Principality of Clifia
The Principality of Clifia is one of the oldest nations in Mirateia. It was not the first part of the Ancient Empire to break away when the empire started to break apart, but it was the first of the larger provinces to declare independence. Its ruling family in an attempt to gain legitimacy in the following century made the claims to be the successor state of the Ancient Empire , but only a very few nations acknowledge this statement and those are mainly some of the smaller nations that are under the influence of the Principality.
Because of the country´s central position, it controls many of the important trade routes over land, especially those going from the other countries too and from the Empire of Dercia , this has in the past been used as a bargaining chip whenever the relationship between the Empire and the Principality went bad, this has in return lead to a small arms race between the two nations were when Clifia would cut off trade routes to Dercia, Dercia would instead focus on the trade on the sea and Clifia would respond with a raised naval presence on these lanes, but the control with these trade routes have to lead the Principality to become very wealthy.
Shortly after Clifia gained their independence and the ruling family had made their hold over the newly independent nation more secure, they launched a number of attacks against their neighbours. The attacks had two main goals to them, first of all, to destroy garrisons leftover from the Ancient Empire that was still loyal to the empire or had yet to make up their minds. The second goal for these attacks was to gain access to some of the wealthy trade towns that are located along the southern coast and along the Continental Highway, the highway running almost the entire length of the continent.
Structure
Grand Prince: The Grand Prince is the head of state and no law or major decision can be approved without the signature of the Grand Prince.
Council of nine: The council is where the day to day running of the state is being done
Senate: The Senate is made out of members of the nobility and other people who have managed to either buy or marry their way to power
Culture
The people in the Principality of Clifia see themself as the rightful successor state to the ancient empire and this has made them feel superior to the other countries.
their merchants like to walk into a market and act like they own the place.
A noble from Zadad was once quoted to have said:
When ever they begins on how they decent from the ancients, just smile and nod and try to turn the conversation in another direction.
Demography and Population
Around 15% of the population of the Principality lives in cities or some of the major towns, the rest lives in villages and farmland. The majority of the population lives around the north and south coast of the country.
Around the 9th century roughly 21% of the population was elves but by the end of the century that number had dropped to just 7% as a result of several groups of elves had been driven out when the leadership was looking at some to blame for the agricultural disaster that took place between 785-789, one of the groups of elves driven out was The Nilid People
today the population of the Principality of Clifia consists mainly of races like humans, shifters, orcs, halflings and numbers of around 8,2 million citizens.
Territories
In the past, the Principality was very aggressive in their foreign politic and a large number of wars was fought against their neighbours, this aggressive politic died out after the country´s defeat in The war of Western expansion but to this day, the Principality still holds on to large parts of
conquered land.
Military
The principality of Clifia operates a standing army of 146.000 soldiers stationed around the empire, with most of them being Cavalry.
together with the army, the Principality also has 152 warships split into 2 major fleets and a couple of smaller fleets. Some of these fleets are specialized in certain forms of warfare like undercover missions that can include raids or landing agents on foreign soil, HMDS Anzio was part of one of these fleets before it was recovered by Dercia.
Foreign Relations
Ever since its foundation, the Principality of Clifia have tried to expand to the fertile lands in the west but have been stopped in doing so by the Empire of Dercia, the two nations have fought over the narrow strait of land connecting the two, but after having lost the last major war known as "The war of western expansion" in 1125 the two nations have been in a state of cold war ever since.
the Principality of Clifia does enjoy somewhat better relations with some of its other neighbours, like it has had a trade agreement with the Kingdom of Kistals for decades now, with some of the other nations the relationship is better than that with Dercia but still tense mostly because of contested regions and raids over the border by both parties.
Agriculture & Industry
Along the southern coast, some towns have specialized in whaling combined with large shipyards to produce ships big enough to hunt out on the sea.
Clifia also has huge areas covered in farmland or husbandry.
Trade & Transport
The Principality have a vast and extensive network of roads that it uses to transport goods overland.
Education
Outside of the larger towns and the middle-class, the population are largely uneducated.
Sects
there are several sects around the Principality but they are mostly harmless.
Live great, die better.
Founding Date
573
Type
Geopolitical, Principality
Capital
Formation Type
Training Level
Semi-professional
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Demonym
Clifians
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
- 1 gold "Kaer"
- 10 silver "Crit"
- 100 copper "Tees"
Major Exports
- Ale
- armour/weapons
- caravan items
- gems/jewellery
- golds
- grain
- horses
- iron
- ships Clifia builds some of the better trading ships in Mirateia, they are faster and lighter while at the same time not sacrificing too much of the cargo space
Major Imports
- Magic items
- pearls
- siege weaponry
- exotic goods from Empire of Dercia and Zadad
Legislative Body
Council of nine
Judicial Body
Senate
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments