Paulisland was an Empire for hundreds of years, but its warring city-states brought it down through civil war. Tiresia swept in and picked up the struggling independent countries one by one, until it absorbed the entirety of its old rival.
As such, there is not a strong Paulisland identity. People either identify themselves as belonging to their own local region, or as Tiresian. Many older citizens prefer the stability of the new Empire to the wars of their youth, but younger people who can't remember the wars are more likely to be loyal to their ancestral region.
To the North, Tokin and Alis have strong fishing culture and a solid navy. In central Paulisland, farming and industry are both strong. Towards Ochela, the region becomes much more rural and less strongly identified, more loyal to Tiresia.