Great Aletia

Greater Aletian Empire Imperium Aletianorum Βασιλεία τών Αλετῖανόν
Flag
Motto:  "Per Aspera Ad Astra." "Δύναμη Χωρίς Τέλος."
Capital	Alexandria
Demonym(s)	Aletian, Imperial
Government	Legalist monarchy
• Sovereign	Emperor Romanus I
• Chancellor	Athanasius Kallivas
Legislature	Imperial Senate
Establishment
• Constitution	5th March, 3361
Population
• 3452 census	523,891,742,148
Currency	Imperial Solidus
Date format	(dd/mm/yyyy)

The Aletian Empire (Latin: Imperium Aletianorum, Greek: Βασιλεία τών Αλετιανόν), officially the Greater Aletian Empire, is a legalist monarchy located in the Inner Rim, close to the Galactic Core, in the Milky Way galaxy. Its capital and largest city is Alexandria, which is located on the western part of its homeworld, Laurentia III. The Aletian Empire consists of sixty two systems and two hundred and eighteen worlds, of which fifty two support large populations. The Aletian Empire is the most populous state in the Aletian cluster, with a population of over five hundred billion citizens. The Aletian Empire is also the largest political, economic, and military power in the Aletian cluster and a technological leader in many fields, including robotics, cybernetics, and nanotechnology. The Aletian Empire has developed a very high standard of living and comprehensive education, healthcare, and social protection systems. The Aletian Empire has also been the home of many influential scientists, artists, and inventors, and is known throughout the Aletian cluster for its cultural, political, and military history.

The history of Great Aletia began with the accidental settlement of the Aletian cluster in 2204. The colonial government collapsed in 2210, dividing the Aletians into competing city-states. Conflicts between the city-states lead to the beginning of the Alexandro-Corinthian War in 2238. The emergence of the Arcadians in 2307 lead to a ceasefire, culminating in the signing of the 2308 Treaty of Alexandria by Nicholas Kastellanos, Consul of Alexandria, and Pelagius Kallivas, Prince of Corinth. The Treaty lead to the reunification of Laurentia and the establishment of the Aletian Republic under Andeas Nicolaides, son of Nicolas Kastellanos. The next two centuries saw the development of Laurentia and the incorporation of the Arcadians. The transition of the Republic from a planetary to an interstellar power began in the 26th century. The Republic continued to expand over the next five centuries, colonising the Aletian cluster. However, the rapid development of the Republic, combined with the decentralised nature of the state, undermined it, leading to the collapse of the central government.

In 3128, the Republic was invaded by the Visari, leading to the Great Visari War. The Visari enjoyed stunning success, overrunning much of the Republic, but were turned back in 3140. The Visari war devastated the Republic, with over one hundred million military personnel and twenty five billion civilians killed. In the wake of the war, the Republic underwent significant reform, leading to the expansion of the armed forces and the strengthening of the presidency. The strengthening of the presidency restored the power of the central government, but did little to address the social and political tensions that remained. The strengthening of the presidency worsened social and political tensions, leading to the permanent declaration of a state of emergency and the suspension of civil liberties in 3165. The assumption of dictatorial power by the presidency enabled the central government to gradually regain control over the Aletian cluster, but fatally undermined the Republic. As coups and civil wars became frequent, presidents began to rely on the Aletian armed forces to maintain control.

An attempted purge of the Nicolaides family by President Maximillian Angelos in 3360 lead to the overthrow of the Republic by Line Admiral Alexander Nicolaides. Following a year's rule as first consul, Alexander crowned himself emperor and established the Aletian Empire. Despite a long campaign, Alexander failed to secure the entirety of the Aletian cluster, leading to the establishment of the Sidonian Republic by the Angelos family in 3365. An attempted invasion of Sidonia in 3372 ended in failure. The death of the Emperor in 3398 and the assumption of the throne by his son, Dimitri, led to the warming of Aletian-Sidonian relations. In 4216, following a lengthy diplomatic campaign, the Treaty of Alexandria was signed, formally bringing the war to an end. The collapse of the Sidonian government in March, 3416, forced the Empire to respond. The death of Dimitri in June, 3416, lead to an attempted coup against his successor, Romanus, which disrupted preparations. Sidonia was invaded by Romanus in May, 3417, and annexed to the Empire in June, following the signing of the Treaty of Heliopolis.

Etymology

Origin

Aletia derives from the ancient Arcadian term Aelti-Anei, the common name of the Aletian cluster. In the Laurentian dialect of Arcadian, aleti translates to shining, while in the Abyssian dialect, it translates to bright. In both dialects, anei translates to jewel. Aleti-Anei, therefore, translates to Shining Jewel or Bright Jewel, depending on the dialect. It is noted by astronomers that, when viewed from Laurentia, the Aletian cluster appears as a bright streak across the sky, much like the Milky Way. The adoption of Aleti-Anei to refer to the cluster is thought to have occurred early in Arcadian history. The use of the term predominates in Arcadian mythological accounts, and representations have been found on monuments theorised to have been built before the establishment of the Arcadian Empire.

Aletian (Arcadian: Aleti-Anet) was not used as an ethnic or cultural term by the Arcadians, although it was used as a political and a religious term. In the political sphere, "Aletians" (Arcadian: Aleti-Aneti) were members of a political movement which sought to maintain Arcadian domination over the cluster. Aleti-Anei was frequently used on monuments by Aletianist leaders to represent Arcadian domination of the Aletian cluster. In the religious sphere, Aletians were worshippers of the fertility goddess Mother Aletia (Aracadian: Viseki Aleti-Anei). Coins and statues bearing the image of Mother Aletia, crowned with a solar halo and stamped with Aleti-Anei, are common finds at Arcadian archaeological sites, both secular and religious, and attest to the popularity of the term in Arcadian society.

Official

The official name of the Aletian Empire is given in the preamble of the Imperial Charter as the Greater Aletian Empire. This is translated into both Latin and Greek as the Empire of the Aletians (Latin: Imperium Aletianorum, Greek: Βασιλεία τών Αλετιανόν), and is often shortened to simply Great Aletia (Latin: Maior Aletia, Greek: Μεγάλη Αλετῖα). Aletia was adopted as the official name for the reunified Laurentian state following the signing of the 2308 Treaty of Alexandria. Although Laurentia was the first, and until 2511, only colonised world in the Aletian cluster, its people did not identify as Laurentian (Latin: Laurentianus, Greek: Λαυρεντίανος). The fracturing of the colonial government in the aftermath of the colonisation led to the development of competing city-states, each of which had their own identity. Following the reunification of Laurentia, the government sought to erase these identities and unify the population into a coherent whole. Andreas Nicolaides, the inaugural President of Great Aletia, refused to name the new state after Laurentia, so as to avoid tying it too closely to it and pre-empt the rise of system-based ethnic identities. Instead, President Nicolaides chose to name the new state after the Aletian cluster, control over which he viewed as the manifest destiny of the Aletian people. The president's choice was confirmed in the Treaty of Alexandria, which formally named the state the Aletian Republic (Latin: Res Publica Aletiana, Greek: Πολιτεία τῶν Αλετανόν) and its people the Aletians (Latin: Aletiani, Greek: Αλετῖανοι).

Military

Main article: Aletian Armed Forces