Arciluco
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
Arciluco
Ⰰⱃⰽⰹⰾⱆⰽⱁ Arciluco | |
|---|---|
Central Capital | |
   .jpg)   File:Parlement de Bucarest Bricot.jpg From top, left to right: Colțea Hospital panorama • Amathian Athenaeum • Victory Boulevard • Lipscani district, view towards Caru' cu bere and Stavropoleos Monastery • Palace of Justice • CEC Palace • Palace of the People • Floreasca park | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: the White Citadel |
Arciluco (Amathian: Ⰰⱃⰽⰹⰾⱆⰽⱁⱁ), is the capital and largest city of Amathia, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial center. It has a special status as the Central Capital, not being a part of any of the Amathian constituent republics, and it is officially known simply as "the Capital City" ( Ⱁⱃⰰⱎⱆⰾ Ⰽⰰⱂⰹⱅⰰⰾⰻ, Orașul Capitală).
The city of Arciluco was first mentioned during the 2nd century AD as the capital of the Solarian province of Amathia, but most sources seem to indicate that the settlement might have been even older, and that the Solarian invaders simply adopted the former spiritual capital of the Preidans as the center of their new administration.
Etymology
The Amathian name of Arciluco has an uncertain origin. Several different origins have been proposed, including Solarian, Preidan and Piraean terms, but no theory has been definitively proven so far. Historians also disagree as to when the name of the city was firstly chosen, with most experts believing that the name firstly developed either during the Piraean influence over the Amathii, or during the aggressive Solarianization of the recently conquered province of Amathia.
The first part of the name, "arci" is considered to be related to the Solarian word arx, which can be translated as citadel or fortress, related to the Piraean verb ᾰρκέω/arkéō which means to ward off, to defend. It is known that Arciluco has been the site of several different impressive systems of fortification throughout the ages, from an old fortress of the Amathii natives to the castrum and later provincial fortress of the Solarians. A different but similar theory considers that the word might have also simply referred to the hilltop on which the ancient city was built.
The second part of the name has however caused a stronger controversy. The traditional explanation is that "luco" is derived from the Ancient Piraean word λευκός/leukós, translated as bright, light in color, or white. This specific origin has been favored by most exports because due to important deposits of limestone near the city, all of the fortresses built in the area of today's city had white walls, and the city's traditional nickname from the earliest records has been that of "the White Citadel." Opponents of this theory however tend to point towards the possibility of an even earlier origin of the city - as a holy site of the Amathii. It is believed that by the time the first Solarians visited the region, the Amathii still had a powerful presence - and that like many other of their holy places, Arciluco hosted a sacred grove. Similar sites have been excavated in other places, and it is known that the Amathii had an ancient practice of building fortified temple-cities near their sacred places. In that case, the second part of the name could potentially be related to the Solarian word lucus.
As such, the city's names has been translated alternatively as either the Citadel of the Light, or the Citadel of the Sacred Grove.