Thyatis

The Thyatian Empire
The Empire of Thyatis is a powerful nation in the Dungeons and Dragons Mystara setting, first mentioned in Module X1, Isle of Dread, which desribes it briefly. Along with the Alphatian Empire, Thyatis was more fully detailed in the Dawn of the Emperors boxed set.

Thyatis (the city) is the capital of the Empire and the largest city on Mystara. It is on the on the southeastern coast of the continent of Brun, situated between the trade lanes of the Sea of Dread to the south and the Sea of Dread to the east, alongside a canal.

Thyatis is governed by an Emperor and an Imperial Senate, along with a nobility similar to that of the Holy Roman Empire. The Senate is similar to that of Rome, while the Emperor is akin to that of the Byzantines. The Imperial Bureaucracy as described in Dawn of the Emperors is clearly inspired by that of the British Empire, as is, at least in name, one branch of the Thyatian Armed Forces, the "Retebius Air Corps" (RAF), which consists of cavalry on flying mounts (Pegasus, Hippogriffs, Griffons, Sphinxs, Rocs, and Dragons).

Karameikos is ruled by a Thyatian nobility, but the Empire's territories consist of the western half of the Isle of Dawn, the island realms of Ochalea and the Pearl Islands, and the Thyatian Hinterlands on the southern continent of Davania, in addition to its mainland territories on Brun, the smallest of the Empire's territories by geographic size, but the most heavily populated and developed of them. The total land area of the Empire is aproximately 1,000,000 square miles.

In its long history, Thyatis has ruled other lands, including Traladara (which became Karameikos), the islands of Ierendi, the southern half of Ylaruam, and the city of Oceansend in Norwold. Thyatian settlers have colonized part of the Savage Coast and also the Heldannic Freeholds, which are ruled by a religious order devoted to the Thyatian-decended Immortal Vanya.

Thyatis has a long history of rivalry with the Alphatian Empire, and the two imperial powers devote much of their energy and attention to each other. At the start of the official timeline (AC 1000 in the Thyatian calendar), they are locked in a struggle resembling that of the Cold War, and several published high-level modules have their territorial disputes as a backdrop (notably CM 1, M1, and M2). The adventures of the boxed set Wrath of the Immortals takes place within the context of a great war between the two, climaxing in the weakening of Thyatis and the sinking of the continent of Alphatia.

Mystara