1890: Alternative Divergence [AH][OOC-DEAD]

[Tracian Empire]

The map and list have been updated! Expired reservations have been removed, the areas that have been freed as of now are most of South America, Tibet, Xinjang, Greater Mongolia, Arabia, Somalia, and Eritrea. . Those who had reservations and wish to return can do so if they post a draft app, but their reservation is gone, so new players can jump in and make reservations for any of those areas.

Further areas will become free in the next few days - we are aiming for a big purge soon, so for those who are working on apps, best of luck!

[Sarderia]

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Nation Name: es: Unión de América del Sur - pr: União da América do Sul - it: Unione del Sud America - en: Union of South America
Territory: Remaining area of South America
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Sarderia]

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Nation Name: Abbasid Caliphate - اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلْعَبَّاسِيَّةُ‎ - al-Khilāfah al-ʿAbbāsīyah
Territory: Abbasid Caliphate
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Abbasid Caliphate - اَلْخِلَافَةُ ٱلْعَبَّاسِيَّةُ‎ - al-Khilāfah al-ʿAbbāsīyah
Territory: Abbasid Caliphate
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*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Reservation accepted

[The Ik Ka Ek Akai]

Full Nation Name :
ENGLISH
Western Roman Empire
Latin Empire
Holy Roman Empire
ITALIAN
L'impero romano d'Occidente
Il Senato e il popolo romano
DALMATIAN
Saran e Suant Impero
I depotuti e el poplo viaspro
Juan Raigno

Majority/Official Culture : In official terms, the official terminology used is "Romani", a counterpart to the Eastern "Romaic". The Westerners pride themselves on their Latin heritage, and exploit it to its full extent. The state does not recognize regional languages, only dialects of "Lingua Latina Nova", otherwise called "New Latin" or "Modern Latin". They insist that the Italo-Dalmatian languages are just the natural progression of the Latin language, compared to the "Gallic speech" or the "Hispanic language". Natives will often call themselves by local or regional terms, sometimes with classical reference. Some might say "We are Liguri", others might say "We are Etrusci" or "We are Tusci", and so on. Interestingly, the African Latins have adopted the name Punici for themselves, in contrast with the remaining Punic speakers centered in Libya, who are called Cartaginesi.

The Western perception of Romanitas varies from the Eastern one in some ways, but aligns in most. It is not necessarily fixed to any particular ethnic group, but it is more pluralistic in forgetting religious boundaries as well. In Italy, a mosaic of Christendom exists, with Catholics, Orthodox concentrated in the South, some traces of Arianism in the North, all conflicting with the Caesaropapist question of whether the emperor or the pope should rule the other. This is to say nothing of remnant pagans, or attempts to incorporate the Jews (and, in the same idea, the Carthaginians) for a slew of reasons. However, for political reasons, Latins are given more arbitrary and imaginary points regarding Romanitas, especially in relation to the Greeks. While there is a greater sense that Romanitas corresponds in many ways to a civilization, which any given individual can join, the notion of bloodline from the republic and the older empire still carries extra weight, much to the chagrin of the East.

A more demotic and republican tradition, brought about by the relative lack of courtly grace in the early military government and, just perhaps, a higher confidence in their own Romanitas as Latins, has allowed this more pluralistic view of to flourish over the ages. The relative liberty of the West has led it to pin former atrocities on the East - claiming to the Jews that it was the East which harmed them, and currying their favor through resettlement in somewhat autonomous communities as Carthaginians, just for example. Few attitudes are so universalist as in the East, and thus they are more often opportunistic, relative, contextual, and at times arbitrary. Perhaps the only constant is that 'we' are more Roman than 'them', which especially includes the East.
Territorial Core : You know, plus the additional colonies we talked about
Territorial Claim : Technically, the whole of the original Western empire, and maybe a bit more, but for practicality we can say Gaul and maybe Spain and kinda leave it at that
Capital City : Rome, Rome, Rome
Population : ~49,200,055
35,000,000 (Italy)
3,000,000 (Africa)
5,200,000 (Balkans)
55 (Tavolara)
4,000,000 (Venezuela)
2,000,000 (Caribbean)

Government Type : Exarchate - a nifty way to shorten that it is a militaristic monarchical government that still yet maintains republican overtures and a functioning senate appointed by a vulgar electorate
Government Ideology/Policies : The Latin government puts a heavy emphasis on the preservation of national Romanitas underlying all subject peoples, and the bearing of the Roman spirit through the ages. What this has meant, exactly, is both a strong continuous belief, and highly situational. From the fall of Rome and its recapture by Belisarius, to the Renaissance of later history, ideals have been carried - or so the story goes, anyway. There is no small truth in the fact that this later empire has focused strongly on classicism and neoclassicism across its history, making it highly traditional and conservative, but its traditions are not exactly like those of other lands.

Pulling on Roman roots and helping to be defined by the pluralism that was ancient Rome and that would become the later empire, a sense of pragmatism, relative tolerance, and one might dare say outright humanism was pervasive throughout the conservative circles of Roman society. This was, of course, seamlessly blended with notions of the divine, and a sort of application of rationalism unto the divine and vice versa. For long ago it was said that the difference between Etruscans and Romans was that while Romans believe lightning occurs because the clouds strike, the Etruscans believe the clouds strike that lightning may occur - God is universal, but perhaps predictable, and the universe has rules that bind it. The old Etruscan augurs haven't gone to rest either, with pagan remnants and nominally Christian fortune tellers being popular figures throughout the empire.

And so Roman society works, bound by the belief that any given individual may bear the light of civilization and honor within themselves, and accepting that there are variations to be found that still fit the scheme. Bound by the philosophy and the styles of the ancients, who nonetheless advocated pragmatism and advancement, who were militaristic and yet unafraid to negotiate and make contracts with those who were quite different indeed from them. A society that appreciates earthly things, luxuries, where the money can flow from market to merchant even if they may be a Jew, or a Greek. The Republican tolerance fits just as well into the urban and mercantile nature of so many cities therein.

The union of the divine and the rational, the supernatural and the natural, upholding Christian values alongside Roman ideals, of thesis and antithesis into synthesis, this synthesis is the ideology of the Romans.
Government Focus : The Western Empire is well aware of its legitimacy, as are its neighbors. As an institution, it has stood for many centuries, with the backing of its Eastern parent to support it. It is a powerful regional player as well, and so need not from uncertainty or insecurity try to project itself unnecessarily unto others as some sort of moral crusader. It will dabble where it feels interest, but this is primarily its decision, nobody else's. The main focus, instead, is domestic and civic in nature. Government officials often have ties to business and artistic enterprises, and the imperial government itself sponsors infrastructure such as the periodic upgrading and repair of the Veran Wall, the construction of roads, highways, and sanitation infrastructure like baths and waterworks, as well as paying out pensions and rationing for times of crisis. The church, in its charitable missions and following the advice of a church father or two, throw their support behind these initiatives wholeheartedly.
Head of State : Cesara Alessandra Udina Belisaria
Head of Government : above
Government Description : Originating as a military governorship ruled by the crown in Constantinople, the ravages of time and practicality have rendered this entirely nominal. The title is now more or less hereditary, , with some gaps allowed for the influence of members of court and the senate in choosing or confirming the exact successor. Although the East has influenced the direction of government, a Latin senate still exists elected by the masses and comprising largely people of significant financial or military status, who tend to gain favor through sponsorship and patronage of the arts up to and including architecture. The hard power of the Senate is ultimately limited, but the members thereon are highly influential all the same.

Majority/State Religion : Latin Chalcedonian Christianity, with guaranteed freedom of worship, and significant Jewish and Pagan minorities.
Religious Description : Under the watchful imperial eye, the Great Schism never did manifest as it did in our reality. There is no schism between the Latins and Greeks in theory, though the practice often differs from the theory. The patriarch of Rome, the Pope, still has very significant influence over things, moreso than his counterpart in Constantinople, but the Emperor reigns supreme above all. Significant colonies of Carthaginian Jews exist in Africa, invited to help fill out the area and given a safe place to live with promised freedom from prosecution and including Papal protections. In the distant colonies, there live mixed religious populations, but indigenous American belief systems certainly still exist among the population. Forms of folk belief, magic systems, and sometimes outright idolatry persist in some regions of Italy as well, and especially in Tuscany - this is exacerbated by a revival movement undertaken in the Renaissance by a wave of Neoplatonic scholars like Gemistus Pletho, as well as the spread of popular classical study.

Economic Ideologies : Regulated State Capitalism
Major Production : Dyes, leather, textiles, wines, luxury items, fine and finished manufactured goods.
Economic Description : A specialized economy for turning raw goods into fine things to flaunt, turning water into fine, the Italian economy is quite competitive and broadly prosperous, albeit highly specialized. They are known, at the moment, for hand-built and fine-tuned machinery (as compared to mass-production, industrialized machines), exquisite leathers, and promulgating locally-dyed and embroidered Byzantine silk to the Western market. These all come in both individual or 'raw' components, as well as finished products. Wines are only another thing on the list, with some speculating that the Western Empire simply creates the most wine in the world per unit of volume. Colonial economies are a bit different, much more agriculturally focused, and modeled in part on the Roman colonia, giving gifts of land as reward for state service and promoting the birth of farmlands in these new territories, and largely with intermixing of Roman and native populations and the growing of native crops. It is, in a sense, an overseen development of a region, rather than specifically the resettlement of a people or the replacement of another. Resource extraction is important, but these would be viewed perhaps more effectively as farming and trade colonies, rather than for the sole purpose of pure extraction.

Development: Modern
Development Description : The Western economy and industry has adapted well to the ages. Although the appreciation for decadent luxury has led to a great many things being built in a hand-crafted, rather than mass-produced, fashion, the industrial capability is still there all the same. As a foremost power of Europe, the West has had to keep up with the rest of the continent by necessity - and for spite of any reliance on their Eastern counterpart. The troublesome terrain of Italy meant that the old Roman highways were a godsend in times past, as they are maintained today, but alternative infrastructure has been in demand for some time. Where terrain is flatter, trains have sprung up to allow movement, but in no small part shipment across the empire is reliant on waterbound transport, with some limited train lines or highways connecting the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian. In Africa, sheer size has forced the use of trains across its much more favorable landscape to get from one end to the other.

The Western Empire also excels in the field of sanitation infrastructure, perhaps moreso than others, and has kept up its habits of aqueducts, public baths, sewage, and ensuring access to clean water.

