Bulbancha

Bulbancha, officially the Republic of Bulbancha (: Bʋlbancha Iháni), is a country in eastern Yeongju. The country is bounded by the Mulberry Ocean to the east, and shares borders with Iykoa to the north, Yahuimilco to the south, [green plot] to the west, and claims a border with [red plot] to the northeast through the disputed territory of Apalachea. It covers an area of [a number] km2. Bulbancha is a significantly state and consists of four highly autonomous regions called iksa, each with its own constitution. Although the country claims the city of Anhaica as its capital, the city is occupied by Apalachea, and the de facto seat of the Bulbanchan government is in Okmoki. Other major cities include Coweta, Kashita, Abihka, and Tuckabutche.

The country's population of 27.5 million inhabitants is disparate and, comprising various tribes of indigenous , as well as Jeongmians, , Yahuimilcans, Iyokans, and Noyuhkano. ,, , and are the official languages, but several other  are nationally recognized, and dozens of other dialects and foreign languages are recognized on the iksa level.

Prehistory and antiquity
The cultures that comprise modern Bulbancha are originated in what is now modern Iyoka, as Muskogean-speaking descendants of the Mishasipoknian culture. By 1000 BCE, Muskogean-speaking peoples occupied the lands surrounding the Mishasipokni river as far north as central Iyoka and as far south as upper Yahuimilco.

Around 900 CE, widespread instability in north Yeongju stemming from natural disasters, the expansion of maritime raiding civilizations such as Taniilux and Hadalan, and the proliferation of Nimiipu invasions into Hachuabsh caused significant displacement of northern Yeongjuan peoples into central Yeongju. Among these migrants were the ancestors of the modern Iyokans, who moved into the modern bounds of Iyoka at this time and engaged in conflict with the various Bulbanchan tribes who were living there. These conflicts, which occurred on-and-off for decades, became known as the Iyokan-Bulbanchan wars. Most of the Bulbanchan tribes were overwhelmed by the Iyokans and evacuated their traditional lands, resettling into roughly their current positions south of the Mishasipokni. Here they waged a series of wars against the indigenous Timucua and Calusa. Notably, the iksa of Apalachea managed to defend its ancestral lands against the Iyokans and remained in place north of the Mishasipokni.

At the close of the 10th century, the Bulbanchan people were fragmented into several dozen tribes. Over the next several centuries, they began a process of consolidation and integration. By 1100, the tribes had mostly coalesced into half a dozen large iksa, prominently the and  Chacha,, and  south of the Mishasipokni and the Apalachee and  north of it. During this time, the southern iksa struggled against one another for hegemony, particularly Upper Chachia and Muscogee. Meanwhile the Apalachee—shielded from the southern squabbles by the Mishasipokni river—engaged in a series of low-scale border wars against the neighboring Iyokans.

Middle ages
Around 1200 CE, following the death of , the eastern Bulbanchan iksa became subject to a series of invasions from the newly-formed Noyuhkano mióganate. The iksa fell easily to the invaders, and a short period of direct Noyuhkano rule ensued, especially in Chachia, where traces of Noyukhano influence linger in the culture into the present day. By 1275 CE the mióganate had conquered as far west as central Muscogee. At this time, however, the conquest began to flag as Noyuhkano manpower was redirected to the front in northern Yahuimilco. The Apalachee mico Malatchi, anxious about the advancing invaders, seized the moment to sweep across the Mishasipokni. Its large army, which had been tested against the Nimiipized Iyokan army and incorporated some of its tactics and technologies, was able to recapture and unify the Bulbanchan lands east of the Missouri river by the early 14th century. The result was the first political unification of the Bulbanchan tribes, established under Apalachee authority. This polity became known as the Apalachee Empire.

Apalachee Empire
The governing capacity of the new empire was rapidly strength under Emperor Malatchi's rule. Central to his reforms was the adoption of a modified modified for the Apalachee language. The adoption of the script enabled the institution of regional and imperial bureaucracies and in 1337 CE the introduction of a written code of law.

The dynasty established by Malatchi reigned for three centuries. Notable monarchs of this dynasty include Malatchi's son Togulki, XXX, YYY, and ZZZ. During this period, the arts and sciences flourished under a golden age based around the imperial capital of Anhaica. An aristocratic culture developed, enshrining the Apalachee traditions and language among the Bulbanchan elite.

The central location of the empire along major trade routes between Yahuimilco and northern Yeongjuan civilizations enabled the empire to extract great wealth by taxing trade. These taxes were used to finance significant construction projects, including a network of roads, the imperially chartered University of Anhaica, and the great mounds at Anhaica, Okmoki, and Cowetta. Artifacts of Bulbanchan origin dating to this period, such as traditional, have been discovered as distantly as west Bangju and Fusen.

The empire reached its maximum territorial extent under Emperor ZZZ c. 1425 CE. Shortly afterward, the empire entered a state of decline. The formation of a unified Yahuimilcan empire to the south led to major territorial losses in the south, and a series of bad harvests through the end of the fifteenth century caused a widespread outbreak of results that strained the capacity of the imperial military. Furthermore, the rise of maritime shipping and trade reduced the significance of East Yeongjuan land trade routes, diminishing the tax base. An imperial succession crisis in 1513 CE led to the Apalachee succession wars, during which imperial authority was destroyed and the capital city of Anhaica was largely sacked, spelling the formal end of the Apalachee Empire.