Kingdom of Greece

Greece, officially known as the Kingdom of Greece, is a nation located in the southern part of the Balkan peninsula in Europe. The country has had a long history, but it's modern rendition was formed back in 1832, while the modern history of the country dates back to it's victory in the first world war.

History:

After the victory of the Kingdom of Greece in World War I, the British had promised territorial gains for them in Anatolia, which included Constantinople. But the Ottoman empire, which didn't get a say in the treaty, was unhappy with it and declared war on Greece on the 15th of May, 1919.

The Greek army initially managed to hold back the Ottoman invasion and push them into their own territory, but after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk took over the country and deposed the monarchy, the tide started turning towards the Greeks, eventually forcing them to sue for peace on the 11th of October, 1922. Since the war, Greek-Turkish relations have been sour.

The Kingdom of Greece would eventually find itself signing a non-agression pact with the Federal Kingdom of Yugoslavia in September of 1940, which proved to be crucial later on. Eventually, the Kingdom of Italy declared war on Greece on the 28th of October, 1940, with the Federal Kingdom of Yugoslavia joining the war later on in November.

The war showcased the complete incompetence and ineffectiveness of the Italian army, as they were pushed in to Albania and eventually started a defensive in February of 1941. This caused Nazi Germany to force different countries to join the Axis, so that they could move troops to Greece. Yugoslavia did not join the Axis, which caused Germany and their new allies, including Bulgaria, to declare war on Greece and Yugoslavia.

The Greek army was forced to try and hold the Bulgarian army away from their territory as they were still fighting the entrenched Italians. In late May of 1942, the Italian army was finally pushed out from Albania. In July of the same year, the German Luftwaffe started Operation Mercury, sending multiple paratrooper divisions to capture the island of Crete, where they would capture air strips to easily bomb Greek cities from there.

Operation Mercury was a success for the Axis, with the entire island of Crete being fully occupied by the 2nd of August, 1942. The German Luftwaffe was able to carry out multiple air raids over Greek cities from August to November of 1942, before the air force was needed in the Eastern front. Crete was captured again by the Greek army after the German army had bigger things to worry about in Italy when it was invaded in August of 1943.

After the second world war, Greece did not gain any major territorial gains, but was paid hefty war reparations by Italy. Greece went on to join NATO on the 6th of June, 1952, which started improving it's relations with other western countries, including Italy. Greece's economy also started rising after joining the organization.

Soon after, things would change, as Communist Greek militias were funded by the Soviets to stage an uprising in Athens. The militias did just that in October of 1961, overthrowing the government as the king fled to the city of Heraklion on Crete. Eventually, the whole country started getting Communist militias rising everywhere, specifically in Thessaloniki, Ioánnia, Patras and Acharnes.

The government was overthrown and the royal family went to exile in Spain as a new Communist government was established on the 18th of March, 1962. The Communist government started introducing new economic policies, which seemed promising at first, until the nation was pulled into a conflict after they had threatened the borders of the General Governorate of Serbia in late January of 1968.

The war went well initially, but military spending and the corruption of politicians who were stealing from the government started taking an impact on the economy. The Socialist state of Albania joined the conflict in October of 1968, which made the Communist armies advance a bit further into Serbia. However, after a lot of supplies and volunteers started coming in from NATO members to Serbia, the conflict turned on Greece and Albania.

The two nations sued for peace on the 3rd of June, 1970, with Greece's economy being in complete shambles after the war. The terrible economic situation coupled with the terrible living standards and the authoritarianism of the government eventually caused another revolution to erupt in December of 1973. On the 4th of February, 1974, the Communist regime fled the country and on the 22nd of February, the royal family returned, which caused the country to become the Kingdom of Greece once again.

A new constitution was signed by King Constantine II on the 13th of April, 1975, which limited the king's powers and gave more power to the parliament, in an attempt to become more of a modernized democracy. The Greek economy was starting to become better again after years of new economic policies and new trading partners. The Greek economy finally recovered in 2009 and is continuing to rise up as the time goes on.

Demographics:

Greece is mostly ethnically Greek, with a few small minorities of people who have either migrated to escape war in the early 1990s or been in Greece for a few centuries but just haven't left. These are the following percentages of ethnic groups in the kingdom:

* Greeks (90.3%)
* Bulgarians (1.7%)
* Turks (1.5%)
* Albanians (1.1%)
* Others (5.4%)

List of largest cities in the nation:

1. Athens (population: 3 082 508)
2. Thessaloniki (population: 824 676)
3. Piraeus (population: 448 997)
4. Patras (population: 314 516)
5. Heraklion (population: 211 370)
6. Larissa (population: 162 591)
7. Peristeri (population: 139 981)
8. Acharnes (population: 106 943)
9. Kallithea (population: 100 641)
10. Kalamaria (population: 91 279)

Government:

Ever since Constantine II signed the April 1975 constitution on the 13th of April, 1975, the government has been a constitutional monarchy. The king only has the power to handle foreign affairs and trade, but all else is handled by the parliament and the cabinet of Greece. The king of Greece currently is Constantine II, who has been the king of Greece ever since the return of the royal family in late February of 1974.

The Kingdom of Greece was one of the first countries in the Balkans (except for Romania) to become a modernized constitutional monarchy, with Croatia following just two decades later.

Geography:

The kingdom is heavily mountainous all around, including in the north east, south and even on the island of Crete. The kingdom is surrounded by the mediterranean sea while having a small coast on the Adriatic. Most of Greece's trading goes to Italy, Egypt or Croatia. The kingdom is bordered by Albania in the north west, Bulgaria and Serbia in the north and Turkey in the north east.

The highest peak in the kingdom is Mount Olympus, which is located in the north east, near the Bulgarian border. Mount Olympus is a total of 2 917 meters tall. The kingdom covers a total of 131 957 square kilometers, making it the 95th largest country on the world ranked by area, above Nicaragua but below Tajikistan.

Religion:

Greece, being the birthplace of the Orthodox church, is dominantly Orthodox, with the religion being Greece's state sponsored religion. Around 91% of the population hears to the Orthodox faith, while around 3% of the population hear to the Catholic church. Another 3% have no religion and 2% are of the Islamic faith. The final 1% of the population hears to many different religions.

Administrative regions and divisions:

There are a total of 9 different provinces in Greece, which are the following:

1. Central Greece (Greek: Stereá Elláda)
2. Pelopennese (Greek: Pelopónnisos)
3. Crete (Greek: Kríti)
4. Dodecanese islands (Greek: Dodekánisa)
5. Aegean islands (Greek: Nisiá tou Aigaíou)
6. Thrace (Greek: Thráki)
7. Macedonia (Greek: Makedónia)
8. Epirus (Greek: Íperios)
9. Thessaly (Greek: Thessalía)