The Exarchate of Apepsos (/eksarkɪt ɘv eipepsos/ (Aeillan: /eksarkɪt ton eipepsos/))
Εξψαριτ τον Απεπσοσ
The Exarchate of Apepsos is the oldest, and currently, the most influential of the Aeillan Successor States, being centered around the former capital of the Aeillan Empire. Located at the head Ilos River, and close to the Odric Mountains, Apepsos is well positioned to command trade between the massively productive, dwarven Regnum of Cyrenica and the Aeillan states downstream on the Ilos. Despite its positioning, Apepsos is a declining power having become increasingly reliant on its commercial connections to bolster its influence over other successor states even as the more dynamic coastal successors begin to overtake the old capital. Its armies much weaker than the days shortly after the fall of the empire, and becoming slowly more outdated.
Apepsos is government as a semi-hereditary, Principate monarchy with the reigning Exarch serving as the First Citizen of Apepsos, and the head of its Senate which is elected from among the reigning aristocracy by the relatively upper class population of full citizens, who largely consist of skilled crafters and wealthy merchants, and who serve as the primary legislative body. The Senate is relatively strong, in theory operating the wheel of state and in charge of legislation in the Exarchate. In practice the Exarch is the person wielding the real power, as the Exarch has the power and control over the state bureaucracy which keeps the wheels of governance turning. Members of the Reigning dynasty generally succeed their blood parents, though occasionally adopted children are given power instead, particularly in the case of incapable children.
The Peptid system is relatively stable though occasional civil strife arises, mostly when a weak Exarch is challenged by an ambitious member of the Senate. The last of these came when Andrikonos III Rauranos, claiming descendancy from the Imperial Ruaros Dynasty seized power in the capital. May believe however, that the relative weakness of the last few Rauraranid Exarchs will herald the end of their control of the Exarchy. Throughout the history of the Exarchate, Apepsos has been largely maintained is grip on power, with the only real threat coming in the form of the rise of Syros, which has seen many slaves defect to the free state, and the weakening of Apepsos' hold on the Transoria.
Demography and Population
Apepsos is densely settled thanks in large part to the Ilos river trade route and the fairly arable farmland in the South. According to the tax records of the Exarchate, there are roughly 4,067,000 people living in Apepsos. Much like many other Aeillan successor states, the Exarchate of Apepsos is heavily urbanized in large part due to the general prosperity and the heavy concentration of trade in the region, as well as the opportunities to leave the rather dull life of an Aeillan farmer and join in the manufactorial revolution in the larger cities, particularly the Exarchate's capital.
The Exarchate of Apepsos' largest city is Apepsos itself which is home to about 261,000 residents. Other major settlements in the Exarchate include Smyros with 52,000 citizens, Carnak with 31,000, and Adinos with 18,500. There are several other, smaller settlements scattered throughout the territory of the exarchate. Most of the major population centers are aligned with the Ilos River with cultivated land widely available, other smaller settlements exist in the hills and mountains of the north that are largely erected to support mining in the region.
Most of the population of Apepsos is human, with Ilosi-Aeillan humans being by far the most common ethnicity. Smaller numbers of other Aeillan humans are also present, with a comparatively small population of non-Aeillan humans. There is a significant minority of non-human people living in Aeilla, most notably Odric dwarves, Aarakocra and Kenku from Nabiu, and Grecci Gnomes, with smaller populations of Half-Orcs, Half-Elves, and Orcs. About 15% of the population of Apepsos is enslaved with the bulk of slaves being non-human, in particularly captives of Kenku, Orcish, and half-human species.
Territories
Apepsos is about 107,200 kilometers in area taking about 5 days to walk from one end of the Exarchate to the other on foot, and is largely centered along the Northern Ilos River, and its extensive watershed with its northern boundary demarcated by the Odric Mountains and the southern Nabari Plateau, and its southern boundary roughly by the falling of the Odric foothills into flatter terrain, and its east hazily placed somewhere in the ever shifting frontiers of the Transoria. The Exarchate of Apepsos shares borders with Falanis and Syros to the south, Iskandris to the east, as well as being a primary frontier to the outside world, with the three foreign states of Cyrenica, Nabiu, and Terruk-Mal along its northern frontier.
