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The Romulan Star Empire came into being as the result of rebel fractions that refused the Vulcan dogma of logic nearly a millenium ago. Having seen what hostile invaders could do to a peaceful planet, the student of legendary Vulcan philosopher Surak, S'Task, led a splinter group to colonize other worlds far from their Vulcan homeworld. After wandering through the stars for a century, the group of dissident Vulcan pioneers settled in an eden twin planet, and called themselves the "Rihannsu", the Declared.
In the beginning, times were hard, as the Rihannsu busied themselves with taming the wild planet. Many died and the population teetered on the verge of nonexistence before making a rebound. The infighting that had plagued ancient Vulcans resumed with a vengeance for the Rihannsu, making life hard for the settlers, but their persistence reaped great rewards in the centuries afterwards.
When the Federation discovered this advanced society in the remote regions of the Beta Quadrant over two centuries ago, they broadcasted messages of peace and friendship to the planet surface, but received no reply. The Starfleet officers aboard the vessel dubbed the planets, Romulus and Remus, after a Terran legend, and left after a cursory survey of the planets. The next time a Federation starship entered the system, they were greeted with primitive weaponry that nonetheless overwhelmed the Federation starship. The Romulans were not just antagonistic, they would not sit at the same table with offworlders, insisting that all interactions be done through subspace communications. The Rihannsu were the most xenophobic and mistrusting race that the Federation had ever known. Brief skirmished flared up constantly, and by 2160, both sides established a light-year wide buffer of space between their boundaries known as the Romulan Neutral Zone.
The Romulan Star Empire expanded through the years mostly through military conquest of nearby worlds. Fallen worlds are tightly controlled through a local government of Romulan overseers. Though the Romulans are passionate in their emotions, they feel nothing for the pain they inflict on so many conquered worlds. Trusting no alien race, the Romulans make it their business to weaken political powers nearby by intensive sabotage and covert efforts. The whole of Romulan society was a study on political intrigue, as a mistep or incriminating word can lead to the mysterious disappearance of the offending person. The Romlans remained isolated and reticent in their territory until the crises of the Borg and Dominion forced them to action. When the Dominion threat extended to the murder of the ambassador who had signed a non-agression pact with them, the pride of the Rihannsu was injured, and a price had to be paid. Though they have not formally joined in the Dominion war fought by Federation/Klingon forces, there is reason to believe the Romulans will join in the struggle for independence soon.
The Romulan government is tricameral in nature, designed to use check and balances to prevent any one segment from seizing power and endangering the system with the Praetorate having the most actual power. It is comprised of both the military High Command members and civilian legion heads, and serves as both the executive branch and judicial branch. Its main duties include the implementation and enforcement of the laws passed by the Senate. At times, the Praetorate may also propose legislation for the Senate to consider. The Praetorate has a final veto on all military decisions passed by the Senate. At the head of the Praetorate is the Fvillha, or Head Praetor, the highest ranking member of the Empire, He has veto power over all decisions, in effect acting as a separate branch of government. The Senate, or Deihu'hrrau, is the legislative body responsible for the proposal and passing of legislation. It is divided into two halves: the Lower Senate to propose and pass legislation, and the Upper Senate strictly to veto legislation.
For the history and profile of the Romulans, see [Romulan] Xenobiology files
Geography
Total Space: 27,000,000,000 LY
Disputes: dispute with Klingon Empire over Klack'D'Kel'Bracht
Planetary Use: Agricultural 1%; Inhabited 9%; Industrial 17%; Unused 74%
People
Population: 625,194,000,000
Species Divisions: Romulan 82%; Other-Humanoid 12%;
Other-Non-Humanoid 8%
Religion: Romulan 48%; other 8%; none 44%
Language: Imperial Romulan, minorites speaking
Vulcan and local languages
Labor Force: 281,588,000,000
Government
Full name: The Romulan Star Empire
Type: Constitutional Monarchy
Administrative Divisions: 69 Provinces; divided into 769 Segments
Independene: 109 A.D. from Vulcan
Constitution: unwritten, partly statutes, partly common law
Legal System: based on pre-reformation Vulcan, no judicial review
of legislative acts
Executive Branch: emperor, praetor, proconsuls
Legislative Branch: unicameral Imperial Senate
Judicial Branch: Imperial High Court
Leaders: Head of State:
Empress T'lel the Fourth;
Head of Government: Praetor Bachrah
Suffrage: restricted to Citizens at age 21; out of all residents,
only 3% are eligiable to vote
Defense Forces: Imperial Guard, Tal Shiar
(Intelligence and Secret Police)
Economy
Overview: A centrally planned economy geared to support of the
military. Efficient replicator-based economy provides almost
all goods. Food and medicine are still agraculturally
produced.
Unemployment Rate: 0%
Budget: 3.21 Trillion Credits (FY 2372); 0.35% military
Industrial Production: growth rate +0.6% (2372)
Industries & Agriculture: large-scale replication, starship/space
station construction, Pharmaceutical and food agriculture,
asteroid mining, antimatter production, deuterium refining
Communications
Spaceways: 49,000 LY charted spacelanes
Spaceports: 97 Major Spaceports, 819 Minor Spaceports,
4210 Space Stations
Merchant Marine: 769 ships, 3411 unmanned cargo drones
Telecommunications: 243,825,660,000 com terminals; 7156
subspace com relays
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