WIP!
Episcopate and Papate of Hayastan
(Christian Armenia)
Capital: Artashat (Artaxarta)
Form of government: economically and socially liberal to libertarian elective bi-theocracy. It is the "Pope", i.e. the Bishop of Artashat - who resides in the Khor Virap Monastery - who is elected by the people. The unicameral "parliament" consists of Cardinals and Bishops, who have by now formed groups resembling parties. All offices are for life, and a by-election thus occurs only when a Cardinal or Bishop dies (retiring is theoretically possible, but extremely rare).
Independently of this, the Zoroastrian minority elects a parliament which - from their midst - elects a "High Council of Ahura Mazda" consisting of seven people. This High Council, representing the Ahmaraspands, has the same rank as the Pope and in lawmaking and governing the nation, consent between the two bodies is regularly achieved. However, the two parliaments and the two governments could act independently of each other - and this has already happened, for example regarding family legislation - with laws made by the Zoroastrian bodies applying only to Zoroastrians and laws made by the Christian bodies applying only to Christians.
Registred members of other religions do not have the right to vote. While Jews, Buddhists, Hinduists and moderate Manichaeans tend to register as Christians (rarely, some Buddhists or Manichaeans also register Zoroastrians), the Filhos Solos ("Sons of the Sun") are banned and routinely discriminated against.
History: After Armenia had already been Christianised to an extent, the Christian religion was persecuted and largely failed in the Roman Empire. The Parthian Empire at least provided a modicum of protection to Armenia - the only major Christian nation besides Axum during the fourth to sixth century.
In 481, a volcanic eruption (many suspect Baekdu and/or Ilopango, but some have also pointed to a massive eruption of the Kuwae) caused two years without a summer. Rebellions, civil war and invasions by Germanic tribes once again destabilised the Roman Empire - and to make things worse, Lucius (or Lucio) Delgadius saw himself as the "Sun's Son" and "Saviour of the Earth, of Nature and Man". And this religion, they call themselves Filhos Solos (Sons of the Sun), spread fast and wide.
By the 610s, the Filhos Solos once again had stabilised Southern and parts of Central Europe, though they had only united most areas of the former Roman Empire under the Lucian Empire between 627 and 689.
Over the centuries, empires fell and rose. The Parthian Empire, though, despite territorial gains and even major losses, was one of the most stable Empires, lasting into the 1500s and even warding off Mongol/Uyghur invasions - with the help of Armenian soldiers. But then, in 1514, the Parthian Empire fell into civil war and decayed.
Armenia had by this point become established as a sizeable military power of its own right, and even gained control of Ktesiphon in 1527 and Tehran in 1531, but this could not prevent its first complete partition between the Rus', the Mahdavikid Empire and the Filho Solos Athaenid Kingdom in 1626. Renewed independence in 1648 was followed by another partition of Armenia in 1675. This partition lasted over a century, and especially Athaen - now a great power encompassing many lands once Greek-speaking and sometimes likened to the Macedon Empire of Alexander the Great - tried everything to stomp out Christianity. However, 1802 saw a Christian Revolution break out in Armenia: A new, relatively progressive (for that time) Pope was brought to Artashart by the people, dethroning the Athaen administration, and over the next two centuries, Armenia's recognition and territory, for the most part, expanded. Zoroastrian Persia, now under the Khosmoid Dynasty, protected and assisted Armenia in gaining a few select, but valuable, colonial holdings beyond Europe, notably in Kerala and parts of what was once the Empire of Axum.
And with the civil war of the Khosmoid (Persian) Empire, with Filhos Vermelhos (a *communist sect/splinter group/cult among Filhos Solos) uprisings occurring as far east as Bactria and even India, Armenia regained Ktesiphon and majority-Zoroastrian areas like Lorestan and Khozestan in the early 20th century, with Persia never regaining its unity. Armenia today is a sizeable regional great power and - even more notable - one of the very few majority-Christian nations. And due to its constant struggle for freedom and independence, the Armenian people have become a very freedom-loving people, both socially and economically. Armenia is quite a tolerant nation - except for religious matters, though, where only registred Christians and Zoroastrians have suffrage. Jews, Hindus, Buddhists and, more begrudgingly, Manichaens are accepted and can exercise their religion relatively freely (for political participation, they frequently register as Christian though), however, Filhos Solos, Filhos Vermelhos, and several other monotheist splinter groups (of Christianity or Filhos Solos) are openly discriminated against...
National Stadium: Eternal Resurrection Stadium, Trdatakan - Capacity 79,800