Ancient History (Pre 480)
8000 B | GLOBAL | The earliest surviving Saharan rock art dates back to this period.
Agricultural societies begin to appear and spread out from Mesopotamia, although much of the world
is still dominated by hunter-gatherers.
3500 B | EITADOR | Following the desertification of the Sahara afters shifts in the earth's axis,
many people from North Africa travel west, island hopping through the canaries until they reach Eitador.
This is the continent's first major population influx, and results in the creation of many minor settlements.
The fastest-growing settlements are found on the south-east coast and in the Veruvan valley region.
3100 B | GLOBAL | Along the fertile floodplains of the Nile river, ancient Egypt begins to develop
as a unified civilization.
2650 B | EITADOR | Varhakka, in the Veruvan valley, becomes the continent's first true city.
It attracts people due to its religious significance in the newly codified Mezahir religion.
A council of priests rule over the population and create a strict theocratic social heirarchy of priest,
noble, freeman, and slave.
2600 B | GLOBAL | Egypt constructs many of its crowning achievements, such as the Giza pyramid complex and the sphynx.
2000 B | EITADOR | Eitador's earliest evidenced tin mining operation begins in the south-east.
The coastal region to the east of the mountain range carrying the majority of these tin deposits will eventually become known
as the Nauticau region.
1850 B | VERUVA | Eitador's first kingdom is established. It is centered around Veruva mountain on the edge of the Veruvan valley.
Not much is known about its early kings aside from their supposed tyranny. Most of the slave class were said to be mutilated and branded.
1800 B | GLOBAL | The Babylonian empire begins to dominate Mesopotamia.
1700 B | VERUVA | The earliest surviving ruins of a Veruvan ziggurat date back to here. The structure was decorated with carvings
of the sun goddess and her harem of angel-winged consorts, and was most likely painted with bright and varied colours.
1650 B | VERUVA | The kingdom acquires Varhakka by supporting a faction of its priest caste in staging a coup. The focus of worship
in the Mezahir religion shifts from the Sun Goddess to the Moon Goddess.
1645 B | ATTRAKA | Attraka, a minor kingdom to the south east of Veruva, is wary of Veruvan expansion. King Maenon IV expresses concern
that Veruva's new religious monopoly could be used to turn Attraka's Mezahiri citizens against him. He begins making threats towards Veruva,
but these are quickly dismissed as petty jealousy.
1635 B | VERUVA | A gigantic ziggurat is built and dedicated to the Moon Goddess in a month long period of celebration.
On the final day, between one and five thousand people offered themselves up as supposedly willing human sacrifices.
1630 B | ATTRAKA | Attraka begin building a 'floating' fortress with a tower to rival the moon ziggurat. It was built in a lake
in the Jumariyan mountains. The fortress was intended to be a ridiculous show of wealth, and was reportedly covered in greenery despite
the rugged desert landscape around the lake.
1620 B | VERUVA | Attraka take Veruva by surprise when a large army comes down from the mountains. They burn many fields
and villages to the ground before turning their eyes on the city of Varhakka. Veruva narrowly fight them back by quickly mobilizing
thousands of soldiers to the defence. They record this event in their art as a miracle from the Moon Goddess.
1618 B | VERUVA | Veruva send their soldiers into Attraka and devastate the kingdom on an unprecedented scale. Attraka report
entire villages being flayed. Certain warbands spared civillians if they could pass 'dedication tests', such as reciting Mezahiri prayers backwards.
1617 B | ATTRAKA | King Maenon commits suicide inside the floating fortress as Veruvan soldiers camp on the shore. His guards then open
the gates and are spared by Veruva after handing over the surviving members of the Attrakan royal family for execution. The remnants of the kingdom
are entirely absorbed by its rival over the next few decades.
1600 B | GLOBAL | West Africa becomes home to more centralized states and pastoralist civilizations. Interaction and cultural exchange with Eitador
is still limited, but not insignificant.
1580 B | VERUVA | The first parts of a huge cave system inside Veruva mountain are constructed. The tunnels were capable of housing thousands
of people, but their purpose remains a mystery.
