[quote=@Gig]
[@Cyclone]You realize that almost 2/3rds of the territory you occupy is an inhospitable desert based on the geography map we have ?
 
[IMG]http://i60.tinypic.com/amwf84.png[/IMG]
[/quote]

I'm largely ignoring that map, except for the mountains. The Commonwealth has large regions of savanna and lush jungle (look at the Amazon rainforest; it's on the equator) as well as a few more moderate woodlands and such. But I didn't completely ignore that my nation is on the equator; their national symbol is the Moravian lion and a major ethnic group of the people are dark-skinned Machakans. The rest are the ancestors of people who came from the north or south in mass migrations or just colonized the region in a manner similar to how the Phoenecians founded the colony that would later become the empire of Carthage.

Edit: Actually, only the northeast corner of that part you marked is desert even on that map. The majority is highlands, which would fit nicely with my description of slightly more temperate woodland or savanna.