| Romula | ||
| ||
| Country | Istalia | |
|---|---|---|
| Region | Mezzodiurno | |
| Province | Romula | |
| Administration | ||
| Type: | Special Municipality (Romula Capitale) | |
| Body: | City Council | |
| Mayor: | Marco Proietti (LP) | |
| Official language: | Istalian | |
| Territory | ||
| Elevation | 89,21 m | |
| City: | 1.292 km² | |
| Metropolitan Area: | 2.321 km² | |
| Population | ||
| City: | 9,965,883 | |
| Density: | 7713,53 people/km² | |
| Metropolitan Area: | 13,159,678 | |
| Density: | 5 669,83 people/km² | |
| Other Info | ||
| Demonym | Romulano (Romulan) | |
| Nickname: | Orgoglio d'Istalia (Pride of Istalia) | |
| City Holiday | 8 August | |
Romula is the capital and largest city of Istalia. It also serves as capital of the Mezzodiurno region. With 13,159,678 residents it is the country's largest and most populated city. It is located in the central-eastern portion of the Sarrentina Peninsula, within the otherwise rural Mezzodiurno, along the shores of the Sala river, in the middle of the great Sala's river valley at the foot of the northern foothills of the Southern Plateau.
Romula can boast a great archeological as well as artistic testimoniances of its long history which spans more than 5000 years.
It hosts the highest istalians institutions and its the most important economic center of the Country together with Milona.
Etymology
The city took its name after a fortress founded by Giuliano Barbato Romul, a great general of the southern kingdom of Fidelia and who is known for its great victories which blocked for decades the quanzarian to invade furthermore the peninsula.
The fortress was known as Fortezza di Romul but quickly was called La Romulana (The Romulan) and which in the years the little people of the city arised around the fortress started to call with the current name.
For century Romula was only an informal name given the fact that the Quanzar Emirs, in their long lasting attempt to undermine the istalian heritage, forced the use of another name, Colsamia, deriving from the ancient name of the site, Qolshamih. Only after an agreement with the Hosian Patriarchy of Quanzar the name was authorized and officialized, a gesture also aimed to defuse high tensions with the istalian population at the beginning of 19th century.
History
Ancient and early medieval history
Romula is the modern-day city occupying the site of the ancient city of Qolshamih, according to the mythical tradition founded in 1832 BCE. As center of the homonymous ancient civilization, the city became the largest of the Sarrentina Peninsula and among the largest of Majatra and during its long millennia of history it was enriched with numberous artistic and architactural testimoniances of the civilizations that were to come.
However, since the first century CE the city experienced a slow decline, losing partialy its role of main center of the Peninsula. Under the Augustan domination the city experienced a brief recovery, due to the fact that the Augustans privileged the site where was founded the first hosian church in Istalia, the nowday Archbasilica of St. Matthias the Baptist to the Walls. But with the chaos which followed the retiring of the Augustan troops and the many wars between warlords and princes of the Peninsula, the city fall definitively and became almost deserted.
Late medieval period
After it was almost totally abandoned, most part of the site fallen in ruin, and the city became an anonimous country town known as Colsamia, however always controlled by fortress and other military structures due to the strategic position on the main ford along the Sala river. With the increasing power of Fidelia in 11st century, the city became again an important trade center while the Basilica of St. Matthias houses a monastic orders which make the city a medieval cultural center. With the arrivals of the Majatran armies of the Ahmadi Caliphate in 13rd century the city, like the rest of the Peninsula passed under the control of Ahmadi Bramenians and Majatrans vassals of the Caliph. The local Ahmadi rulers, impressed by the monumental remains of the city, began to use the site as their burial place, enriching the outskirt and the countryside with many mausoleum. When the Caliphate began to fall and the istalians principalities start the rebelion against the local Ahmadi vassal, they immediatly retook the control of the city due its strategic role as well as important center for the istalian hosiansim. During this period the southern Kingdom of Fidelia once again emerged as leading power in Istalia and to assure its control on the area in 1472 it built a fortress just outside the ancient site and then appeared a fortified city which took its name from the first Duke of the Duchy that arose around, Giuliano Barbato Romul, famous great general of the Kingdom of Fidelia. During the years of the clashes against the Ahmadi Caliphate, the city become a symbol of the istalian people.
The Quanzar Empire
In the 17th century the Kings of Fidelia began large construction projects in Romula hoping to move here the Capital: in fact, Fidelia at the time reached to extend its influence on most part of the peninsula and its kings hoped to create an unified kingdom on the peninsula. The arrival of the Quanzar invasor, however, put an end to the dream.
The Quanzar, as said, reprimed the use of the name "Romula" and indeed they transfered many institutions houses in Romula in other cities. The city however remained one of the most turbolent for the Quanzar Emirs which during the decades were forced to grant many concesions to the citizenships, also the mentioned authorization to officialy call the city with its veritable name.
When the Emirs moved in Istalia their court at the fall of the Empire, the Romulans suffered a severe punishment for its attempt to unleash a revolution, like in Solentia and Kalopia. The city and their leaders, however, indeed increased their role of main anti-quanzari center of the Peninsula. Among the most notable events the uprising during the conquest of the Kingdom of Istalia (located on Alaria): Romula rise up against the quanzarian led by the Istalian Arch-Bishop but the fall of the Kingodom marked the end of the rebellion, hardly crushed by the Emirate. The Emirate imposed to the Arch-Bishop, local representative of the Patriarch of Istalia and Solentia, to left the Basilica and to move in Verunia where he zould be well controled and influenced by the Emir. After few years however thanks to intervence of the Theognosian Church the Arch-Bishop returned in Romula while the Emirate agreed with the Patriarchate to recognize to the Patriarch the religion authority also on the quanzarian hosians, assuring to the city the status of religious protected site.
Modern and recent history
After the fall of the Emirate caused by the revolution of 2110, the new state, the Union of Quanzari Soviets, decided to move the capital from the political center of the Emirate.
Romula, however, for the Union leadership was too much "istalian" and aimed to replace the ethnic division with the unifing socialist ideology, they decide to left in the city the seat of the Supreme Soviet, the Union's Parliament, while as official capital and seat of the Head of the State and of the diplomatic representatives was chosen Nicomopolis, the name given by the past regime to Calliari, ancient seat of the Istalian Kingdom, renamed after the at the time considered pre-istalian name of the southern region of Alaria.
After the definitive seize of the power of the istalians and the foundation of the Quanzarian Republic, finally Romula arose to the role that for centuries the istalians tried to give it: the definitive and ethernal capital of Istalia, becoming under the next millennia the largest and most populed city of the Country, its political as well as cultural and spiritual center.
Notable places
WIP
Photo Gallery
Overview of the historic city center of Romula
Ancient Majatran Mausoleum
Ruins of Qolshamih
Part of the Romula Fortress
Business quartier of Romula with in the middle the PMI Media Tower
The Terran Global Financial Center of Romula