1500 B | VERUVA | The kingdom of Veruva ceases to exist around this time for unknown reasons. Although many societies on the outskirts of the former kingdom
continue to grow and develop, the Veruvan capital itself is entirely abandoned and unmaintained. Along with the capital go the central leadership of Mezahir,
and the religion branches out as priests in different regions begin to preach very different doctrines. The Sun Goddess becomes the most commonly worshipped deity once
more. Her followers now await the moment of 'Sultir', meaning 'Daybreak', or the coming of Earthly paradise.
1360 B | PANJAR | A very minor citystate called Panjar, formerly a Veruvan village, attempt a revival of centralized Mezahir under the leadership
of their 'golden' Sun Goddess temple. The nobility are dissatisfied, as they do not want to have to answer to priests about what they can and can't do.
It is ultimately decided that only commoners will be required to follow religious law.
1300 B | PANJAR | The 'Cities of Strife' period occurs as citystates, prominently including Panjar, fight a series of wars with eachother over period of roughly 100 years.
Some of these wars are fought over religious or border issues as the citystates grow, while others are due simply to bitterness caused by the previous wars.
The influence of the Veruvan valley region on the rest of Eitador remains diminished as other areas thrive.
1200 B | GLOBAL | The Late Bronze Age Collapse sees the disintegration of many societies in the Mediterranean and West Asia. The exact causes are not known, but
it's likely the result of factors including droughts in places such as the Nile valley, soil degradation from overfarming, and attacks from a confederation known primarily
as 'the sea people'. Some cities on Eitador's eastern coast disappear.
1100 B | EITADOR | Numerous kingdoms now exist and most of the continent contains either small settlements or roaming tribes. The mountainous north west
and the interior deserts remain the least populated areas by a significant margin.
1000 B | EITADOR | Trade is established with the Phoenicians, causing settlements in Nauticau to flourish. Knowledge and culture are exchanged as well as goods
such as tin and pottery. The Phoenicians maintain a chain of outposts across the sahara that means products from Eitador end up as far away as Libya.
950 B | XHAKHORO | The kingdom of Xhakhoro is created, centered around the hills of Karfor. It becomes Eitador's then-largest unified civilization as it carries out
a campaign of military expansion. Xhakhoro spreads north into many of the areas that Attraka once encompassed.
890 B | XHAKHORO | A huge earthquake causes great damage to the north of the country and destroys most of the already rare pieces of Attrakan architecture.
880 B | EITADOR | Raider cultures in the north grow increasingly aggressive, spurring many cities to either submit to more powerful neighbors or to significance
mutual defence pacts with them. As Xhakhoro continues to grow, so does the burgeoning Kingdom of Panjar.
865 B | XHAKHORO | Xhakhoro conquer a citystate allied to Panjar, resulting in war between the two kingdoms.
864 B | PANJAR | Panjar attack Xhakhoro through the Jumariyan mountains. They attempt to copy military tactics used, according to poetic legends, by Veruva
in their counter-attack against Attraka.
863 B | XHAKHORO | A band of soldiers named 'The Daughters of the Mountain' are said to have singlehandedly defeated a Panjaran army three times their size
after luring them into a tight valley and then launching a surprise attack. They were an all-female unit of animists who had been spurred on by reports of religious
oppression by the Panjaran Mejahiri majority.
861 B | XHAKHORO | The city of Panjar is taken and the kingdom falls. However, Xhakhoro find it hard to control the newly acquired territories as they are
too far away from their heartland and require transporting soldiers and supplies over many miles of desert and rough terrain.
858 B | XHAKHORO | A violent peasant's revolt occurs against the Xhakhoran governor of Panjar. Xhakhorans in Panjar are regularly harrassed and assaulted
by locals who want them out, and the military are not capable of responding to the majority of reports.
855 B | XHAKHORO | The governor in Panjar is replaced with a local. He argues that Panjar should be allowed more autonomy while remaining part of Xhakhoro.
He preaches the importance of friendship and peace between Xhakhorans and Panjarans, reducing tensions temporarily.
854 B | XHAKHORO | A famine hits the nation and the priority becomes feeding the capital territory of Karfor. This causes starvation and unrest across the rest
of the kingdom.
853 B | XHAKHORO | Xhakhoran soldiers officially abandon all of the formerly Panjaran cities. They were very costly to maintain, and the occupation of Panjar
is said to have done much more damage to Xhakhoro than the actual war.
