Where are the boundaries of Eorzea?

[JGwinters]

There's no actual explanation about what Eorzea is in the English lore, but it is in the German localization:
"The map shows the small continent of Aldenard and it's surrounding islands. The entire area shown here carries the name of 'cultural area Eorzea'. All Eorzeans share the religion of The Twelve, but in each city-state another god is worshiped as a patron."

I see the German-language version supports my interpretation of 'region' as a cultural region akin to Middle East, Far East, Europe, etc. That's good to know in case I get even more naysayers on me in the other thread.

About the beastman issue, I've made the conclusion that they're largely disregarded when it comes to considerations of culture and regions and such, aside from certain locations being '[beastman] territory'. A lower kind of being, if you will, and as such not worthy of consideration so much. (this has various things in common with the European conquest of some areas and not giving any consideration to the indigenous peoples of the areas in question) As such the separate cultures of the various beastman tribes wouldn't affect the labeling of Eorzea as a unified cultural region, at least by the terms of the Eorzean people.

[Lienn]

OP is correct IMO. As occupied area, you do could say that Garleans claim Ala Mihgo as part of garlean empire, while Eorzeans claim it to be part of Eorzea. IMO Ala Mihgo is in a position of frontier between continents, like Egypt. I wouldn't consider garlean empire part of Eorzea though. I assume Eorzea is part of another continent...like if Israel occupied Egypt...even politically being the "same", they are in different continents...like Turkey is in both Europe and Asia.

[whoopeeragon]

I'll consider Ala Mhigo to be like Hong Kong before it was given back to Chinese rule. A part of China, and apart from China.

Atoll + JG: ah, thanks. Makes me realize how little I go to other fansites for information. >.<

[MelonPie]

I thought Eorzea was a "region" like Europe or Asia, and the continent it's located on is Hydaelyn.

[whoopeeragon]

I thought Eorzea was a "region" like Europe or Asia, and the continent it's located on is Hydaelyn.

Eorzea as a region is close enough to being correct, however it is located on the continent Aldenard. Hydaelyn is the planet in which everything occurs.

[irongripz]

the boundaries is at the end of the invisible wall

[gahoo]

FINAL FANTASY XIV takes place on the world of Hydaelyn, a planet much like another you all may be familiar with. Many of the people on Hydaelyn do not actually use the word ‘Hydaelyn,’ for to understand the concept of a planet, one must first know of other worlds, and most on Hydaelyn do not.

FINAL FANTASY XIV takes place in a realm known as Eorzea.
* Eorzea is one of three continents that make up a giant land mass.
* Eorzea consists of Aldenard and its surrounding islands.
* Aldenard is connected to the land mass containing the other two continents via a land bridge,
* Eorzea contains several independently governed city-states, like those found in ancient Greece.
* And just like those in Greece, the ones in Eorzea have a long history of war and alliances.
* The few that have lasted longest are the thalassocracy of Limsa Lominsa, the commercial sultanate of Ul’dah, and the forest city-state of Gridania, which some users have commented reminds them of an ancient Japanese polis.

* However, the powerful and aggressive Garlean Empire has begun their slow advance on the city-states, making the current situation in Eorzea similar to the months before the Persian Empire marched on Greece.

http://jp.finalfantasyxiv.com/event/...report_en.html

I actually think this text might have changed a bit since it was first posted, but still have

[JGwinters]

http://jp.finalfantasyxiv.com/event/...report_en.html

I see you've found us the likeliest source of the "Eorzea=continent" theory. It's simply a mistranslation.
Like said before, the official sites report Eorzea as a region - I went and checked, the Japanese used translates as 'cultural sphere'. As for the original language text of the prelive report, it describes the stage of the adventure being one of three conjoined continents and its surrounding islands. It then goes on to say that this area is the one we know as Eorzea.
It's obvious that in their haste to get the prelive report translated someone made a little blunder.

Good to have this cleared up finally.

[Atoli]

Found some new lore on this:3

It seems like the culture, by which Eorzea is defined, is not really all that different from the culture of the other continents:
"(About the Hyuran)They brought with them many skills and beliefs and formed the driving force behind the rapid cultural revolution of Eorzea."
Btw, this sentence is about a past cultural revolution, not the one today with the shift in numbers to adventurers, the new technology from Garlemald, etc.

If the cultures of the continents are similar, is the term "Eorzea" geographical, after all?

[JGwinters]

It seems like the culture, by which Eorzea is defined, is not really all that different from the culture of the other continents:
"(About the Hyuran)They brought with them many skills and beliefs and formed the driving force behind the rapid cultural revolution of Eorzea."
Btw, this sentence is about a past cultural revolution, not the one today with the shift in numbers to adventurers, the new technology from Garlemald, etc.

If the cultures of the continents are similar, is the term "Eorzea" geographical, after all?

Considering both German and Japanese official sources describe Eorzea as a cultural region, isn't this a moot point?

Well then. This could be explained by 'belief' not only referring to religion (like the Twelve) but to what's known as 'superstition' to us. There's also another concept I'm thinking that falls under 'beliefs' but I'm failing to find the words for it right now. Something like cultural habits maybe..? Doesn't sound quite right, but it's close. My point here being that it doesn't necessarily refer to the worship of the Twelve (ie religious belief), but other kinds of things as well.

What's further, within the culture(s?) of Eorzea the Twelve can't be the only unifying factor, but with no other cultures to compare against I can't say what those unifying factors could be. Even more, the Hyur arrived in Eorzea very, very long ago. Whatever beliefs (and culture) they brought with them has long since melded the general culture of Eorzea, just like the cultures of the newly-arrived Lalafells and Roegadyn. The distinct flavor of the original cultures they bring with them fades and melds together with the existing culture of the place, neither can stand the process unchanged. Think of the current-day USA. Does it have the same culture as Europe? Even more, do certain places within the US have the exact same culture as certain countries within Europe? It's the exact same thing here. The US has its own culture, as do the European cultures. Eorzea has its own culture, as do the various originating places of the races outside of Eorzea.