Army Description : The army is a carry-over from the Eastern themata, with military subdivisions and land grants ensuring a localized and battle-ready force is always prepared to be drawn up on the borders. Unlike the Eastern Empire, however, the themata follow regional powers and centers of conflict, conforming to what was, at times, only nominally subject city-based powers. Each city, thus, carries its own military legacy and rivalries. The military is largely modernized, perhaps moreso than the Eastern soldiers, due to proximity to the West and even the legacy of the Latins upon it. Being a frontier region, an exarchate, also gave an early emphasis on military development within it to the court at Constantinople. As a result of the localized military, the army as a whole is generally decentralized and grouped by place of origin, rather than forming large and diverse regiments. The discipline, however, suffers not. They are not often grouped into larger legions incorporating people from more than one region, however this allows a smaller-scale, more squad-based style of warfare similar to how the Romans defeated the Phalanx in antiquity. Malleable and focused.
Army Weakness : The army is highly decentralized and localized, leading to smaller units with less diversity. In this regard, a single squad will rarely be able to perform particularly diverse functions, even if as a formation they are more malleable than rigid lines. Being grouped with their regional fellows might incentivize more camaraderie, it also can take a toll on communities if an entire group is injured or killed. Moreover, it is not an effective offensive force, largely being trained to defend the hills of Italy and the sands of Africa, able to defend and garrison an urban setting well but perhaps struggling to capture it to begin with. Cavalry and reconnaissance is largely left to African auxilia, who often have their own equipment and training, and pose a linguistic barrier much stronger than inter-regional ones suffered by the Italians and Dalmatians.
Naval Description : The navy originated as an anti-pirate measure, but grew with the prominence of trade. Once reliant on the East for naval protection during the Middle Ages, the reunification and consolidation of power in the Renaissance allowed the individual shipbuilding traditions of the maritime cities to conglomerate into a more effective navy. The navy plays a much more prominent role in the West accordingly, and just as well considering the larger need for such a thing. The navy is, for the most part, fairly well modernized, and deals with much of the same equipment as the Eastern one. The ships are strong and well-equipped, the sailors often being recruited or conscripted merchants with generations of seafaring experience. A fully functional blue-water and green-water force, it makes an effective offensive force all the same. Hinterland tribes of Slavs and Albanians, though often somewhat neglected by the West, are valued as a source of marines.
Naval Weakness : The navy must compete with the army in many regards, with many preferring the comfortable life of a garrison at home instead of a working one of seabound patrols. Language barriers among the tribal marines and the 'civilized' mariners can lead to some issues as well. The cost of the fleet is substantial, and is partially subsidized by its role as a Merchant Marine as well. This dual purpose means that trade will suffer more than necessary in times of war, while strictly naval peacetime activities are limited. The ships sacrifice some military capability in favor of cargo space and speed, and might be supported by wooden ships when in need.
Further Military Description : Experimental technology

National Goals : Ascendancy to co-emperorship, perhaps even dominance. Glory and wealth, of course.
National Issues : Having less land and manpower than the East, diplomatic barriers, and not being exactly the best at industry even if technically industrialized. Let's not forget the ever-lasting problem of language barrier.
National Figures of Interest : Tuone di Ragusa, Giorgio da Firenze, Leo d'Arezzo, Antonio Farantouri, Asdruele Barco
National Ambition/Aspirations : Gloria in excelsis populo

History : The Greek general Belisarius was said to have been offered by the Ostrogoths the position of the Western Emperor when he laid siege to them. He accepted, only to turn against his Goths and betray them in the name of the court in Constantinople. For this, he was awarded the title Caesar of the West, reflecting his great accomplishment in battle and his everlasting loyalty to the Empire. He had been made the Exarch of Italy appropriately, and when he could no longer conquer and age beset his old bones, he settled in old Rome with his family. The great city had long since lost its importance, replaced by Ravenna and Mediolanum and other sites, but as the glory of all he knew originated with the city of Rome, it only seemed fitting that perhaps, just perhaps, it be given one more chance. Thus, it was born. Belisarius would live only so long to see the Lombards invade, and to personally drive them away with his son by his side.

Under the rule of the son of Belisarius, Nicephorus, there was conflict with the Patriarch of Rome. Nicephorus Belisarion had known the Greek Rite for much of his life. Furthermore, raised by the greatest general of the empire and mothered by the confidant of the empress, Nicephorus had of himself an ego rivaled only by the breadth of the imperial domain. The Roman Patriarch, who demanded submission and humility in accordance with the Latin tradition, grew to despise the decadent Nicephorus, but never dared to challenge him openly until the year 600, upon which a duel was held between the two. Nicephorus won, and the Patriarch was maimed. In but a few short weeks, he passed- and Nicephorus gained the epithet "Slayer of the Latins", known for his disrespect of the Latin ways. What had began initially as a glorious salvation from the hands of the Goths by a great general had quickly turned sour as the struggles between the Latins and Hellenes were emphasized once more. Rejected by his court, one by one, the Exarch grew anxious. Nicephorus, seeing his peril, married with a Latin woman and had five children with her- this gesture a symbol of the unity he had hoped to bring. Although he continued with the Greek Rite for his life, he took special precaution to help mend the wounds between Latins and Greeks. Naming his children in the local Latin, he passed his throne to his eldest Verus.

Verus, the first "Latin" emperor from his Greek brood, and the first since the collapse of the West near 150 years prior, grew in his life as a proper Latin. He spoke Latin, he dressed Latin, and he celebrated Latin holidays with his Latin court- the Italians had regained their position in the world, it had seemed, until all remembered the true power lay at Constantinople. It was by their grace alone that the breed of Belisarius continued to hold the throne, and by their favor towards his grandfather that Verus was allowed to govern the land. He took measure to ensure his fitness in the eyes of Constantinople- reinstating the old legions and fortifying the Alps being his major accomplishments. The fortification he had built on the Alps became known as the Veran Wall, and would be the first of many, many additions in the area.

Drawing from his predecessor, Honorius celebrated his ascension by adding to the Veran Wall. His additions were few, consisting primarily of nearby barracks to help garrison the wall- it was a gesture of support for the defense of the border, but furthermore connected him to his predecessor. This connection would become important, and the next few kings would all follow suit in making some additions to the Veran Wall, be they towers, extra layers, or even an extension entirely. The original, facing only against the lands of the Bavarii and incorporating the mountains of the Alps to fill gaps, would soon become a wonder in itself. It was also during this time that the refugees taken in from Judea and Samaria were redistributed, with promising programs set forth for them in Africa among the dwindling Carthaginians. Set up among these last Phoenicians, the Jews and Samaritans here converted them and kept their culture alive. Indeed, it began to flourish under autonomous rule. Honorius gifted the Temple Relics to the community, and the city of Carthage was repopulated with this Neo-Punic elite. While some scolded the emperor for his restoration of the Carthaginians, the peace and prosperity it brought to Africa paid itself off in interest. By his death, Honorius was celebrated by his old Senatorial enemies, and a new age of stability came.

Time came and went like the tides of the ocean, but in the year 712, the during the Ides of March, the Exarch Caesar Belisarion Severius dies in Venice after succumbing to his wounds by a Germanic blade. He has yet to proclaim a proper heir, and the unity of Italy begins to fall. His twin sons, Antonius and Nero, each take command of a section of the land. Nero, a brave general by heart, takes station in Venice by his father's bedside- here he garrisons the Wall alongside his men. Antonius, meanwhile, moves to Rome as the first properly administrative, non-military, ruler of the land. The court in Constantinople watches eagerly, as if an experiment, to see which of the brothers takes charge over the other, but neither does. It is in this divided reign that the Illyrian Betrayal happens, and many cities of Illyricum simultaneously declare a league of their own separate from the Italian influence. Nero moves quickly with his army, and warns of the precedent should Antonius let such events pass idly. Although Nero secures the loyalties of the Illyrians once more through 6 years of campaigning, the previous state is never recovered and they retain autonomy. It is in this new autonomy that the Dalmatian language, and its regional identity, begins to develop- as well as acting for a breeding ground for the mercantile city-republics that would come to dominate. A small town, Ragusa, begins to dominate by the end of the decade.

Antonius appeared to have won the battle of the brothers, but in his age his council turned against him. Slain by conspirators and with only a single daughter to claim the throne, the Italian cities followed the example of the Illyrians. The rule of Agrippa was rough, and only through the most cunning diplomacy and the most ruthless military action in conjunction with the elderly Nero was she able to, similarly to Nero, regain the allegiance of the Italians under different conditions. Unlike Illyria, however, the Italians failed to produce a single strong city to overcome and dominate the others - remaining divided instead. This played to Agrippa's favor, and she learned a "Divide and Conquer" tactic that she would later write about in her Codex Italicum. She would marry off her children to the local mercantile nobility, the lesser patricians, of her vassal cities and those of Nero to secure a general allegiance, but this would only serve to strengthen the autonomy of the cities. Agrippa's greatest triumph, however, came in the reconquest of Africa - launched from Sicily, the capture of Carthage was quick and decisive. Contacts in the city, especially the Neo-Punic population that the Western Empire had fostered and promised to, were eager to the Roman aid. From this base, Berber tribe after Berber tribe were bribed to harass the opposition as the legions swept through Libya, with Judeo-Punic connections informing communities to raise their banners in preparation. The Latin and Punic majority was warmed by the return of Roman authority, much to the chagrin of the warlords, as well as their tribes and mercenaries that they'd brought with them. Agrippa's Triumph was said to be legendary, a model for future celebrations of state for centuries to come.

As the world entered into the Middle Ages, the West began to brace for the changing world. While the East struggled against the Eastern hordes, the West was faced with age-old barbarian enemies. Old Roman attempts to maintain control over Caesar's Province in the south of Gaul were losing their effect, the Mohamedan regime seeming to counter Roman influence at every turn. A soft war began, a war of words, of faith, of influence. Meanwhile, to the far north, Frankish warlords slowly consumed both Roman and Muslim influence, spreading barbarity to the corners of Gaul city by city. When a Frank declared himself the new emperor, Agrippa was furious at the Papal response of relative neutrality and even some minor support. Though the debate continued to rage of emperor versus pontifex, it was mostly her gender that was called upon for support of the new Frank. Calling on the support of the Carthaginians and her sons-in-law, her position as the unequivocal leader of the Western Romans was reaffirmed. When it was reaffirmed as such by the Senate, the Pope quieted to a fully neutral position. To avoid any more such disturbances, the unusual circumstance of nominally appointed military governorship having been passed to a woman hereditarily, Agrippa took to law to reaffirm herself and her position. It was thus decreed that, like the Etruscans on which Rome had built itself, the Italians would make official that which had been known since the days of Ulpia Severina, and since Theodora: the rights and dignity of women. Although women were not allowed in the Senate or to participate in its vote, many offices were fully legalized in an official capacity. Thus, no barbarians or treasonous pontifeces could question her leadership.

With the collapse of central authority in Gaul, the Romans made their move once more. With some military conquest, ostensibly to "Restore order" to the region, and a large deal of Soft Power politics. Emperor after emperor, using the weight of merchant connections, injected Romanitas into Occitania. It was said that the people of that region spoke much more proper Latin, quite closer to the Latin of Italy than the barbaric "French" tongue. With his armored legions, the Emperor took to court in that land, sending senators and even himself as a judge to resolve disputes among the petty lords of Occitania. Land disputes between cities, resource rights over fields, guilds here and there, the Romans had an answer for everything. The affirmation of the Roman church in these lands grew stronger by the day, and the French were starting to seem not so bad after all. These wild barbarians had embraced a very Roman sense of things, broadly speaking, and the emperors began to refer to the lands of the French lords as Aeduia, in memory of Caesar's closest allies in his Gallic campaign. The free republics of the empire enjoyed increasing relations, and without an imperial title to threaten them, the emperors grew into it too.

Then came the Crusades. Holy wars to reclaim lost imperial territory for the East. While many in the West initially saw the pleading of the East as something worthy of mockery on stage, the cries of Deus Vult from Rome itself led the way to a turn of opinion. When asked for a show of support for the Crusades, Emperor Valente gave a speech at the Apostolic Palace to get the assembled Italian, Dalmatian, French, Spanish, even African, crowd to roar in approval. So the wars went, the empire focusing its soft power in Gaul, its hard power supporting the East, interrupted only by the rise of a peasant commune in Rome to remove Papal authority from the city. The emperor made a move from Ravenna with his personal retinue to seize Rome from the peasants. With a mixture of negotiation, siege, and threats, the city was recaptured. Instead of handing it back to the Pope, he instead moved the capital to that eternal city - declaring that the people of Rome had spoken, that it was the true heart of everything the West stood for, and that it was long past time to reclaim the city instead of the East's preferred Ravenna or the autonomous Milan. To appease the peasants, however, he also extended the Senatorial vote from patricians to commoners all, even if in practice the patricians were the vast majority of senators regardless.

