High Priest of Suner

The High Priest of Suner (Suneri: myɣdr ptkeɣ nfḥet, lit. "High Priest of Khet") is the head of state and the highest ranking religious authority in the Realm of Suner. The High Priest is not only the absolute monarch of Suner, but the head of the Faith of Khet, the official state religion of Suner, followed by over 98% of the country's population. The office of the High Priest is hereditary, and High Priests serve for life once they ascend to the position. The High Priest resides and rules from the Great Temple of Khet in Ephra, commonly known as the Temple of the Fragrant Gardens (pm nfɣnm ptšrk) or simply the Fragrant Gardens. The heirs of the High Priest, chosen by the latter (instead of by order of birth) are known as Prince or Princess of the Fragrant Gardens (neftɣ nfɣnm ptšrk), and must undertake some political duties as well, such as the handling of foreign affairs.

For centuries many dynasties have occupied the post; the current Khakeshratag (Ḥkešrtɣ) dynasty, the 21st dynasty to rule over Suner, has been in power for over two centuries, and is the longest lasting dynasty in the history of Suner. The current High Priest is Khakeshratag IX who came to power after his great-aunt and predecessor Khakeshratag VII died in 982.

The position of the High Priest was born in 13 B.W. with the myɣdr or Priest of Khet in Effra, Sharmpek Emmtaku. For centuries, all the other myɣdr of major cities in the Suneri peninsula paid homage to the Temple at Ephra, considered the holiest city in the faith of Khet, by undergoing periodic pilgrimages every five years. In 13 B.W. during the traditional pilgrimage in the eigth month (tɣep), Sharmpek announced, before all the other myɣdr, he had received a vision from Mkhef, son of Khet, commanding him to unite the Suneri peninsula as the "Land under Khet". As such, he was recognized by the myɣdr of all of Suner as the true leader of the Suneri people, the myɣdr ptkeɣ. Since then the High Priest has been the sole leader of Suner, even during the centuries in which Suner was under the Essonei yoke.

Pre-Unification
The Temple of Khet at Effra, originally built between 493 and 486 B.W. had been protected by the Priest at Effra ever since its creation. The first Priest at Ephra, Dan Nafshir Ptaruk Kar, was the grandson of Dan Nafshir Ptaruk Tagup, prophet of Khet. The Ephra Temple was the first temple of its kind in Suner, being the first temple dedicated solely to the worship of Khet and being built with a noticeable Qomurid architectural influence. As the worship of Khet as the one true god spread across the Suneri peninsula, more and more temples were built in subsequent years in other major cities. By 400 B.W. the city of Ephra was home to over 8 thousand followers of Khet, over 99% of the city's population at the time. In 395 B.W. the Shem of Effra, Pteruk III was deposed by a mob and his palace burned down; the Priest Ptaruk Enkep was declared the new Shem of Ephra. Since then the city was managed as a theocratic city-state, a trend that would soon catch up in other major cities where the faith of Khet had expanded. In 284 B.W. Priest Dan Nafshir Pem Shatup called for the priests at other Khetist temples to do a pilgrimage to Ephra, where the first Great Mass was held. Ever since it became tradition for the priests of other cities to travel to Ephra every five years to celebrate the Great Mass. As the years passed more and more people joined the tradition, becoming a common event among the ever growing followers of Khet.

This started a trend in which the Priest at Ephra held not only the highest religious autority in what became the main religion of the peninsula, but also political power as a theocratic hegemony.

In 149 B.W. at the 27th Great Mass, the Priest at Ephra Men Sakur Ptareh Nek called for the people to revolt against the "false gods and prophets", who "offended the image of the one true god". The remaining temples dedicated to the original Suneri pantheon were burned or turned into temples of Khet, and the non-Khetist minorities remaining in the peninsula, at the time numbered at around 5 thousand, were forced to either convert or flee south. With this, the faith of Khet was declared the one true religion of the Suneri peninsula.

The age of the High Priests
Towards the end of the 1st century B.W. the Suneri peninsula began to see itself under attack by the Murai. In 16 B.W. at the 60th Great Mass, the Priest at Ephra Sharmpek Taku called for a unified Suneri state, stronger and more able to defend itself and the faith from the southern "infidels". He was declared the High Priest of Suner under Khet, and Suner was named the Land under Khet. His dynasty, the Sharmpek (Šrmpek) dynasty, lasted 52 years, and died with his grandson Sharmpek III. Since then, a series of dynasties have ruled from the Temple at Ephra.

When the Essonei invadeded the peninsula in 247 A.W. King Seorem, aware of the stern religiosity of the Suneri, allowed the High Priest to remain the leader of the peninsula. The High Priest became thus the representative of the Essonei in Suner, and the Suneri proved to be much more willing to undergo commands sent from Passai than other territories conquered by the ever expanding empire. As thus, it was said Suner was the favorite colony of the Essonei, and their policies in the peninsula was much more lax than in other colonies.

The current dynasty came into power in 773, when Nafwate Nafkhakeshratag was elected by the Council of Elders at Effra to become High Priest. His dynasty has been the longest-lasting, and remains in power today under Khakeshratag IX.