Avilême

Principality of Avilême        Principauté d'Avilême (Principean)
Flag
Capital and largest city	Avilême-sur-Mer 43°03′N 0°28′″W
Official languages	Principean
Recognised national languages	Blaykish, Vervillian
Demonym(s)	Avilêne
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
• Monarch	Marie-Hélène I
• Prime Minister	Fabien Dembélé
Legislature	Parliament
Establishment
• Savolian colonisation	600 BCE
• Sabarine conquest	43 BCE
• Tyrnican annexation	1812
• Independence	1921
Area
• Total	176 km2 (68 sq mi)
Population
• 2020 estimate	690,234
• 2017 census	640,346
GDP (PPP)	estimate
• Total	$31.48 billion
• Per capita	$31,794
GDP (nominal)	estimate
• Total	$34.05 billion
• Per capita	$34,390
Gini	38.8 medium
HDI	0.873 very high
Currency	Commonwealth mark (CMR)
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy (CE)
Driving side	left
Internet TLD	.av

Avilême (/ævɪliːm/; Principean pronunciation: /ævɪlɛm), officially the Principality of Avilême (Principean: Principauté d'Avilême) is a sovereign city-state located in Western Auressia. It shares borders with Blayk and Vervillia to the north and south, respectively, with a coastline on the Strait of Khovaar to the east. Avilême consists of the capital city, Avilême-sur-Mer, which is coterminous with the state itself. The city-state has a population of 640,346, with an area of only 176 square kilometres, making it the third-smallest country in the world by size (after Saint-Baptiste and Elstock), but the most densely-populated.

Originally founded as an Savolian city-state in the 6th century BCE, Avilême's northern location soon allowed it to break free from its metropolis. Its status as a strategic chokepoint controlling access to and from Vervillia soon led to the conquest of the area by the rapidly-expanding Sabarine Empire, and provided the impetus for the subsequent expansion into Blayk under the command of Montanius Vervillicus. Throughout Antiquity, Avilême served as an important thoroughfare linking Sabaria and Cisalpine Vervillia to the prosperous province of Transalpine Vervillia. During the Middle Ages, Avilême's prosperity was augmented by its far-reaching trade network across maritime Auressia.

Avilême retained its independence by virtue of being located astride the border between Blayk and Vervillia — invasion by one would have been perceived by the other as aggressive expansion. It is sometimes considered to have been part of or adjacent to the Blaco-Vervillian Union (1530–1783). In 1810, after the Orpanists seized control of the Upheavalist National Assembly in Blayk, Avilême was threatened by the expansionist ideals of R'chard Pommeraie. The principality soon became a protectorate of the Tyrnican monarchy under Nicholas II, acting as a staging point for Tyrnican attacks on Orpanist Blayk, particularly the Battle of Montigné. Tyrnican control of the city was confirmed in the Congress of Sabaria and the Tyrnicae Saeculum resulted in an influx of Tyrnican settlers.

During the First Great War, Avilême became a primary target for the Coalition and was subjected to a number of Blaco-Vervillian attacks, in spite of the heavy Tyrnican presence in the city. The surrender of Avilême in January 1912 marked the turning of the tide against the Tyrnicans, and saw their loss of superiority in the Strait of Khovaar. After the Treaty of Arden, Avilême became a Blaykish protectorate, and in 1921 the city-state joined the newfound Principean Confederation as an independent nation, voting against integration with any of its neighbours. However, Avilême was annexed by revanchist Vervillia just 15 years after its independence, enduring several years of military rule before its liberation by the Coalition powers. After the Second Great War, Avilême joined the nascent Commonwealth of Northern Auressia.

In spite of its size, Avilême serves an important role in present-day geopolitics. It is the legislative and administrative capital of the Commonwealth of Northern Auressia and is typically recognised as one of the foremost global cities.

Etymology

The Principean term Avilême — formerly translated into Rythenean as Avileme — is derived from the Sabarine "avī lamina", literally meaning "ancestor of flat metal". Scholarly interpretation suggests that the name was a metaphor, and that the term references the presence of gold in the Vervillian Alps, from which the majority of Imperial Sabarine coinage was produced.