Portal:Caphiria

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Map of Caphiria and its overseas possessions Left: Mainland Caphiria; Top right: Escal Isles; Center-right: Zaclaria; Bottom left: Coribus; Bottom right: Shenendehowa Bay

Caphiria, officially the Fourth Imperium of Caphiria, is a caesaropapist constitutional republic on Sarpedon. Caphiria is composed of 25 mainland provinces, 2 Overseas Provinces, and 5 Overseas Possessions. At over 2.3 million square miles and with a population of over 617 million, Caphiria is the world's second-largest country by total area and the second-most populous country. The capital of Caphiria is Venceia, which is also the largest city by population in Caphiria and the second-largest in the world with over 50 million people.

Inhabited since at least the Palaeolithic era, Caphiria can trace its origin to a geographic region called Latium that encompassed the southern part of Levantia and the northern part of Sarpedon. Latium played a pivotal role in the development of a number of diverse cultural groups and civilizations, most notably the Adonerii civilization, an ancient thalassocratic civilization that controlled the partial coastlines of what is now Urcea, Caphiria, Cartadania, and Burgundie. After the collapse of Adonerum in the 6th century BC, the ancient Latinics emerged as a dominant ethno-cultural group and spread the Latinic language, ancestry, history, and culture throughout the continent. In 480 BC, the Kingdom of Caphiria was founded by Lanintius, a popular and successful Latinic general. The kingdom lasted over a century until the last king Admoneptis was overthrown in a coup d'état and the Republic of Caphiria was established, lasting almost 500 years until 109 AD. The Republic saw a vast expansion of territory, including present-day Cartadania and Pelaxia, but also saw internal pressure from various ambitious leaders and the aristocracy, leading to the War of the Republic which saw Caphiria transition from Republic to Empire. In 136 AD, the First Imperium was established, which saw Caphiria experiencing a vigorous expansion of its territory, having regional dominance and ultimately total control of more than half of the Sarpedon. In the late 9th century, the First Imperium collapsed in on itself due to political instability stemming from the lingering effects of the War of the Republic and after a 10-year interregnum, the Second Imperium was established in 900. This government was plagued with issues from the start and quickly reignited more conflict however, and lead to a massive four-decade conflict of civil war known as the Great Civil War in 1127. The civil war led to the quick collapse of the Second Imperium and left Caphiria in a highly vulnerable position from outside threats.

Due to the stresses and strains from the Great Civil War, such as chronic usurpations, military insurrections, and simultaneous military conflicts across multiple frontiers, Caphiria was in a highly weakened state and the collapse of the Second Imperium brought with it a series of barbarian invasions. This ushered in Caphiria's dark age, known as the Dark Period. Between the late 12th and 13th centuries, the empire was severely fragmented as the Senate agreed to let most of its provinces become pseudo-independent states controlled by local Sarpic warlords while it usurped control over Venceia and effectively reverted back to being a Republican city-state. Eventually, Șerossaccir Odobricci, a Latino-Slavic warlord of Truřov (one of the established warlord states), began a successful military campaign of conquering his neighbors and reuniting the lost provinces of the empire.In 1283, Șerossaccir became the next Imperator and established the Third Imperium which saw the reunification of the state, the creation of the Constitution of Caphiria, and the establishment of dozens of Latino-Slavic dynasties and cultural/political institutions. Subsequent decades saw a period of optimism, cultural and scientific flourishing, as well as economic prosperity. At the same time, the Great Schism of 1615, where a break of communion between what are now the Catholic Church and the Imperial Church of Caphiria occurred. The Great Schism lead to the dissolution of the Western Provinces and the independence of countries such as Cartadania in 1615, Pelaxia in 1618, and Aciria in 1625. The final blow to the Third Imperium was the Veltorine War of Independence in the late 17th century, in which Caphiria lost its eastern provinces. The collapse of the Third Imperium marks Caphiria's transition into the modern era. (Full article...)

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The Caphiric Catholic Church, formerly and commonly known as the Imperial Church of Caphiria, is a particular church in full communion with the Pope and the worldwide Catholic Church. It is by far the largest particular church, with nearly a billion congregants, and the only one to worship in the Caphiric Rite. It is the established church and was the de facto state religion of the Imperium of Caphiria for over three centuries. The primate of the church is the Patriarch of Venceia and All Sarpedon.

Caphiria played a significant role in the second wave of Christian proselytization during the Middle Ages. Imperator Marius Oratonius was baptized into the Catholic Church in 1079, and all Caphiria would be nominally Christianized by the end of the 12th century. Caphiria's significant territorial expansion during the Late Middle Ages was officially sanctioned by the Pope, who granted the Imperators the title "Protector of Christendom." While the Popes were increasingly assertive of their temporal and spiritual authority in Levantia during this time, the Caphiric Church was left alone, as the Papacy depended on the tithes and prestige afforded by the Sarpedonian bishoprics. The relationship between the Popes and the Imperators began to break down due to the emerging Protestant Revolt in the early 16th century. Caphiria was insulated from the struggle, but theological tensions with the Urceopolitan church had long simmered beneath the surface. The Imperators took advantage of ecclesiastical division and the Pope's focus on crushing Protestantism to increase imperial authority. The Caphiric church's position was further weakened by the growth of classicism in Caphiria, which called for a Christianity that conformed to ancient Caphirian virtues and would restore the ministerial positions enjoyed by the Imperator during the Principate. The triumph of the Counter-reformation and the resulting growth of Urcean influence in Levantia and over the Church further strained relations. Beginning in the early 1550s, Caphiria began to protestant refugees. The first official step toward schism was in 1560, when the clergy was required to make an oath of loyalty to the Imperator. The process was completed with the Great Schism of 1615, when Pius XII took the title pontifex maximus by acclimation of the Caphirian bishops. The Church continued largely unchanged for a decade until The Reformations of 1627 introduced many reforms to the Church and inflamed traditional Catholic believers. For many years after the Schism, pro-Catholic factions continued to challenge the leadership of the new Caphiric Church. These factions, and the people that supported the Catholic Church still, were known as Traditionalists and were heavily persecuted and executed under heresy laws. This period is known as the Months of Bloody Sundays as it was common practice for the Imperator to simply execute any people who were not coming to church in protest. Traditionalists were executed under legislation that punished anyone judged guilty of heresy against the Caphiric Church. The Church embraced the Caphiric Pyramid and Venceism among other dogmas during this period. While it remains Catholic, these reformations contributed to distinct, partially protestantized, theological and liturgical expressions in the Caphiric Church. (Full article...)