Ishmabahu

Description of Our Nation's Flag:

Our flag consists of four quadrants. Each quadrant represents one aspect of our empire that is important to us.

Wheat and Grapes: The top left quadrant is golden-brown, representing wheat. The bottom left quadrant is colored purple, representing grapes. These two sources of food represent key parts of our diet. We use the wheat to feed our livestock. Addictionally, we can turn the wheat into flour through a process known as milling. This flour can be used for a number of staple foods such as bread, cookies, cake, and pasta. We often ferment the wheat as well as grapes (another one of our staple foods) in order to make alcoholic beverages. We also use olive trees, coral, and grapes in order to make a product that can be used to expand our island. Lastly, fish is another key part of our diet, and represents the final quadrant of our flag. Food is very important to us, and this is apparent in the way we designed our flag quadrants.

National Anthem

volo canere
nolo videre
nolo vicere
tu amabant nostro
omnes sunt sub nostro
(i want to eat, i dont want to see, i dont want to conquer, you will love us, everyone is below us)

Alliances and Connections

Ishmabahu does not have many alliances with other nations.  This is one, due to our inhospitable nature, and two, the fact that we have plenty of resources and power as a single nation.  Our small alliances lie with Italy, Egypt, and Greece.  This is mainly because they are out surrounding countries. Also, like us, they are rich in resources.  When we do trade, it is mostly with Egypt.  Our main imports from them are cotton and silk.  These products are very valuable and desirable around the world.  We can buy these cheap because of how close Egypt is, and sell them very high to foreigners and far away nations such as the U.S. and Mexico.

We often have trouble with negotiations because most nations consider us "hostile" or "savage."  However, this is only because we are very protective of our land, resources and people.  The people of Ishmabahu believe that involvement with other countries only creates more opportunities for conflicts and wars.  This is why we choose to isolate ourselves and trade very rarely.

National History
The province of Ishmabahu is located in the central Mediterranean. It is south of Sicily and is a small island. In the ancient word it played a major part in the connection between the Phonecians, Greeks, and Romans. After the destruction of Carthage at the end of the 3^rd Punic War, Ishmabahu officially became part of the Roman Empire. For the next 700 years, the Ishmabahu’s were under the rule of the Romans. They were given some rights, such as being able to go to Rome to vote as a recognized tribe and helped elect the Tribunes. Once the switch was made to Christianity by Constantine, tension began rising between Ishmabahu’s polytheistic ways and the new found Roman religion. After many bloody rebellions, they finally regained their independence and continued their polytheistic ways. An interesting aspect of their history is that after about 300 BC, the Ishmabahu’s remained isolated and participated in no trading. It was almost as if the Ishmabahu’s had been covered by a volcano, no one tried to take over the rebellious polytheistic island. Until 1575, all of the ports on this island were closed. They rellied heavily on wheat and fish, a main aspect of their diet even today. ON this day, curious French explorers went to the island.
The island by that point had hacked away at the edges of the island, creating sharp cliffs. This remains to be an amazing feat since the cliffs literally go straight into the ocean. There is one beach where the islanders perform sacred ceremonies to their gods on the night of a new moon. The French men attempted to make contact with the people, but the islanders savagely attacked the explorers torchering them for months before finally throwing them off the jagged cliffs. The French were so outraged that they arrived with guns and broke into the island. They saw absolute order.
ON the island the people dutifully farmed, switching their crops every season, maintaining the volcanic soil’s minerals. The island has an island a radius of about 20 miles so it is very important to save land. To quote from a solider’s journal
      “The houses are each no more than 3 rooms. Every family has only 4 children. ON the harvest moon, each family will send the oldest child to vote for the family on who will be the new leader. This is usually based of off the crop yield that that family has produced. While one family produces wheat, another will produce grapes and a tally is kept on which family has produced the most food. The eldest child in this family usually becomes the next ruler. The people speak in Latin. They have no idea of the outside world, it is like walking into an ancient village.”
Over the next 400 years, Ishmabahu caught up with the rest of the world. The 1700s was its golden age. While the rest of Europe was caught up with civil war, revolutions, and imperialism, Ishmabahu  created ingenious technology. They expanded their island using a product made from the bark of olive trees, coral, and the skin of grapes. Today Ishmabahu has increased its radius by 3 times since they were first visited by the French. They continue to grow every year. Although they have adopted many modern ways, their religion stays the same as well as their language and government. Who knows where Ishmabahu will go?