History of Snefaldia

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

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. Aatem Nal established their own state by subsuming the power of the Sring Issan princes and carving out a temporal niche, in addition to their expansive religious domain. Using loyal princes as pawns, Aatem Nal expanded into northern Dayan and became a theocratic state.

One of the most important periods in Aatem Nal history was that of the Dayan persecution, when the largely Sring Issan leadership of Aatem Nal persecuted and restricted the Dayan ethnic group under their direct control. This continued until 1510, when a farmer named Dain-da-Hol started a rebellion that threatened the temporal power of Serasarda. Dain-da-Hol's agrarian movement gained support from secular leaders opposed to the machinations of Aatem Nal, and grew into a powerful threat to Aatem Nal. Dain-da-Hol consistently demanded reform of Aatem Nal's leadership and the end of sponsored persecution, but the Central Council under Khetak-ala-Rinda always refused to allow reform. It wasn't until 1522 that the final blow came, when Meedeveld Na Trou, the Baron of Leikh in Sring Issa, summoned an army and marched to Serasarda with the intent of forcing ala-Rindas hand. Dain-da-Hol marched as well, and finally the Council relented, agreeing to reform the system and end official persecution. 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.

After the Office of the Master was vacated, the legal duties of the executive continued at the behest of the legislature. The Arsraad and Sensraad argued over who had the authority to manage the country, and political paralysis was a common occurence. Elections failed to reform the problems, as neither of the chambers were willing to sponsor a constitutional convention to reform the system. The forties and early fifties proved to be times of stagnation, when the administration of the nation was left largely to the regional governments. Trade slowed, social problems began to multiply, and the religious leadership of Aatem Nal began to abandon support for republicanism.

In 1960, the Saard failed to flood. Flood failure occurred every now and then, and thusly the agricultural sector was not worried. However, the flood failed again in 1961 and once more in 1962. The country wsa thrown into crisis as food shortfalls spread and farming went into depression. The government, deadlocked over minor issues, failed to act on the famine and in the election of 1962 the Arsraad failed to garner enough votes to keep in session, and was disbanded.

Political crises came to a head in 1963. The Arsraad disbanded and the Sensraad tried to assume control of the entire government, but the congress was boycotted by more than half of the members, who went to the countryside to try and help with the famine. For the months of April until September, there was no effective national government, the Sensraad unable to achieve quorum. Finally, in 1963 massive federal strikes dismantled the remaining infrastructure, and the government collapsed.

The Modern State

The Republic ended with collapse in 1963, and Aatem Nal quickly stepped in. 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.