Nafarroa (An Honorable Retelling)

Basque Sultanate of Nafarroa سلطنة نافاروا الباسكية Timeline: An Honorable Retelling
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Nafarroa (An Honorable Retelling) Location of Nafarroa (green)
Capital (and largest city)		Nafarroa City
Other cities		Bilbao, Tafalla
Official languages		Basque
Regional languages		French, Mozarabic, Castilian
Religion		Sunni Islam
Government		Federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy
-	Sultan	Abdullah V
-	Prime Minister	Aniju 'Uwrkulu
Population
-	2022 census	3,021,483
GDP (nominal)		2024 estimate
-	Total	63 billion
Drives on the		right

Nafarroa (Basque: نفاروا), officially the Basque Sultanate of Nafarroa (Basque: سلطنة نافاروا الباسكية) is a country in Southern Europe bordering France to the north and Castile to the south. It is situated on the Pyrenees Mountains, which separate Iberia from the rest of western Europe. Its geography consists of rugged terrain, largely forests and elevated areas. Nafarroa is dominated by a warm, humid and wet oceanic climate. The coastal area is part of Iberia and by extension, the climate is similar for Bayonne and Biarritz as well. Inland areas in Nafarroa and the southern regions of the country are transitional, with continental Mediterranean climate, with somewhat wider temperature swings between seasons.

The earliest evidence of human settlement in Nafarroa dates back to the Paleolithic era, with traces of Acheulean culture and technology found near rivers like the Ebro and Adour. The region saw the rise of the Vascones, an ancient people who spoke a precursor to the Basque language. They established settlements and developed a distinct culture. The Romans arrived in the 1st century BC and incorporated the Basque territories into the Roman Empire. The region became part of the province of Hispania Tarraconensis. In the early Middle Ages, the Basque territories were part of the Kingdom of Navarre, which was established around 824 AD. The kingdom played a significant role in the region's political and cultural development.

During the 9th and 10th centuries, Nafarroa faced Viking raids, which impacted coastal settlements. Relations between Nafarroa and Morrocco saw the nation become culturally Islamic, successfully resisting attempts at re-Christianization during the Reconquista. Nafarroa participated in the Age of Discovery, fighting alongside the Islamic forces during the Pilgrim Crusades. It created a number of settlements in Muqaddas and in the Sea of the King. It was occupied several times, briefly by Castile in 1515, and by France in 1810. Following a revolution in 1825, the nation became heavily democratized, adhering to post-Enlightenment ideals of cultural liberalism. It resisted French occupation, and remained neutral during the Great Wars. While mostly non-aligned, it was a partner of the GTO during a portion of the Cold War, joining it in 1986.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Nafarroa has remained amongst the richest nations in Europe, profiting off of interborder commerce and banking. It is a member of the GTO, the League to Enforce Peace, and the European Community.

Etymology

The name Nafarroa is an Arabized translation of the word Navarre, the name of the kingdom which historically inhabited the region from 824 until the country's shift to Islam in the 13th century.

History

Ancient period

Some theories suggest that the Basques may be the descendants of the least assimilated Paleolithic inhabitants of Western Europe, particularly those from the Franco-Cantabrian region known as Azilian, who survived the Indo-European migrations. Greek writer Strabo and Roman writer Pliny the Elder mentioned Basque tribes, including the Vascones and the Aquitani, among others. Evidence of Basque ethnicity during Roman times is found in place-names, Caesar's references to their customs and physical traits, and Aquitanian inscriptions that record names of people and gods from around the 1st century. In Roman times, Nafarroa was home to several tribes: the Vascones, Varduli, Caristi, Autrigones, Berones, Tarbelli, and Sibulates. Ancient place-names like Deba, Butrón, Nervión, and Zegama indicate the presence of non-Basque peoples during protohistory.

These ancient tribes are last mentioned in the 5th century, after which only the Vascones are documented, expanding their territory to include areas like Álava and around the Pyrenees and Novempopulania. The Cantabri territory likely included present-day Biscay, Cantabria, Burgos, parts of Álava, and La Rioja, located west of Vascon territory in the Early Middle Ages. The ethnic identity of the Cantabri, often in conflict with the Visigoths, remains uncertain. The Vascones near Pamplona, after battles against the Franks and Visigoths, established the Kingdom of Pamplona in 824, closely connected to their relatives, the Banu Qasi. By the end of the Roman period, most other tribes on the Iberian Peninsula had largely assimilated into Roman culture and language.

Middle Ages and early modern period

Sancho VII of Navarre, who converted the nation to Islam

In the Early Middle Ages, up to the 9th century, the territory stretching between the Ebro and Garonne rivers was known as Vasconia. This region was an ethnic melting pot, a mosaic of clans and tribes, constantly striving to resist the encroaching Frankish feudal authority from the north. Simultaneously, they faced pressures from the Iberian Visigoths and Andalusi Cordovans advancing from the south. The Vascons, known for their resilience, maintained a distinct identity despite these external threats. By the turn of the millennium, the waning Carolingian royal authority and the rise of feudalism left Vasconia, which transitioned into Gascony, fragmented into numerous counties and viscounties.

