## Overview --- The former kingdom of [[Old Elmany|Elmany]] was one united nation for centuries dating back to the founding of the Church of Light in the year 1 AL. But when tensions arose over the spread of [[Hagioism|Orthodox Hagioism]] in the south and the desire for the end of Monarchy, a decision was made to bisect the country. The southern [[Hagioism|Hagioist]] republic whose borders encompass the territory south of the Elman mountains and east of the Voromir River officially became as the [[Transelmany|People's Republic of Transelmany]], while the rest of the country was renamed as the [[Ciselmany|Royal Kingdom of Ciselmany]]. ## Lack of competing claims to 'Elmany' --- The [[History of Transelmany — Foundation & Protracted Rebellion (648-658 AL)|Treaty of Haal]] that formally recognized the existence of [[Transelmany|Transelmany]] after seven years of de facto control in the South stipulated that neither nation would lay claim (de jure) to all of former [[Old Elmany|Elmany]], and this would have to be reflected in nomenclature. In practice however, these names are rarely spoken aloud in casual conversation. Most people in the world refer to the northern kingdom as *Royal Elmany* or just *Elmany* and the southern republic is commonly known as *Basilica Elmany* (for the basilica councils that make up its government) or *Red Elmany* for its maroon drapery. With respect to its people, while *Ciselmans* and *Transelmans* have some specific use as demonyms. *Elmans* is still the overwhelming term to describe people from there. ## Common names --- Official guidance in the south does not endorse the use of *Red Elmany* but *Basilica Elmany* is a formally accepted alternative name to Transelmany. In the north, *Elmany* is still the most commonly used name for the country, with *Royal Elmany* being the most prevalent alternative. In the months before the treaty, there had been a debate over what structure the new state would eventually take. [[Yemisi Fayowa]] preferred a unitary layout, a highly centralized country governed by a ruling council that constituted the highest level of a representative government. Against this, she had always imagined it as a people’s republic-- in contrast to a monarchy, which is why she chose the name during the country’s Proclamation. [[Gordon Alastair]], however, felt that because they didn’t fully control all of South Elmany, it would be a large undertaking to fully unite the country under one system: almost certainly requiring war. An option to avoid that would have been to declare [[Voromiraka]]-held territory as the *Transelman Hagioist Basilica Republic*; which would then enter alongside the other regions not yet controlled by their forces on equal terms as a *Union of Elman Hagioist Republics* (because the other regions had not yet implemented the use of basilicas) each with a right to leave the union. Fayowa liked the idea but preferred not to relinquish either the Elman name or the prospect of territorial unity, believing they would be impossible to recover if lost. Fayowa won the debate, and the ***Transelman People’s Republic*** remained as the country’s official name. In recent years, there was an attempt to revive Alastair’s idea, but updated as the Union of Basilica Hagioist Republics. The reasoning was that the structure of Transelmany, being made up of twelve constituent [[Dioceses of Transelmany|dioceses]] with (very limited) regional autonomy can be understood as a political union of twelve different hagioist republics with power vested in each diocese-wide Basilica. While most Transelmans could learn consider themselves Basilicans, it was viewed as unnecessary.