Neer Dal

Neer Dal is a region of the Centralized Mountain States of Snefaldia. Its capital is Mahavisjaya, and the regional government is a Grand Assembly of Notables, consisting of officials elected from various districts in the region. The name "Neer Dal is a modern standardized rendering of the name Nēr Dàl, which originated in 8th century ce and became associated with the region over the years.

History

Neolithic peoples began inhabiting the Neer Dal region around 12,000bce. Very little is known about early Neer Dal civilizations due to a lack of early records, the earliest of which have been dated to 150bce to a princely state in what is now eastern Neer Dal. The environment proved to be much more amenable to sedentary cultures than hunter-gatherers, and the population expanded and settled into independent princely states that had a high level of religious sophistication.

Genetic testing shows tentative links to Mallash people in the north and west mountains, as well as some slight biological connection with Sring Issan peoples, but this unconfirmed. Neeri peoples probably arrived after traversing the dangerous mountains in the south.

Minayá Period

Around 5ce the state of Minayá expanded, creating a hegemony over other princely states in the area. Prince Radhré-ná-Mâl of Minayá set himself up as King, allowing the other princes to rule their states while demanding tribute and military service. The Minayán Kingdom lasted until 135ce, when continuous raiding from the Bajeong Guea weakened the client states of the Minayán hegemony, spurring rebellions.

The princely states were fractured, and although the population had increased and villages proliferated, the original states failed to regain power, and hundreds of independent city-states sprung up, dividing the tropical region into hundreds of nations of varying size. In 732ce, many of the states had unified through marriage or conquest, and the most powerful of these states- Nērilisán and Dàl Ceítín, united in in marriage and dominated the other states. It is from these two states that Neer Dal (a modern rendering of the name Nēr Dàl) is named.

Nēr Dàl Period

Kmuw Wwœ became the Great King of Neer Dal in 742ce, and established a powerfully centralized state by subjugating the feudal princes, replacing the unfaithful ones and marrying his relatives into the more powerful supporters. The Kmuw line were from a group called the "Sankrè" from the far south Serils, and had married into the leadership of Nērilisán in the early 600s, taking control of the state and leading it to the fore. The Kmuw ruled until 1000ce, when they failed to produce a male heir and the Nēri Prince Alluhásái married the Kmuw princess, taking control of the nation.

Alluhásái was succeeded by his son Cüdrohásái, who promptly lost control of the Great Kingdom and was forced to abdicate in favor of his chief general, Talām Pishtar, who controlled the city of Gorádāl in the west. Pishtar declared himself Great King of the new Visjaya Kingdom in 1078, taking the name Nál Dá Têisnáyán meaning "Lord of Sublime Virtue" and built a capital just east of Gorada, naming it Mavátêisnáya (modern Mahavisjaya, translating as "City of Sublime Virtue}. The Têisnáyan kingdom gained prominence for the next three hundred years, and were beginning to decline when Aatem Nal arrived in the region in the year 1300.

Têisnáya & Aatem Nal

When Aatem Nal arrived it was initially opposed in Têisnáyan territory, but after 50 years of persistent attempts by Arsathaes to establish archives and collect Têisnáyan and Nēri texts, as well as a complete lack of militancy on the part of the Arsathaes, the Great King, Ráes Dá Têisnáyán, decreed that the religion was to be allowed to establish institutions in Mavátêisnáya. The King, after 12 years of unfettered access to Neeri works of art and literature, as well as the development of a system of education and civil service network, reversed himself and issued another decree which outlawed Aatem Nal and seized the libraries and archives that had been established.

The Trúlothæn Decrees, as they were called, effectively short-circuited the slow revival Têisnáya had been experiencing; Aatem Nal had arrived in a period of decline and the 12 years of development had revitalized the state. The King's actions are not understood to this day, as he essentially spelled the doom of his nation. Aatem Nal, which had become accepted by the people and appreciated for the services they rendered, went underground and brought in support from Dayan and Sring Issa, introducing foreign peoples and concepts into Neer Dal. Rebellions against Têisnáyán became more commonplace, and in 1369 King Ráes died, leaving the throne to his son Natê, who became Solás á Têisnáyán.

