The Kingdom of Troinae (/kɪŋdəm əv trɔɪneɪ/ (Aeillan: basíleum ton trɔɪneɪ/))
Μπαζιλυμ τον Τροινέι
The Kingdom of Troinae, formerly known as the Exarchate of Troinae is known as the seat of Aeillan philosophy centered on the Tyros River. Long a prominent cultural institution, Troinae itself was one of the most important cities on the Tyros River. Troinae used to have a much more prominent role in Aeillan affairs but in recent years since the usurpation of power by the current ruler Filipe I, Troinae has been turning inward on itself as the new ruler seeks to consolidate his power. As a result, the modern kingdom is practically built up to ward off any attempts to restore the previous order.
The Kingdom of Troinae is an absolutist monarchy run virtually monopolistically by the Palace and its head, the Philosopher King. The Philosopher King's most important Lieutenants are the Captain of the Misthopídes (Mercenaries), the Proctor of the College of Philosophy, and the Magister Administratum. This system displaced the Philosophical Oligarchy that formerly was the primary power broker for the former Exarchate of Troinae. While Filipe I says it is a direct continuation of the previous system, any analysis of the current state of affairs would put the lie to this claim.
Troinae is very unstable at the current time. Many Troainars are resentful of the Half-Gallacan "Foreign King", and as a result, many people are on the brink of open rebellion, including a large number of important people in the Kingdom's power structure. Order is maintained largely by control of academia, and more importantly by the expenditure of vast amounts of treasure keeping large numbers of mercenaries on the payroll to put down rebellions. The current situation is growing increasingly dire as sources of money continue to decline.
Demography and Population
The Kingdom of Troinae has a relatively small population thanks in large part due to the exodus of people from the Kingdom shortly after the seizure of the state by its current ruler, as well as the purges of the intelligentsia and aristocracy afterward. Records are spotty, but the best available estimate places the population of the Kingdom at 821,000 residents. It is fairly de-urbanized in comparison to the rest of the Aeillan successors, with many large and empty cities that have been largely abandoned with people returned to the fields by order of the King.
The largest population center of the Kingdom of Troinae is its capital, Troinae itself with a population of 21,600 people. Other major population centers include Nicomedos with a population of 13,000, Marcomados with 10,300, and Humenides with 8,500. Most of Troinae's population resides fairly close to the River Tyros with the relatively dry, and more importantly agriculturally poor lands of interior being comparatively sparsely populated. The population, unlike almost everywhere else in Aeilla has recently become more dispersed.
The overwhelming majority of the population is human with Tyroi and Ilosi Aeillans being the largest two ethnic groups. There is also an extensive population of foreign ethnics largely Gallacans and Meridans who arrived as mercenaries before settling in the region. Nonhumans, as a free population, are relatively rare, but a fairly sizable number of slaves exist in the region, with a relatively even mixture of orcs and half-orcs used for hard labor, elves used as house slaves, and bonded tutors. Escapes from enslavement are common, and most escapees flee into Syros.
Territories
Troinae is one of the smaller territories having lost territory to Syros, and Thibaia in recent years, and never being a particularly large successor state, to begin with. The Troinar state has a territory of roughly 105,600 square kilometers. Territory in Troinar is moderately oriented towards is east to west axis, meaning that while it takes about 3 and half days to walk the country from north to south, but almost five days to walk from east to west. Troinae has open frontiers to its north, south, and west sharing borders with Syros, Korentis, and Thibaia. To its east is the River Tyros and across it is the Exarchate of Polanis.
Troinae is part of the interior of the Aeillan region and is comparatively speaking, host to a relatively dry, functionally semi-arid climate. Being so far inland, Troinae only sees a large amount of precipitation during the brief storm season and relatively little during the rest of the year. As a result, most of the moisture is collected in and around the River Tyros. As a result, cultivation largely relies on drought-resistant crops, and most of the uncultivated land is semi-arid scrubland. Closer to the Tyros, it is a little wetter, though it remains grassland rather than being home to dense forestry more common in territories closer to the Yulan Ocean, and therefore the frequent rains from that ocean.
