Corinth

Corinth, officially known as Corinth State is a republic located to the east of the Continent. It borders Hassan and the Southern Sea to the south, the Great Dry to the east, the Mighty Sea to the north, and Eria to the west, a territory it shares with its longtime rival Wylie.

Originally constituting the northern half of the Phadean Empire, Corinth is now a republic, overthrowing the Raffles dynasty in PC 1941. Corinth was ruled as a military dictatorship until the implementation of the Keane Constitution, after which is was governed as a semi-federal presidential republic until the Tate Amendments altered the government into a unitary semi-presidential republic with power shared between the President and the Senior Minister.

Etymology
The name Corinth derives from Atal Coren, a Phadean general who was granted a large area along the Corinth River (then known as the Rugendred). There he established Coran, a small village that would slowly develop into the city of Corinth. Coran was renamed Coranth by Rutal Coren and it was officially changed to Corinth by Gural Coren.

Demographics
Because of nearly one thousand years of Phadean immigration, the vast majority of Corinthians are of Phadean descent. A large number of Corinthians may also be of Oroan descent, referring to the Oroans, the original inhabitants of what became Corinth. However, there are very few who claim Oroan descent without also claiming Phadean descent.

Other major ethnic groups include Silissi, Sampans, Gare's, Dorans, Iskus, and ethnic Erians. The Corinthian government also uses the term Dryans to refer to unspecified ethnic groups who immigrated to Corinth across the Great Dry.

Most Corinthians practice a form of Lux, the ancient religion of the Phadean Empire. The most popular form of Lux is the Sepulcher of Light, a formalized version of Lux under the direction of the Principal of Aphadea, who resides who sits in the Red Sepulcher in Old Aphadea. While Sepulchrists make up the plurality of worshipers in Corinth, many also follow the New Covenant, a branch of the Sepulcher of Light which is led by the Archprior of the Wood who sits at the Wooded Sepulcher in Cardenhill. There are many other forms of Lux, with many small, less formalized version scattered across the Continent, including the Noninscrits, who oppose the leadership of the Principal and the Archprior.

Other religions include Kaa, mainly practiced by Iskus and Gotom, mainly practiced by Sampans. Very few Corinthians practice the ancient Oroan rites, but some do exist.

History
The territory that became known as Corinth, then known as Rugendal or Oroa, was invaded by the Phadeans in 914, led by the general Atal Coren. After conquering the region in the name of the Phadean Emperor, Coren resided in his keep at Coran before his death in 936. His son Talep Coren then ruled as Imperial Governor in Coran, claiming to be Governor of the Northern Phadean Empire, though only really having control over Coran.

During the reign of Emperor Solin IV, the Phadeans retreated from the Northern Phadean Empire. Now without oversight, Juran Coren, the descendent of Atal Coren, claimed the title of Phadean Emperor and Lord over the Northern Phadean Empire. This led to conflict with the four Imperial Generals still managing the Phadean Army in the North. The four generals, Samuel Shale, Jude Mastodon, Amed Albarck, and Isrel Astor fought against Juran in the War of the Four. After the four defeated Juran, they returned the crown to Emperor Solin IV who accepted, but allowed the four to create client kingdoms to be ruled by each as vassal-kings. Corinth was split into four pieces which became the Kingdom of the Wood, the Kingdom of the River, the Kingdom of the Dry, and the Kingdom of the Deserts being ruled by Shale, Astor, Albarck, and Mastodon, respectively. Juran was allowed to continue ruling Coran, now as Prince of Coran.

After the fall of the Phadean Empire in 1450, the four kingdoms became sovereign and had various scrimmages with each other as well as with invading peoples. The Principality of Coran would later merge with the Kingdom of the Wood. The Kingdom of the River split into the Kingdom of Silicia and the Kingdom of Jaspers which became the Kingdom of Asperia.The Kingdom of the Dry was conquered by the invading Sampans creading the Kingdom of Sampander. The Gare's and the Dorans also settled to the south of Sampander, creating their own kingdoms. The invading Iskudars invaded the southern coast of the Deserts, creating the Kingdom of Iskudar. By 1535, Queen Azura Shale, Queen of the Wood and her husband, Riel Coren, Prince of Corinth, had united the Wood and Corinth through their marriage and had gain domination over the neighboring kingdoms of Silicia and Okenland. In 1547, their son, Raphael Coren-Shale began his conquest of the other kingdoms, defeating Asperia in 1548, Sampander in 1554, Iskudar in 1571, and finally the Deserts in 1579. Gare' and Dora were under the protection of Sampander and surrendered after the Battle of Ampana. Having defeated Jude IX Mastodon at the Battle of Duneshadow, Raphael returned to Corinth to proclaim himself the King of Corinth. His wife, Queen Alisa, was a Princess of Okenland. In celebration of his coronation, he changed the name of his house from Coren-Shale to the House of Raphael.

The Raphaels, later known as the Raffles, came to rule a united Corinth for many years. During their rule, the Five Hundred Year War with Wylie began. Later, the Islands were added as a province to the Kingdom as well as vast tracts of Erian territory. The House of Raffles were overthrown during the 1941 Corinthian Revolution, where the leading military leaders of Corinth including Elric Cor, Paul Lysander, Lothair Taran, Cedric Juniper, and William Austen rebelled against King Thomas III Raffles and his Grand Minister Palam Danray. The generals established Corinth State with Cor elected the first President and Lysander the first Senior Minister.