Apepsos has a wet climate thanks to the oceanic air from the Yulan Ocean being deposited on the southern face of the Odric Mountains. As a result flora is quite dense in Apepsos with large cloud forests being quite common, particularly in the less rocky south. As one moves north the climate becomes cooler as the terrain becomes more mountainous and the increasingly rocky terrain impedes the growth of plants, eventually the one finds the slopes of the Odric Mountains. The Transoria on the frontier is a wild region of hills and forests.
Military
Apepsos is fairly weak militarily as a result of decades of neglect by fairly weak rulers in the Rauraranid Dynasty, and a highly disinterested senate. In spite of this, Apepsos has maintained the mostly professional characteristic typical of Aeillan armies. There are four Tagma or about 9,600 fully professional Penandroi serving in the Peptid Army. These forces are generally well equipped with metal breastplates and helmets, as well as modern weapons and artillery. There are also two Bandons (roughly 400) of elite Hetairoi, with a sizable corps of aerial cavalry riding griffons. Apepsos does however have a dearth of magical auxiliaries due in large part due to bans on service to Apepsos from Schola Magos trained mages.
Additionally, there are roughly 19,600 semi-professional Akritae who serve largely as border guards, law enforcement, occasionally participating in raids, and serving as a river flotilla in the stead of the navy when they are not tending land given to them as payment for their services. These troops tend to be lightly armed and armored, with padded armor, more traditional weapons, and only limited artillery mostly intended for use on gunboats. The relative lack of training and equipment is largely due to their limited role as opposed to the more professional Penandroi.
In spite of these forces, Apepsos often finds itself short of troops at certain key times, particularly when the Terruk Orcs launch reprisals for slave raids, or otherwise attack Apepsos in force. As a result, Apepsos relies heavily on a large number of mercenaries with bands of dispossessed Hobgoblins from the lost Celestial Queendom of Fuígou being particularly favored.
Technological Level
Apepsos is an advanced state by Galisean standards, with factories, a growing mercantile population, and other indicators of making a Cyrenic like jump into a society based around manufacturing. It is one of the states to embrace the gunpowder revolution, as well as being capable of large-scale engineering maintenance, including a highly developed road network, and lock system. However, there are some in Peptid society, especially within the aristocracy that seek to retard progress as much as possible, and the spread of manufactories has been slowed, especially in the hinterlands away from the Exarch's reach.
Religion
The official state religion of the Exarchate if Nikea is Pandroi, the traditional religion of the Aeillan peoples dating back to the fall of the Yuan-Ti. More specifically, Nikea has adopted Hadriana the Ascended, once a mortal from the city of Apepsos, and one of the greatest rulers of the Aeillan Empire as its patron deity. Most of the population, practices the Aeillan Pandroi faith, though some populations, particularly those of nonhumans practice other faiths.
Foreign Relations
Apepsos is a major power in the Aeillan Region, focused on maintaining its power in the region. To that end, it has signed treaties with the Regnum Cyrenica and the Aerie of Nabiu (the dwarven and aarakocra states to the north of the Aeillan region) creating a pseudo monopoly on trade from Cyrenica and Nabiu. It also engages in alliance building, attempting to put together a conservative power bloc to oppose the ascendant, largely anti-slavery, coastal states. It has, to achieve this aim assembled a group of aligned states consisting of Spathos, Iskandris, and Polanis for just that purpose.
Consequently, it has hostile relations with Artenos and Nikea, the two most influential of the coastal free states. It also attempts to weaken and undermine the legitimacy of Falanis, and Syros and the exarchate's forces periodically raid the two smaller states as a tool of destabilization as well as recapturing slaves and filling the coffers of the Peptid state. The Exarchate of Apepsos has rarely fought in direct warfare, outside of raiding however it has been supplying the Spathoi with gunpowder weapons made in Cyrenica so that the Spathoi don't fall completely behind the Nikeans.
