The Ammatars (Chronicle)

The Ammatars are descendants of Minmatars that collaborated with the Amarrians during the latter occupation of the Minmatar worlds. When the Amarrians were thrown out during the Minmatar Rebellion their collaborators fled with them. The Amarrians helped their Minmatar allies to settle in a few systems not far from the newly formed Minmatar Republic. The Ammatars regard themselves as the true rulers of the Minmatars, mainly based around the fact that a fair proportion of the old Minmatar aristocracy, or tribal leaders, were among them. In this vein they named their domain San Matar, meaning ‘true home’.

The term Ammatar was first used by the Gallenteans to distinguish between the two groups. Out of convenience even the Ammatars themselves started using it, stating that, with the help of the Amarrians, they’ve progressed beyond the old social structure of the Minmatar tribes. Indeed, the Ammatars have very deliberately abolished many age-old traditions of the Minmatar tribal society and embraced some Amarrian ones instead.

The Ammatar domain, San Matar, is semi-autonomous. The Ammatar rulers have full domestic control, but their foreign policies must be have the consent of the Amarrians and their military forces are, nominally, under the authority of the Amarrians. The relationship of the two has been remarkably smooth in the past, with no serious quarrels.

The San Matar government is structured the same way as any other province of the Amarr Empire, with a governor at the head and district officials beneath him prescribing over the various departments of state. These heads of state are always Ammatar, although the governor himself traditionally is an Amarrian, and acts as the supreme representative of the Amarr Empire. As is to be expected not all Ammatars are eager for constant warfare with the Minmatar Republic. Those who are the most belligerent of them often feel that the Ammatar state is doing too little so they have formed a group of their own to fight the Minmatars. In a sense this group is a direct response to the independent rebel groups the Minmatar have and the guerilla tactics employed by either side are similar.

Since its inauguration San Matar has been in a constant struggle with the Minmatar Republic. Both states have expanded considerably in the last decades and now they border on each other in numerous places. The Republic, backed by the Gallente Federation, had the upper hand for awhile, forcing the Amarr Empire to repeatedly come to the aid of their allies, but in recent years the tables have been turning and the Ammatars have managed to set up military installations and space stations right under the nose of the Republic. Many have speculated from where the Ammatars are getting support for these conquests, as the Amarr Empire has traditionally only been willing to aid the Ammatars when they’re under direct threat. Something that started out as a wild speculation seems to be turning into a fact: that the Caldari State, or at least one of its Corporations is funding the Ammatars in their effort. As the region separating the two feuding Minmatar states is very rich in minerals, the Caldari seem willing to go to any length in order to secure some of these resources for themselves. In fact, recently surfaced documents show that the Caldari were negotiating with the Amarr Empire for mineral rights within Minmatar space at the time the Minmatars rebelled. Furthermore, sources within the Republic say that the Caldari have repeatedly approached them wishing to buy mineral rights, something the Republic has always refused because they dream of exploiting them themselves. These tidbits seem to indicate that the Caldari, in a desperate bid to get their hand on the rich mineral deposits, have resorted to secret support of one side in exchange for mineral rights in the areas conquered or claimed. The Caldari vehemently deny these speculations, but the matter seems on the brink of escalating into a major confrontation between the Minmatar Republic and the Gallente Federation on the one hand, and the Ammatars and the Caldari on the other.