Nostra:Circassia
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The Grand Principality of Circassia is a sub-nation (in-game autonomous territory) located in the North Caucasus region in Terra Nostra, part of the nation of Iberia. The princedom is modeled after the historical country of Circassia and was founded to build their homeland in the game, though over time members of other ethnicities also joined them.
History
The Idea for Circassia
Chat records dating back to 2022 confirm that the initial concept for a Circassian nation in the EarthMC Minecraft server was discussed by players of Circassian origin. However, these early plans were never fully realized. For the most part, historical Circassian territories on the server were consistently occupied by random players with no connection to Circassia, a fact known to players who would go on to create the Circassian subnation years later. Fragmented archive data from older server iterations confirms that a town named "Circassia" did briefly exist at one point. However, this early settlement played no significant geopolitical role, and its ultimate fate remains unrecorded.
In 2025, the concept of establishing a legitimate Circassian nation was revived, however at the time they considered the project practically impossible to execute, viewing it as a dream. Everything changed with the launch of the Terra Nostra 2026 iteration, as once the news broke that the map has been reset, the Circassians planned to join and build Circassia. The Circassians logged in at May 2026 and started working for the town of Circassia, which would later evolve into a large sub-nation.
The Swim and Early Settlement
Circassia was first founded as a town. What is now the capital of Circassia, Anapa, was the original town; once Circassia achieved the status of a multi-town sub-nation, it was renamed from Circassia to Anapa. The founders, including Hatuqay (formerly known as Patli) and Bjedugh, initially intended to build the town near the Kuban River near the IRL Adygea region. However, this territory was already occupied by another town.The founders decided to change their strategy and chose the Taman peninsula as a possible location. Lacking the gold to establish a new town, Hatuqay contacted leaders from the nations of Georgia and Iberia, assuming both of them to be led by IRL Georgians, who were the only other Caucasians in the game at the time. The leaders of the nation of Georgia were unresponsive. Iberia responded positively and invited him to their territory. The founders Hatuqay and Bjedugh received a plot in the Iberian town of Venakhi, located in Azerbaijan, where they built a temporary embassy and received enchanted diamond gear to start them off.
The founders collected gold through daily server voting and mining. Eventually others like Lip finally joined and helped. Deals between nations at the time placed the entire North Caucasus under the claim of the Soviet Union, so the founders negotiated with the central Soviet leadership in Moscow and agreed to establish their town under the Soviet Union temporarily. To avoid detection in the map, Hatuqay and Lip swam underwater across the entire Black Sea from the coast of Georgia to the Taman Peninsula. During their swim, they managed to avoid PvP hunters targeting new players. They passed the small town of VigNation along the route, which they liked for its simple architecture.
Soviet Era
The town named "Circassia" was established on the 16th of June 2026 by Hatuqay, and Lip was the first other member. The town instantly joined the Soviet Union and developed basic infrastructure, including houses and a government building built by Bjedugh and Hatuqay, as well as an underground cave base settled by Lip.
During this era, the Byzantine Empire established a neighboring outpost named Colchis next to Circassia, with the stated intention to establish a colony, implying future expansion. The Byzantine Empire eventually abandoned Colchis, and Circassia annexed the ruined outpost. Circassia also annexed the friendly town of VigNation after its owner became inactive, and preserved its builds. During this time, many others joined the town.
Joining Iberia
The residents of Iberia and Circassia had a friendly relationship at this point. Over time, the leaders of Circassia realized that the Soviet capital of Moscow was simply too far away, and too uninvolved in the region. In the 27th of July, the town left the Soviet Union on good terms and officially joined Iberia. Iberia was at war with Georgia, thus putting the town of Circassia in war with Georgia as well. Some Georgian players attacked Circassia from time to time and even managed to kill a citizen.
After a while, the Crimean Khanate, which originated in Ukraine, was formed near the town's borders. They bought the neighboring town of Sochi, which was established and put up for sale by another player days prior. Circassia attempted to purchase Sochi due to its real life historical significance as a region of Circassia, but they lacked sufficient funds at this time.
While collecting wood, a town member was ambushed by hostile players using invisibility potions and bows. Assuming the enemy to be Georgians, town mayor decided to mount a counter-offensive to take revenge and fight for their nation. Despite not being a good PVPer, he decided to try his luck and purchased some cheap combat gear and potions and started patrolling the Caucasus. Tracking a Georgian target in a Georgian outpost located in southern Azerbaijan, he launched an attack. The operation was a success; yielding three kills.
