Colosse

Colosse was the first city founded by humans on the Middle Continent, near the sight where the first Dukhalan explorers allegedly sighted giants roaming the land. While of only middling importance now, it was once a major trade centre and the metropolis of a great empire. The Imperium of Colosse has since been reduced to a mere rump state, but the city of Colosse remains its capital, and still boasts a respectable population of some 40,000 inhabitants, most of which are human.

Government

As the capital of the Imperium, the city of Colosse is not ruled by a kephale, and is instead governed directly by the Imperator (or, as is currently the case, a regent), with the aid of the Senate and minor bureaucrats. Notably, the city enjoys representation by 33 of the Imperium's 99 senators, and so has a greatly outsized influence over the realm's politics. Colosse's laws are adjudicated by 9 dikastes, overseen by 3 imperial dikastes.

Defences

The ancient walls of Colosse, once renowned throughout the world, were torn down by the Grand Coalition in 822 following Colosse's defeat in the Third Ciprosian War. Beginning in 839, however, Alexandros "the Castellan", a prominent landowner in Colosse, has gone to great lengths to bring about the reconstruction of the walls, financing much of the work himself. While the new walls, completed in 851, are much less impressive than their ancient counterparts, they are serviceable, and have brought a degree of pride to the city's inhabitants, and significant political clout to Alexandros.

Industry & Trade

While no longer the international trade hub it once was (that role having largely been usurped by Ambrako, to the south), Colosse is still an important stop along the increasingly profitable Ciprosian-Nicilian sea lanes, and is once again frequented by Dukhalan merchants (after a decline in trade in the early 9th Century). Likewise, Colosse's central position in the Colicca Peninsula and excellent harbour have contributed to its becoming manufacturing centre, with finished goods being exported far and wide. Notably, the postwar years have seen the immigration of many Dukhalan gnomes, who practice their trade of magical artifice in their ghetto.

History

It is disputed whether Colosse was founded as a planned colony, or grew organically from a number of nearby settlements. In either case, it was established some time in the early First Century YD, in a natural harbour that early Dukhalan explorers claimed was inhabited by giants, though none were encountered there since. With its strategic position and vast numbers of migrants fleeing the Encroaching Cold in Dukhala, Colosse rapidly grew, becoming the largest human settlement in the known world some time after the turn of the century.
Colosse became the seat of the eponymous Imperium of Colosse in 117 YD, and a census the following year placed its population at over 200,000. In 197 YD, Imperator Zemim I reportedly received a vision from the Five, causing him to establish a new religion and begin a series of holy wars that would see the Imperium conquer most of the continent. The vast amounts of wealth extracted from the periphery of the Imperium greatly enriched the metropole, and allowed Colosse's population to exceed half a million at its height. Numerous great works were constructed in this time, including the city's famous walls and the Uran Palace, the largest Fivist temple outside of Hagios.
Internal conflicts, rebellions, wars with Nicilia, and the gradual erosion of Imperial authority slowly weakened the Imperium from the 7th Century on, and the capital declined with it. The greatest blow came in 753, however, when a coalition of cities across the Imperium, led by Agrinon, rebelled following the economic devastation brought on by the inversion of Ura's climatic cycle. The rebels claimed the Encroaching Cold was proof of the Five's disfavour, and with the backing of the Exarch in Hagios, they defeated Colosse in a six-year war, crippling the Imperium.
The capital's fortunes took a swift turn for the worse, as the remnants of the Imperium could no longer support its vast population, still numbering some 300,000 by this time. Famine, disease, emigration, and tyranny saw Colosse's population decline to around 75,000 by 819, marking its lowest point since the 1st Century. Colosse's attempts at reconquest only hastened the city's decline, as the assault on the city in 821 and the subsequent occupation by coalition forces resulted in the near-total collapse of its economy and population.
The 830s and 840s saw a steady recovery of Colosse, despite several crises. Imperator Gavriil, elected by the senate in 828, died suddenly in 831, and his young son died in 838, before even his regency had ended. The following year, the senate nearly voted to have the Agrinonian Rex appointed Imperator, but was prevented from doing so by a treaty negotiated by Nicilia, Oshagm, and Agrinon. Regardless of this political turmoil, Colosse enjoyed more prosperity than at any time since before the First Ciprosian War. A census conducted in 824 counted only 11,000 inhabitants, but by 849, this number had rebounded to nearly 40,000, as refugees returned to their homes and new migrants arrived from the countryside.
New crises have emerged in recent years, however. The near-complete lack of a monarch for over thirty years has caused tensions between political factions to reach boiling point, even as the decline of the Colossean Pantheon has led to religious turmoil. In the north of the Imperium, orcish raids and subversive activities by mysterious warlocks have had rippling effects throughout the peninsula, threatening the supply of food and raw goods to Colosse.

Type

City

Population

40,000

Inhabitant Demonym

Colossean