Empire of Roma

History
The Empire of Roma formed during the 7th Age. It rose as an alliance between the Human, Halfling, and Gnomish populations on the Western Continent as a means of mutual defense against the rising power of the Empire of Athenai in the west. The alliance managed to repel and drive back the Drow and their enslaved armies back from the Shield Mountains and beyond to the Feywood. The alliance gradually became more intricately linked as the centuries passed. Eventually the various regions agreed to unite into a single entity and they elected from among the ruling Dukes an Emperor. This Emperor gave up claims on any province and would instead serve the entire nation as a whole. The former Duchy was given to a lower lord in order to keep the number of Dukes the same.

The empire became commonly referred to as the Human Empire due to the majority of the lands and population were Human or human controlled. The region was divided between ten Duchies with each duchy being treated as equal regardless of its size or the people living within it. Unfortunately during the following centuries a Civil War broke out between two potential heirs of the Empire. The first claimant was named Lord Regulus Uccello and gathered most of the loyal Dukes to his claim. He was considered the true heir being the previous Emperor's cousin and the two sharing a great-grandfather. The other claimant was Lady Maura Verona a half-elven bastard of the Emperor's father and therefore the Emperor's half-sister. Lady Verona gathered together twelve major lords from within the Empire and a severe war broke out. Lord Uccello was victorious but his cousin Lady Verona had tapped into a strange magic that sealed herself and her associates into soul gems that couldn't be destroyed. The now Emperor Regulus hid the souls in a cave within the Shield Mountains and created a crystal map that he divided into twelve pieces and scattered around the Empire.

The Empire continued for several more centuries without issue until the weak rule of Emperor Regulus III Uccello. During this period of time, a odd religion rose up in the westernmost lands of the Empire and gradually a difference in culture led to the breakaway of the three western provinces into the independent Holy Kingdom of the Light. The Emperor refused to intervene in the secession and thus the Empire fell to its current borders.

Following the decline of the Empire of Athenai during the slave revolts at the end of the 7th Age. The Empire of Roma became the pre-eminent power in the world until the rise of the Empire of Knossos out of the ashes of Athenai.

Geography
The Human Empire comprises of most of the eastern third of the Western Continent. Starting at the Sword Mountains in the west and all lands eastward to the Forest of Ravenna. The Empire's only land borders exist on its two ends. To the west is the Kingdom of Londinium, the successor state of the Holy Kingdom of the Light. The other border is with the two successor states to the Republic of Waset, the Republics of Yebu and Khnum.

The Empire itself is divided into seven provinces known as Duchies by the government. The Duchies listed in order from west to east are named for their capital cities: Setia, Ostia, Circei, Antium, Cumae, Ravenna, and Velitrae.

Peoples
The Empire of Roma consists of three major races and two minor races. The major races are Human, Halfing, and Gnome. The minor races are Ratfolk and Fetchling. The major races were the founding races within the Empire. The Ratfolk and Fetchling are members of their respective diasporas following the decline of the Kingdom of Sayeb and Shahdom of Sard respectively.

Largest Cities: Roma (230,000), Antium (87,000), Cumae (72,000)

Population as of Year 30 of the 8th Age:

Government
Current Emperor: Nerva Uccello

Capital City: Roma

Patron Gods: Jupiter, Juno, Mars

Succession Law: Male Preference Primogeniture

The government of the Empire of Roma is a complex imperial federation of feudal states. The Empire is ruled over by the Emperor as its Head of State and Head of Government. The Emperor serves as the feudal lord over the seven Dukes of the empire. These Dukes serve as the head of each of their respective provinces. The provinces are further divided into counties each with a ruling Count and some of these counties can include baronies or other smaller subdivisions.

The Empire's legislature is known as the Imperial Senate. The Senate is a governing body that determines the laws of the Empire and is overseen by the Emperor or his Chief Councilor. The Senate is made up of representatives from all of the provinces and includes representatives of all lords ranked Count and higher, priests of each of the major temples within the Empire, and common representatives of the people divided between the provinces based on population. The Senate chamber houses 400 seats. 51 seats are reserved for the Lords. 14 seats are reserved for the High Priests of the Gods. The remaining 335 seats are divided between the Provinces proportionally. As of the Census taken in Year 30 of the 8th Age, the seats are divided like so; 87 for Antium, 55 for Setia, 49 for Ostia, 45 for Cumae, 36 for Ravenna, 32 for Circei, and 31 for Velitrae.