Rolatia

History

Rolatia is a large country of an estimated 5 million sq km, with a diverse cultural background, an excellent civil rights record, a good economic status and a wide and diverse political system which sa 15 parties picking up seats last election. It has had a rocky past, with many problems including civil wars in particular

2000BC to 0AD

Rolatia was originally a divided set of tribes around the Dahinda river basin. There were frequent wars, and the tribes were very different. One tribe in particular stood out from the rest - the Sioas tribe, spread across the area from the northern basic all the way to the edge of the Farar woods. These were an overall pioneering tribe, with notably in 723BC establishing a democracy under King Haltyr I. This was sadly ended just three years later, after Haltyr died and his brother Thasrik I took the throne.

However, in 582BC a descendant of Haltyr known as Haltyr III started an epic quest - to unite the tribes of the Dahinda basin - into one noble nation. Many had to be killed, but even more agreed to join the Sioasi Empire. They became a force to be feared - they boasted an army of 10,000 skilled men. Through trade with smaller nearby tribes they became a rather rich nation. In 542BC, at the age of 56, Haltyr III died. Before he died, he had accomplished something important - he had refounded the democratic system.

The next king, Raidas II, was not one for peace, favouring war. Seeing the threat, the tribes of Safte united into the Saftean Empire, numbering nearly 1.4 million people. At this point, there were two 'capitals' - Dahinda City (near modern-day Taris) of Siaos and Nilon of Safte. Both cities contained around 70,000 people, and were thriving places. However, the next ten years of Raidas rule would lead to the decimation of the empires.

On September 11th 541BC, open war between Siaos and Safte was declared in what has been called by some historians as the First Rolatian Civil War. In the next week, 2750 Safteans in Siaos and 950 Siaosi in Safte were killed, military forces trapping them in their homes and burning them to the ground. Both nations increased their armies, with Raidas increasing the army to 50,000 and Saftean King Roisfh IV to 70,000. This was only the beginning of one year of constant war which claimed many thousands of lives and would be later viewed, considering population figures, as one of the bloodiest wars in history.

On January 2nd 540BC, at the border town of Faris which at that time was home to 18,000 Safteans, a fearsome invasion force of 20,000 met a Saftean defence garrison of just 7000 men and 15 transport boats whcih were set to be used on a strike to topple Taris. The result was a two-day battle which ended with an overall Saftean loss, with 4250 deaths for the Saftean military, 3500 for Siaos and 8000 dead civilians. 1500 Siaosans were left as sentinels and 15,000 men marched on towards Nilon.

Meanwhile, in Safte there were plans of their own. 17,500 men were sent out down-river towards Dahinda City, 22,500 towards the invaders and 10,000 sent back along to Calae. Siaosan spys somehow managed to communicate this to Raidas who sent out 10,000 more invaders and stationed his remaining 25,000 mostly in Dahinda City.

On 7th February 540BC, the Dahindese residents were woken at dawn to the sound of the Safte landing. The coastal area was completely decimated, with 8500 dead and 1500 imprisoned before confrontation by Siaosi troops lead to a full-scale battle. The enemy was deflected but at a horrible price - modern estimates put the death toll at 26,000 dead civilians, 9,000 Sioasi soldiers and 14,500 Saftean soldiers dead for a total of nearly 50,000 killed.

A few months later, on 19th April, a few kilometres north of Nilon, an almost equal set of forces both containing around 25,000 men met and killed. The result was diabolical - 20,000 Siaosi and 16,000 Safteans died. This stopped the Siaosi but left both sides in hardly any state to battle any longer - over 60% of the Siaosi and 50% of the Saftean militaries were dead, along with 40,000 civilians from both sides. Both capitals were intact but had suffered from starvation, military action and disease. However, minor skirmishes continued with another 5000 Safteans and 3000 Siaosi killed.

On 5th February 539BC, King Roisfh was found dead on the floor. Stabbed into his back was an iron dagger engraved with the words 'Chyuc gilumg vleatfg fyuc equm jouch' - identified as a rare Saftean dialect and translated as "This tyrant brought his own death". The new king, King Haltyr IV managed to negotiate peace. Through his skills, he managed to negotiate an alliance between both countries - the Rolatia Alliance and the beginning of the country of Rolatia

TO BE COMPLETED

Other Versions

Rolatia (Earth VII)