It is no secret that the Earth Kingdom is one the most vast nation in the world; Taking up at least 40% of the total mass just by itself! Built of dozens occupying states, the Earth Kingdom has many delegates that all answer to the Earth King, acting as governing representatives to their fractions of the kingdom.
The people of the Earth Kingdom are proud and strong and adhere to a philosophy of peaceful coexistence and cooperation with the other nations of the world. Tradition and consistency has provided the Earth Kingdom with much stability since the Hundred Year War. Many of the provinces that were in chaos from previous rule stabilized and their revenues prospered. Much of their capital gain is from Agriculture and Artisans residing in the states.
The Earth Kingdom is characterized by significant ethnic and cultural diversity, a consequence of the country's vast territorial expanse. As a result, it suffers from high levels of local autonomy and ethnic conflict, both of which began accelerating as the central government grew weak. Despite this division, the people's recognition of the Earth Kingdom as a single political entity is largely strengthened through the communal belief in a shared history and identity.
In the heart of the Earth Kingdom, lies its great capital, -- Ba Sing Se.
Ba Sing Se is the capital of the Earth Kingdom as well as one of its constituent states encompassing a large portion of the nation's northeastern corner. The city is by far the largest in the World, essentially being more of a small country than a mere city. As a testament to its grandeur, the Earth Kingdom's roadway network is centered on the city.
Ba Sing Se means "Impenetrable City"; it is named for its world-famous walls, the gates of which have no hinges or other hardware and are opened by the use of earthbending. Within the Outer Wall lies a large expanse of farmland, Lake Laogai, and several mountains. The Inner Wall encloses the city itself. The metropolis is also notable for having a unique system of walls dividing the populace into different parts of the city.
Early in its history, Ba Sing Se was a small subterranean city carved out of rocks by earthbenders. As the benders excavated further, they came across beautiful luminous crystals and began to mine them. The crystals currently serve as a common light source for Earth Kingdom inhabitants. Eventually, as the metropolis' expansion reached the surface, the catacombs were abandoned. The city continued to grow and eventually became the capital of the newly unified Earth Kingdom.
Ba Sing Se is a culture rich environment, built on strength of tradition. As such, their architecture has developed little in the last millennia, as such --the architecture of Ba Sing Se is slightly different from standard Earth Kingdom designs.
The majority of the buildings are made of stone, with wood supports and plaster covering the outside. The color of roofing tiles on buildings indicate their prestige and vary by ring – Lower Ring buildings have black or dark green tiles, Middle Ring buildings have vibrant green, and the Upper Ring nobility uses yellow tiles as a sign of class.
Earth Kingdom symbols are often placed on gates, government buildings, and military sites. Roads in the Middle and Upper rings are made of flagstones, while the Lower Ring has muddy dirt paths for most of its streets and alleys. The citizens of Ba Sing Se sport considerably more color variation in their clothing than citizens from other locations—blues, turquoises, browns, and golds can all be seen among the aristocracy, while the lower class usually wears browns, greens, and off-whites, although other colors can be seen.
For generations the monarch has been working to close the social gap between the Rings of Ba Sing Se; meaning that the lower ring is still a constant area for improvement for stability. In current Earth King rule, the lower rings have seen a drop in crime rate with the new additions and supply of commodities.
A great success to improvement to the lower ring is indebted to the rail system that was built throughout the city as a travelable network, allowing not only goods and perishables to reach destinations quicker, but also militarized efforts in case of chaos.
After the hundred year war, the provinces were in a state of chaos and anarchy, and revenue of the capital was growing thin. It was Earth King Hui II that finally brought stability to the nation by providing work to many of the citizens in the city, allowing them safe travel to the other states and paying them to reprospect the land for not only food but other essentials.
With the amount of land that makes up the Earth Kingdom, the amount of military needed to keep the peace should come to no surprise. Thousands of soldiers are trained for the capital alone, not to mention more to protect the other strongholds or in some cases, some of the provinces.
In his rule, King Hui II proclaimed that the city states would provide their own military power, however that they would be welcome to pay the capital a sum of gold for support. This provided a healthy balance, as it brought gold into the capital without having to raise taxes, and it provided jobs for many many young men in the city.
After nearly 400 years, this tradition has been kept by the current monarch, as it gives the autonomous provinces a sense of security. But because of the varying need for soldiers, the desire for recruits fluctuates heavily.
PAST AND CURRENT MONARCH
- Due to the Hundred Year War, and the anarchy that ensued upon Princess Azula's coup d'etat, records of any monarch's prior to the fall of Ozai are lost. Because of this Earth King Kuei is referred to as the First Earth King as a symbol of the new monarchy built after the death of Ozai. --He declared that the government of the Kingdom was ruled by the monarch personally.
- 1st Earth King Kuei Peng: Ruled from 0AOD - 64AOD
- 2nd Earth Queen Hou-Ting Peng: Ruled from 64AOD - 90AOD
- 3rd Earth King Hui Peng I: Ruled from 90AOD - 143AOD
- 4th Earth King Hui Peng II: Ruled from 143AOD - 191 AOD
- 5th Earth Queen Xangh Peng: Ruled from 191AOD - 243AOD
- 6th Earth King Kuei Peng II: Ruled from 243AOD - 331 AOD
- 7th Earth King Lee Feng Peng:Ruled from 331AOD - 382 AOD
- 8th Earth King Geun-Tae Peng: Ruled from 382 AOD - current