Ovezia

Ovezia, officially styled as the Thirteenth Amalate of Ovezia, is a small country in southwestern Alutra on the Abayadi Sea. It shares a western border with its neighbour Watan, who is also in possession of an exclave within Ovezia proper, and a northern border with [NEIGHBOUR]. Despite its size, the country has a strong cultural and economic presence, being one of the richest countries per capita in the region.

Prehistory
Early history in Ovezia has much in common with other nations on the northern Abayadi, in particular its neighbours Watan and Threazari. The region was settled by many cultures, with the mixture of pre-Tilargi and Tilargi peoples forming the foundation of the Oveze cultural group. Due to pressure from more dominant cultures in the region there was a large degree of mixing with Haksar, Ventoran and Watanese cultures over the centuries. It is purported that the region which now constitutes modern Ovezia receives its name from the abundant olive groves that grew in the fertile valley. Whilst unlikely to have been the true origin of domestic olives, many over-land trade routes passed through the region, bringing olives and other goods deeper into Alutra from the Abayadi. The olive remains a prominent symbol of the country to this day.

Ovezia forms part of the great Abayadi migratory corridor and so there is a great deal of paleo-anthropological evidence for several species of hominids in the area. There is Neolithic evidence of semi-permanent settlement in the region with flint blades in the [STYLE] style - a common blade tool found in Neolithic sites in nearby Watan and Ventora.

The Oveze are often seen as another prominent Watanese tribe like the Cortes and Matanic cultures. References to a “people bathed in oil and wine” from the Kashar chronicles of the region are sometimes attributed to the Oveze, however, this attribution is still debated amongst historians.

Kashar-Manuak period
Much like their presence in Watan, the Kashar culture emanating from Haksarad left a minimal impact on Ovezian soil. The remnants of a small fortification were found during a 2018 archeological survey in downtown Ilena during the planning phase for a new hospital. Dating estimates for the site Indicate it was constructed in around 450 BCE. They also suggest that the fortifications continued to be used after the departure of the Kashar culture from Watan, perhaps indicating that the outpost remained an active resting point along trade routes.

Manuak settlement and interactions in the region are much more thoroughly documented, with a total of 16 colonies being founded along the Olive Coast. The fertile lands proved appealing to Manuak expansions and peaceful interactions between the local Tilagri and Oveze populations and the Manuak colonists made the colonies extremely successful. Proselytisation efforts from Manuak settlements had caused upset amongst Tilagri populations who began to move further inland, however, the Oveze were much more tolerant of the new ideas. The two most prominent colonies in the region were located in modern day Ilena and Reparada. The walls of these ancient settlements still impact the layouts of the modern cities.

Ventoran period
Ventoran influence in Ovezia was a longstanding facet of life. As a part of the Watanese basin the territories of the Oveze were considered no more than another portion of land in Watan. Ventoran presence in the region also has a long history, although Ventoran settlements never pushed as far east as Ovezia, many individuals that sought to avoid Ventoran authorities took refuge in the coastal Ovezian cities which became a hotbed for criminals in the first millennium CE.

In 1038 CE, the disunified region of Watan was incorporated into the Kingdom of Ventora as a tributary state. King wished to solidify his influence over the people to the east, who had close-knit trade relationships with Ventoran merchants from long before the establishment of the Kingdom. From the perspective of the Watanese tribes, including the Oveze, this more centralised organisation under a provincial general was seen as an annexation. In reality, the Duchy of Watan did not exist to the Ventorans who instead saw the territory as a collection of tributary, largely autonomous sattelite states under the sponsorship of Ventoran dukes. This tributary relationship was welcomed by the Oveze in particular due to the region’s history as an important trade hub along the Abayadi. Assurances of support with trade, defence and administration of the region provided massive boons to the local economy. In 1038, the Watanese region of Ovezia was created and awarded to Duke Fabens de Aurelia y Voter of Aurelia, to ease internal political tensions in Ventora.

Initial administration under dukes brought a great deal of prosperity to the region, which grew to become highly urban over the first century. The settlement of Pêlhana, modern day Reparada, became an increasingly important city, having received a great deal of investment to counteract the city’s history as a refuge for Ventoran criminals. The city was famous for having three prisons within its walls, Preziõ d’Óçi still stands today, although it is no longer in use. These prison complexes were innovative and began a spark of ingenuity that would define Ovezia and Watan in the coming centuries.

