Merav
Merav, officially the State of Merav (South Coscivian: Ayirka Meravi) is a state and province of the Kiravian Federacy located in eastern coastal South Kirav.
It is significant as the beachhead of the First Evangelisation of Kirav, and was the first region of the country to accept Christianity. It is the birthplace of the Coscivian Orthodox Church, though a majority of the state's population today adhere to the Coscivian Catholic Church.
The official language of Merav is South Coscivian, which is spoken by over 90% of the population as their native language. Speakers of Kalvertan Coscivian are the largest linguistic minority at around 4% of the population.
It is one of the better-developed provinces in South Kirav, with the best educational performance in that theme and a very strong agricultural sector.
History
Select coastal locales in southern and far northeastern Merav have a wealth of megalithic sites associated with the Koskan migrations to the Kiravian Mainland from Éorsa and the earliest flowerings of proto-Coscivian culture. Some glottochronologists hypothesise that the Austro-Kiravian branch of the Neo-Kiravian language family descends from the speech of these megalithic communities in what is now Merav, diverging from its parent tongue through predictable sound changes and the effects of contact with surrounding peoples, believed to have been wholly or predominantly Intheric-speaking low-intensity farmers.
Merav was connected to the long-range trade networks of the classical world, and had important commercial connexions to Great Levantia, whither it exported commodities such as wine.
The Elamite Order was founded in Sodexorstrom in 1062 AD, and natives of Merav were overrepresented among the Kiravian Crusaders who fought for the order in the Sea of Istroya and later Sydona.
Geography
The territory of Merav extends over the level and low-lying South Kiravian coastal plain, which dominates the south and centre of the state, as well as an "upcountry" region of higher, more rolling terrain culminating in the Kakēlak Range (geologically a transverse spur of the Pelerin Mountains) that mark its northern border. An isolated pocket of higher elevation occurs in Ikobrona Countyship near the heart of the state.
The southern third of Merav shares the oceanic climate typical of the rest of lowland South Kirav, while the northern two-thirds have a more continental climate. Both of these regions are very warm and mild relative to the rest of Great Kirav, offering long growing seasons and favourable conditions for agriculture. The native vegetation across most of the state would be temperate mixed forests of oak, ash, elm, and hornbeam. However, virtually all of Merav's primeval woodland was cleared centuries ago for conversion into the cropland that defines the state's countryside today.
Cities
Kotor
Kotor (Latin: Cuttorus) is a coastal city in Merav, the largest city in the state and core of its largest metropolitan area. It is an important port of South Kirav and has strong trading ties with Levantia. Kotor was an early beachhead of Christianity in Kiravia and the location of the earliest known diocese.