Levantia

Levantia is a continent in the northern hemisphere of Otarsis. Levantia is bound by the Kilikas Sea to the northwest, the Sea of Nordska to the northeast, by the Levantine Ocean to the east, by the Odoneru Ocean to the west, and by the Sea of Canete to the south. Kiro-Borealis lies to its immediate north and distant northwest and Sarpedon to its south.

Levantia was first settled prior to the, and was subsequently the home of many migrations as well as the rise and fall of many pre-historical cultures. By approximately 2000 BC, Gaelic people occupied a territory approximately coterminous with the modern Levantine Union and were the largest group on the continent, though their population density was relatively low. Also on the continent in ancient times were Gothic people and Lagyar people, though these group occupied small, densely populated areas to the west and east of the continent, respectively. Istroyan people settled small cities on the southeastern coast of the continent but evidently did not scout or explore much of the continent. The arrival of Latinic people in the millennium BC inaugurated Levantia into the Occident and dramatically changed the landscape of the continent, as a population explosion of Latins into Levantia lead to the creation of Great Levantia and laid the foundations for much of Catholic Levantia as understood today. Some of Great Levantia was overrun by Gothic people from the 3rd to 6th centuries AD, creating many of the modern cultural boundaries that presently exist in Levantia.

Geographic Extent
In addition to mainland Levantia and its outlying islands, the greater Levantine region is sometimes defined as including the Great Kirav and parts of Borealis even though it is a geologically separate continent called Kiro-Borealis. Kiravians typically distinguish between their own island continent and the Levantine mainland, and the terms Levantiax ("Levantine") and Levantiem("Levantines") refer specifically to the mainland, while Ambrélevantiax and Bâvnélevantiax ("Greater Levantine" and "Wider Levantine") can include Great Kirav.

Topography and Climate
Levantia runs the gamut from a tropical equatorial climate in the southern tip of Urcea to an arctic climate in the northern portions of Caergwynn. Northern Levantia is known for its infamous Kilikas Storm Belt, which encompasses the northern regions of Fiannria, Faneria, Caergwynn, Hendalarsk, Yytuskia-Helvana, and Prevalia, characterized by frequent and powerful temperate cyclones, thunderstorms, and blizzards that have historically made marine navigation extremely dangerous in the area.

The Vandarch is a key topographical feature of Levantia. It is the world's largest inland sea and is connected to the oceans by the Grand Vandarch Canal to the north and by the Carolina Grand Canal to the south. The Vandarch has major effects on the climate of Levantia and has been described as a "thoroughfare of cold, Boreal air" which has the effect of cooling much of the southern part of the continent.

Human Geography


Levantia is home to a number of diverse cultural groups.

Northern Levantia
Known historically by residents of Catholic Levantia as the far north and as part of the greater concept of Ultmar, Northern Levantia typically encompasses the lands of the countries of Fiannria, Faneria, and Caergwynn among others.

Western Levantia
Known historically by the residents of so-called "Catholic Levantia" as Gothica and as part of the greater concept of Ultmar. Central Levantia is typically understood to mean the territory west of the Deric States, north of Urcea, and south of Diamavya. Depending on the context, western Diamavya, may be considered part of Central Levantia, but its ethnic ties to groups commonly found in Northern Levantia often cast it into that designation.

Eastern Levantia
The roughly peninsular shaped region east of the Levantine Union is known as the homeland of the Lagyar peoples.

Southern Levantia
Often referred to as Catholic Levantia, Southern Levantia typically encompasses the lands of the countries of Burgundie, southern Fiannria, the Deric States, and Urcea.

Bergendii
The Bergendii are a unique culture, but are phenotyped as primarily Latinic. They have mixed more thoroughly with the Istroyans and the of southern Levantia. They have adopted the hard-nosed, stoic, and industrious dispositions. While the Bergendii reside primarily in Burgundie, there are approximately 4-6 million Bergendii who live in other countries.

Other Ethnicities
Other ethnocultural groups in Levantia include the Kirhavite Aboriginal tribes, and the Coscivian peoples who migrated from distant Novērda to become the majority in Great Kirav and Uruvun.

Religion
Levantine Catholicism is the predominant religion on the continent, accounting for absolute majorities in all mainland Levantine states and a sizeable, rapidly growing minority in Great Kirav, where a majority of the population belong to related apostolic Christian churches. Catholic shrines and other holy sites abound and rates of religious practice remain consistently high across the continent, which houses the Papal State in Urceopolis, seat of the and center of the Catholic world.

Economy
Levantia is the world's most prosperous continent. It is home to the Levantine Union, the world's most powerful joint economy including Urcea, which has the world's highest as well as several other high-income developed nations. Most countries in Levantia - and especially in the southern portion of the continent - are considered highly developed, with strong tertiary and quaternary sectors and high standards of living. Levantine economic strength has been bolstered by continental and regional integration under Levantine Union trade agreements and the KATI free trade zone.

Arms manufacturing and other defense-related industries are a major component of the Levantine economy, meeting a strong demand for weapons systems fueled by the active foreign policies of its members. Numerous major arms firms with an global presence base their corporate and manufacturing operations in Levantia, including Kiro-Kuhlfrosian Armenwerke, Royal Sealift Company, Lansing-Mitchell Weaponeering and Royal Hunting and Munitions Company. A massive domestic, non-governmental arms market exists due to high rates of gun ownership in Urcea and elsewhere, and a strong firearms and sporting tradition across much of the continent.

Political Situation
In modern history, Levantia has been a comparatively stable area. Centre-right to right-wing governments prevail across the continent.

Sovereign States

 * Alba Concordia
 * Allaria
 * Anglei
 * Burgundie
 * Caergwyn
 * Carna
 * Cohe
 * Corcra
 * Covinia
 * Diamavya
 * Faneria
 * Fiannria
 * Hendalarsk
 * Hollona and Diorisia
 * Kronenia
 * Loresia
 * Lutsana
 * Orclenia
 * Prevalia (and Roseney?)
 * Urcea
 * Verecundia
 * Vinesia
 * Vorenia
 * Wealdland
 * Yonderre
 * Yytuskia-Helvana

Dependent Territories

 * Halfway (Urcea)
 * Bicarian Islands (Urcea)
 * Insee Fey (Fiannria)
 * Levantx (Burgundie)
 * New Ardmore (Kiravia)
 * Uruvun (Kiravia)
 * Wintergen (Burgundie)
 * Suderavia (Kiravia)
 * Scapa (Kiravia)
 * International Canal Zone
 * Alba Concordia

Policing
Levantine policing is known for being centralized, state-run, and overt. It is the original civilian, publicly-funded policing model but newer more localized and egalitarian have taken hold in Crona and Sarpedon, known as. Thus, by exclusion, the older, more centralized model has coined the neologism "Levantine policing".

The word "police" was borrowed from the Latin word politia, meaning an agent of the state or civil administration. It was first used in the modern sense in the mid 17th century in Urcea, but soon spread throughout Levantia. It was often associated with political and religious policing but was also used in other sundry functions of government administration, depending on the country. The word has modernized to police in the many modern languages through its adoption in the 18th and 19th centuries. However, outside of Levantia, the word, and the concept of police itself, was disliked as a symbol of foreign oppression.