The Earth Kingdom is one of the world's four nations in Avatar: The Last Airbender franchise. Spanning most of a continent as well as several subsidiary islands, it is the largest and most populated sovereignty in the world and encompasses much of the eastern hemisphere. The kingdom operates as a monarchy under the rule of a single Earth Monarch, although the power of its rulers has historically greatly fluctuated.
Some of the benders of the Earth Kingdom developed Earthbending, having learned it from the Badgermoles.
As of book four of Legend of Korra, King Wu announced he was abdicating from the throne and planning to turn the Earth Kingdom into a democracy.
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Government[]
The Earth Kingdom is a confederate semi-constitutional Monarchy ruled by the Earth monarch, usually stylized as the Earth King or Earth Queen. The monarch is assisted by the Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se, ministers, and the extensive bureaucracy of Ba Sing Se, while the Royal Earthbender Guards traditionally have served as personal protectors and enforcers for the Earth Kings and Queens. By the time of Avatar Kyoshi, the Earth Sages were also crucial for the daily governance of the country.
It has regional and central governments, with the former one administrating territories outside the capital of Ba Sing Se. For local governments, there were at least figure two states divided to different forms. They also had various subnational kingdoms, provinces, prefectures, and semi-autonomous city-states. These are led by subnational monarchs, governors, prefects, chief magistrates, magistrates, or mayors (such as the Mayor of Suki's village, who ultimately decide how they see fit. In general, the Earth Kingdom was interwoven militarily, but bureaucratically little influence was often exerted upon the constituent towns and regions by the imperial government, especially outside of the major cities.
By the time of The Hundred Year War, the Earth King was merely a figure head and ruled by a Grand Secretariat of Ba Sing Se, when the Secretariat was supposed to be the one helping him.
As of The Legend of Korra, Price Wu announced that he planned to end the Earth Kingdom and transit it into a democracy.
Military[]
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The Earth Kingdom has the second largest militia groups in all the formations. The greatest military group was the kingdom of Ba Sing Se, with the navy being second to the Fire Nation's naval forces. The navy was deployed to combat the increasing number of pirates in the Eastern Sea during the 4th and 3rd centuries BG. However, the navy was destroyed by the Fifth Nation pirates in a major naval battle between 305 and 296 BG. Despite this setback, the navy was eventually rebuilt. By the time of the Hundred Year War, the Earth Kingdom's navy was significantly weaker compared to that of the Fire Nation. Zhao was promoted to commander after defeating an Earth Kingdom vessel in battle. The Earth Kingdom ship transported Captain Boqin and some of his troops during operations in the Mo Ce Sea. The Navy was also deployed by Dai Liv in search of Team Avatar shortly after they escaped from Lake Laogi. The navy was supposed to receive orders from General How to invade the Fire Nation during the Day of the Black Sun. However, the city fell to Azula and her forces.
The Earth King Kuei and the Council of Five had the highest authority in the Earth Kingdom military and oversaw the country's entire war effort against the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War. Near the end of the War, the Council was led by General How, the commanding officer of the military, and among the Council members was General Sung, who defended Ba Sing Se's Outer Wall from attack. The Council also controls the Earth Monarch's Royal Earthbender Guards.
Law Enforcement[]
The Earth Kingdom lacks a unified legal code, and its law enforcement is highly decentralized, with several different law enforcement agencies existing parallel to each other. By Avatar Kyoshi's time, there existed provincial police units which were organized by local authorities, Mogwai vigilante-mercenaries, the peace officers of Ba Sing Se, and the Dai Li. The Dai Li have acted as special secret police from their creation by Kyoshi until their treason during the Great War, and later under Earth Queen Hou-Ting.
Crime has traditionally been a massive problem for the Earth Kingdom, and the police was barely present in many regions. Law enforcement was often left to local authorities and the military, but neither of them succeeded in effectively curbing crime. The already problematic situation became even worse in times of crisis such as the Hundred Year War, when thieves robbed refugees, peasants and many inhabitants of Ba Sing Se had to turn to crime for survival due to the extreme nature of poverty there.[1]
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References[]
- ↑ "City of Walls and Secrets". Avatar: The Last Airbender. Season 2. Episode 14. Nickelodeon
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Gen I: Aang (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Appa (Netflix) • Katara (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Momo (Netflix) • Sokka (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Zuko (The Last Airbender - Netflix) • Suki (Netflix) • Toph Beifong Avatars Order of the White Lotus Air Nomads Earth Kingdom Fire Nation Water Tribe Spirits Other | ||