Not all in the Crusades was well, though. The Free Republic of Venice sacked some Dalmatian counterparts, culminating in the sacking of Constantinople and the founding of a rival Latin Empire in the East. Although the Western empire somewhat appreciated the sentiment of the emperor in Thessalonike, the East demanded the support of the West. Sympathizing with the East over its Frankokratia, recalling when such was threatened upon Agrippa, the emperor sent some forces to aid the East in its efforts. In the tradition of Belisarius, the West restored order across Epirus and Hellas, isolating the other Latin Empire from potential allies. When the East won, the West returned its Greek territories, with a few new trade ports established along the way. Venice faced no punishment for its role in the fight. Time marched ever onward.

The fourteenth century was a period of expansion. Influence in Gaul reached a critical peak, and the jurisdiction of the Western emperor was being steadily formalized on a city-by-city basis. As more disputes came to be solved, more influence gained, more tithe sent, the emperors began to twist things to their favor. If land came into dispute, it might go to the West. If a city needed an appointed leader, it fell to a senator to rule. If a war came to be and simply could not be determined, the Western legions helped the side most favorable to them. When the Plague rolled around, this only got worse, as the West grabbed for land and people not under the effects of the vile blight. By the fifteenth century, it began to slow, but any semblance that the Occitans were not under Western dominion was quickly fading. Like the free cities of Italy and Dalmatia, the people of Provincia were brought into the fold as autonomous holdings. In the classic fashion, they likewise began to compete with the Italian and Dalmatian free cities. Mercenary armies flew between them all, as did the daggers of assassins and the ships of great trade. While the previous century saw a rise of the Italians in dominance, the rise of the Rinascimento, a rebirth where Italian powers began to consolidate their countrysides, directly contributed to increasing centralization. Venice, Genoa, Ragusa, Vicla (Veglia), Florence, Naples, and Amalfi together owned the majority of Italy and Dalmatia, and most of the country's wealth. While the classics had never been truly abandoned, the centralization of wealth played a crucial part in the rebirth and the renewal into a neoclassical age.

Over the course of the fifteenth century, the exploratory nature of the Italo-Dalmatians in their previous capital ventures to other lands brought them further and further. By 1492, the first Italian had set foot in the New World. It was under this prospering that the Italians finally began to eclipse the Dalmatians, gaining a factor of exponential growth. However, the line of Belisarius was running thin- the Republican politics had all but killed the Italian half of his line- leaving behind the Viclasun line to take charge. Stemming from Vicla, also called Veglia and, in Latin, Curicum, this unlikely progeny of the great Belisarius through no less than 4 cadet branches had managed to survive purely because their republic had long ago been eclipsed by the nearby Ragusa. Rising to the throne due to their well-recorded, if distant, lineage, the first Dalmatian Exarch went by Domagna.

Domagna Udaina was a ruthless and cunning man. Long suppressed by his neighboring Venice and Ragusa, he gained an enmity for the free republics of the exarchate. Cooperating with the Medici of Firenze, Domagna established a power base in Central Italy, a strong alliance across the land. He first chose to reign in Genoa, who stood distant from the others and with a distrust for their own duxe, the citizens of Genoa sold their city out to Domagna. Using this power base, he reaffirmed the loyalty of the traditionally monarchical Napoli to move on Amalfi. Half of Amalfi's patricians were of Greek origin, and despite a notable military presence, none was needed for Domagna to seize power. His ties to the Greek emperor, as well as his relatively nonpartisan origin, meant a nonviolent swearing of fealty. As Venice made its move against Ragusa, historically held back by the limited influence of the exarch but now with a doge reckless enough to ignore it, their city was invaded under the cover of night. In the year 1543, the "Night of Tears" occurred- Domagna infiltrated Venice with his combined Italian army and wrecked havoc upon the streets. Many of the town guard were slaughtered, and their bodies thrown into the canals. The island flowed in red for 3 days after the fatal event, and the doge was forced to surrender. As he had captured Ragusa and even appointed a new Rector, that republic had been cleared out of the way as well.

Domagna, in his violent reign lasting from 1516-1552, became known as "the Slayer". His son, Jugno, tried initially to rule with a soft hand, but in the second month of his reign realized the error of this. He chose instead, to invite all the dukes of his realm- the duxe, the doge, the rettore, to watch him compete in games. He raced for Blue in chariots, and won a tzykanisterion tournament. The games, lasting a full month on their own, ended with Jugno inviting any patricians who wished to assert their independence a duel to the death for the opportunity. He went so far as to promise his crown to any who would fight him. After the demonstration of his abilities in the games, however, none stood forward. All throughout his life, Jugno would insist the offer was always on the table, and made it to each newly elected duke of his realm. Through such shows of force and fearlessness, as well as his well-meaning heart and his administrative excellence in improving the unity and strength of his realm, the Italians and Dalmatians alike took to calling him agosto, the first Exarch since Belisarius to ever be called by such a title in any capacity.

Jugno would attempt an invasion of Gaul to restore the lost Roman hegemony there. Senatorial support was strong, with Catholic elements wishing to crush the heretics, and an increasing Neoclassical faction inspired by Gemistus Pletho, the lingering pagan peasants in the Italian countryside, and the Rinascimento movement, called to restore Roman rule to Gaul more broadly. They were sort of Latins, were they not? Aeduia, the allies of Caesar? Jugno acted swiftly and decisively, only to be met with a strong and unexpected resistance from a new conglomerated republic. The first war that the Western Romans would undertake as a fully reunified power would test the strength of their unity, and Jugno would die before it finished.

In the chaos of succession, Empress Catarina took the throne only to learn that, without leadership, without certainty, without their unifying emperor, the Veran Wall had been passed, the legions stationed there weakened by their divisions. Rallying up an army in the center, she had the navy attempt to cut off any supply lines while she met the French army on the field of battle over and over again. Facing defeat, she agreed to the humiliating surrender in 1601 to recognize French independence once and for all, at which point she is said to have stated "So be it, the Gauls choose barbaritas". The internal divisions within the country were initially blamed for the defeat, but Catarina shifted the blame to rest on the shoulders of the senate, which had acted in regency at the time of the fall of the Veran Wall. Furthermore, she blamed the Pope for instigating the war in the first place, and exercised her imperial authority to have him removed from office. This was the first demonstration of Caesaropapism in near a millennium, apart from the minor example of the proper annexation of Rome centuries prior. This strengthened the Neoclassical movement, which had been gaining strength since the 14th century, among the elites of Roman society, and Catarina became known as Catarina the Pagan. In the elections of 1605, the senate was a pagan majority. With this pagan majority, Catarina enacted further reforms for the rights of women, teetering the precarious position of the pagans over a vastly Catholic populace. This included conditional female suffrage, for those of the Patrician class and those who acted as the heads of their families. It was said that the 'vote of every man' enacted earlier had been renamed by her to the 'vote of every family', thus by her logic that as the man was not always the head of the family, was not always the main moneymaker, and way not always the most influential, women should gain the right if they meet the conditions. As patrician families had always enjoyed special privileges, and patrician women were more likely to lead families, the suffrage was thus universal for them.

The great changes brought by the Treaty of Pavia and Catarina's rule, her conformity to the Rinascimento, inspired new theatrical and operatic works. Well past her death in 1647, Roman culture flourished. Although the 15th century brought many new and contemporary stories to the stage, this new theater brought grand epics of old, stories of emperors and demigods, classical mythology in total, to life. Names like Hercules and Ovid and Democritus flew at balls and on stage, as well as at convivia and in the senate. This all came to a head in 1755, when a Corsican senator by the name of Pasquale Paoli advocated universal female suffrage. The emperor took kindly, and this law became known as the Livian Reform, after the first empress in Roman history.

It was a golden age. Science, philosophy, and art flew as it never had before, with the printed word spreading these teachings faster than the ancients could've dreamed. The Library of Alexandria was little in comparison. Patricians and imperial family members heartily adopted the patronage system once run by the free republics of the land, while interfaith dialogue between pagan and Christian elites, as well as the Judaized Carthaginians, provided an exceptional home to tolerance in the West. The names of great polymaths were on the tongues of everyone, from the centuries-old work of Leonardo da Vinci, to Leon Battista Alberti, the economics of Luca Pacioli, the observations of Galileo and Zucchi, the shocking discoveries of Volta and Galvani, not to mention contributions by Dalmatians such as Giorgio Armeno, Stefano Gradi, the Nicolas of Nale and of Gozzi, and even from non-Latins such as Ruggiero Boscovich. A true flourishing throughout the 18th century, grounded in the works of the past and the peoples now reviewing them.

The 19th century saw much change, but also much the same. The Western Empire declined, and their golden age ceased. Although classical scholarship of that age's like still continues strongly, the great debates, the treatises, the reports, the convivia, have all been reduced to but memory and ceremony, no longer feeling as if a living practice, but instead on life support. Italian technology began to fall behind, and the empire spent more of its money playing catch-up with the newest inventions, meaning less was devoted to patronage. It was not until the 1850s that the empire gained a more secure position in the world, settling in as a major power once again, if slightly behind the rest of Europe on more than few things. The luxury market was resolidified in its new form of furs, silks, and leathers, as it had been for centuries and yet breathed life anew. As we enter into this new age, perhaps the Romans will try to claim their place once more, or perhaps they will begin once more to fade. Only time will tell if the Romans, both West and East, will see another century yet.
RP Sample: :|

#AltDiv (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)

[SangMar]

I’ll crack on with my app now - the biggest headache will likely be things like population and economics - since I’m not certain if detailed GDP and population figures exist for those territories during that time period.

[Cabana]

Reservation

Nation Name: Argentina (tentative)
Territory: Argentina and Paraguay
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

[Arvenia]

Reservation

Nation Name: Greater Mongolia (working name)
Territory: Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Dzungaria (Xinjiang) and Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture (Xinjiang)
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Greater Mongolia (working name)
Territory: Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Dzungaria (Xinjiang) and Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture (Xinjiang)
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

*Note: Reservations will last for 48 hours. The OP board reserves the right to be subjective in regards to accepting and removing reservations.

Accepted!

[Tracian Empire]

I’ll crack on with my app now - the biggest headache will likely be things like population and economics - since I’m not certain if detailed GDP and population figures exist for those territories during that time period.

If you can improvise something it should be more than alright, don't worry about it

[Tracian Empire]

Reservation

Nation Name: Argentina (tentative)
Territory: Argentina and Paraguay
#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

Accepted!

[SangMar]

I’ll crack on with my app now - the biggest headache will likely be things like population and economics - since I’m not certain if detailed GDP and population figures exist for those territories during that time period.

If you can improvise something it should be more than alright, don't worry about it

Tracian, if it helps, can I retroactively add the Central-West region of Brazil to my app? It’s currently not part of any player’s app - and it’ll give me a slightly more concrete picture regarding economics and population.

Plus, I kind’ve assumed it would be included in my app anyway.

This.

[Tracian Empire]

If you can improvise something it should be more than alright, don't worry about it

Tracian, if it helps, can I retroactively add the Central-West region of Brazil to my app? It’s currently not part of any player’s app - and it’ll give me a slightly more concrete picture regarding economics and population.

