Starting Population     980                     % of Worldwide          3.2%                    

                                                Population                                      

Starting Income         15,864                  % of Worldwide          2.5%                    

                                                Income                                          

Starting GDP            311,867                 % of Worldwide GDP      5.0%                    

Starting Surplus        1,439                   % of Worldwide          4.4%
                    

                                                Surplus                                         

Comments: Arles is a kingdom within the Holy Roman Empire, lying between the Alps and the Rhone River. Brought into the Roman world in 121 B.C., the area was so thoroughly Romanized as to be considered almost an extension of Italy. During the Barbarian invasions the Burgundians, a barbarian tribe, invaded the area and established a kingdom which was incorporated into the Frankish Kingdom in 534.

With the collapse of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, the former Burgundian regions splintered as well, with the portions south of the Jura becoming, in 933, the Kingdom of Burgundy, which later was more generally known as the Kingdom of Arles, or the Arelate. The Arelate was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century. It has remained so ever since, though the authority of the Emperor is little felt. This is because the ruling House of Anjou supported the papacy during its great struggle with the Emperors in the 12th and 13th centuries (in return for which the Angevins have enjoyed papal support in certain of their endeavors, including the acquisition of Naples in the mid-13th century).

There are Archbishops in Arles , Aix , Embrun , and Vienne , and the Pope himself resides at Avignon , in Provence . A university is planned to open at Grenoble in 1339. Save in the alpine uplands, the kingdom is fertile, with particularly fine olive and grape production, and a good deal of commerce and industry.