Second Town and sub-nation Status
Circassian players established positive relations with the newly formed Crimean Khanate. The Khanate was founded by a Turkish player who rior to founding the Khanate had established the town of Sochi, spending over 1700 gold for claims. He subsequently gave the town to a Turkish player to cover a 1500 gold debt from earlier. The investor intended to flip the town for profit, setting the price at 2000 gold. On August 24, following negotiations, Hatuqay acquired Sochi for 850 gold, while half of it was paid by another player who became the mayor. This purchase was considered an economic win by Circassian players, as manually claiming the region would have cost Circassia over 1700 gold.
Following the acquisition on August 24, Sochi was immediately renamed to "Tuapse-Circassia". Simultaneously, the original town of Circassia was renamed to "Anapa-Circassia". This restructuring transitioned Circassia from a single town into a multi-town entity. The mayorship of Tuapse was given to a major Anapa player by Hatuqay.
On August 25, Circassia officially achieved sub-nation status within the Kingdom of Iberia, while mayor Hatuqay was declared the Grand Prince of Circassia. This political elevation was formalized through a treaty:
- Article I: The leader of Circassia pledges fealty to the King of Iberia and receives a formal royal title.
- Article II: Circassia retains self-governance to choose its leadership, who serve as the sole representatives in official channels.
- Article III: Circassian territorial claims align with Iberia; any unauthorized towns built within these borders will be investigated.
- Article IV: Circassia operates under Crown Protectorate, with the Royal Guard managing defense upon request from Circassian leadership.
- Article V: Iberia handles all foreign diplomacy while keeping Circassian leadership updated on relevant international affairs.
Overhauling of Anapa
Following a discussion with other members of the Iberian nation, Circassia's leaders finalized their plans for the newly renamed town of Anapa's future. They decided completely destroy the existing, organically built village and rebuild it entirely from scratch as a planned, well-designed city. Citizens traveled to various cities all around the world, traversing manually or utilizing teleportation for extreme distances, such as visiting the Americas. They took notes and studied the layouts of these global cities, gathering inspiration for the future city.
To fund the planned city rebuild, Circassia established the Circassian Mining Corps and launched an underwater mining operation. By utilizing the Nether to travel immense distances, the miners accessed completely isolated, previously untouched caverns. Simultaneously, the town formed the Exploration Corps. This group embarked on long-distance expeditions to the extreme corners of the world and various exotic locations. Upon reaching these distant milestones, the Corps established a tradition of leaving signed markers to permanently document Circassia's presence across the globe.
To build the new planned city, the original village was leveled using TNT and fire. Salvaged materials were securely stored, and blueprints for the new city were finalized. Following the demolition, construction began on the city's first plots, which coincided with the arrival of Circassia's first new citizens.
Long-term infrastructure planning also began, including a grand metro line intended to connect Anapa-Circassia and Tuapse-Circassia to inland regions of the nation such as Poti, and extending further into the Crimean Peninsula. Production capacity was heavily expanded with the construction of dedicated sugarcane and leather megafarms. This output supplied a new network of Circassian-owned shops worldwide. Economic ties were established with the African town of Osogbo, where Circassia acquired property and opened a dedicated storefront.
Additionally, Circassian traders executed a highly profitable market manipulation during the server's "Moon Update". Traders bought large quantities of nether stars the moment the update was announced and resold them during peak demand. The inventory sold out completely, yielding an immense profit and further securing Circassia's economic strength.
Major Expansions
Using the money acquired from the Moon update, Circassia expanded its territory with the founding of a third town, Abzakh-Circassia. The mayorship of this new settlement was granted to Lip. The sub-nation's expansion continued eastward into the historical Kabardia region, also known as Eastern Circassia, with the establishment of its fourth town, Khabez-Circassia. The eastward expansion of the sub-nation into the Kabardia region was driven by strategy: Georgia had begun acquiring territory near the Kabardia region. Their methods included founding new settlements, utilizing the controversial town-sniping tactic, and, in one notable instance, purchasing a town from an Iberian mayor who sold the land to Georgian forces. During this phase of expansion, an official naming convention was implemented across the entire sub-nation. All settlements were restructured to place the local name before the sub-nation identifier, standardizing the territories as Anapa-Circassia, Tuapse-Circassia, Abzakh-Circassia, and Khabez-Circassia. Shortly after, a fifth town, Terek-Circassia, was founded further to the east by a rogue mayor without the Grand Prince's permission, despite being nowhere near the real-life Terek region, which is further east.
A successful recruitment drive brought a large influx of Circassian Minecraft players to the server. These new citizens quickly began claiming plots and constructing homes, bringing significant activity even before major infrastructure was completed. At this point Circassia started finalizing a standardized, high-quality road design that was to be implemented uniformly across all Circassian towns.