Plus, I kind’ve assumed it would be included in my app anyway.

This.

Sure

[Arvenia]

Great, the only remaining territories right now are Falklands, Bolivia, Chile, Tibet, Sulawesi, parts of Tarim Basin and parts of Peru, as well as most of Africa.

[Arvenia]

Full Nation Name: Zorigtoi Khanate (Зоригтой Хаант Улс)
Majority/Official: Mongol with a significant amount of Uyghur, Altai, Kazakh, Russian, Tibetan, Han Chinese and Hui Muslim
Territorial Core: Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, Dzungaria and Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture
Territorial Claim: Qinghai, Gansu, Nagqu (Tibet), Chaoyang (Liaoning), Fuxin (Liaoning), Buryatia (Russia), Altai Republic (Russia), Altai Krai (Russia), parts of Irkutsk Oblast (Russia) and parts of Zabaykalsky Krai (Russia)
Capital City: Urga (Ulaanbataar)
Population: 6,540,000
Map Color: Dark Purple

Government Type : Federal absolute elective monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies: Pan-Mongolism
Government Focus: Pragmatic diplomacy, territorial recovery and national unity
Head of State: Dunghis Khan (Monarch)
Head of Government: Balingiin Jadambaa (Chancellor)
Government Description: Just like any other Mongol state, except the Zorigtoi Khanate is more unified in regards to Mongol tribalism. There is an executive Khan and a legislative Kurultai, as well as a Chancellor that assists the Khan. All tribes were organized into vassal states (which are more similar to US states than regular vassal states), while Urga is a city-state that dominates the whole Zorigtoi Khanate. The vassal states are all governed by Ilkhans.

Majority/State Religion: Taaruulism
Religious Description: A religion that mixes Mongolian Shamanism with Tibetan Buddhism, Sufism and Christianity. It is the state religion of the Zorigtoi Khanate and was also founded by none other than Zorigtoi Khan. Taaruulism involves meditation (derived from Tibetan Buddhism), mysticism (similar to that of Sufism) and many Christian-like principles, while employing Mongol shamans as its main priests. Other religions in the Zorigtoi Khanate includes Buddhism, Islam, Tengriism, Christianity, Mongolian Shamanism and a certain degree of non-religious affiliation (aka Atheism).

Economic Ideologies: Market Socialism
Major Production: Blades, livestock, food, fur, copper, coal, molybdenum, tin, tungsten and gold
Economic Description: The Zorigtoi Khanate operates a seemingly socialist market economy. Vassal states could grow their own crops and extract resources for themselves, but they must then share those with the rest of the Zorigtoi Khanate. The economy is stable, but not superior to other economies. Besides this, the country maintains a market which is based on socialist principles and the Khan also owns many domestic businesses, all of whom are mostly based in Ulaanbataar. The Khan handles the trade between Mongolia and neighbouring states. The tögrög (₮) is the national currency.

Development: Semi-Industrialized
Development Description: While the Zorigtoi Khanate is basically primitive like the Mongol Empire and other Mongol states, it did develop a little well in regards to firearms, buildings, agrarian tools and gunpowder factories. For example, the military has access to modern weaponry (especially rifles, pistols and cannons), but the cannons are mostly from the 17th century, while the rifles and pistols are mostly needle rifles and early revolvers. On the other hand, Mongol farmers have access to better tools and most Mongol cities now include semi-modern buildings. Ulaanbataar, being the country's largest city, has been referred to as the "Paris of the East".

Army Description: The armed forces of the Zorigtoi Khanate consists of the Central Army and the Vassal Armies. The Central Army is large and heavily led by the Khan, while the Vassal Armies varies in size (albeit smaller than 500,000) and are led by the Ilkhans. The Central Army has basically 960,000 skilled troops, agile horses, discipline, training, modern weaponry and a good amount of supplies. The Central Army is heavily armed with needle rifles, revolvers, cannons, bayonets, swords, daggers, spears and fuse bombs. The Vassal Armies, while varying in size and efficiency, has less better weapons than the Central Army, by which they are mostly armed with swords, daggers, bows, spears, maces and shields (as well as a few cannons, muskets, pistols and bayonets). During national emergency and/or military campaign, the Khan would call all the Ilkhans to delegate their Vassal Armies to the Central Army. The Central Army is currently in process of buying firearms from neighbouring states. Many Vassal Armies are also in charge of law enforcement in their respective states. Regarding clothings, the Vassal Armies looks like medieval Mongol soldiers, while the members of the Central Army are dressed in modern 19th century military uniforms with Mongol helmets.
Army Weakness: As noted, the armed forces of the Zorigtoi Khanate has no access to new bolt-action rifles, better revolvers and better cannons, while the Vassal Armies are very inferior to the larger Central Army. As a result, the Zorigtoi Khanate is fully incapable of invading larger states, which means it has to seek assistance from other states in order to be capable of such invasion.
Naval Description: N/A
Naval Weakness: N/A
Further Military Description: Urga has a city garrison that is tasked with law enforcement, while the Khan has skilled bodyguards.

National Goals: Recover lost territories, utilize pragmatic diplomacy, maintain national unity and expand the military
National Issues: Semi-modern weapons, lack of traditional Mongol territories, slow industrialization and superior neighbours
National Figures of Interest: Zorigtoi Khan
National Ambition/Aspirations: Rebirth of the Mongol Empire

History: The Mongol Empire, one of the world's old great powers, was formed by Genghis Khan and later annexed any neighbouring state with glorious results. Around the 1250s, the Mongol Empire asserted control over the remnants of the Kievan Rus', with the Principality of Kyiv being given a favorable status (although it would later gain more power as time passes by). The Mongol Empire also asserted control over China, which would be the first time that China bent the knee to a foreign power. As time went by, however, the Mongol Empire would crumble, especially after the death of Genghis Khan.

Following the fall of the Mongol Empire, successor states were formed such as the Golden Horde and the Yuan Dynasty. On the other hand, the Mongols invaded India, only to be repelled by the Seljuks. Around the 17th century, Mongolia was conquered by the Shun Dynasty, who had succeeded the Ming Dynasty and then successfully defended Beijing from the neighbouring Jin Dynasty.

As years passes by, the Shun Dynasty was now facing a new threat in the form of a new religious movement called "Taiping", who was making gains in southeastern China. As this continued on, Xinjiang, Tibet and even Mongolia began breaking free from the Shun Dynasty. In Mongolia, there was a man who would later be known as Zorigtoi Khan (which means the "Brave Khan"). He began organizing the Mongols for the sole purpose of seceding Mongolia from the Shun Dynasty and then revive the Mongol Empire. The secession went smooth thanks to the Taiping Rebellion, so Mongolia became independent around 1854. Zorigtoi Khan tightly united every single Mongol tribe under the independent city of Urga, where he resided. The new state adopted "Taaruulism", a new state religion that Zorigtoi created from a mix between Mongolian Shamanism, Tibetan, Sufism and Christianity, and also implemented socialist-like policies. On the other hand, the new state began conquering neighbouring areas (which includes modern-day Inner Mongolia and Dzungaria). In 1860, Mongolia annexed a part of Tarim Basin from the Uyghurs (which corresponds to the modern-day Bayingolin Mongol Autonomous Prefecture).

As more time went by, Mongolia began to slowly improve its infrastructure with semi-modern buildings and firearms. The Mongol military was armed with needle rifles, revolvers and cannons, while the Mongol economy prospered, although not superior to that of Europe, China and America. In 1886, Zorigtoi Khan passed away and Dunghis Khan, the Ilkhan (governor) of Dzungaria, was elected to serve as the new Khan and then reside in Urga. With Mongolia now formally known as the "Zorigtoi Khanate" (aka the "Brave Khanate"), it looks to keep itself united, regain lost territories, utilize pragmatic diplomacy and then expand its moderately well-equipped military.
RP Sample: The Modern Age Collapse

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

[Tracian Empire]

Overall, the app is very nice! There are a few points that I'd like to address:

• The modernization of the nation is not necessarily an issue, but Persia itself as a region found it notoriously difficult to industrialize and to expand its infrastructure, due to its very mountainous terrain. From my perspective that could lead to a situation where Mesopotamia and the coastal areas are very well developed, and the more mountainous Persia is less developed. If you don't like this concept, then you should try to think of something that would explain how Persia would be the most developed region in your empire.
• This second part isn't an issue, but it's related to my history as the Eastern Roman Empire. In my app, I've maintained all the traditional Roman-Persian Wars, from the invasion of Crassus to the last war that in real life happened between the Sassanids and the Byzantines. What are your thoughts about that, do you want us to keep them? I would need some of them at least, since Persian pressure in the East was a very important factor in the Roman Empire's decline and eventual collapse, and the final war between Heraclius and Khosrow Parviz is instrumental to the Roman weakness that allowed the Muslims to take over all of the Levant. Of course, we can discuss the exact details and the wars don't have to happen in the same way.

I would be okay with maintaining the wars and as for the modernization. I think I will go with what you said and I will make the edits later.

Alright then!

How do you see the more modern relations between our nations?

[Theyra]

I would be okay with maintaining the wars and as for the modernization. I think I will go with what you said and I will make the edits later.

Alright then!

How do you see the more modern relations between our nations?

I see modern relations somewhat cool but, not too warm. I guess I would say neutral. What do you think?

[Tracian Empire]

Alright then!

How do you see the more modern relations between our nations?

I see modern relations somewhat cool but, not too warm. I guess I would say neutral. What do you think?

Historically I was going to propose a Roman-Parthian alliance against the Muslims, that would have gone on and off for some time, but it would have most certainly broken down by the 1600's, when the reason for the existence of such an alliance would no longer have existed, with the Romans recovering their Levantine provinces.


In more modern times, there could be some reasons for tensions, but things should be pretty neutral.

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name : Parthian Empire, or simply known as Parthia or rarely Persia

Accepted!

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name: United Republic of Great Britain and Ireland; also known as the United Republic or the British Republic.

Quite an impressive app! Unless either of the CO-OPs who are more knowledgeable in naval matters object, accepted!

[Empire of Techkotal]

Full Nation Name : The Empire of Madagascar
Majority/Official Culture : English
Territorial Core : https://imgur.com/a/iyEGtg7
Territorial Claim : The goverment of Madagascar is interested in owning parts of Africa to increase the amount of possible farmland and the amount of plantations.
Capital City : Port Louis
Population : ca. 2.9 million

Government Type : dictatorship
Government Ideology/Policies : Governor Baxter Thwait and the rest of the officers try to establish some sort of order and a nation.
Government Focus : The governor of Madagascar is focused on increasing the influence of Madagascar.
Head of State : Governor Baxter Thwait
Head of Government : Governor Baxter Thwait

Government Description : After the 10 year long civil war there was no real government. The governor of the Empire is a relic of the colonial time. In the war the governor was appointed from the other officers in the military and it has stayed like this. He has complete control over the expenses of the government.
The governor has complete control over the Empire and no one controls what exactly he does. There are a few individuals that can influence the governor, but there is no other power in the state that controls the governor.
The goverment itself is a big administration combined with a bureaucrazy. The administration is under direct control of the governor and carrys his orders out. They see to it that all his plans are beign carried out and they organize everything. On the other hand the bureaucrazy has to keep the population down and restrict them from doing crazy things, which might threathen the governors rule.

[b]Majority/State Religion : Protestants
Religious Description : [[OPTIONAL]]

Economic Ideologies : Capitalism
Major Production : The major production are products from plantations like: tobacco, coffee, sugar cane, sisal and textiles.