Military
Troinae formerly used to rely heavily on its force of Akritae to maintain both order and the borders of the Troinar state, having historically lacked a permanent professional army due to wishing to keep wealth in the hands of the intelligentsia and the landed aristocracy and historical distrust of professional soldiers and their willingness to potentially stage a coup in against the standing oligarchy. These Akritae were lightly armed and equipped with Kavadion armor, and largely traditional weapons are intended more for internal policing than they were hostile action from foreign states.
In recent years however the Philosopher King has established a small but highly skilled, and highly paid body of Penandroi formed from the initial alliance of mercenary groups that he used to seize control, who have been bound together, and nationalized with the wealth of the state, and thus far they maintain a single demitagma (1,200 soldiers) of Penandroi, who come well equipped with plate armor being relatively common. They are somewhat behind in armaments, however, as even though they do have gunpowder weapons they must rely on older arquebuses instead of the more modern muskets.
The real strength of the Troinar state, however, comes in the form of mercenaries hired by the Philosopher King. These mercenaries, largely sourced from Gallaca, Merida, and to a lesser extent Terruk-Mal form the basis of Troinar armies and are largely responsible for putting down the many rebellions in Troinae. Exact numbers are impossible to get, but many estimates as many as 5,000 mercenaries are currently under the employ of the Philosopher King.
Technological Level
Technological development is stagnating in Troinae as a result of the destruction of a lot of the hinterlands of the Troinar state. Access to gunpowder weapons is common even as the weapons themselves are more primitive than those of their neighbors. Infrastructure technology has suffered as a result of the ongoing civil conflict and likewise is relatively primitive.
Religion
Troinae despite the coup has remained a relatively secular state. The earliest rulers established Pandroi as the nominal official religion, with only loose enforcement, and this ruling has been maintained and made even laxer by the Philosopher King who wishes to continue maintaining good relations with foreign mercenaries. The bulk of the population still follows Pandroi however. The nominal patron deity of Troinae is Clea, Keeper of Secrets, and Goddess of Knowledge
Foreign Relations
Troinae has largely fallen into a state of internal civil conflict and largely has ignored foreign affairs. As a result, the Troinar state maintains no active diplomatic missions, and only occasionally receives visitors being more concerned with maintaining the power of the Philosopher King than it is with looking outwards to Aeilla. Troinae gets some limited covert support from Iskandris and Polanis who benefit economically from the unstable situation in Troinae. It has a low opinion, however, of Syros and Thibaia which have carved territory out of Troinae either out of the rebellion in the case of Syros or out of compact in the case of Thibaia, weakening the agricultural base of the state.
Agriculture & Industry
Troinae is still predominantly agrarian, with about 93% of the population working in agriculture. This is however lower than many other parts of Aeilla and especially the wider world. The land is managed by the state with strict quotas for agricultural output and harsh punishment for those who do not meet those quotas, as even in good years, Troinae struggles to grow enough food to sustain the population without needing to import food from elsewhere.
Most non-agriculture workers engage in skilled trades, either producing goods, engaging in commerce, or serving as administrators for the Nikean state. These workers provide most of the crucially needed services to keep up the operation of the state. Additionally, there is a large body of educated intellectuals that provide a valuable, tradable service in the form of education. There are also soldiers, including mercenaries who protect the state from internal and external threats, and aristocrats who are often either wealthy landed gentry, or particularly successful teachers.
Trade & Transport
Troinae has relatively little trade, relying solely on the Tyros River trade route, as its overland routes are mostly into hostile territory. Trade is, as a result mostly conducted at the local level with Troinar markets consisting of farm goods, basic tools, and exotic spices in small numbers. Where Troinae excels, however, is in services, a large number of educated individuals live in Troinae itself, with people coming from all over the Aeillan region to contract tutors, philosophers, architects, and other educated persons for their services. Slavers are also available on the open market, though they are fairly rare.
Infrastructure
Troinae's infrastructure is highly centralized as a result of the policies of the Philosopher King. Rebellions, invasion, looting by mercenaries, and neglect have destroyed a lot of the Imperial Road Network and aqueducts outside the city of Troinae itself, whereas the aqueducts and roads to and from Troinae itself are carefully maintained, as a result, living conditions in and around Troinae are comparatively modern. Outside Troinae itself, even in other major settlements, conditions are little better than they are in the less developed regions of Galisea.
Founding Date
EA 371, Independent ER 1, Current Government ER 468
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Demonym
Troinar, Troinars
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Palace economy
Currency
Imperial Denarios, Imperial Oros
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