Among these were Fezensac, Bigorre, Astarac, Béarn, Tartas, Marsan, Soule, and Labourd. These new political entities emerged from older tribal systems and minor realms, collectively known as the County of Vasconia. This fragmentation marked a significant shift from unified tribal governance to feudal lordships. South of the Pyrenees, the geopolitical landscape evolved with the establishment of the Kingdom of Pamplona. By the 9th century, the regions of Gipuzkoa, Álava, and Biscay began to emerge, forming the foundation of what is now southern Nafarroa. These areas developed their own distinct identities, playing crucial roles in the cultural and political fabric of the Iberian Peninsula.

In 1200, Sancho VII married the daughter of Yusuf II of Morocco, and subsequently Sancho and his son converted to Islam, thus converting the Kingdom of Navarre into the Basque Sultanate of Nafarroa. Alfonso VIII of Castile, resenting this following the defeat of his own forces at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, attempted a botched invasion in 1203. This concluded with Nafarroa managing to secure its independence at the Battle of Vitoria, despite frequent threats from France to the north. Following the discovery of the New World, Nafarroa financed multiple expeditions alongside its Moroccan allies. Continued tensions with the Christian powers saw the nation dragged into the Pilgrim Crusades in the 1500s. While Basque settlements in the Sea of the King survived, those in Muqaddas fell to Tuscan forces.

Modern era

Josei-Abdul Lekube Akir, Prime Minister of Nafarroa from 1936 to 1945

Nafarroa was largely neutral during European conflicts of the 16th through 18th centuries, though it often held border disputes with its neighbors. Muhammad IV, Sultan of the country from 1675 to 1692, normalized relations with England. Enlightenment-era ideals took hold in the 18th century, culminating in an 1825 revolution funded by France, which saw the adoption of a democratic election system and the formation of the office of Prime Minister. In the early 21st century, the nation found itself at odds with France over trade disputes, which saw the government resorting to tariffs. The industrialization of the Basque districts across the Atlantic basin (Biscay, Gipuzkoa, north-western Álava) received a significant boost from the outbreak of the Third Great War in Europe. Nafarroa's neutrality in the conflict allowed for the expansion of Basque steel production and export, driven by the demands of the European war effort.

The Basque gunsmiths, known for their high competence, operated in small shops with little concern for patent laws, as enforcing them in Nafarroa was more trouble than it was financially worth. This enabled the growth of a handgun manufacturing industry to compensate for the Allies' shortfall, as their factories were needed for various other purposes. Companies like Echeverria experienced an incredible surge in demand for their pistols, including both proprietary designs and variants of the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless, such as the hand-fitted Ruby pistols produced in the tens of thousands. However, this hand fitting led to issues, as magazines had to be specifically matched to each gun; otherwise, they would not fit correctly, causing jams or not fitting at all. Ironically, the end of the war in 1918 marked the decline and transformation of the Basque industry.

The rise of fascism led to the government instituting press restrictions throughout the 1930s. These measures were supported by Josei-Abdul Akir, a left-wing politician, who viewed the Maurras government to the north with skepticism. The nation supplied Castilian militias with small amounts of artillery and weapons during the Fourth Great War, but remained neutral. However, French bombing raids often hit the country mistakenly, which the government protested diplomatically. In the 1960s, cultural liberalization led to the easing of theocratic restrictions in everyday life, and foreign investment increased. While a GTO ally, Nafarroa interacted heavily trade wise with Germany and Castile to retain friendly relations with the Spartacist bloc. It would join the GTO in 1986, following the collapse of the Union of England, and the reforms undertaken by Germany. In recent years, Nafarroa has seen lowered levels of crime but elevated levels of social and income inequality. This has been accredited to the tax cuts under Bilal al-Garaikoetxea's administration, which was in power from 2006 to 2015. It has partaken heavily in space exploration and research, and maintains the settlement of Arenahiria (مدينة الرمال; "city of sand") on Minerva.

Demographics

As of early 2021, Nafarroa's population was approximately 3 million, with a density of about 140/km² (360/sq mi), higher than the average for its largest subdivision, Bilbao. However, this population is unevenly distributed, mainly concentrated in urban areas. One-third resides in the Greater Bilbao area, with Biscay reaching a density of 500/km² (1,300/sq mi) and the northern provinces of Lower Navarre and Soule as low as 20/km² (52/sq mi). The majority of the Basque population, around 70% or 2,100,000 people, live within the southern halves of the country, with 20% or 600,000 in Biscay, and the remaining 10% or about 300,000 in the northern halves. The influx of people from Galicia and Castile into Nafarroa began in the late 15th century and continued through the 20th century as industrialization progressed and the demand for labor increased. These immigrants and their descendants have largely been assimilated into the Basque community, at least officially.