Outside of Aeilla, Apepsos is focused on maintaining and building its influence with Cyrenica and Nabiu, and keeping favorable conditions for continental commerce. On the other hand, Apepsos routinely raids the communities in the region of Huria for slaves and pillage, frequently clashing with Terruk soldiers an act which has earned them the hostility of the Terruk Khagan, though the Great Wall has long protected Apepsos from reprisals of the nomadic peoples of the north. In the wider world, Apepsos has little influence due to its lack of access to the sea.
Agriculture & Industry
Apepsos though more industrialized than more or less the entire human world, is mostly agrarian, with about 91% of the population working in agriculture. Apepsos exercises fairly limited control over the specifics of land distribution, mostly concerned with big picture issues, and as a result, the Peptids are content to let the peasantry run their own affairs as long as the appropriate tax is given when the time comes. A notable exception to this is the Latifundia which are typically owned by senators or other members of the upper class and worked by slaves, with another exception being lands owned by the state but handed to Akritae who tend it with fewer taxes in exchange for military service.
Outside of agriculture, the largest body of workers is those in the skilled trades either producing craft goods, engaging in commerce, or sometimes serving as the educated administrators of the state. These workers provide most of the crucially needed services and goods as well as keeping up the available wealth circulating in the Peptid economy to keep up the operation of the state. Then there is the soldierly class of Akritae and Penandroi.
In recent years, trade with the Cyrenican peoples, as well as the covert abductions of experts to be enslaved has resulted in the proliferation of primitive industrial machinery throughout the territory of Apepsos. Watermills and manufactories have as a result begun to spread, and a small but growing class of wage laborers has come into existence producing excess goods for trade on the Peptid market and for shipping down the Ilos River.
Trade & Transport
Apepsos' commerce is centered around the Ilos River trade route. As the first stop after Cyrenica on the Ilos River trade route, Apepsos dominates trade downriver in that the Peptid state will often control which goods and ideas will go down the river, and using this ability to restrict the growing power of the coastal states, and especially Nikea, as much as it reasonably can, though Nikea and Syros often interfere with these gatekeeping attempts, as do independent merchants seeking access to the market in Cyrenic dwarves without paying the extremely high tariffs and taxes of Apepsos.
In Peptid markets, one can usually find most of the usual goods, foods, common tools, pottery, and other goods made by skilled traders, with relative ease. One can also find the products of mass manufacturing, most notably textiles, and some manufactured forged wares, available for purchase. More rare are spices, and other wares from far afield. One can purchase magic items from Peptid sellers, though aside from the most common, easily manufactured magic items, this work must be found on commission.
In Apepsos one can theoretically purchase slaves, though in practice most of the Peptid elites prefer to limit trading of slaves between themselves and tightly control the open market as much as they can. Apepsos bans the sale of Aeillans resulting in Non-humans being the most common people for sale on the open market, most having been captured by the Peptid Akritae on raids into Terruk-Mal.
Infrastructure
The Exarchate of Apepsos has long maintained its Imperially constructed infrastructure, though it lacks the capacity to make major improvements at this time, mostly due to lack of funds. As a result, there is a series of near-perfectly straight roads leading to the capital from the borders, river locks to assist in the movement of ships, and other transportation systems, as well as an advanced aqueduct network intended to water the city of Apepsos itself. In many of the larger cities, one can expect the same luxuries, piped-in water, piped-out sewage, and magical streetlights, as well as some primitive industrial mills.
Founding Date
EA 370
Type
Geopolitical, Principality
Capital
Demonym
Peptid, Peptids
Leader Title
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Constitutional
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Imperial Denarios, Imperial Oros, Peptid Dekatos, Cyrenic Ducatus
Legislative Body
The Peptid Senate
Official State Religion
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
