Reme

The Reman Republic was a powerful country situated in the Flentia River valley between the 3rd Century BCE and 7th Century CE. A melting-pot of cultures, it was intolerant to minorities during the latter portion of its existence, which led to its eventual downfall at the hands of minority nationalists.

## History

### Foundation and Early History

The Reman Republic was founded when the city of Reme began to assert control over its surroundings and could not govern itself as a municipality any longer. A modified form of the consular system that had ruled the city was put into place - two leaders who would check each other's power.

Slowly Reme expanded - it had little trouble as very few nation-states existed at the time. It worked its way along the Flentia valley.

In 261BCE Reme faced its first challenge - religious differences. Up until now Reme had had a policy of religious indifference - the state had no hand in religion and did not care for it. The people of Resina, though, openly criticised the gods of others, and ostracised those heathens who came to their city. The Reman consuls of the time, Iunius and Brutus, used force to expel these fanatics and came up with a solution. A nine-god pantheon of unnamed gods representing certain ideals and concepts, which would be worshipped around the Republic. Any existing gods were decreed to be aspects of one of these deities. This system worked better than expected, quelling unrest at the time, forming a stable basis for the state and establishing a common cultural identity.

### Expansion and Conquest

Reman conquests continued, mostly along the Flentia and Tauric rivers, until in around 100BCE Reme came into contact with the People of the Fen Boroughs. At the time, the Fen Folk were placid and relaxed, a fact which Reme used to trade; the consuls saw no value in the swamps and fens of the Boroughs. Trade, though, was sparse as distrust deepened the rifts between the Remans and the inhuman Fen Folk.

To try to stimulate trade, in 73BCE the city of Florentia was founded on the northern border as a trading post. Since the Remans had gone to this effort to trade the Fen Folk felt pressured to respond, and began to give the Remans, among other things, gold and silver - there were rich veins in their lands, but they had no use for them past pretty trinkets.

This inflow of gold and silver piqued the interest of the Reman government in two ways. First, it became clear that the Fen Folk valued items far differently to humans. Much more importantly, there were rich veins of gold and silver in the Fen Boroughs. The Remans began to draw up plans.

In 25BCE Consul Titrus led an army into the Boroughs to find the mines. For two years he tore apart the depths of the western Boroughs, but failed to find any sign of gold or silver mines. Nevertheless, he annexed the eastern bank of the Flentia River and the land up to eight leagues inland, claiming it was to ensure Reme had access to the sea.

Over time the Reman territories expanded along the Flentia basin, with large cities such as Eremanthus and Corrinum being founded and thriving within networks of farms and towns. Where indigenous cultures had lived before Reme, they were assimilated into Reman society. By far the largest and most complex of these assimilations was that of the Hethricians and Cudumbians, who inhabit the banks of the lower Flentia River.

The Republic grew to roughly its ultimate size during the mid-3rd Century CE. At this point it bordered two of its greatest rivals - Kharos to the south and the Vardanid Empire to the west. Reme fought both these powers sporadically for the rest of its existence. Reme also bordered a number of Moranian kingdoms to the northeast; it treated these as client kingdoms and buffer states to ensure it would not be Reman bodies piled on the battlements if the Eastforest ever invaded.

### Post-Gap

Following the Great Gap, the Reman Republic had drastically changed. The entire area east of the Flentia River had been razed to the ground, and cities on the western bank were decked out with high, strong walls and the countryside dotted with forts.

Further than this, the very ideology of the Reman people had changed. They were now hostile to outsiders and insiders alike. Minorities such as the Tungrids were mercilessly ostracised and blamed for the Great Gap, leading to several rebellions and massacres, and the expulsion of the populations of entire towns.

The situation only grew worse over time, and in the 7th Century the Vardanid Empire took advantage of this weakness by spreading heresy throughout the Republic. The resulting Vardano-Reman Religious Wars tore Reme apart, leaving dozens of splinter states in the wake of what had once been a great nation.

## Military

Reme's army was organised in a very similar manner to that of the Roman Republic and Empire. Reme employed between twenty and thirty legions, each famously loyal to their commanders over the state. As time went by, the commanders of these legions gained more and more power, and the government was forced to pander to them in order to maintain its grip on the country.

A list of Reman legions can be found here.

## Culture

There are several divisions of Reman culture - the districts surrounding the city of Reme are said to be the most 'purist' - they are direct descendants of the Roman part of the Halcyonian Flotilla and are unblemished by other cultures. People of this subculture are called Veremans - this name is derived from the words 'Verus Rema' or 'True Reman'.

The other four major Reman subcultures are as follows: Corrineans inhabit the area surrounding the city of Corrinum, and likewise Tauromeans with Tauromus. On the northern bank of the Flentia River were the Hethricians, and the Nerians used to inhabit the flat plains east of the Flentia before the Great Gap essentially wiped them out.

## See More

List of consuls of Reme

List of Reman legions