As a result, the nation is traditionally characterized by significant diversity and divided into quasi-autonomous regions with their own ethnicities, cultures, governments, and laws. The Earth Kingdom was founded after the city state of Ba Sing Se, its later capital, forcibly subjugated several other polities. The kingdom operates as a monarchy under the rule of a single Earth Monarch, although the power of its rulers has historically greatly fluctuated. 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 Earth Kingdom is one of the world's four nations.
