster of smaller settlements.