Augustine

Augustine, officially the Augustine Republic, is a federal constitutional republic located in southwest Avanor. Bordered to the north by Caliane, to the northeast by Averra, to the east by Nalore, to the south by the Summer Sea, and to the west by the Mithran Ocean, the nation's borders encompass nearly LAND AREA square kilometers, and has a population of 101,189,990 people according to the latest census data. The capital and largest city is the ancient city of Augustine, though other important settlements throughout the nation are Nervis, Oea, Flaviae, and Aesica.

Augustine had its origins in the aftermath of the classical period, when Decletian the Great was crowned Emperor in Augustine by the Great Octum in 412 CE. Augustine would go on to fight numerous wars, defeating Thanic invaders from the north, while also conquering Nalore and Caliane by 810 CE. Augustine would become independent under Gaiva I in 1123 after the Imperium was split between the three children of the old emperor.

Augustine is a Great Power, and is a member of the Union of Nations, as well as the Avanor Union. The nation is also a member of the World Council, and the Avanor Defense Organization, taking an active role in world politics, defense, and diplomacy. The nation is also a leading economy, with a strong social market economy, marked by high levels of prosperity and innovation. The economy relies on its reputation for its strong and creative businesses, its innovation, and its reputation as a source of luxury goods. Important industries include tourism, viticulture (having the largest wine production in the world), agriculture, financial services, fashion, machinery, food, and luxury goods.

Etymology
The name Augustine has largely unknown origins in history. The region around the city of Augustine was referred to largely as Asteko by Paravantene explorers in the 2000s BCE, but and this soon became transliterated as Augustii by the ancient Imperials,

Prehistory
Augustine's history begins with the migration of the Auene people into the region sometime near the 12,000s BCE, according to archeological evidence found in prehistoric settlements along the Tritius and Flavian Rivers. These Auene people lived largely in small walled settlements, and lived a subsistence culture, trading their goods with the richer civilizations to the south. The first Paravantene explorers began landing on the shores of what is modern day Augustine in the 3000s BCE, and began setting up trading ports. In one of these trading ports, the enslaved populace revolted and overthrew their masters, establishing their city of Augustine as a city free from slavery and for the native Auene people. Soon the city grew prosperous and into a trading civilization of its own, with large families which gained their wealth through the trade of goods throughout the Summer Sea holding large amounts of influence in society. These families organized into the Imperianstrium, and soon began their expansion across the southwestern regions of Avanor, colonizing Nalore and Caliane, as well as parts of Morodavia, Averra, and the Midlands.

The Avanoran Imperium reigned over centuries of prosperity, expanding its culture and civilization across western Avanor, as well as into northern Korasha, where they fought numerous wars against and for the Paravantene and Khudari cultures and empires. The nobility enriched themselves on trade while their civilization laid down the basic foundations of law, measurements, politics, rhetoric, science, and mathematics for the modern world. This period was referred to as the Golden Age of the Imperium, and much of the bedrock of modern society was established in this time.

The Imperium's administration soon became bloated and inept, however, beginning in the 400s BCE. Tensions in the northern border regions became inflamed as the Thanic Migrations began to affect the empire's security, all while the Imperianstrium refused to authorize payments for their armies in order to spite the ambitions of another family in the government. This led to soldiers abandoning their posts, and eventually the Imperium withered away in influence until finally the Thanic king Olge the Vile, marched on Augustine in 1 BCE and sacked the city, killing many nobles, civilians, and destroying many of the ancient city's wonders. This sacking led directly to the end of the ancient Imperium, as the civilization's authority which had been shrinking for some time, dissipated entirely.

Low Middle Ages
Augustine after the sacking of the imperial capital was a chaotic place. The era known as the dark ages saw the return of lawlessness and the collapse of civilization. The capital city itself was largely abandoned, as the survivors of the noble families of the Imperium fled to their countryside villas and employed former peasants to work on their land, introducing the idea of feudalism into the post-imperial society. The faith became centrally important in Augustine as the High Octum remained the final lasting vestige of former imperial authority in the region, with many peasants putting their trust in the faith, and the nobles paying homage to the faith in order to utilize the trust in their institution to legitimize their own rule over the people.

In 412 CE, one minor former imperial noble family came under the rule of a man named Decletian, who at 18 was described as ambitious and cunning. It was him to gathered a small host from his family's home and made his way for the former capital city. Augustine was largely abandoned, and Decletian, in an attempt to secure legitimacy for himself, agreed to make the city his capital once again and install the High Octum to their palace in the city in exchange for their blessing in his cause to unite the former Augustinian lands under his rule. This was agreed to, and High Octum Urellius V became the first High Octum of the Middle Ages to sit in his place in the Gabriellene Palace in Augustine, crowning Decletian the Great in the High Sanctum in 417 CE.

He established the Turillius Dynasty, which ruled the empire throughout the low middle ages. His rule propped up the legitimacy of the High Octum, who held much political sway in the new Imperium. Decletian's successors such as

Council of Nervis: 1105

Aurellius III: 1117 empire split up

First Ligurian War: 1191

Augustine would go on to fight numerous wars, defeating Thanic invaders from the north, while also conquering Nalore and Caliane by 810 CE. Augustine would become independent under Gaiva I in 1123 after the Imperium was split between the three children of the old emperor.

