The Grand Imperium of Ezkanteia

"Of noble Ezkanteia, I can say, there is no country whose beauty could ever surpass it. It is and was, truly, the winter palace of the gods..."
-Romanos Doukas, Ezkanteian writer and philosopher

History

Were it so easy to describe where Ezkanteia came from, then historians of the country might rejoice in song and drink, but it is not so. The land the country now occupies was once the home of the Ezka people, said to have been a sinewy people with high cheekbones and boorish dispositions. They fished by the coast and hunted in the forests. Despite their primitive order, they thrived for many centuries before the arrival of the Hellenes, who were exiled from a far away land now lost to time and had traveled on 10,000 ships to find a new home. With black hair and tanned skin, they resembled a people more accustomed to sunny skies and calm waters than the stormy and cloudy north. Nevertheless they were able to successfully take over Ezkanteia and assimilate the natives to their way of life. That is how the Old Kingdom began and reigned for so many centuries before a dynastic collapse created a great Civil war only ending with the coronation of the first Emperor of the Draconid dynasty. After that the country went into a golden age of splendor, it is said. A great and mighty power was carved out. Yet iw would all melt away in the last two centuries. Humiliation after uhmiliation, economic failure after economic failure. Another succession crisis between three brothers. Now though, things are different. Our country is united, our people are with us to the end. We will not fail. We will expand our Empire to the reaches of the earth and restore what was lost...

Politics
Ezkanteia is a somewhat constitutional monarchy, where the Emperor still retains much executive power, however the unicameral parliament has been gaining more powers recently. The candidates are chosen on a lottery basis and then voted on by citizens of the Empire. Many opponents of the current regime believe that the crown has been sabotaging the lottery system for advancing their own goals. The current monarch is Iustinianus VI, and his heir is the infant Konstantin (XXV)

Economy
Ezkanteia thrives on its fishing and lumber industries mainly, as well as exports of alcoholic beverages, which are highly prized for their quality. Distilled beverages like whisky, rum, and gin are the most popular, while brewed substances like beer and honeywine come in shortly behind. Farming is a big industry along the more developed coast, however very few goods are exported, and foodstuffs are generally kept within the country.

Military
Ezkanteia has had a long military tradtion, leading back for over a thousand years. There is a mandatory conscription of all able bodied young people for two years after the end of their secondary education, regardless of whether they dropped out or graduated. Ezkanteia's most important and prized branch of the military is its navy, which patrols the waters for boats carrying illegal drugs into the country and for any activity by the navies of their neighbors.

Culture
In Ezkanteia there can be found a unique blend of native Ezka (slavic esque) culture and Hellene (Greek) culture. Generally, the coastal areas are more purely hellene, while the interior is more mixed. Although the home of the Hellenes was warm enough for vineyards to produce quality wines, Ezkanteia is far too cold for this, resulting in the only vineyards being located near the mountains in an area of geothermal activity, creating a warm enough area for specially bred grapes to grow. Only the monks of the adjoining monastery know how to cultivate these grapes, and they use it to create a special wine called "Ezkanteia blue", known for a "unique" taste that only Ezkanteians can seemingly stand. Generally, the populace speaks the same language (Ezkanteian) and follows the same religion, that which was brought from the mysterious land of the Hellenes, called Orthodoxy. This homogeneity has created a strong sense of nationalism and trust among the populace, reinforcing the ties that keep the state together.

Basically, I'm just not sure how to mention real-world ideologies and religions IC that are significant to my country, or the people who influenced them. Like, would it be more RP-friendly to assume those real world figures just existed at some point somewhere in Artemia, OR come up with new names for those people and/or their ideologies/religions?

I feel like this is a minor point probably, but it's gonna bug me as I try to write my history whenever I get around to it if I don't ask :p

Salve, Amicus! Tu es in taberna! 

Welcome to the Taberna! A place where you can shitpost to your heart's content! We serve drinks 23 hours a day to anyone who isn't a Parthian! Enjoy our authentic Roman recipes ranging from the plebeian gruel to the finest patrician stuffed peacock! We accept payment only in the form of memes, though Cambridge Latin Course memes will get you something extra!
Any and all threadjacking should be immediately directed here once the mods tell you to stop, because god knows we could use the business. And if you should have any complaints about the atmosphere or conduct of this bar, just start your own! 

WARNING: TOO MANY BARS COULD LEAD TO THEME BARS, AND GOD KNOWS YOU DON'T WANT THAT

This morning in the Sol Federation, several members in the government attempted to replace the government in a coup. The plan was to replace the dictatorship to a democracy. The amount of men involved is unknown. They intended to assassinate Edward Yutan, invade the federal building, and take over the government. Unfortunately, they failed to assassinate Yutan, and the plan to invade the federal building failed miserably. Currently there are 50 people arrested for suspicion of being involved with the coup. Edward Yutan is in extreme anger, saying that he will execute all involved in the coup.
OOC: You may have your leaders respond to this news.

Hey. I'm pretty new to nationstates, but I saw this region and thought the rp looked pretty cool. People here seem pretty chill from the telegram responses I got so I feel like this region should be fun. 


I've always really liked games where you control countries, probably because I'm like crazy power hungry Civilization for one, is awesome.

I'm not really great at this whole thread posting thing... and I'll probably have a lot of newbie questions, but I'm looking forward to being active in this region!

Post any comments here plz

This thread is for Fornirian military-related stuff. Do not comment here

Waddup my n'wahs? I'm Michael Rhangabe around these parts...and Hogwarts. But most other places I'm Justinian Ezkantion, those places being Dellenaria, Wintreath, Ainur (at least before the founder went bonkers and banned anyone that disagreed with him), etc. I've been a Minister for Foreign and Internal Affairs, a Co-Regent, a Crown Prince, and a King. I've been a Byzantophile since I first learned about them in middle school, and I have absolutely despised anyone who wants to just forget about them and even utter the words "dark ages" because seriously those people are the worst. The West Roman Empire was garbage slaver trash. Pretty sure Caesar's Legion from F:NV is better than them like seriously forget you guys forget all of you the East is where it's at. I also hate Venice for what they did to Constantinople and I'm 100% giddy with excitement for when they finally sink into the ocean (God's Justice). I also enjoy long walks on the beach, Paradox's Grand Strategy games (CKII, EUIV, Vicky 2, etc.) and I like to draw. Did I forget anything? Oh yeah, the Angelids are worst dynasty.

Oscad, tried of the endless killings, prisoner takings and loss of land performed by Karknar and his raiders, have finally mobilized the militia against them. The militia consists of men and women who wish to serve their country, but in order to do so have to come under the command of the people for the duration of the war. The militia is run like a representative democracy, with the people that make up the militia, voting on which generals get to command them, based on skill and their reputation.
There are approximately 15,000,000 people that have signed up for the militia, although only 300,000 are being mobilized for this war.
Karknar has control of the whole of the north west island, the homeland of the Orscradans (now Oscadans).
Karknar has 220,000 people in his military, although 50,000 of them are used for raids and offense, while 170,000 are used to guard the island, with 20,000 in his stronghold alone.
Karknar routinely tortures and kills innocent people, and his raiders do unspeakable acts during the raids.
Karknar is an anarchist, but guides his raiders to prime targets for them to pillage and share with everyone else.
Oscad is anarchic-communist and see Karknar as a deceiving dictator.

Which side will you choose? Karknar, who may turn to dictatorship or perhaps and oligarchy. Or Oscad which has devolved partially into a tyranny by majority and whos actions are extremely xenophobic and sometimes unpredictable.

This an OOC forum. Feel free to ask questions here.


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