Culture of Aegera
The culture of Aegera has existed for millennia and has experienced an evolution It consists of Hellenistic culture, Hellenistic history, as well as the history and traditions of the Arab population and ethnic minorities that live in Aegera, such as the Persians, Copts, Kurds and more. Despite religious, linguistic, and to a lesser extent ethnic differences, a common culture has existed in Aegera. Most Aegerans are multilingual speaking their own native language and the national 'Standard Aegeran.' The cuisine of Aegera is a Mediterranean/Levantine cuisine with a strong focus in herbs and other spices that reflect the culture of great trading.
The national identity of Aegera consists of a largely predominantly Hellenistic culture however, the various minorities that have existed in Aegera have contributed culturally, linguistically, religiously, and to the cuisine of the nation. The mainstream, dominant national culture in Aegera is:
Hellenistic, Aegeran-speaking, and Catholic.
Despite the current majority of Hellenes, Aegera has always been a multi-ethnic, and multi linguistic, and multi religious state. Historically, no ethnic group has ever achieved a majority in the region, and although pluralities did exist these were not secured and were constantly fluctuating. This has given Aegera the nickname
"Abode of Civilizations", as many civilizations arose in the Aegeran Plateau that not only contributed to the Aegeran nation but the surrounding countries as well. Historians and archaeologists have stated that Aegera has been home to roughly ten ancient dominant civilizations (known as 'tribes' in the ancient world) in Aegera as well as a couple minor ones. Of the ten ancient civilizations only five have survived into the modern age as ethnic groups these are:
Hellenes, Arabs, Persians, Copts, and Kurds. Before the fifteenth century the idea of 'Aegera' as a nation did not exist and the idea of a singular geographic and sedentary nation was considered a foreign concept. By that time, most ethnic groups had begun to decline in influence and become minorities except for the Hellenes who were experiencing the opposite. Many minorities rejected the notion of a geographic nation because it disregarded the religious, linguistic, and cultural differences of Aegerans. They even outright rejected the name 'Aegera' for the new nation as it was only the most recent, Hellenic word for the region. It should not be assumed that during this period the ethnic groups that were to become the minorities in the modern era immediately lost their power and wealth. Even as they were becoming minorities in the 1400's-1600's, there still remained influential members of these ethnic groups in many segments of society e.g. government, business, law, courts, agriculture, education, and philosophy well into the twentieth century.
Beginning in the fifteenth century the Hellenes, began to rise as the dominant ethnic group in Aegera and by the seventeenth century they were the majority. It is the Hellenes that unified the country and 'Hellenized' many aspects of Aegera (mostly government institutions). Religious tensions began when Muslims rejected the advent of the rule of law, secularization, capitalism, and justice brought forth by the Hellenes. Their main argument was that these values deviated from religion e.g. Sharia Law, Zakat, and Sharia Courts. The Hellenes were viewed as being too influenced by western values, while the religious Arabs were viewed as backwards.
