Difference between revisions of "History of Snefaldia"

Revision as of 23:58, 14 July 2007

The History of Snefaldia is a long and storied tapestry of events and people, and close readings of the events in the country's past provide greater understanding of the issues and trends of the modern nation.

Early History

Snefaldia was first populated by late Paleolithic humans, but the first records of human settlement come from the later Neolithic in the form of bone and rock tools. The first recognizable civilization was the southern Neer Dal culture, a forest-dwelling people that carved pictures in wood.

Early civilization at Allasha

Written history begins in 500 BCE during the Terangal period, when inhabitants of Allasha, at that time lush and fertile, built the stone palaces at Terangal and Sumdarian. Radical climate changes and a shift in the Saard's course dried out the Allashan plain, and the centers of civilization at Terangal, Sumdarian, and Alshan were abandoned. Unfortunately, their language has remained indecipherable.

Baejeong Guea and the Sring Issan Kingdom

After the cataclysm which caused the desertification of Allasha, centers of civilization shifted east, to Bae and northern Sring Issa. The Bajeong Guea, arguably the first hegemonic power, arose in the fertile valley that now forms the border between the two regions. Originally a few small city-states founded sometime between 100-28 BCE, the Bajeong peoples expanded and unified into a single kingdom, called the Bajeong Guea. The Guea subjugated the farming societies of the eastern Dayan basin, as well as the northern Neers Dal and most of Bae. The Guea appears in the literature of Srinat of Isaardlang, a scribe from the Sring Issan city of Isaardlang, and describes the Bajeong state as a powerful nation with great military strength, a well-developed religious hierarchy, and beautiful architecture. Indeed, the remnants of Guea architecture still remain in many cities in Bae, but any trace of the Bajeong religion is lost.

The Bajeong Guea ended in 525 CE, when the last Gueang, Drimsang Reramshap, was killed by the armies of the Sring Issan army, under the command of Trimna III Kelangat, the King of Serasarda. The Guea was destroyed, and the Sring Issan kingdom at Serasarda rose to prominence over the next 300 years, coinciding with the appearance of the Aatem Nal in Snefaldia. The Sring Issans conquered much of Dayan, and tried to integrate the farming culture into their own, but by 1000 CE, Dayan princes had taken control of much of the Sring Issan kingdom. In 1035 CE, Prince Edram Ta'us, who ruled over parts of southern Dayan and northern Neer Dal, seized Serasarda and broke Sring Issan power, dividing the north, central, and eastern provinces into a conglomerate of princely states.

Dayaniram

In the following 100 years, the culture of Dayan spread to the peoples in Neer Dal and Allasha. Called the period of Dayaniram, a Dayan language for "The time of Dayan," this period saw the solidification of the princely states of Dayan and the rise of similar states in the surrounding regions. Religion also developed, and what is now Endiri began to form, along with Aatem Nal and the ascetic tradition of Draghadatha. In 1215, according to popular lore, the mystic Kshayatha came out of the mountains and brought the people a new faith based out of the Amershaman Medrahov, the motions of the universe. His teachings were brought into the waning Dayan powerbase, and formed into Aatem Nal, the most powerful religious force in Snefaldian history. The earliest Arsathaes claimed legitimacy with miracles and magic acts, calling upon the rituals of the medraghas and winning the support of the people. By 1295, Aatem Nal was a major religious force, no longer just a sect.

==Modern History==s

The Golden Age of Aatem Nal

In terms of Snefaldian historical record, the modern era began with the founding of the Great Library at Serasarda and the crystalization of Aatem Nal power. Establishing libraries and smaller archives in population centers all over Snefaldia, the Arsathaes built a powerful ecclesiastical state, subsuming the power of the regional princes and eventually eliminating them entirely. By 1575, the Tuhran Bel at Serasarda was the legitimate ruling power of Snefaldia. In 1651, however, the primacy of the Bel was threatened by regionalist movements supporting localized rule, and the Library at Pholimjung in Bae was burned by members advocating a second Guea. The Tuhran Bel mobilized loyal princes to crush any threat to the primacy of Aatem Nal, and in 1701 formed a secular council, the Segovan, to administer the nation. Forming Snefaldia into five distinct ethnic regions, the Segovan appeased the anti-religious sentiments, and allowed the Bel to maintain control.

Crises of Government and the Republic

In 1835 the Segovan was disbanded, and the Tuhran Bel assumed full control once more. By this time, the princely states and regional hereditary estates had been removed from any form of power by the Segovan, and trade with foreign nations had enriched the country. Taxilha, the main seaport of the country, was the largest city in the country, and foreign influence was spreading. The Bel, fearing a weakening of the Three Native Faiths, reassumed ecclesiastical control and convened a special conclave of the great archivists to consult the Medrahov. Religious control was reasserted, and imports were reduced while exports were increased. Religious control continued until 1895, when the Bel convened another conclave where they promulgated a new government system, a republican system, and effecitvely ended ecclesiastical control of the country.

The republic, founded in 1895, was headed by Ta'us Radram as the Master of the Executive, who served as Master until 1920, when the Arsraad was formed. He was succeeded by Jeroen Seefeikh, who was replaced by Bhumisong Joengwai. The last Master, Utri Bistikar, was forced out of office in 1932 with the Act of State Capitation, and the duties of the Master were assumed by the legislature.

The Modern State

The Republic ended with collapse in 1963, when the Sensraad and Arsraad could not convene without political paralysis. The Tuhran Bel stepped in again, disbandind the republic and rewriting the constitution to allow provincial control and reworking its own rules. The modern state has been in existence since 1965, when the Bel formally declared the country the Centralized Mountain States of Snefaldia.

Since 1940, Snefaldia has slowly modernized, experiencing an economic depression in 1950s when the Saard failed to flood for three years, devastating the agricultural sector. This depression directly influenced the collapse of the republic. Political strength has devolved, but the Tuhran Bel has seen success in the formation of a national Snefaldian identity.