Economic Description : The economy of Madagascar depends on its plantations. There are a few coal and chromite mines, but most of the revenue Madagascar makes comes from agriculture. Most of the people on the island work either in farms or on plantations. There is an ammunition factory complex, but that only produces goods for the military. Most technologically advanced products have to be imported. The few warships the Empire has, have been built as cheaply as possible.

Development: Agrarian + a few factorys
Development Description : All cities are connected with roads and there are two railway lines. There are hundreds of schools in the empire. Several hospitals exist, but the healthcare or better the overall medical supply isn't the best. Thats is why people, if they can afford it, tend to get operations or medicine abroad. Everything that can be eaten gets cooked or in case of flour backed. The nation has several labrotorys and universitys. Thanks to generous amounts of founding going into the development of new potential money makers the empire is progressing relativly fast.


Army Description : The army consists out of the old guard and recruited natives. The old guard consists out of veterans. Though that status obviously doesn't apply for the newly recruited units. The miliary isn't really organized in the moment. A few officers that are left command the units and the governor himself is the commader in chief.
While the army isn't organized at all in comparison to other nations' militaries, the units are fully organized and have a structure. The military equipment of the army is relatively modern. The army does posses some artillery pieces and a few heavy artillery pieces.

Army Weakness : The main weakness is that all weapons are imported and that there is only one ammunition factory complex, which is being repaired. Another weakness of the army is that there is no real conscription. The army itself is relatively well structured and disciplined and most members of the army are veterans.

Naval Description : The Navy of Madagascar posses a few ships most of them are outdated, but its enough to project power around Madagascar. There are a few torpedo boats and ironclad sail ships fitted with steam engines. Though Governer Baxter Thwait has ordered two protected cruisers in 1889 from Korea. There are a few fishing boats, that can be armed with the army's artillery, but that's all Madagascar has.

Naval Weakness : The navy has not the strenght to apposse any great power in the world and doesnt have the range to operate far away from Madagascar.

Further Military Description : Maybe I'll add something to this at some point.

National Goals : The greatest goal of the governor is to establish order and eliminate their political enemys. Some in the Empire call for expansion. Even in the dire position the governor is in he does indeed see a benefit in having colonies. They could produce vital goods for their economy and the income would help them out greatly.
National Issues : Some idiots might get the idea that their political idea is better than their governor's rule. But the biggest threat are volcanos, who knows when they will break out again.
National Figures of Interest : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Are there any Mother Teresas or Moses that we need to know about?]]
National Ambition/Aspirations : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Not really set objectives, but rather the big picture that your nation is drawing towards]]

History :

1610-1718 During this time the kingdom of Menabe and the kingdom of Boina joined together and dominated the island. They conquered the other kingdoms and made them vassals. In the 17th century they expanded their influence over to Africa and defeated the kingdom of Simbabwe. The region had to pay tribute, The African tribes were slowly pushed into the state of tributary vassals, which had to pay in goods and slaves. Over this time the power of Madagascar exploded. They traded slaves with the Europeans and exported their own goods to Asia. Over the course of the century Madagascar fielded a large army and a relativly big navy. They pushed their neighboors down and took took their people to work on plantations. During this time they spread over the Seychellen and the Komoren. But the rule of every tranny comes to an end.

1718-1786 The king of Madagascar choose to end the vassal system and get rid of the other noble houses. During the uproar the Medina kingdom stormed the capital and arrested the king. They crushed the alliance of Boina and Menabe and allied themselves with the other local kingdoms. In all that time the Medina had lost controll over many tributary vassals in Africa and their big navy had shrunken in size. To bolster the finances of the kingdom the new king of Medina choose to increase trade with the Europeans. He made reforms and pushed for more political freedom. The market of Madagascar opened up during this time.
But one night he was found dead. He had been poisoned from his own wife. In 1743 she took the throne and isolated the kingdom of Medina. While Madagascar was falling behind the world in terms of technology and industry, it developed its infrastructure, build new schools, hospitals and palaces. Her rule saw constant construction. Her son continued with this trend and the kingdom became one of the beautifull places south of the Äquator. In his old age he reopened the market to the world and the world could see that Madagascar was a civilised kingdom. Then he died he left behind a civilised and stable kingdom. His son than invested into the military and adopted Europeans firearms. In 1780 the kingdom of Medina started the production of their own firearms. But fate drew nearer and at one night a group of European warships was sighted.

1786-1810 A British company set foot in Madagascar with a band of soldiers. They brought goods from all over Europe as presents to the king. After a few months they established a church and the king was one of the first to convert to christianity. In a few months the troops and their commander had established a small settlement on a plot of land the king had granted them on the island of Mauritius. Over the nextone and a half decade the commander of the troops gathered information on the political situation and made promises to the power hungry local nobility. In 1809 the British troops send a message to the British parlament.

1810-1850 The British landed with one Battalion in Madagascar and a few modern cannons and one cavalry regiment. They allied themselves with the local nobility and overthrew the Medina kingdom. Then they started organizing and restructuring Madagascar without honoring their promises to the local nobility. The British parlament officialy established a new colony. Over the next few years the colony started to develop and factorys were build. Several factorys used slaves as the British goverments eye didnt reach this far. They made good profits and invested into more factorys. The governer of Mauritius took the colony over in 1840 and organized a new tax system. Goods from Madagascar made good profits in the world and those were invested into new factorys. But over the course of the last decade riots broke out. In 1850 the great uprising started. The young governer did his best to hold the native population back, but they lost half of their colony. The natives and the local nobility declared their own empire. Upon which the colonial troops sent a message to the British goverment. In a few months reinforcements arrived and the colonial troops started to push the natives back. Until the natives were mysteriously popping out from behind the British troops. Entire native armies were hiding in the plantations, tunnels, jungles and trenches. In the next years the reconquest came to a grinding halt. The uprising had become a guerilla war.

1850-1862 Over the next years the British goverment became more and more pessimistic. Voices which pleaded for an end of this madness became loud. In the decade between 1850 and 1860 the revenue of the colony sank to nearly zero and thousands of good British men were dying per year. One last attempt of the British to regain the initiative was launched against the Mauritius Islands, but the Invasion failed. After one decade of guerilla warfare there was no sense in fighting on. The colony had been reduced to a little piece of rubble. In 1861 the British goverment ordered the evacuation. Thousands of Britsh soldiers evacueted and the British gave the colony up, but some who still had families there or were driven by revenge stayed. While the British left and the natives and slaves cemented their republic, some left over colonial troops kept on the struggle. The colonial troops appointed a new governer of the colony. The governor organized the left-over troops and recruited several militia units from loyal natives. Together they kept the struggle on for the next 3 months. The troops managed to pull a suprise attack against the local nobility of and crushed them. The noble familys were eliminated. But many of the natives kept on fighting. Then the governor declared that all slaves under that come over to his side are free people and all the other subordinates of the enemy can become his citizens. Over the next months the governer could mored than double the size of his army. With his new gained forces he ended the civil war. He declared the new empire of Madagascar and never wanted to ever hear anything from the British goverment again.

1862-1890 Over the next years the left-over colonial troops became known as the Old guard. Under the governor the slow reconstruction began. The plantations were quickly restored only that the workers got paid for their work. Two railways were built from a Korean guild and a couple of locomotives were bought from the Koreans. Over the following decade the region became a new hub of prosperity and peace. The governer slowly expanded the industrial capabilities of Madagascar. Later under his rule the emprie bought military ships from all over the world and expanded their own fleet. In 1886 a new governor was choosen from the officers. His relaxed attitude became the new stample of Madagascars politics. Knowing, that the empir didnt had the resources to ever fully industrilyse he envisioned a new economy. Madagascar has since then increased its own trade fleet and pushed progressiv ideas through. Everyt new idea that promised to make money got money. In 1888 the governor of the now relativly rich nation promised to increase the influence of Madagascar. The governor gave the order to build two protected cruisers in Korea. After so many years one might have thought everything bad had been overcome, but in a hot summer in 1889, one of the volcanoes erupted. Over the following months the people cleared the roads from debris, but many structures and roads still have to be repaired.

RP Sample: https://www.nationstates.net/nation=emp ... id=1345770

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

[Tracian Empire]

Full Nation Name :
ENGLISH
Western Roman Empire
Latin Empire
Holy Roman Empire
ITALIAN
L'impero romano d'Occidente
Il Senato e il popolo romano
DALMATIAN
Saran e Suant Impero
I depotuti e el poplo viaspro
Juan Raigno

Majority/Official Culture : In official terms, the official terminology used is "Romani", a counterpart to the Eastern "Romaic". The Westerners pride themselves on their Latin heritage, and exploit it to its full extent. The state does not recognize regional languages, only dialects of "Lingua Latina Nova", otherwise called "New Latin" or "Modern Latin". They insist that the Italo-Dalmatian languages are just the natural progression of the Latin language, compared to the "Gallic speech" or the "Hispanic language". Natives will often call themselves by local or regional terms, sometimes with classical reference. Some might say "We are Liguri", others might say "We are Etrusci" or "We are Tusci", and so on. Interestingly, the African Latins have adopted the name Punici for themselves, in contrast with the remaining Punic speakers centered in Libya, who are called Cartaginesi.

The Western perception of Romanitas varies from the Eastern one in some ways, but aligns in most. It is not necessarily fixed to any particular ethnic group, but it is more pluralistic in forgetting religious boundaries as well. In Italy, a mosaic of Christendom exists, with Catholics, Orthodox concentrated in the South, some traces of Arianism in the North, all conflicting with the Caesaropapist question of whether the emperor or the pope should rule the other. This is to say nothing of remnant pagans, or attempts to incorporate the Jews (and, in the same idea, the Carthaginians) for a slew of reasons. However, for political reasons, Latins are given more arbitrary and imaginary points regarding Romanitas, especially in relation to the Greeks. While there is a greater sense that Romanitas corresponds in many ways to a civilization, which any given individual can join, the notion of bloodline from the republic and the older empire still carries extra weight, much to the chagrin of the East.

A more demotic and republican tradition, brought about by the relative lack of courtly grace in the early military government and, just perhaps, a higher confidence in their own Romanitas as Latins, has allowed this more pluralistic view of to flourish over the ages. The relative liberty of the West has led it to pin former atrocities on the East - claiming to the Jews that it was the East which harmed them, and currying their favor through resettlement in somewhat autonomous communities as Carthaginians, just for example. Few attitudes are so universalist as in the East, and thus they are more often opportunistic, relative, contextual, and at times arbitrary. Perhaps the only constant is that 'we' are more Roman than 'them', which especially includes the East.
Territorial Core : You know, plus the additional colonies we talked about
Territorial Claim : Technically, the whole of the original Western empire, and maybe a bit more, but for practicality we can say Gaul and maybe Spain and kinda leave it at that
Capital City : Rome, Rome, Rome
Population : ~49,200,055
35,000,000 (Italy)
3,000,000 (Africa)
5,200,000 (Balkans)
55 (Tavolara)
4,000,000 (Venezuela)
2,000,000 (Caribbean)

Government Type : Exarchate - a nifty way to shorten that it is a militaristic monarchical government that still yet maintains republican overtures and a functioning senate appointed by a vulgar electorate
Government Ideology/Policies : The Latin government puts a heavy emphasis on the preservation of national Romanitas underlying all subject peoples, and the bearing of the Roman spirit through the ages. What this has meant, exactly, is both a strong continuous belief, and highly situational. From the fall of Rome and its recapture by Belisarius, to the Renaissance of later history, ideals have been carried - or so the story goes, anyway. There is no small truth in the fact that this later empire has focused strongly on classicism and neoclassicism across its history, making it highly traditional and conservative, but its traditions are not exactly like those of other lands.

