Harram

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Harram
Harram (Portuguese)
حران (Arabic)
Principality of Harram
Flag of Harram
Flag
Official seal of Harram
Seal
Motto
"Bayn Ealimin"
Anthem: "Alhamlat Alssalibia"
Sovereign stateEbenthal
Indep. from Brazil01 January 2009
Harranian Civil WarFebruary 2015
Harranian Revolution02 June 2021
Treaty of Santiago25 December 2021
Bruyn Restoration4 August 2022
Annexation by Ebenthal17 September 2023
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2021)
68% Arab
22% Portuguese
7% Black
3% Other
Religion
80% Maronite Church
15% Islam
5% Spiritism
Demonym(s)Harranian
GovernmentUnitary absolute monarchy
• Sultan
Hassan III
LegislatureAuxilary Council
National representation
1 MP (of 15)
Area
• Total
0.2 km2 (0.077 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate
7 (active citizens)
• Census
20 (inhabitants)
GDP (nominal)2022 estimate
• Total
Steady No calculation available
• Per capita
Steady No calculation available
CurrencyKupfermark (𝒦ℳ) (EBK)
Time zoneUTC−03:00
 • Summer (DST)
UTC−02:00
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy (CE)
Driving sideright
Calling code+55
Internet TLD.eb
Usual abbreviationHR

Harram, officially the Principality of Harram (Portuguese: Sultanato de Harram; Arabic: إمارة الحرام, romanized: Iimarat Al-Haram) is one of the two autonomous regions of Ebenthal. It is a city-state composed of a single enclave within the Brazilian coastal city of Niterói, in eastern South America. The region encompass a 0.2km² (0.07 sq mi) village and jungle with 20 inhabitants. Its official languages are Portuguese and Lebanese Arabic, both of which are widely used in day-to-day affairs, although Portuguese is predominant, while Arabic is more spoken by older people. Harram was founded as an autocratic absolute monarchy, and inherited this form of government from the predecessor sovereign state when incorporated into Ebenthal.

The territory claimed and administrated by the Government of Harram had been theorically inhabited by indigenous peoples, of which the most known are the Tupinambás, for 11.000 years, although there have been reportedly no settlement in the precise modern Harranian lands. In turn, following the Portuguese discovering Brazil in the late 15th century, that region was subsequently settled with the creation of the municipality of Niterói within what was then the State of Brazil, a part of the Portuguese Empire. With the independence and formation of Empire of Brazil in 1822, the Imperial Government began an immigration campaign of Maronite Christians from Syria and Lebanon, which began in 1875 and ended around the 1930s. In 1925 Nakhoul Harram, the patriarch of the Harram Family, left Lebanon for Brazil, fleeing the chaos which ensued the fall of the Ottoman Empire, and settled with his family into a Portuguese villaged in Niterói. In 1952 Nakhoul's son, Adib, acquired the villa and reformed it into an eccletic style mixing Portuguese and Arabic features, and villa became exclusive for members of the Harram family to live in a close community, coming to be called "Villa Harram". Finally, in 2009, Elias Harram, Nakhoul's great-grandson, proclaimed his family's village as a fully sovereign microstate, independent from the surrounding Brazil. Despite the initial peaceful settlement of political affairs, 2015 became known as "The Year of the Three Sultans"; Elias, who had assumed the name of Hassan I, abdicated and was succeeded by Hassan II, who suddendly abdicated after two months in favor of Omar I. This ignited a series of conflicts which culminated into the Harranian civil war, a period of two years during which four sultans reigned and were overthrew. The conflict finally came to an end that same year with the ascension of Vinícius Harram as Sultan Omar V in 2016. The reign of Omar V saw the heyday of Harram until 2018 and, thereafter, the decline of government activities into inactivity.

In 2 June 2021, a coup d'état was staged by Karnia-Ruthenia and Ebenthal aiming to revive the micronation as part of the CS Incentive to Secessionist Micronationalism Program. Sultan Omar V was formally deposed and, following an agreement with him, Prince John of Ebenthal was proclaimed Sultan of Harram and adopted the name of Hassan III, after the country's first two sultans who consolidate the sultanate. This put and end in the 12-years rule of the House of Harram over the country which carried its name. As Harram organized its new government, the country was expected to join the Conference of Santiago, what happened after the comrpomises settled by the signature of the Memorandum of Paradiestal. However, on 8 August 2021, after the lack of activity, Hassan III was deposed by the to-become Pact of Malmünd. The Brazilian-born micronationalist and former Emir of Takia, Filip Al Fradiq, was then enthroned as Hassan IV and kept the compromises of his antecessor, acting firmly on the progress of Harram. However, after nearly an exact year of reign, Hassan IV decided to abdicate the throne of Harram in order to pursue new particular endeavors. Leaving the throne of Harram vacant, the former and deposed Sultan Hassan III was reinstated by the government of Ebenthal. In order to mark this transition, the country adopted new symbols and underwent slightly decentralizing structural changes, initiating a possible transition from Harram to a more democratic hybrid regime. Nonetheless, this transition was never accomplished and, in 17 September 2023, the governments of Ebenthal and Harram signed the Treaty of Barcas by which the sultanate was incorporated into Ebenthal as a special autonomous region. The Sultan had his title demoted to Prince but remained in office.

Etymology

The name Harram in Turkish derivate from the name of one of the brothers of the biblical patriarch mentioned in the Book of Genesis, but who would have died young when his father, Terah, was still in Ur of the Chaldees. The micronation was named after the surname of the founder, Elias Harram, regarding the similarity with the city of Harran,[1] place of origin of the founders, on the Turkish border with Syria. The name was also easy to speak by the Portuguese-speaking population and then, an absolutist sultanate in the Ottoman molds was created.

References

  1. Tahir Sezen, Osmanlı Yer Adları (Alfabetik Sırayla), T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü, Yayın Nu 21, Ankara, p. 223.