Emessa

State of Emessa Istadu de Imisu (Sorianu)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: De parícius únu (Sorianu) "Out of many, one"
Anthem: Sa pèrela de su mari sorianu (Sorianu) "The Pearl of the Solarian Sea"
Capital and largest city	Lyria
Official languages	Sorianu
Recognised national languages	Atudite Badaviu
Recognised regional languages	Auratian Galenian Gaullican Piraean Poveglian
Demonym(s)	Emessan
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Lisandrina Orunesu
• Prime Minister	Xandru Grixti
• Speaker of the Parliament	Costantinu Pulixi
Legislature	Parliament
Independence from Etruria
• War of Independence	17 July 1943
• Trust territory	31 October 1946
• Catherby Conference	7 April 1949
• Independence	1 January 1950
Area
• Total	22,487 km2 (8,682 sq mi)
• Water (%)	3.1
Population
• 2019 estimate	6,369,584
• Density	283.3/km2 (733.7/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)	2019 estimate
• Total	$139.831 billion
• Per capita	$21,953
GDP (nominal)	2019 estimate
• Total	$79.696 billion
• Per capita	$12,512
Gini (2019)	36.7 medium
HDI (2018)	0.779 high
Currency	Emessan lira (EML)
Time zone	UTC+0 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (EEST)
Driving side	right
ISO 3166 code	EM
Internet TLD	.im

Emessa (/ˈɛməsə/ E-mə-sə; Sorianu: Imisu [ˈimisu]), officially the State of Emessa (Sorianu: Istadu de Imisu [isˈtaðu de ˈimisu]) is a northwestern Coian or southern Euclean island country consisting of the eponymous archipelago in the Solarian Sea. It lies 94 km (58 mi) southeast of Florena, 100 km (62 mi) west of Tsabara and 179 km (111 mi) east of Etruria. Emessa's location at the crossroads of the Euclean and Coian continents has shaped its rich history and shaped a national identity of religious and ethnic diversity. The official language is Sorianu, generally considered the closest descendant to Solarian, with the Shasites Badaviu and Atudite languages enjoying the status of national languages.

Emessa has been continuously inhabited since the Paleolithic age. Owing to their strategic location in the middle of the Solarian Sea, the islands have been contested and ruled by a succession of powers including the Sanians, Atudites, Piraeans, Solarians, Arasanids, Verliquoian, the Heavenly Dominion, Crusaders, Florenans, Etrurians, and Gaullicans, all leaving their mark on the islands's ancient culture. Independent principalities called vicariates emerged between and alongside periods of foreign domination, and became the main powers on the archipelago from the 13th to the early 19th century, with Emessa being a centre of piracy in the Solarian Sea and beyond during that period.

Etruria invaded and captured the port city of Lyria in the name of an anti-piracy operation in 1814, gradually expanding their rule over the entire archipelago and concluding in 1839 with the Emessan War. The islands saw fighting during the Battle of Emessa in the Great War and again in the Solarian War, also called War of Independence in the country. Emessa became a joint trust territory, and achieved independence in 1950, shortly after the Catherby Conference. A pluriconfesionnal military dictatorship assumed power in the name of restoring stability following a period of religious strife in 1957. Despite its victory in the Alban War against Tsabara in 1982, the régime ended in 1986 after a referedum the year before, and Emessa has been a democracy since.

Today, Emessa is a parliamentary democracy with confessionalist characteristics, with power being shared between the islands' religious communities: Sotirianity, Irfan, and Atudism. Despite periods of troubles, the country has remained fairly calm and prosperous, with a upper middle income economy driven by the tertiary sector, notably tourism and banking, and a high human development index. Emessa is a member of the Community of Nations, the Aurean Forum, the International Council for Democracy, the International Trade Organisation, and the Global Institute for Fiscal Affairs. Historically neutral and maintaining a policy of armed neutrality, the country has nonetheless moved closer to the Euclean Community since the Alban War, with accession negotiations being underway since 2012.