Pulling on Roman roots and helping to be defined by the pluralism that was ancient Rome and that would become the later empire, a sense of pragmatism, relative tolerance, and one might dare say outright humanism was pervasive throughout the conservative circles of Roman society. This was, of course, seamlessly blended with notions of the divine, and a sort of application of rationalism unto the divine and vice versa. For long ago it was said that the difference between Etruscans and Romans was that while Romans believe lightning occurs because the clouds strike, the Etruscans believe the clouds strike that lightning may occur - God is universal, but perhaps predictable, and the universe has rules that bind it. The old Etruscan augurs haven't gone to rest either, with pagan remnants and nominally Christian fortune tellers being popular figures throughout the empire.

And so Roman society works, bound by the belief that any given individual may bear the light of civilization and honor within themselves, and accepting that there are variations to be found that still fit the scheme. Bound by the philosophy and the styles of the ancients, who nonetheless advocated pragmatism and advancement, who were militaristic and yet unafraid to negotiate and make contracts with those who were quite different indeed from them. A society that appreciates earthly things, luxuries, where the money can flow from market to merchant even if they may be a Jew, or a Greek. The Republican tolerance fits just as well into the urban and mercantile nature of so many cities therein.

The union of the divine and the rational, the supernatural and the natural, upholding Christian values alongside Roman ideals, of thesis and antithesis into synthesis, this synthesis is the ideology of the Romans.
Government Focus : The Western Empire is well aware of its legitimacy, as are its neighbors. As an institution, it has stood for many centuries, with the backing of its Eastern parent to support it. It is a powerful regional player as well, and so need not from uncertainty or insecurity try to project itself unnecessarily unto others as some sort of moral crusader. It will dabble where it feels interest, but this is primarily its decision, nobody else's. The main focus, instead, is domestic and civic in nature. Government officials often have ties to business and artistic enterprises, and the imperial government itself sponsors infrastructure such as the periodic upgrading and repair of the Veran Wall, the construction of roads, highways, and sanitation infrastructure like baths and waterworks, as well as paying out pensions and rationing for times of crisis. The church, in its charitable missions and following the advice of a church father or two, throw their support behind these initiatives wholeheartedly.
Head of State : Cesara Alessandra Udina Belisaria
Head of Government : above
Government Description : Originating as a military governorship ruled by the crown in Constantinople, the ravages of time and practicality have rendered this entirely nominal. The title is now more or less hereditary, , with some gaps allowed for the influence of members of court and the senate in choosing or confirming the exact successor. Although the East has influenced the direction of government, a Latin senate still exists elected by the masses and comprising largely people of significant financial or military status, who tend to gain favor through sponsorship and patronage of the arts up to and including architecture. The hard power of the Senate is ultimately limited, but the members thereon are highly influential all the same.

Majority/State Religion : Latin Chalcedonian Christianity, with guaranteed freedom of worship, and significant Jewish and Pagan minorities.
Religious Description : Under the watchful imperial eye, the Great Schism never did manifest as it did in our reality. There is no schism between the Latins and Greeks in theory, though the practice often differs from the theory. The patriarch of Rome, the Pope, still has very significant influence over things, moreso than his counterpart in Constantinople, but the Emperor reigns supreme above all. Significant colonies of Carthaginian Jews exist in Africa, invited to help fill out the area and given a safe place to live with promised freedom from prosecution and including Papal protections. In the distant colonies, there live mixed religious populations, but indigenous American belief systems certainly still exist among the population. Forms of folk belief, magic systems, and sometimes outright idolatry persist in some regions of Italy as well, and especially in Tuscany - this is exacerbated by a revival movement undertaken in the Renaissance by a wave of Neoplatonic scholars like Gemistus Pletho, as well as the spread of popular classical study.

Economic Ideologies : Regulated State Capitalism
Major Production : Dyes, leather, textiles, wines, luxury items, fine and finished manufactured goods.
Economic Description : A specialized economy for turning raw goods into fine things to flaunt, turning water into fine, the Italian economy is quite competitive and broadly prosperous, albeit highly specialized. They are known, at the moment, for hand-built and fine-tuned machinery (as compared to mass-production, industrialized machines), exquisite leathers, and promulgating locally-dyed and embroidered Byzantine silk to the Western market. These all come in both individual or 'raw' components, as well as finished products. Wines are only another thing on the list, with some speculating that the Western Empire simply creates the most wine in the world per unit of volume. Colonial economies are a bit different, much more agriculturally focused, and modeled in part on the Roman colonia, giving gifts of land as reward for state service and promoting the birth of farmlands in these new territories, and largely with intermixing of Roman and native populations and the growing of native crops. It is, in a sense, an overseen development of a region, rather than specifically the resettlement of a people or the replacement of another. Resource extraction is important, but these would be viewed perhaps more effectively as farming and trade colonies, rather than for the sole purpose of pure extraction.

Development: Modern
Development Description : The Western economy and industry has adapted well to the ages. Although the appreciation for decadent luxury has led to a great many things being built in a hand-crafted, rather than mass-produced, fashion, the industrial capability is still there all the same. As a foremost power of Europe, the West has had to keep up with the rest of the continent by necessity - and for spite of any reliance on their Eastern counterpart. The troublesome terrain of Italy meant that the old Roman highways were a godsend in times past, as they are maintained today, but alternative infrastructure has been in demand for some time. Where terrain is flatter, trains have sprung up to allow movement, but in no small part shipment across the empire is reliant on waterbound transport, with some limited train lines or highways connecting the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian. In Africa, sheer size has forced the use of trains across its much more favorable landscape to get from one end to the other.

The Western Empire also excels in the field of sanitation infrastructure, perhaps moreso than others, and has kept up its habits of aqueducts, public baths, sewage, and ensuring access to clean water.

Army Description : The army is a carry-over from the Eastern themata, with military subdivisions and land grants ensuring a localized and battle-ready force is always prepared to be drawn up on the borders. Unlike the Eastern Empire, however, the themata follow regional powers and centers of conflict, conforming to what was, at times, only nominally subject city-based powers. Each city, thus, carries its own military legacy and rivalries. The military is largely modernized, perhaps moreso than the Eastern soldiers, due to proximity to the West and even the legacy of the Latins upon it. Being a frontier region, an exarchate, also gave an early emphasis on military development within it to the court at Constantinople. As a result of the localized military, the army as a whole is generally decentralized and grouped by place of origin, rather than forming large and diverse regiments. The discipline, however, suffers not. They are not often grouped into larger legions incorporating people from more than one region, however this allows a smaller-scale, more squad-based style of warfare similar to how the Romans defeated the Phalanx in antiquity. Malleable and focused.
Army Weakness : The army is highly decentralized and localized, leading to smaller units with less diversity. In this regard, a single squad will rarely be able to perform particularly diverse functions, even if as a formation they are more malleable than rigid lines. Being grouped with their regional fellows might incentivize more camaraderie, it also can take a toll on communities if an entire group is injured or killed. Moreover, it is not an effective offensive force, largely being trained to defend the hills of Italy and the sands of Africa, able to defend and garrison an urban setting well but perhaps struggling to capture it to begin with. Cavalry and reconnaissance is largely left to African auxilia, who often have their own equipment and training, and pose a linguistic barrier much stronger than inter-regional ones suffered by the Italians and Dalmatians.
Naval Description : The navy originated as an anti-pirate measure, but grew with the prominence of trade. Once reliant on the East for naval protection during the Middle Ages, the reunification and consolidation of power in the Renaissance allowed the individual shipbuilding traditions of the maritime cities to conglomerate into a more effective navy. The navy plays a much more prominent role in the West accordingly, and just as well considering the larger need for such a thing. The navy is, for the most part, fairly well modernized, and deals with much of the same equipment as the Eastern one. The ships are strong and well-equipped, the sailors often being recruited or conscripted merchants with generations of seafaring experience. A fully functional blue-water and green-water force, it makes an effective offensive force all the same. Hinterland tribes of Slavs and Albanians, though often somewhat neglected by the West, are valued as a source of marines.
Naval Weakness : The navy must compete with the army in many regards, with many preferring the comfortable life of a garrison at home instead of a working one of seabound patrols. Language barriers among the tribal marines and the 'civilized' mariners can lead to some issues as well. The cost of the fleet is substantial, and is partially subsidized by its role as a Merchant Marine as well. This dual purpose means that trade will suffer more than necessary in times of war, while strictly naval peacetime activities are limited. The ships sacrifice some military capability in favor of cargo space and speed, and might be supported by wooden ships when in need.
Further Military Description : Experimental technology

National Goals : Ascendancy to co-emperorship, perhaps even dominance. Glory and wealth, of course.
National Issues : Having less land and manpower than the East, diplomatic barriers, and not being exactly the best at industry even if technically industrialized. Let's not forget the ever-lasting problem of language barrier.
National Figures of Interest : Tuone di Ragusa, Giorgio da Firenze, Leo d'Arezzo, Antonio Farantouri, Asdruele Barco
National Ambition/Aspirations : Gloria in excelsis populo

History : The Greek general Belisarius was said to have been offered by the Ostrogoths the position of the Western Emperor when he laid siege to them. He accepted, only to turn against his Goths and betray them in the name of the court in Constantinople. For this, he was awarded the title Caesar of the West, reflecting his great accomplishment in battle and his everlasting loyalty to the Empire. He had been made the Exarch of Italy appropriately, and when he could no longer conquer and age beset his old bones, he settled in old Rome with his family. The great city had long since lost its importance, replaced by Ravenna and Mediolanum and other sites, but as the glory of all he knew originated with the city of Rome, it only seemed fitting that perhaps, just perhaps, it be given one more chance. Thus, it was born. Belisarius would live only so long to see the Lombards invade, and to personally drive them away with his son by his side.

Under the rule of the son of Belisarius, Nicephorus, there was conflict with the Patriarch of Rome. Nicephorus Belisarion had known the Greek Rite for much of his life. Furthermore, raised by the greatest general of the empire and mothered by the confidant of the empress, Nicephorus had of himself an ego rivaled only by the breadth of the imperial domain. The Roman Patriarch, who demanded submission and humility in accordance with the Latin tradition, grew to despise the decadent Nicephorus, but never dared to challenge him openly until the year 600, upon which a duel was held between the two. Nicephorus won, and the Patriarch was maimed. In but a few short weeks, he passed- and Nicephorus gained the epithet "Slayer of the Latins", known for his disrespect of the Latin ways. What had began initially as a glorious salvation from the hands of the Goths by a great general had quickly turned sour as the struggles between the Latins and Hellenes were emphasized once more. Rejected by his court, one by one, the Exarch grew anxious. Nicephorus, seeing his peril, married with a Latin woman and had five children with her- this gesture a symbol of the unity he had hoped to bring. Although he continued with the Greek Rite for his life, he took special precaution to help mend the wounds between Latins and Greeks. Naming his children in the local Latin, he passed his throne to his eldest Verus.

Verus, the first "Latin" emperor from his Greek brood, and the first since the collapse of the West near 150 years prior, grew in his life as a proper Latin. He spoke Latin, he dressed Latin, and he celebrated Latin holidays with his Latin court- the Italians had regained their position in the world, it had seemed, until all remembered the true power lay at Constantinople. It was by their grace alone that the breed of Belisarius continued to hold the throne, and by their favor towards his grandfather that Verus was allowed to govern the land. He took measure to ensure his fitness in the eyes of Constantinople- reinstating the old legions and fortifying the Alps being his major accomplishments. The fortification he had built on the Alps became known as the Veran Wall, and would be the first of many, many additions in the area.

