Great Aletia
Greater Aletian Empire Imperium Aletianorum Βασιλεία τών Αλετῖανόν | |
|---|---|
 Flag | |
| Motto: "Per Aspera Ad Astra." | |
| Capital | Alexandria |
| Demonym(s) | Aletian, Imperial |
| Government | Legalist monarchy |
• Sovereign | Emperor Romanus I |
• Chancellor | Athanasius Kallivas |
| Legislature | Imperial Senate |
| Establishment | |
• Constitution | 5th March, 3361 |
| Currency | Imperial Credit |
| Date format | (dd/mm/yyyy) |
The Aletian Empire (Latin: Imperial 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.
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. To this end, Aleti-Anei was frequently used on Arcadian monuments to represent their dominion of the Aletian cluster. In the religious sphere, Aletians were worshippers of the fertility goddess Mother Aletia (Aracadian: Aleti-Anei Regas). Coins and statues bearing the image of Mother Aletia as queen, crowned with a solar halo and stamped with Aleti-Anei, are common finds at Arcadian archaeological sites, 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 planet in the Aletian cluster, its people did not identify as Laurentian (Latin: Laurentianus, Greek: Λαυρεντίανος). The fracturing of the unified colonial government in the aftermath of the colonisation of Laurentia 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, Nicolaides chose to name the new state after the Aletian cluster, control of 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 new state the Aletian Republic (Latin: Res Publica Aletiana, Greek: Πολιτεία τῶν Αλετανόν) and its people the Aletians (Latin: Aletiana, Greek: Αλετῖανοι).