Region

A region is a large geographical area that may be part of a country, sovereign state, nation, or associated with certain people. In many cases a region is represented by a political entity, but it can just as easily refer to a specific geographical region (see Valley of the Sun).

In most cases a region will be part of a greater whole. Thus a large area like the Western Realms, Xian, or Serpente Sea can be broken into smaller regions.

A political region is defined by its government, even if that government is non-centralized as it is in many tribal lands.

A sovereign state is a state with a defined territory on which it exercises internal and external sovereignty, a permanent population, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other sovereign states. It is also normally understood to be a state which is neither dependent on nor subject to any other power or state. While in abstract terms a sovereign state can exist without being recognized by other sovereign states, unrecognized states will often find it hard to exercise full treaty-making powers and engage in diplomatic relations with other sovereign states.

The Kingdom of Dakar, Republic of Irill, and the Turanian Empire are all examples of sovereign states. The sovereign state represents the most advanced political state found in Miranda.

A country is a geographical region. A country may be the territory of a sovereign state, the territory of a non-sovereign (or formerly sovereign) political division, or a region associated with a certain people or certain characteristics. Sometimes it is used to refer both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. It is not uncommon for general information or statistical publications to adopt the wider definition for purposes such as illustration and comparison.

Examples in Miranda include Ak'Turan, Dolmar Protectorship, Lequile, and Thebai. These would represent the vast majority of areas controlled by a single governmental entity.

A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government (for example the inhabitants of a sovereign state) irrespective of their ethnic make-up.

The Blackblood, Vykir, Goth, Free Cities, Three Kingdoms, and Selcaria are all examples of nations. More specifically it can refer to a sub-set of people within a larger entity like Tlad Hith (Carthia) and Blackfist Tribe (Blackblood) all represent a collection of like people within a much larger nation.

A region may be further divided into smaller entities like States, Providences, Districts, and Hundreds depending on the culture in question.

A shire is an administrative division of a country. Shires are controlled by a royal official known as a “shire reeve” or sheriff. Shires can be further sub-divided into hundreds or districts.

A Province is a sub-unit of a nation or country that is overseen by a magistrate, consul, or other functionary of the national government.