Hostilities with Georgia persisted, characterized by the aggressive behavior of some Georgian players. Tensions culminated in a major border standoff between Iberian forces, which included members of Circassia, and Georgian players across two adjacent towns. While no physical combat occurred, the factions engaged in a lengthy exchange of banter via chat. This is when Circassian players noticed that the Georgian forces were deeply fractured. Observations revealed infighting and arguing among some of the Georgian players. In one notable incident, a group of Georgian raiders entered Circassian territory attempting to annoy the residents by throwing items, drinking potions and demanding fights in the chat. The Circassian citizens ignored the provocation, which eventually resulted in the raiders leaving. The harassment was later temporarily halted when he was engaged and defeated in combat by a citizen of the broader Iberian nation.
Alongside established revenue streams such as trade, animal husbandry, and scavenging collapsed towns, Circassia expanded its domestic economy by introducing beekeeping and honey production. This roleplay-focused initiative successfully recreated the historical economy of real-life Circassia. Urban development also progressed steadily. Planners officially cleared the necessary space for the construction of the new city center. Even before the central district was completed, a new wave of residents arrived and proactively began constructing their own houses. Simultaneously, engineers drafted new plans for the national metro and subway systems to improve connectivity.
In a diplomatic move, Circassia formalized a friendship treaty with the Crimean Khanate, a sub-nation of Ukraine. The treaty was drafted after the Grand Prince of Circassia and the Khan of Crimea held a discussion. This treaty solidified their positive relationship and committed both entities to long-term peace and collaboration on common regional projects. Meanwhile, military vigilance remained a high priority on the eastern borders. When a Georgian scout was discovered snooping around the Circassian towns of Terek and Khabez, defensive forces engaged and eliminated the trespasser, maintaining the security of the Kabardia expansion.
Minor Setbacks and the Mosque
The towns of Tuapse and Terek enacted surprise move and seceded from Circassia. Despite Tuapse having been purchased directly with Circassian funds, both settlements completely severed ties with the sub-nation, although they had to remain under the overarching banner of the Iberian nation: joining enemy Georgia was an impossibility, and diplomatic deals between Iberia and its other neighbors prevented each other from accepting towns in each other's territory. The secedding mayors subsequently renamed the territories; Tuapse was renamed to "Suayp", while Terek was rebranded as "Kyzyl-Yurt", however the town was nowhere near real-life Kyzyl-Yurt, which is much further east.
Circassian leadership rejected this secession and officially refused to recognize the departure of the towns, formally designating both Suayp and Kyzyl-Yurt as illegally occupied territories, though they remained technically allied within Iberia. Despite the act, Circassia's core power remained mostly unaffected. The territory of Tuapse was never part of the original strategic expansion plan; it had only been acquired because an opportunistic purchase arose. Furthermore, Terek had initially been founded without any official authorization from Circassian leadership. To quarantine the capital from the settlement of Suayp, construction began on a giant border wall. This barrier was designed to eventually encircle the entirety of Anapa-Circassia.
After acquiring large quantities of necessary materials, construction officially began on a giant national mosque in Anapa. The grand structure was formally named the Tughuzhuqo Qizbech Mosque, honoring the historical Circassian hero.
Success of the Grand Metro
Underground, the highly anticipated grand metro project saw major progress. Extensive excavation efforts reached a depth of Y-level -40, and dedicated elevators were built to transport citizens down to the subterranean transit hub. After discussions with the leaders of Ukrainian and Turkish metro projects, as well as wih Iberian leadership, planning for the central station officially commenced. The metro system was designed to utilize advanced ice boat technology, guaranteeing ultra-fast travel.
The capital of Anapa experienced a population boom, securing more than ten new residents in a span of just two days. Territorial growth continued unabated as the expansion of Khabez was officially completed. Furthermore, preliminary plans for the foundation of an entirely new town were set in motion. To support this growth, Circassia maintained a welfare policy, freely distributing building materials and diamonds to incoming players based on their chosen professions. While this policy was costly, leadership committed to it despite known exploitation risks. Individuals who exploited the system by immediately leaving for other towns after receiving free gear were swiftly outlawed. Beyond internal growth, Circassian players sometimes engaged in hostilities with neighboring Georgian territories. Some raids resulted in significant amounts of dropped loot and gold for the Circassian treasury.
The highly anticipated subterranean ice-boat metro proved to be a huge project. To supply the necessary materials, the Circassian mining corps spent grueling hours in the earth's coldest regions harvesting raw ice. This was painstakingly compressed into blue ice, the fastest and most expensive ice variant available, to guarantee ultra-fast transit. The tunnel excavation was an incredibly daunting task. At one point, a mercenary was hired and promised handsome compensation to expedite the digging. However, the sheer scale of the project caused the worker to quit mid-job, refusing the gold payment entirely. Consequently, the excavation was completed 100% by Circassian citizens with minimal outside assistance.