High Middle Ages
With the Treaty of Braves in 1390 signed, the Second Ligurian War was decided - and was a decisive loss for the Augustine. The defeat came at the earliest point of Arellius III's reign, and as such weakened his position as Imperator from the earliest point of his rule. As such, the nobility placed the blame of the defeat in the war at his feet, and demanded several concessions from him in return: most notably the returning of many powers to the Imperianstrium, more or less turning him into a constitutional monarch - with the new Imperianstrum having powers over taxation and expenditure, as well as the right to oversee declarations of war, succession, and constitutional reforms.

This reform of society from an absolutist imperial government, to a constitutional monarchy would spur on calls for more social change. With the Imperator's spending powers curtailed, mercantile classes were able to build their wealth further, and scholars and philosophers began questioning old teachings - with many going to Paravantir and bringing back many of their scholarly advances to Augustine, prompting drastic leaps in science and philosophy. This influx of new ideas and scientific advancement led to the emerging Great Reformation beginning in the 1390s.

Exploration & Colonization
As the Great Reformation took hold across Augustine, new places of learning and research sprouted across the nation. The University of Augustine, the University of Oea, and the University of Nervis all were established as centres of learning in this period, while many new philosophers and writers appeared, questioning the status quo. Writers such as Mucius Taurinus who wrote works such as "On Good Governance" and "The Philosophy of Statehood", which attempted to use classical ideals of what makes a good ruler to education statesmen on how to run the country. Others like Lucius Quintinus wrote works on scientific and philosophical questions - with Quintinus working to invent a new version of Paravantene ships that could sail longer distances than Avanoran ships of the time. The result was the Imperianstrum and Imperator Aurellius V ordering the construction of a new navy of these ships in 1410, which would then be used to explore the coasts of northern Korasha.

Aurellius V died in 1417, and afterwards his son, Nactos IV, took the throne after being confirmed by the Imperianstrium. Despite him being of reasonable health and ability, he failed to unite the Imperianstrium behind his rule and struggled to enforce any agenda of his own. Instead, the emergence of seven families dominated the political sphere beginning in the 1420s: the Houses of Callicles, Mulier, Barbatus, Lutorius, Albinius, Petrus, and Telestis. These families had financed the exploration of the northern Korashan continent, and were now profiting from the trade they had established with the many cities and cultures of the region - particularly the Ossamites and Paravantene. However, despite the profit these trading outposts were bringing in, the Augustine did not expand their colonial reach to settler colonies, preferring to instead rely on trading posts garrisoned by soldiers armed with the newly distributed muskets, which were invented in the 1430s.

Industrialization

 * 1780s cities along the River Trivii such as Oea, Flaviae, and Augustine began to see the growth of factories, drawing peasants from the countryside to the city and swelling their population.

Modern Era
After the Alscheid Convention of 1879, an international peacekeeping force entered the country to pacify the chaotic situation. According to the terms of the peace treaty, the country's political parties which were not outlawed were allowed to organize into a constitutional convention, which began the formation of the modern democratic state in Augustine, transitioning the country from dictatorship to that of a parliamentary democracy.

In the 1880 elections, a minority government under the centre-left People's Party, with support from the Communist Party, established the first democratic government, and it was their successive "Red Governments" under Saturio Dalmatius which spent the first three terms between 1880 and 1886 building in the state structures of the modern Augustine state: including the nation's social welfare system, lowering the voting age to 18, introducing proportional representation in parliamentary elections, and becoming one of the first signatory nations of the Avanor Union and Union of Nations respectively.

The Nervis Accords were also brought into effect by all parties in parliament in 1885, which posted a broad range of laws which enacted harsh penalties for any supporters of the former National People's Party or the Evodius Regime. The Red Governments struggled under the 1880s Energy Crisis brought about by anti-colonial uprisings in Korasha, where most of the world's oil came from. With rising costs, the Democratic Party under Bacchis Verinus won the Prime Minister's office in 1889, promising to alleviate the burdens of the cost of living. Their government was a centrist one, and proposed numerous tax reductions. Their most notable achievement of their government was pressuring the Avanor Union to take action to alleviate price shortages by opening up the free trade union in 1890. The Democratic Party government struggled with continued living cost hikes for younger people, especially students who were increasingly being forced out of the cities and into the countryside. These cost of living issues resulted in the 1891 student protests,

Government, Law, & Politics
Augustine is a parliamentary semi-presidential unitary republic, governed under the framework set out by the Constitution of Augustine. This framework establishes a government with three branches: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial; and provides for a system of checks and balances to ensure good governance of the country. The Legislative Branch is composed of a unicameral body of 305 members, known as the Federal Parliament. The body is charged with administering the legislative process, passing amendments to the constitution and constitutional laws, reviewing and guiding the Prime Minister and Cabinet, holding inquiries on matters of national importance, declaring war, and passing the federal budget, as well as approving all financial actions. Parliament is elected every three years through proportional representation, with parties required to receive 3% of the national vote to get seats.

The Executive Branch is headed by the Federal President, who acts as the ceremonial head of state, though holds no official powers outside of dissolving parliament on the advice of cabinet, and appointing a Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the head of

The last election was held in 1922, and produced Gaiva Caelius as Prime Minister, from the People's Party.

Economy
Augustine is a highly developed and innovative world economy which leads in the fields of luxury goods production, viticulture, automotive manufacturing, information technology, robotics,