Drawing from his predecessor, Honorius celebrated his ascension by adding to the Veran Wall. His additions were few, consisting primarily of nearby barracks to help garrison the wall- it was a gesture of support for the defense of the border, but furthermore connected him to his predecessor. This connection would become important, and the next few kings would all follow suit in making some additions to the Veran Wall, be they towers, extra layers, or even an extension entirely. The original, facing only against the lands of the Bavarii and incorporating the mountains of the Alps to fill gaps, would soon become a wonder in itself. It was also during this time that the refugees taken in from Judea and Samaria were redistributed, with promising programs set forth for them in Africa among the dwindling Carthaginians. Set up among these last Phoenicians, the Jews and Samaritans here converted them and kept their culture alive. Indeed, it began to flourish under autonomous rule. Honorius gifted the Temple Relics to the community, and the city of Carthage was repopulated with this Neo-Punic elite. While some scolded the emperor for his restoration of the Carthaginians, the peace and prosperity it brought to Africa paid itself off in interest. By his death, Honorius was celebrated by his old Senatorial enemies, and a new age of stability came.

Time came and went like the tides of the ocean, but in the year 712, the during the Ides of March, the Exarch Caesar Belisarion Severius dies in Venice after succumbing to his wounds by a Germanic blade. He has yet to proclaim a proper heir, and the unity of Italy begins to fall. His twin sons, Antonius and Nero, each take command of a section of the land. Nero, a brave general by heart, takes station in Venice by his father's bedside- here he garrisons the Wall alongside his men. Antonius, meanwhile, moves to Rome as the first properly administrative, non-military, ruler of the land. The court in Constantinople watches eagerly, as if an experiment, to see which of the brothers takes charge over the other, but neither does. It is in this divided reign that the Illyrian Betrayal happens, and many cities of Illyricum simultaneously declare a league of their own separate from the Italian influence. Nero moves quickly with his army, and warns of the precedent should Antonius let such events pass idly. Although Nero secures the loyalties of the Illyrians once more through 6 years of campaigning, the previous state is never recovered and they retain autonomy. It is in this new autonomy that the Dalmatian language, and its regional identity, begins to develop- as well as acting for a breeding ground for the mercantile city-republics that would come to dominate. A small town, Ragusa, begins to dominate by the end of the decade.

Antonius appeared to have won the battle of the brothers, but in his age his council turned against him. Slain by conspirators and with only a single daughter to claim the throne, the Italian cities followed the example of the Illyrians. The rule of Agrippa was rough, and only through the most cunning diplomacy and the most ruthless military action in conjunction with the elderly Nero was she able to, similarly to Nero, regain the allegiance of the Italians under different conditions. Unlike Illyria, however, the Italians failed to produce a single strong city to overcome and dominate the others - remaining divided instead. This played to Agrippa's favor, and she learned a "Divide and Conquer" tactic that she would later write about in her Codex Italicum. She would marry off her children to the local mercantile nobility, the lesser patricians, of her vassal cities and those of Nero to secure a general allegiance, but this would only serve to strengthen the autonomy of the cities. Agrippa's greatest triumph, however, came in the reconquest of Africa - launched from Sicily, the capture of Carthage was quick and decisive. Contacts in the city, especially the Neo-Punic population that the Western Empire had fostered and promised to, were eager to the Roman aid. From this base, Berber tribe after Berber tribe were bribed to harass the opposition as the legions swept through Libya, with Judeo-Punic connections informing communities to raise their banners in preparation. The Latin and Punic majority was warmed by the return of Roman authority, much to the chagrin of the warlords, as well as their tribes and mercenaries that they'd brought with them. Agrippa's Triumph was said to be legendary, a model for future celebrations of state for centuries to come.

As the world entered into the Middle Ages, the West began to brace for the changing world. While the East struggled against the Eastern hordes, the West was faced with age-old barbarian enemies. Old Roman attempts to maintain control over Caesar's Province in the south of Gaul were losing their effect, the Mohamedan regime seeming to counter Roman influence at every turn. A soft war began, a war of words, of faith, of influence. Meanwhile, to the far north, Frankish warlords slowly consumed both Roman and Muslim influence, spreading barbarity to the corners of Gaul city by city. When a Frank declared himself the new emperor, Agrippa was furious at the Papal response of relative neutrality and even some minor support. Though the debate continued to rage of emperor versus pontifex, it was mostly her gender that was called upon for support of the new Frank. Calling on the support of the Carthaginians and her sons-in-law, her position as the unequivocal leader of the Western Romans was reaffirmed. When it was reaffirmed as such by the Senate, the Pope quieted to a fully neutral position. To avoid any more such disturbances, the unusual circumstance of nominally appointed military governorship having been passed to a woman hereditarily, Agrippa took to law to reaffirm herself and her position. It was thus decreed that, like the Etruscans on which Rome had built itself, the Italians would make official that which had been known since the days of Ulpia Severina, and since Theodora: the rights and dignity of women. Although women were not allowed in the Senate or to participate in its vote, many offices were fully legalized in an official capacity. Thus, no barbarians or treasonous pontifeces could question her leadership.

With the collapse of central authority in Gaul, the Romans made their move once more. With some military conquest, ostensibly to "Restore order" to the region, and a large deal of Soft Power politics. Emperor after emperor, using the weight of merchant connections, injected Romanitas into Occitania. It was said that the people of that region spoke much more proper Latin, quite closer to the Latin of Italy than the barbaric "French" tongue. With his armored legions, the Emperor took to court in that land, sending senators and even himself as a judge to resolve disputes among the petty lords of Occitania. Land disputes between cities, resource rights over fields, guilds here and there, the Romans had an answer for everything. The affirmation of the Roman church in these lands grew stronger by the day, and the French were starting to seem not so bad after all. These wild barbarians had embraced a very Roman sense of things, broadly speaking, and the emperors began to refer to the lands of the French lords as Aeduia, in memory of Caesar's closest allies in his Gallic campaign. The free republics of the empire enjoyed increasing relations, and without an imperial title to threaten them, the emperors grew into it too.

Then came the Crusades. Holy wars to reclaim lost imperial territory for the East. While many in the West initially saw the pleading of the East as something worthy of mockery on stage, the cries of Deus Vult from Rome itself led the way to a turn of opinion. When asked for a show of support for the Crusades, Emperor Valente gave a speech at the Apostolic Palace to get the assembled Italian, Dalmatian, French, Spanish, even African, crowd to roar in approval. So the wars went, the empire focusing its soft power in Gaul, its hard power supporting the East, interrupted only by the rise of a peasant commune in Rome to remove Papal authority from the city. The emperor made a move from Ravenna with his personal retinue to seize Rome from the peasants. With a mixture of negotiation, siege, and threats, the city was recaptured. Instead of handing it back to the Pope, he instead moved the capital to that eternal city - declaring that the people of Rome had spoken, that it was the true heart of everything the West stood for, and that it was long past time to reclaim the city instead of the East's preferred Ravenna or the autonomous Milan. To appease the peasants, however, he also extended the Senatorial vote from patricians to commoners all, even if in practice the patricians were the vast majority of senators regardless.

Not all in the Crusades was well, though. The Free Republic of Venice sacked some Dalmatian counterparts, culminating in the sacking of Constantinople and the founding of a rival Latin Empire in the East. Although the Western empire somewhat appreciated the sentiment of the emperor in Thessalonike, the East demanded the support of the West. Sympathizing with the East over its Frankokratia, recalling when such was threatened upon Agrippa, the emperor sent some forces to aid the East in its efforts. In the tradition of Belisarius, the West restored order across Epirus and Hellas, isolating the other Latin Empire from potential allies. When the East won, the West returned its Greek territories, with a few new trade ports established along the way. Venice faced no punishment for its role in the fight. Time marched ever onward.

The fourteenth century was a period of expansion. Influence in Gaul reached a critical peak, and the jurisdiction of the Western emperor was being steadily formalized on a city-by-city basis. As more disputes came to be solved, more influence gained, more tithe sent, the emperors began to twist things to their favor. If land came into dispute, it might go to the West. If a city needed an appointed leader, it fell to a senator to rule. If a war came to be and simply could not be determined, the Western legions helped the side most favorable to them. When the Plague rolled around, this only got worse, as the West grabbed for land and people not under the effects of the vile blight. By the fifteenth century, it began to slow, but any semblance that the Occitans were not under Western dominion was quickly fading. Like the free cities of Italy and Dalmatia, the people of Provincia were brought into the fold as autonomous holdings. In the classic fashion, they likewise began to compete with the Italian and Dalmatian free cities. Mercenary armies flew between them all, as did the daggers of assassins and the ships of great trade. While the previous century saw a rise of the Italians in dominance, the rise of the Rinascimento, a rebirth where Italian powers began to consolidate their countrysides, directly contributed to increasing centralization. Venice, Genoa, Ragusa, Vicla (Veglia), Florence, Naples, and Amalfi together owned the majority of Italy and Dalmatia, and most of the country's wealth. While the classics had never been truly abandoned, the centralization of wealth played a crucial part in the rebirth and the renewal into a neoclassical age.

Over the course of the fifteenth century, the exploratory nature of the Italo-Dalmatians in their previous capital ventures to other lands brought them further and further. By 1492, the first Italian had set foot in the New World. It was under this prospering that the Italians finally began to eclipse the Dalmatians, gaining a factor of exponential growth. However, the line of Belisarius was running thin- the Republican politics had all but killed the Italian half of his line- leaving behind the Viclasun line to take charge. Stemming from Vicla, also called Veglia and, in Latin, Curicum, this unlikely progeny of the great Belisarius through no less than 4 cadet branches had managed to survive purely because their republic had long ago been eclipsed by the nearby Ragusa. Rising to the throne due to their well-recorded, if distant, lineage, the first Dalmatian Exarch went by Domagna.

Domagna Udaina was a ruthless and cunning man. Long suppressed by his neighboring Venice and Ragusa, he gained an enmity for the free republics of the exarchate. Cooperating with the Medici of Firenze, Domagna established a power base in Central Italy, a strong alliance across the land. He first chose to reign in Genoa, who stood distant from the others and with a distrust for their own duxe, the citizens of Genoa sold their city out to Domagna. Using this power base, he reaffirmed the loyalty of the traditionally monarchical Napoli to move on Amalfi. Half of Amalfi's patricians were of Greek origin, and despite a notable military presence, none was needed for Domagna to seize power. His ties to the Greek emperor, as well as his relatively nonpartisan origin, meant a nonviolent swearing of fealty. As Venice made its move against Ragusa, historically held back by the limited influence of the exarch but now with a doge reckless enough to ignore it, their city was invaded under the cover of night. In the year 1543, the "Night of Tears" occurred- Domagna infiltrated Venice with his combined Italian army and wrecked havoc upon the streets. Many of the town guard were slaughtered, and their bodies thrown into the canals. The island flowed in red for 3 days after the fatal event, and the doge was forced to surrender. As he had captured Ragusa and even appointed a new Rector, that republic had been cleared out of the way as well.

