Anbennar

The Basileia Anbennarion (Empire of Anbennar) is a diverse and powerful empire spanning much of the north of Middle-earth. It is divided into 4 primary exarchates (Lindon-Rivendell, Lorien, Woodland, and Dorwinion) and the Pontificate (Eregion). The current capital and seat of the Basileus is the great fortress of Damestear, located somewhere in Lorien.

Government
Anbennar functions as a decentralized feudal monarchy, in which lords enjoy a high degree of autonomy and pledge fealty to a higher-ranking lord.

Ranks
There are 4 primary ranks in Anbennar: Apart from these four secular ranks, the Pontifex Maximus of the Faithful of Eru is a religious position separate from the secular order. The Pontifex currently also holds a secular position of Strategos; as such, in secular matters the Pontifex is a vassal of Anbennar but in spiritual matters answer only to Eru. As Eru's representative, however, the Pontifex Maximus has a vote in the Consistorium.
 * 1) Basileus (Emperor): the leader of Anbennar, blessed by Eru Illuvatar with divine wisdom. Should the Basileus's position become vacant, a new one is elected by imperial elective succession.
 * 2) Exarch (King): one of the rulers of the Four Exarchates of Anbennar, they sit on the Consistorium and have the right to vote on almost all important matters of state.
 * 3) Strategos (Duke): the ruler of one of the themata of Anbennar, a Strategos is usually the vassal of one of the Exarchs and may control multiple provinces via their own vassal Tourmarches.
 * 4) Tourmarches (Count): the ruler of a province.

Consistorium
As Anbennar's highest court and legislative body, any major decisions and laws have to be passed by the Consistorium by majority vote. These include matters of war and peace, laws, and taxes. Each of the Exarchates has its own Exarchal Consistorium as well.

Current diplomatic status
Allies:


 * Erebor
 * Gondor
 * Arnor

Anbennar also has a policy of friendliness towards any of the Faithful of Eru, and a policy of mercilessness against the servants of Melkor (anyone who is not Faithful to Eru).

It is important to keep in mind that a visa is needed to visit the lands of Anbennar, otherwise you may be forcibly deported. However, visas are usually issued as a formality.

History
The Basileia Anbennarion first became a concept a long time ago under the reign of Despotes Ioannes 'the Bold' Komnenos

Coming to rule one of the Houses of Lindon at an extremely young age (for elves), he was extremely zealous towards the purging of evil due to the death of his parents at the hands of orcs.

As the elves were in his opinion too isolationist and "soft" on the "lesser races", he proceeded to seize the throne of the High Elven realm of Lindon-Rivendell and proceeded to set the nation on a warpath

At its peak, he claimed the title Despot of Lindon, of Rivendell, of the Blue Mountains, of Lorien, of the Vales of Anduin, of Greenwood the Great, of Dorwinion, and of Rhudel. (Despot being the term for King, for anyone who hasn't studied Roman history)

At this point, there wasn't yet the concept of "Anbennar". However, due to the many kingdoms under his rule, he was considered an uncrowned emperor.

Being always on the warpath, he never formally married. The children he acknowledged were Alexios, born in the Woodland, and Anthe, born in Lindon.

Eventually, he suffered a defeat at the hands of a coalition of basically everyone else in the world. Having lost most of the kingdoms except for the elven ones, he became lethargic and started neglecting ruling.

However, this brought about the idea of a "united Elvendom", and whispers of the term "Anbennar" started circulating. (Anbennar is the elven word for "unity")

Eventually, he lost interest in middle-earth and left for the west. That was the collapse of the "first Anbennar" as regional nobility siezed power.

In the woodland, Alexios was crowned Despotes of the Woodland Realm and in Anbenncost, Anthe was proclaimed Despotessa of Lindon and Rivendell.

Both were considered too young to rule, so regencies sprang up. Lorien came under the rule of an Archduke who had been a confidante of Ioannes.

However, Alexios and Anthe proved too talented to be kept under the control of regencies. In the Woodland, ill fates befell many members of the Regency Council, while in Anbenncost, the Regency ended comparatively bloodlessly when Anthe managed to imprison most of their members during a meeting until they formally disbanded.

Eventually, the kingdoms of the woodland and lindon-rivendell, together with the archduchy of lorien and principality of dorwinion, came together to form the Elven Council, continuing the previously established precedent of elves all over unified in common purpose. As the Archduke of Lorien left for the west and Lorien was left in the Regency of Alexios, eventually the Council voted to formally unify into the Basileia Anbennarion -- Empire of Anbenar.

For a while, the Principality of Dorwinion was usurped by some pretender calling themselves a "king-senator" who refused to attend the Council or heed its decisions, which eventually resulted in Anbennar being forced to wage war to enforce its legal rights.

Additionally, dwarven refugees from wars in the east arrived in Lorien. While certain political factions within Anbennar were in favor of ignoring or even chasing them away, the Basileus with the support of the Exarchessa of Lindon-Rivendell took the revolutionary stance of integrating the dwarves into the Empire and settling them into the Misty Mountains and Eregion, with the rationale that all of Eru's creations must work together to fight the worshippers of Melkor and Sauron the deceiver. Perhaps this is a major step towards ending the ancient elven-dwarven grudges?