Aurelian dukes, progressively more tense over Ventoran internal politics, saw Ovezia similarly to how the Ventoran crown viewed the Watanese tributary province in general: an opportunity in increase control over neighbouring regions. This lead to frequent extortions of tribute by the Aurelian custos to fund ventures in the duchy proper. An early problem in the administration of Ovezia was the distance between its borders and Aurelia. Merchants and other emissaries had to cross through other Watanese provinces as well as two other duchies to pass between the two, or pass through foreign powers along the Kanakan Steppe. Duke Ropar Falega Tume successfully appealed the plight of the merchants making this journey to the Ventoran crown and how it complicated efficient administration of Ovezia, something that was ratified by reports from Watan’s provincial general. This was a contributing factor to the establishment of Ventora’s Canon of Obligations in 1282.

The Canon of Obligations was, however, not all encompassing at its inception and Aurelia utilised loopholes in the legislation to continue to extort Ovezian commoners. This became a common theme across Watan, especially in the growing cities where class divisions began to move to the forefront of the minds of the common people. Usually, disputes such as these over trade practices or tribute were handled with the traditional Watanese sabre duel, a tradition which was respected as honourable by Ventorans. The region had grown much more centralised under the Ventoran tributary system and now the region had its own prince, who challenged to provincial general of Watan to a duel in 1328, winning the independence of Watan.

Watanese period
After winning the country independence, Prince Fábio Gorres Jaoa Linama was crowned the first Amal of the new Amalate of Watan. In the wake of the withdrawal of Aurelian administrators, Ovezia, and other Watanese duchies felt a deep economic shock. Rural areas across the Amalate suffered and smaller villages were oft abandoned in the 14th century. Ovezia was in a more fortunate position than other areas of Watan, lying in the Ladige Valley provided ample fertile soil to continue to support the growing urban populations. Many people migrated into the area due to its growing importance in the trade of the Amalate, both over land and sea. This rapid urbanisation, even more expansive than under Ventoran supervision, saw cities such as Pêlhana rising to prominence alongside Queluz, Telana, and Alhadas.

There was also a great deal of cynicism amongst the Oveze during the reign of Amal Fábio, who was perceived as unfit to rule. Particularly, he was seen as a bully and short tempered, challenging men, as well as women according to rumour, to duels over inconsequential things. He did oversee some change in Watan, funding housing developments for the poor that had begun to accumulate in slums around cities, although it is unclear to historians whether this was done with true altruistic intent. Amal Fábio died before actualising any further plans at tackling the unjust society over which he ruled. He was succeeded by his firstborn son, Amal Remy the Great in 1349. His reforms and innovations to the Amalate achieved a vision his father had attempted to push towards. Some historians describe the reign of Remy I as the first example of a modern welfare state, and much of this blue-shade philosophy was taken up by the Oveze, who had readily accepted new ideas over the centuries.

This march of progress culminated in a period in the 15th century known as the Watanese Enlightenment. The arts, philosophy and the burgeoning field of mathematics amongst other intellectual pursuits expanded greatly during this time. Ovezia saw a great deal of this innovation as a region in Watan’s populous and prosperous south east. One famous Oveze philosopher, Énri da Cóta, wrote a now infamous rebuttal to the equally celebrated philosopher Vinícius Rosa Paulino Guimarães’ essays on the nature of rulers. Da Cóta suggested that it was no better to be feared or adored if a ruler was unwise, for unwise rulers struggle to hold power over anything for long.

This time saw the rise of a distinct philosophical tradition amongst the Oveze, who prided themselves on their contrarianism and cynicism, particularly towards the ideas of their southern brothers in Queluz. Their healthy cynicism also pushed for more critical approaches towards sorticisism, the most prevalent religion in Watan and Ventora. More nuanced views of creation beyond the limited scope imposed by the Pantheon were explored and celebrated in various texts that became denounced as heretical.

Will retype this to fit -> [The ideas of the enlightenment became very deeply entrenched in the culture of the eastern most cities and the Oveze culture began to diverge from other Watanese cultures, becoming focused around the theories of prominent Oveze minds. This separation only grew during King Teófilo IV’s reign and the Great Qualm came into effect. Some 700 intellectuals from Oveze cities were killed over the course of his reign, including déla Cota. The region grew fiercely protective of its remaining thinkers and many secret schools popped up where intellectuals would discuss the world as if not under an oppressive regime.]