Domagna, in his violent reign lasting from 1516-1552, became known as "the Slayer". His son, Jugno, tried initially to rule with a soft hand, but in the second month of his reign realized the error of this. He chose instead, to invite all the dukes of his realm- the duxe, the doge, the rettore, to watch him compete in games. He raced for Blue in chariots, and won a tzykanisterion tournament. The games, lasting a full month on their own, ended with Jugno inviting any patricians who wished to assert their independence a duel to the death for the opportunity. He went so far as to promise his crown to any who would fight him. After the demonstration of his abilities in the games, however, none stood forward. All throughout his life, Jugno would insist the offer was always on the table, and made it to each newly elected duke of his realm. Through such shows of force and fearlessness, as well as his well-meaning heart and his administrative excellence in improving the unity and strength of his realm, the Italians and Dalmatians alike took to calling him agosto, the first Exarch since Belisarius to ever be called by such a title in any capacity.

Jugno would attempt an invasion of Gaul to restore the lost Roman hegemony there. Senatorial support was strong, with Catholic elements wishing to crush the heretics, and an increasing Neoclassical faction inspired by Gemistus Pletho, the lingering pagan peasants in the Italian countryside, and the Rinascimento movement, called to restore Roman rule to Gaul more broadly. They were sort of Latins, were they not? Aeduia, the allies of Caesar? Jugno acted swiftly and decisively, only to be met with a strong and unexpected resistance from a new conglomerated republic. The first war that the Western Romans would undertake as a fully reunified power would test the strength of their unity, and Jugno would die before it finished.

In the chaos of succession, Empress Catarina took the throne only to learn that, without leadership, without certainty, without their unifying emperor, the Veran Wall had been passed, the legions stationed there weakened by their divisions. Rallying up an army in the center, she had the navy attempt to cut off any supply lines while she met the French army on the field of battle over and over again. Facing defeat, she agreed to the humiliating surrender in 1601 to recognize French independence once and for all, at which point she is said to have stated "So be it, the Gauls choose barbaritas". The internal divisions within the country were initially blamed for the defeat, but Catarina shifted the blame to rest on the shoulders of the senate, which had acted in regency at the time of the fall of the Veran Wall. Furthermore, she blamed the Pope for instigating the war in the first place, and exercised her imperial authority to have him removed from office. This was the first demonstration of Caesaropapism in near a millennium, apart from the minor example of the proper annexation of Rome centuries prior. This strengthened the Neoclassical movement, which had been gaining strength since the 14th century, among the elites of Roman society, and Catarina became known as Catarina the Pagan. In the elections of 1605, the senate was a pagan majority. With this pagan majority, Catarina enacted further reforms for the rights of women, teetering the precarious position of the pagans over a vastly Catholic populace. This included conditional female suffrage, for those of the Patrician class and those who acted as the heads of their families. It was said that the 'vote of every man' enacted earlier had been renamed by her to the 'vote of every family', thus by her logic that as the man was not always the head of the family, was not always the main moneymaker, and way not always the most influential, women should gain the right if they meet the conditions. As patrician families had always enjoyed special privileges, and patrician women were more likely to lead families, the suffrage was thus universal for them.

The great changes brought by the Treaty of Pavia and Catarina's rule, her conformity to the Rinascimento, inspired new theatrical and operatic works. Well past her death in 1647, Roman culture flourished. Although the 15th century brought many new and contemporary stories to the stage, this new theater brought grand epics of old, stories of emperors and demigods, classical mythology in total, to life. Names like Hercules and Ovid and Democritus flew at balls and on stage, as well as at convivia and in the senate. This all came to a head in 1755, when a Corsican senator by the name of Pasquale Paoli advocated universal female suffrage. The emperor took kindly, and this law became known as the Livian Reform, after the first empress in Roman history.

It was a golden age. Science, philosophy, and art flew as it never had before, with the printed word spreading these teachings faster than the ancients could've dreamed. The Library of Alexandria was little in comparison. Patricians and imperial family members heartily adopted the patronage system once run by the free republics of the land, while interfaith dialogue between pagan and Christian elites, as well as the Judaized Carthaginians, provided an exceptional home to tolerance in the West. The names of great polymaths were on the tongues of everyone, from the centuries-old work of Leonardo da Vinci, to Leon Battista Alberti, the economics of Luca Pacioli, the observations of Galileo and Zucchi, the shocking discoveries of Volta and Galvani, not to mention contributions by Dalmatians such as Giorgio Armeno, Stefano Gradi, the Nicolas of Nale and of Gozzi, and even from non-Latins such as Ruggiero Boscovich. A true flourishing throughout the 18th century, grounded in the works of the past and the peoples now reviewing them.

The 19th century saw much change, but also much the same. The Western Empire declined, and their golden age ceased. Although classical scholarship of that age's like still continues strongly, the great debates, the treatises, the reports, the convivia, have all been reduced to but memory and ceremony, no longer feeling as if a living practice, but instead on life support. Italian technology began to fall behind, and the empire spent more of its money playing catch-up with the newest inventions, meaning less was devoted to patronage. It was not until the 1850s that the empire gained a more secure position in the world, settling in as a major power once again, if slightly behind the rest of Europe on more than few things. The luxury market was resolidified in its new form of furs, silks, and leathers, as it had been for centuries and yet breathed life anew. As we enter into this new age, perhaps the Romans will try to claim their place once more, or perhaps they will begin once more to fade. Only time will tell if the Romans, both West and East, will see another century yet.
RP Sample: :|

#AltDiv (do not delete this, it's for keeping track of the apps)

Accepted!

[Of Leben]

Ruthenian Empire

Імперія русинів, жамойтів, турків та монголів

Імперія русинів

Majority/Official Culture: Rusyn/Ruthenian
Territorial Cor : Belarus, Ukraine, Baltics, Russia, Siberia, Turkmenistan, Caucuses, Wallachia, and Moldovia
Territorial Claim: Poland, Finland, Vladivostok, Transylvania.
Capital City: Kyiv (Kiev)
Population: 100,453,244

Government Type: Reactionary absolutist monarchy
Government Ideology/Policies: Promotion of faith, family, order.
Government Focus: Development of the eastern frontier, stabilization of the western frontiers, acquisition of better sea access.
Head of State: Mykhailo II Pavlovych Rurikid
Head of Government : Mykhailo II Pavlovych Rurikid
Government Description:
The Ruthenian Government is a hereditary monarchy with a primogeniture male-preferred succession. The Ruthenian emperor has sovereignty over the entirety of the state- as such the government is considered his (or her) personal domain. The Ruthenian government is composed of different ministries which are headed by the emperors appointees and staffed by the members of the nobility. The state bureaucracy is fairly meritocratic, however there exists a glass ceiling for people who are not nobility, but only noble clans who are in favor with the Emperor can advance through to the highest ranks of the bureaucracy. In regions where centralized governance is difficult, governors are appointed by the Emperor to rule the area in his stead. The governors have a wide range of discretion to deal with these provinces as he sees fit, however all of his appointees must be approved by the emperor.

The countries nobility is divided into several dozen clans, however of these only the 5 most influential clans will be mentioned: The Sheremetevs, Dvoryanyns, Kovlovs, Khrystyyanys, and Vashchenkos. All of the noble clans gather into a congregation known as the Court Council (Судова рада) where the nobility meet with the emperors court and he officially gives his favor to clans based on the emperors own criteria. The Court Council meets only when there is a change in the status quo or when the emperor summons it. If 2/3rds of the noble clans agree to a council, the emperor may also agree to convene one. Clan favor determines which clans will be eligible to receive the highest and most prestigious awards, and generally favor is earned by appeasing the emperors demands and providing excellent service to his state. The council serves to show who is in power within the state bureaucracy.

Similarly, there is a yearly bidding process by private firms and syndicates for "Пільги" (literally: privileges) in certain economic sectors or regions. These can include special mining rights, exclusive tax exemptions, monopolies over certain regions, or access to government contracts to provide a certain service or fill some specific public need. While this process does not occur in any formal council, it is conducted by the ministry of finance and generally starts in November of the year where these things are in question. This process also shows who is in power within the countries economy and which firms have the most influence.

Majority/State Religion: Eastern Catholicism (full communion with Rome)
Religious Description: Autonomous churches which recognize the authority of the Pope and accept his authority on matters of the faith when acting as the leader of the entire church (Speaking Ex-Cathedra).

Economic Ideologies: Capitalistic economy with mercantilist and syndicalist characteristics.
Major Production: Foodstuffs, steel & iron, coal, textiles, and petroleum.
Economic Description:
The major areas of industrialization are in Kyiv, Moscow, Ural mountains, Dnieper and lower don river regions. These areas are also home to some of the richest agricultural regions in the world, with the areas around Kyiv and the Dnieper River areas being the breadbasket of the empire and a major exporter of foodstuffs. In the north, Archangelesk, Сент-Ендрюс (Saint Andrews-St. Petersburg) are major ports of entry and export along with the southern ports of Rostov-on-Don and Novorossyk. Since the Ruthenian Empire is rich in resources, resource extraction remains a major industry- with oil fields in the caucuses and a wide variety of minerals and coal being present in the Urals. The forested regions of the north and in Siberia make Ruthenia a large exporter of lumber as well. While light industry does exist in the north, a disproportionate amount of that industry is centered in and around the Ukraine and the Muscovy region- especially in the Urals. In the western fringes of the empire, agriculture is heavily predominant, like in Moldovia and Wallachia.

While all of Siberia is part of Ruthenian patrimony, the vast expanse of its wilderness means that large sections of it are totally undeveloped and wild. Settlements do exist in Siberia however, but they are unmodern and backwater compared to the western regions of the empire. As railroads bring more people and therefore more capital these regions will see more development, and resource extraction from these regions will improve. In the Pacific section of this Empire there are a few major settlements however this region is relatively isolated. This section of the empire is mostly centered on resource extraction and trade with the oriental nations. Railroads are rapidly being built across the country, especially towards the east which is presently being connected to the west for both political and economic reasons.

The Central Asian region is very undeveloped with geography and climate being the major barriers. At this time the Ruthenian government has prioritized other regions for development and overtime the areas of Kazakhstan and the eastern Caspian sea region are almost primitive. Nomadic lifestyles are the norm and as such there is little in the way of economic activity except for subsistence off the land. The major exceptions being Samarkand and its surrounding settlements which act as major logistical hubs for local military operations and a trade route into the Russian Empire. The lack of roads and development have hindered Russian control of the area.

Development: Modern
Development Description: While there remain large sections of the empire which are undeveloped or underdeveloped, these areas are at the fringes of the Empire or on sections of the country which have almost no population. The European section of the Ruthenian Empire is highly developed with factories and intensive agriculture being the major drivers of the countries economy. Railroads are also being built across the empire connecting all sections of the country.

Army Description:
The Ruthenian Army (Імператорська армія)

Army Weakness :
Naval Description : [[Describe your nation's navy in as much detail as you can]]
Naval Weakness :
Further Military Description : [[OPTIONAL]]

National Goals : [[What are the main objectives of your nation?]]
National Issues : [[What needs to be fixed in order for your nation to achieve its true potential?]]
National Figures of Interest : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Are there any Mother Teresas or Moses that we need to know about?]]
National Ambition/Aspirations : [[OPTIONAL]] [[Not really set objectives, but rather the big picture that your nation is drawing towards]]

History : [[Can be in paragraph or bulletpoint timeline.]]
RP Sample: [[Either a link to a past post, or an example written right here.]]

#AltDiv (Do not delete this, it is used to keep track of the apps)

[SangMar]

Sorry about this OP, but I’m going to have to withdraw my application. I’m just too busy IRL at the moment.

Though, should I get some time, I’ll come back to it.

[Intermountain States]

It is done