Sapeeyopa

Sapeeyopa is a city in the north central part of East Matys. It is the capital of East Matys as well as the regional unit of Sapeeyopa. It is situated along the Saho River, about 150 km inland from the Atlantic Ocean. With an urban area population of (), it is a dominant economic and cultural center in East Matys. It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Matys, with great power and cultural significance throughout Matysian history.

Founded by Peyop in the late 18th century BCE, the city grew to become an important trading and commercial center of the Wansaho, leading to its rising dominance in the Middle and Late Preclassic periods. It had a longstanding rivalry with the city-state and later kingdom of Sa-Lomil through the Early Classic Period, which eventually ended in Sa-Lomil's defeat and Sa-Peyopan hegemony at around 520 BCE. This hegemony was challenged during the Iron Wars by a coalition of Wansaho city states in () BCE and the Roman/Germanic invasions in () CE. Sapeeyopa would fall first to the Romans in () CE, have a brief period of independence, before being conquered by the ()s in () CE.

As the center of the new Germanic Kingdom of Sapeeyopa, Sapeeyopa would serve as its capital as the kingdom was conquered by Matthias in () CE, liberated and reigning for six centuries before being conquered by Charles I of Matys in () CE. Sapeeyopa would then serve as a major administrative and commercial center of the Kingdom then Empire of Matys, until the Empire's dissolution in () CE where it would become the capital of the Grand Duchy of Sapeeyopa.

One of the first industrialized cities in Matys, Sapeeyopa became a major industrial and wealthy city within the Grand Duchy and the Republic of Matys as well as a site of prestigious universities such as (), (), and (). Today, it remains an important industrial, administrative, and research city, though it is currently going through depopulation due to deindustrialization.

Etymology

Sapeeyopa is a Romanized adaptation of Sa-Peyop meaning "Great Peyop" or "The Kingdom of Sapeeyopa" in Wansahic. Sa-Peyop did not refer to the city itself, which was called Peyop. Peyop was named after its founder and ancestral progenitor Peyop, and the meaning of his name is unknown. Nurologists believe that (insert work here on Proto Nur speculations on what Peyop could mean...).