With popular rebellions sweeping the country, Solás attempted to use force to reestablish order, and ignored the please of his advisors to end the persecutions of Aatem Nal. He became despotic, and in 1385 was defeated at Talusā by an army of Neeri and Sringi soldiers, led by Chief Librarian Dall't Taar and his former Minister, Illionás Quèstayán.

New Period

With the death of the King, the Têisnáyan forces went on the run. Quèstayán rose to the forefront of the rebellion, which was legitimized when Quèstayán was given the title "Chief Librarian of South" and united the various rebel forces under the banner of "O Àtaléin," or the "New Period." In 1398 Mavátêisnáya was captured by an Àtaléinyan army, and the last remnants of the Têisnáyan state fled deep into the southern jungle, conducting sporadic guerrilla warfare for the next hundred years.

With the entire region under Àtaléinyan control, Quèstayán could have established himself as a new monarch but instead organized a state based on Aatem Nal principles, establishing main Libraries in each major city and a network of smaller institutions throughout the region to link the state together. Quèstayán became the Chief Librarian of Mavátêisnáya, presiding over a congress of Arsathaes from the provinces. Although there was little change in the civil administration from the Têisnáya period, historians call the new Aatem-Nal based administration the Àtaléin period.

Àtaléin

Aatem Nal solidifed its hold in the Àtaléinyan Neer Dal state for the next hundred years, a period which saw a new culture emerge. The Sankrè, who had resisted Aatem Nal, were absorbed into the new Àtaléinyan state and their concepts began to spread, displacing older Neeri thought and fusing with Aatem Nal epistemology. The Assembly of Arsathaes had become increasingly wary of influence from Serasarda and distanced themselves from the centralized control of the Council. Still dealing with the Têisnáyan remnants in the south with decreasing frequency, the Assembly focused on creating a state that was largely Neeri in character, resisting attempts by Serasarda to impose orthodoxy on the south.

The Assembly particularly disliked the pro-Sringi rhetoric coming from the Council, and when Neeri were lumped in with the persecuted Dayan as targets for cultural conversion, the Assembly expelled representatives sent from Serasarda from Mavátêisnáya. In 1510, when Dain-da-Hol began his rebellion against the oppressive elements in Aatem Nal, the Neeri sent assistance in the form of weapons and armor, although secretly. When the reforms came through in 1525 the Assembly willingly rejoined the fold and sent representatives to the Tuhran Bel.

Túr èn Él

The Assembly became officially subordinate to the Bel in 1530, inaugurating the Túr èn Él period (Neeri for Tuhran Bel). However, as Aatem Nal centralized control over religions and civil affairs in a new equitable system, the power of the faith over people's lives began to decrease in areas where direct ecclesiastical rule was in force.

The Neeri were no exception. In 1587 Arsathaes trying to travel into the deep south jungles discovered and were killed by the inhabitants of a hidden city, which was later identified to have been built by the Têisnáyan remnants. These isolated groups were recontacted and attempts were made to integrate them into the Neeri system, with little to show for it. Cultural diffusion, however, resulted in a strong sense of ethnic pride developing across the entire region. Neeri patriots constantly called for an independent state, joining with movements from other regions and finally bringing about the establishment of the Segovan in 1700.

Segován

The Segován was accepted by most all Neeri, though the provinces of Savètêisnáya (which made up the jungle regions held by the descendants of the Têisnáyans) refused central authority, pulling deeper into the jungle as government forces seized more and more land.

Neeri culture flourished in the Segovan period, and philosophy, artwork, and literature reached new highs. This wave of culture continued through the end of the Segovan and the reestablishment of the Tuhran Bel. The concept of a "Snefaldia" as an overarching national ethos was accepted by the literati and Arsathae elite in the region, and when the movement to establish a Republic gained strength the Neeri elite were prominent in the formation of the secular national state.

Modern Day

The Republic gave the Neeri a sense of national identity outside their ethnic identifications, and when the Tuhran Bel was again reinstated these identities were reinforced. Today, the region is largely unified with the exception of swaths of jungle in Savètêisnáya which continue to be havens for rebels and isolationists. The economic situation, which was was poor under the Republic, is improving slowly.