Republic of Trieno

**Most Serene Republic of Trieno**
***Serenissima Repubblica di Trieno***

The **Repulbic of Trieno** (Renean: *Repubblica di Trienia*; Trienan: *Repùblica de Trienia*), formally known as the **Most Serene Republic of Trieno** (Renean: *Serenissima Repubblica di Trienia*; Trienan: *Serenìsima Repùblica Triena*), was a country located in modern Reneo prior to the country's unification.

Located at the southern tip of the Renean peninsula, it shares a land border with Ottavia. It has a mainly tropical climate and a population of approximately 3 million people. Trieno is known as center of trade, with billions of ducats worth of goods flowing through the main port of Trieno each year.

Trieno began as a community of refugees fleeing raids from Trebolaise warlord, coalescing together in the Trienan lagoon in the 6th century to from the Trienan Republic. The republic for the most part has remained as is for the past XYZ years, with changes occuring intermittently. In the XYZs Trieno became a center of world trade to Qara and Shijie, although that role has decreased over the past few hundred years as nations such as Agardy, Vosteibia, and Altea colonizing many of the markets previously dominated by Trienan traders. In response, the Trienan Grand Council permitted a charter company to colonize a small portion of Qara to serve as a trading post in the Qaran market. Despite the profits made from trade in Vecelliano, the slow decline of Trienan commerce continued. As a result, Trieno has began to focus more on the mainland, investing more in agriculture and industrialization.

Over the past 15 years, Trieno has seen an increase in republican nationalist sentiment against the partriarchal government dominated by a few major families. Because of this, the GRAND COUNCIL has begun to enact more and more democratic reforms to allow people to have more influence in local government.

## History

*Main article: History of Reneo*
In the 4th century, Iergian Reneo was devastated by continued invasion from Trebolaise warlords. Large portions of the population of southwestern Reneo fled into coastal areas that were isolated from more populated areas. The most prominent of these settlements was the community of the Trienese lagoon, which itself held hundreds of smaller communities. It is estimated that tens of thousands of Reneans settled in the lagoon, and over the next century, these settlements would coalesce into a few larger communities, the largest of which were Lodine and Mereto.

In 542, the people of the lagoon elected Oddone Montalti as the first leader of the lagoon communities. This position evolved over time to become the Dirigente of Trieno. Montalti established a seat of government at Lodine, which was on the southern tip of the lido. When Oddone died in 558, he was succeeded by his son Simone, who was ousted in 561 after he attempted to reform the position into a hereditary one.

The younger Montalti was replaced by Loris Vecellio, who moved the capital of the lagoon communities north to Mereto due to continued flooding in Lodine. Vecellio is credited as the founding father of Trieno because of the expansive reforms that he undertook during his tenure, which referred to as the Vecellian reforms. These included the establishment of the Council, a judiciary system, and a navy. Vecellio ruled for 34 years and died in 595. He was succeeded by Davide Iadanza, who would face one of the gravest challenges yet to Trieno.

In 603, CHARLEMAGNE, the King of Trebole, marched down the Renean peninsula, intent on subjugating it much as he did in Altea. When he reached the Trienese lagoon, he attacked up the lido from the south, but upon reaching Mereto, he found it abandoned. Iadanza had ordered the population to move to a island in the center of the lagoon. When CHARLEMAGNE attempted to ferry his soldiers to the island to attack the remnants of the population, he lost many of his soldiers due to his navigators’ unfamiliarity with the inlets and channels of the lagoon. He conceded defeat and withdrew from the region.

From there, the city of Trieno began to take shape. The island was vulnerable to the shifting tides of the lagoon, and stabilizing measures had to be taken to protect the island from being swept away. The citizens of Trieno pioneered the usage of closely spaced wood tiles to create a deep foundation that its buildings were built upon.

Over the next 500 years, Trieno would continue to gain prestige as the trade center of Telepha, and its access to the ports of Qara and Shijie became unrivaled by any other trading power in Telepha. Their religious prestige increased with the acquisition of the body of St. Thomas of Andalo, who founded the Agiosinian Church in Reneo. The Basilica of San Tommaso that houses his body is one of the major basilicas of Agiosinity.

Up until the 16th century, Trieno was a purely maritime power that did not seek territory on land. This changed during the rise of colonialism, and Trieno lost some of its trading power because larger nations could now receive luxury goods from their colonies in Martria and Qara. As a result, Trieno embarked on a series of costly wars that secured control of southeastern Reneo for their country and colonized a small portion of northern Qara that is referred to as Vecelliano in honor of the founding father of their country.

The politics of Trieno have faced significant upheaval since the Middle Ages, and the Council has been made more representative of the lower classes. It is not fully considered a democracy because a few merchant families control most of the non-elective portions of the government, and these families often rotate country of the position of Dirigente. This arrangement gained prominence in the 17th century and as a result, the power of the Dirigente has gradually weakened over time.

Trieno did not fight in the War of Anamaran Succession to preserve its role as a neutral trade republic. While this decision enabled Trieno to continue its trading unhindered, it led to significant backlash from a new class of political thinkers in Trieno: nationalists. Since the end of the war, the Council has faced growing pressure to become more representative and more nationalist in their interactions in Renean politics.