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The Valley (Urcea): Difference between revisions
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==History== | ==History== | ||
For most of human history, the Valley has been one of the most habitable areas in southern [[Levantia]], and has been the center of major agricultural and urban development for more than a thousand years. Prior to the [[Latin Heroic Age]], the Valley was predominantly settled by [[Gaelic people]], who established small cities and extensive agricultural clearances in addition to retaining hunter-gatherer lifestyles. The arrival of the [[Latinic people]] heralded the dawn of more extensive urbanization, especially along the [[Urce River]] itself. For the first several hundred years of Latin settlement of Levantia, Latins were mostly contained to the Valley, and for a time the term [[Levantia]] and the Valley were considered interchangeable. The Latin-urbanized Valley eventually gave rise to the first very large polity in Levantine history, [[Great Levantia]]. Emerging from the [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolitan]] city state, Great Levantia became a continent-spanning empire thousands of miles in breadth. At its height, the Valley - along with parts of [[Dericania]] - were considered to be the core parts of the empire. During the peak of Great Levantia, the Valley was divided into five provinces and the region directly adjacent to Urceopolis, known simply as "Urcea". | For most of human history, the Valley has been one of the most habitable areas in southern [[Levantia]], and has been the center of major agricultural and urban development for more than a thousand years. Prior to the [[Latin Heroic Age]], the Valley was predominantly settled by [[Gaelic people]], who established small cities and extensive agricultural clearances in addition to retaining hunter-gatherer lifestyles. The arrival of the [[Latinic people]] heralded the dawn of more extensive urbanization, especially along the [[Urce River]] itself. For the first several hundred years of Latin settlement of Levantia, Latins were mostly contained to the Valley, and for a time the term [[Levantia]] and the Valley were considered interchangeable. The Latin-urbanized Valley eventually gave rise to the first very large polity in Levantine history, [[Great Levantia]]. Emerging from the [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolitan]] city state, Great Levantia became a continent-spanning empire thousands of miles in breadth. At its height, the Valley - along with parts of [[Dericania]] - were considered to be the core parts of the empire. During the peak of Great Levantia, the Valley was divided into five provinces and the region directly adjacent to Urceopolis, known simply as "Urcea". | ||
After about 1 AD, the demographic, political, and economic "center" of Great Levantia gradually began to shift eastward with the [[Gallian Wars|conquest of Gaul]]. During this middle Antiquity period, [[Urceopolis (City)|Urceopolis]] was the capital city and center of power for the Great Levantine state, but had not yet established clear demographic supremacy over the earlier-established coastal Latin cities along the [[Creagmer]]. Accordingly, the ancient Valley saw relatively uniform economic growth both along the coast and up the [[Urce River]]. Between the major cities were an untold number of small-hold farmers, considered the traditional source of Great Levantia's military manpower. | |||
The region saw significant economic change from the transition of the state from republic to potentate, especially as slaves from [[Dericania|the east]] and eventually Gaul were imported into the region. The massive importation of Gallian slaves had an overall negative impact on the economy of the core region, as most small-holders were replaced by sprawling plantations primarily worked by slaves. The Valley's cities grew significantly during this period, and especially Urceopolis. The economy and society of the modern Valley area remained in this condition through late antiquity until the eventual [[Slavery_in_Great_Levantia#Transition_to_serfdom|transition to serfdom]] began. | |||
The modern Valley was the part of [[Levantia]] most grievously affected by the decline and fall of Great Levantia in terms of demographics and economic condition. | |||
==Economy== | ==Economy== | ||
The economy of the Valley is largely characterized by major urban centers, with both the service and real estate industries serving as the two largest in this region. | The economy of the Valley is largely characterized by major urban centers, with both the service and real estate industries serving as the two largest in this region. | ||