Tab

Tabs were major social corporations of the Sarapeans in the 1st millennium. In a way parallel to chongchok in Serony, tabs grew from the expansion of tribes and clans in the aristocracy of the Golon Empire through the spread of cadet branches and adopting members (which became a major part of admitting new elites in Arpalism). The specialization or predominance of certain clans in certain regions or parts of administration led to an association of clan and then tab identity with those roles rather than lineage (diluted by adoptees anyway). After the disintegration of the Golon in the First Hierocaust, this caused tabs to turn into separate estates of society with particularized responsibilities: the Parus for example served as self-sustaining monastic warriors and mercenaries. The system of tabs as estates or classes was regimented more firmly in the conflicts in Sarapean polities after the Second Hierocaust, which caused groups like the Parus to be expelled from most states (for claiming positions in other areas out of their nominal purview, mainly revenue collection, to sustain their activities), and establish their own exclusive orders. By the time of the Dronma Empire it turned mostly into a caste system, as the tabs' right to represent themselves was revoked, and after its collapse the restoration of tab corporations remained limited and sparked many political conflicts. In Paru-ruled Sonmough other tabs were dismantled in favor of negotiable allegiances with Parus as aristocratic overlords.