The completed blue-ice line successfully connected Anapa to Crimea (Ukraine) and Turkey. This connection established one of the longest continuous metro lines on the server, a scale of single-line infrastructure virtually non-existent even in Iberia proper. Travel between Crimea and Circassia was reduced to mere minutes, bringing a heavy influx of Ukrainian tourists to Anapa to view cultural landmarks like the Tughuzhuqo Qizbech Mosque. Simultaneously, a mysterious railway was discovered cutting through the Caucasus Mountains and ending abruptly. Recognizing a strategic opportunity, Circassian leadership opened negotiations with Soviet representatives to construct a transfer switch-station, aiming to seamlessly link the Circassian metro with the broader Soviet rail network. During this time, the mayor of Suayp covered the Circassian flag and castle walls in dirt, so the castle was demolished.
Fueled by large gold reserves, the administration implemented a structured urban planning doctrine. To accommodate the influx of new residents, an official "interior architecture" team was established. Because many new players lacked building experience, resulting in unsightly initial structures, this specialized team was tasked with freely redesigning and upgrading civilian homes to match the city's refined aesthetic standards. To maintain urban density and efficiency, the city instituted a strict repossession policy: if a player abandoned the game or became permanently inactive, their property was seized and reallocated to active citizens.
Circassia's population boom was not accidental, but the result of a highly orchestrated and partially classified recruitment strategy. With a highly efficient onboarding method targeting first-time players, Circassia routinely secured up to five new residents a day, limited only by the recruiters' own time and commitment. Acknowledging that their leadership consisted of players with commitments such as jobs, college, and families, Circassia, rarely from time to time, also hired mercenaries from opposing timezones. Paid an honest, minimal wage, these recruiters actively sourced new citizens while the Circassian leadership was inactive. To protect its growing population and maintain economic integrity, Circassia established a dedicated Anti-Scam Department. Agents actively investigated server scams, confronting known scammers.
Building upon the success of the blue-ice metro line connecting Ukraine and Turkey, the Circassian government announced a master infrastructure plan: every Circassian city would eventually receive its own dedicated metro station, while excavation toward Poti started During this time, a new town, Maykop, was also established.
In Khabez, citizens constructed a mapart platform. This canvas was used to build a Circassian flag mapart. Upon its completion, citizens were able to mass-produce and place in-game map items displaying the Circassian flag across the region's homes, streets, and government buildings.
Soon, the metro line connecting the network to Abzakh was officially completed. Shortly after the founding of Maykop, its respective subway connection was also successfully finished and opened for transit. Furthermore, the extensive subterranean lines connecting to Khabez and the Iberian transit hub of Poti were completed.
UPDATED 11.10.2026
Towns
Anapa (in game: Anapa-Circassia)
Established 16th of June 2026. 23 Residents. 200 chunks.
Abzakh (in game: Abzakh-Circassia)
Established 2nd of September 2026. 1 Resident. 77 chunks.
Khabez (in game: Khabez-Circassia)
Established 12th of September 2026. 1 Resident. 112 chunks.
Maykop (in game: Maykop-Circassia)
Established 10th of October 2026. 1 Resident. 36 chunks.
Government and Culture
Many members prefer manual exploration over teleportation, because it is more fun. Some residents often travel on horseback across the Eurasian Steppe and further, visiting regions including the Balkans, Kazakhstan, Samarkand, Astrakhan, Dagestan, and as far as Siberia. Because members carry basic gear in these campaigns, they suffer zero financial loss when killed by heavily armed players. During these expeditions, members scavenge unique biomes and abandoned towns for loot, rare animals, and abandoned town banners as trophies. Circassia utilizes the Nether for long distance travel. Members study the Nether to build/master secret tunnels. Sometimes, members ride on horseback to neighboring settlements to deliver small gifts, maintain positive relations, and invite other towns to join their nation. The sub-nation maintains positive relations with most neighbors, with the strict exception of toxic players.
Despite operating under the banner of the Kingdom of Iberia, a nation widely recognized for its formidable PvP capabilities, Circassia maintains a distinct cultural identity. The sub-nation is not PvP-focused, prioritizing development, roleplay, community building and economic growth instead. However, Circassia remains a loyal constituent of the crown, supporting the Iberian army and the broader national war effort. Internally, Circassia adopted a zero-tolerance policy regarding security and law enforcement. The government systematically outlawed all known scammers, criminals, toxic players, and major figures from enemy nations. Furthermore, Circassia universally honored the ban lists of the overarching Iberian nation and its fellow allied towns. The sheer volume of outlawed individuals grew so vast that it evolved into a meme, with citizens joking that Circassia was attempting to set the server's "outlaw world record."
(Some names have been shortened or replaced with names that sound similar, while some names have not been given at all, to protect privacy and block them from appearing on google searches.)