Sabaria

Sabarine Directory Direzione delle Sabarina (Idrean)
Flag
Capital and largest city	Sabaria 35°94′N 0°0′E
Official languages	Idrean Sabarine
Demonym(s)	Sabarine
Government	Directorial republic
Legislature	Senate
Area
• Total	16,804 km2 (6,488 sq mi)
Population
• 2021 estimate	5,328,000
• 2019 census	5,290,336
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	Sabarine ducat (SDU)
Time zone	UTC+00:00 (Western Auressian Time
Date format	dd-mm-yyyy (CE)
Driving side	right
Calling code	+55
Internet TLD	.sa

Sabaria (/sɑːbɑːriːɑː/; Idrean: Sabarina, pronounced: /sɑːbɑːriːnːɑː/), officially the Sabarine Directory (Idrean: Direzione delle Sabarina) is a landlocked sovereign state in Western Auressia, and is a constituent part of the Occidental Confederacy. It shares borders with its fellow Occidental states Palia to the west, Fortaine to the north, and Barcia to the east. Sabaria possesses an area of 16,804 km² (6,488 sq mi) and around 5.2 million people within that area; most reside within the City of Sabaria, for which the Directory is named.

Serving as one of the most important urban centres in the western world, Sabaria formed the nexus of the eponymous Sabarine Empire; in the first incarnation, its legions conquered the entirety of Occidental Auressia and spread their influence as far away as Sulatia. Later, as the Empire fractured under internal pressures and external conflict, the religious power of the Apostolic Church grew to become the dominant power in the city. Sabaria was one of the most important cities in the Second Sabarine Empire, but did not always wield political power under its own merit; it was often subjugated by neighbouring powers in an attempt to claim legitimacy via the legacy of Ancient Sabaria.

In the late 1700s, the concept of a Sabarine identity — separate from imperial or religious sentiments — began to emerge, and a republic was established along the lines of the Castelan government. When the Second Sabarine Empire was dissolved in the wake of the Great Upheaval, Sabaria served as the seat of the 1816 Congress (the First Compromise), establishing the Occidental Confederacy and re-shaping international relations for the ensuing century. It remained neutral in both Great Wars, but was annexed by an expansionist Lancero Palia, aiming to establish a renewed Sabarine Empire. The city faced extensive destruction during the war, and its post-war recovery was financed in large part by foreign investment.

Sabaria is a directorial republic, administered by an Executive Council appointed by the Senate, and which rotates the functions of the head of state among its four secular members. The other three seats are filled by representatives of the Apostolic Perendist and Sacrine Morist churches, as well as the Rasmi Regent's Court. With three major religions headquartered here, Sabaria is sometimes known as the "City of Worship". Today, Sabaria continues to be of marked global importance, and is sometimes considered to be the diplomatic capital of the world due to its central location and relative lack of allegiance to any major powers. The prime meridian runs through Sabaria. It is the entrenched capital of the Occidental Confederacy, hosting all branches of its administration since the post-1943 de-Lanzification efforts.

Etymology

The name "Sabaria" is generally believed to stem from the Proto-Aurosurucian root sep-, meaning "to taste". It evolved into Ancient Sabarine sapio and gained the figurative sense of "knowing" or "discerning", from whence the modern Rythenean word sapient is derived. Sapio implies a knowledge of general things, as opposed to knowledge that is obfuscated or indeterminable. It has been suggested that "Sabaria" might refer to a place of general knowledge; since the city lies in the valley between the River Idro and the River Orl, trade and information would pass through Sabaria frequently. This has led to Sabaria being called the "City of Knowledge". According to its origin myth, Sabaria was founded by the eponymous Sabarius. Historians consider it likely that Sabarius has no basis in reality as a historical person, or alternatively, that his real name was lost and "Sabarius" is a thematic back-formation. The concept that "Sabarius" was a pseudonym has been interpreted as an early example of other Sabarine titles that reflect certain character traits: Perende is also thought to be a pseudonym referring to oak trees, which are a prominent symbol of Perendism. This is supported by several parts of the Sabarine founding myth, in which Sabarius exhibits traits connected to the proposed etymology of the city: Sabarius discerned the location of the dragon's lair by tasting the charred bones of sheep, and exploited common knowledge of the dragon's weakness to defeat it. Sabarius was later guided along the Idro by the spirits in the form of a Sabarine wolf and an eagle. Along with the dragon, the wolf and the eagle would become prominent symbols of Sabaria and its Empire. Sabarius and his followers surveyed the land on which the spirits told him he was to found his city, and Sabarius is said to have deliberated over his options at the nearby Field of Olives for seven days and seven nights. In the end, Sabarius wisely selected a site on the Idro that was easy to cross and which afforded a commanding position over the surrounding plains in the valley. Sabarius is thus often called "Sabarius the Wise", and Sabaria is also called the "City of Wisdom".