Independence
Izabel I’s reign brought about even deeper unrest in the Oveze region and her extension of the Não Busque Rules saw a further thousand Oveze philosophers and scientists executed or exiled from Watan. The fierce resistance to the crown in a region very near the capital was distressing for Izabel I and as such many of the government sponsored Entrevistadors were deployed to quell protests. With the outbreak of the Caminhante wars, civil unrest in the region boiled over and Watan was faced with a war on two fronts, one of the fronts being kilometres from Queluz. Whilst the war in Cecia was a major defeat for the Watanese, the situation in Ovezia, although a stalemate, was much more favourable for the crown. At the end of the war, Emila Dumician the countess of [MAJOR CITY] led the peace negotiations. Her father, who was count before her, was a prominent advocate of Enlightenment ideals and had been executed by Queen Izabel I. As part of the peace deal, Countess Emila negotiated the full independence of all the Oveze regions apart from her own, which was at the time the most prosperous county in Ovezia. Despite this, the terms of this peace were accepted as the countess wanted to see as many of those that followed her spared from the blade of Izabel I. The abandonment of her direct subjects to the wrath of the entrevistadors was a point of deep shame for countess Emila and she would write many letters to confidants about this. For her efforts in the war and her sacrifice in peace negotiations, Emila was elected as the Queen of the newly independent Kingdom of Ovezia.

Ovezian Restoration
Although the Não Busque Rules had severely impacted the state, their immediate repeal in Ovezia allowed the kingdom to rapidly recover, unlike the stagnation that continued to plague Watan. It wasn’t long until the kingdom entered into a renewed golden age of cultural, scientific and economic advancement. The most notable event of this period was the publication of Pul Telan’s O Soivé deli Sordi (On the Sorti) which was an attack on the organised Sortist faith. Amongst other things, the treatise suggested that the patriarchy (through greed and corruption) had failed to comprehend the true nature of the Fates. By perverting the growth and expansion of human knowledge through enabling the Não Busque Rules, thus the faith had perverted the nature of Aglaia.

The 18th century saw the development of many prominent minds that brought about many foundations of modern scientific theory. Most notable of these was Valira Sitilan, who published a grand unifying classification system of the beings of life in 1758. She is considered to be the mother of binomial nomenclature, having popularised the format through its consistent application to some 13,000 species of plants, animals and fungi. The 18th century also saw the entrenchment of major class divides in the caste system that had emerged after independence. The peasantry, whilst the most populous class, had begun to grow increasingly poor and the new found wealth of some artisans and merchants exceeded that of much of the nobility. The nation entered a period known as the Thirteen Revolutions. This period of 85 years saw the monarchy dethroned and restored five times, the creation of numerous constitutions, the founding of several legislative bodies and massive bloodshed. By the end of the Thirteen Revolutions it is believed that some 60% of the adult population had perished, with around 10% of those deaths taking place in sabre duels. The status quo that emerged from the revolutions created a constitutional, parliamentary, electoral monarchy.

Modern period
In the First World War, Ovezia aimed to stay neutral on the world stage. It was largely able to do this by co-operating and improving relations with Watan, another neutral party in the war. The population of the country was quite small and largely under militarised, having made efforts in the 19th century to reduce militarisation after the massacres by incumbent powers during the Thirteen Revolutions.

The Second World War threatened to involve Ovezia through aiding efforts to prevent Velorenkan interference in the politics on the Abayadi Sea. However, severe pressure from the Merchant and Artisan commissions (largely due to the rise of fascism in Watan prior to the war) disrupted efforts to arm the country and direct arms towards the war effort. This resulted in the state having to take an officially neutral stance, although the Prime Minister of the country did manage to occasionally provide support to alliance powers, through “accidentally not detaining vessels that entered Oveze waters” and state sponsored smuggling of supplies across the border into Watan.

In modern times the Kingdom has been working to improve the living standards of nations across the Abayadi, using its strong, post-industrial economy. It also faces internal unrest as the already largely progressive society has begun to reassess the strict caste system.