Government had suffered the loss of the Western and Southern Territories to the Brigade and Squadron respectively over the centuries. Raj Whitehall believes that the Civil Government is the legitimate ruler of all Bellevue. Residents of the Civil Government speak Sponglish, a mangled version of Spanish and English which apparently is descended primarily from Mexican Spanish. This state is modeled on the Byzantine Empire. The Colony Nation established by Islamic/Arab settlers; technologically second only to the Civil Government. The Colonists were the first to arrive on planet Bellevue during the Last Jihad, bearing a fragment of the Kaaba from, as the books describe, "burning Mecca." The Colonist capital of Al Kebir is the oldest city in the planet. The Colony ruler is The Settler, and, as in the Civil Government, the right to the throne is settled either by hereditary inheritance or civil war, the latter usually a result of a dispute among multiple heirs to the throne. Those who are not whole in body (i.e. missing a limb or other body part) are ineligible to claim the throne, which is why Tewfik ibn'Jamal cannot become Settler: he lost an eye in the Zanj campaigns. Residents of the Colony speak Arabic. This state is modeled on the Sassanid Empire of Belisarius's time. Other Muslims also exist; Abdullah Al'aziz is a Druze whose life and family are saved by Suzette Whitehall, and who repays her by serving as her chief spy. The Brigade/Brigaderos Barbarian Military Government established by the descendants of the 591st Provisional Brigade; the most technologically advanced of the Military Governments. The Brigade, having moved from south their original lands, referred to as the "Base Area", has ruled the former Civil Government Western Territories for six hundred years. All male members of the Brigade are referred to as "Unit Brothers". The ruling or noble class of the Brigade (referred to as "brazazz" or "brass ass") bear titles that refer to the Brigade's former military organization based on officer ranks, such as "Hereditary Captain" or "Hereditary Colonel." The Brigade is ruled by hereditary king with the title of "General of the Brigade". The General may be disposed by impeachment if called for and voted on by the members of noble class at an assembly at arms. The Brigade, unlike the Squadron, maintains a standing army with a system of compulsory service, as well as requiring nobles to contribute household troops