Ishgard the most messed up area?

[MistakeNot]

I mean, the Garlean Empire has pretty clear historical roots as well. It's a reference to the Roman Empire, specifically: republic turned empire under one man's rise to prominence, tendency to subjugate large swaths of territory and a generally condescending attitude to their populaces, even as they recruit large numbers of them to serve their military, and so on. Heck, the more recent patch's revelations hint at the idea that there is a cultic view of the Emperor, driving near outright worship. Not to mention the other similarities to other tyrannical regimes in the past.

Not to mention the most obvious references: Just about all the military ranks in the Garlean forces have names copied from the Roman army. Add in things like "Castrum Centri" which is simply Latin for "Central Fortress", and the inspiration from the Roman Empire becomes hard to miss.