Map of Ancient Civilizations in Eitador
800 B | ETSTRI'A | The kingdom of Etstri'a is formed in southern Eitador, bringing together settlements in Nauticau and the rest of the southeast coastline. Their plentiful trade links allow them to advance faster than the rest of the continent. Their king is called Rmni'ta, meaning 'The Shoulder of the World', and is remembered in legend as a supernaturally strong and incredibly wise ruler.
Map of Eitador circa 800 BC
794 B | ETSTRI'A | A short but bloody civil war occurs when a group of settlements in the north of the kingdom argue that they were 'tricked' into joining it.
They launch a major rebellion, but are defeated at the Battle of Astarii. This place would later be known as the city of Astaria.
776 B | GLOBAL | The Olympic Games are established in Greece.
600 B | XHAKHORO | An Order of Assassins named The Cloud of Knives is created by King Err.
539 B | GLOBAL | The Achaemenid Empire, also called 'the first Persian empire', absorbs the Babylonian Empire.
509 B | GLOBAL | The Roman Republic is created.
503 B | ETSTRI'A | Queen Y'lia threatens Xhahkhoro after The Cloud of Knives carry out a wave of assassinations in Etstri'an territory. She sends assassins of her own
in retaliation, and this period is now referred to as The Whispered War.
500 B | GLOBAL | The Phoenicians maintain small but wealthy colonies in the western sahara that trade primarily with Etstri'a. It's thought that Etstri'a may have
altogether blocked trade between these settlements and Xhakhoro.
400 B | XHAKHORO | The Cloud of Knives is officially disbanded after an agreement is finally struck with Etstri'a. They continue to operate from new hideouts
that are now independent of the crown, and the state are not able to flush them out. Some in Etstri'a believe that Xhakhoro merely pretended to disband the order.
350 B | XHAKHORO | Xhakhoro go to war with Bahria, a new kingdom that stretches from Panjar into the desert and plains to its south.
345 B | XHAKHORO | Bahria are crushed with the help of Estrellan warbands. Xhakhoro and Estrella are not overly friendly with one another, but they
each prefer to only have one major enemy on their borders.
330 B | GLOBAL | Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, conquers most of the Archaemenid Empire's territory. He vows to 'reach the ends of the world
and the Great Outer Sea', and his territory stretches all the way from the sahara desert to the Indian subcontinent.
323 B | GLOBAL | Alexander the Great dies in Babylon at the age of 32. The empire fractures into many pieces soon after his death, but Alexander goes down
in history as a legendary leader. Many kings will later seek to emulate him, even in Eitador and Rome.
221 B | GLOBAL | Qin Shi Huang takes the throne of China's first imperial dynasty. His reign is short, but sees legal reforms, the elevation of Confucianism,
and the unification of many parts of the Great Wall of China. He is buried alongside an army of terracotta soldiers.
100 B | ESTRELLA | The Kingdom of Etstri'a becomes the Kingdom of Estrella after an attempt to unify the kingdom's different languages into one. Peasants often
still communicate with one another in their local languages, which are sometimes be quite different from one another, but the nobles speak 'High Estrellan'.
80 B | ESTRELLA | Estrellan pottery becomes extremely valuable and sought after in Rome.
32 B | ESTRELLA | The navy is sent to assist Octavian and the Roman Senate against Anthony and Cleopatra in Egypt.
27 B | GLOBAL | The Roman Republic is replaced by The Roman Empire.
40 | ESTRELLA | An omi bear from the Nauticau mountains is sent as a gift to Roman Emperor Caligula, who is very impressed by its great size. Unfortunately,
the bear starves to death as Caligula attempts to raise it on a meat-only diet in order to keep it strong. The omi bear is descended from the atlus bear and is naturally herbivorous.
This event sours Estrellan-Roman court relations.
65 | XHAKHORO | King Yiri pays animal handlers a fortune to breed and train an army of ostriches. The army is never deployed and the project is thought
to have been unsuccessful.
69 | XHAKHORO | Rumors begin that the Roman Emperor Nero did not die, but fled to Eitador and settled in King Yiri's court under a secret identity. King Yiri
mocks these rumours by naming one of his ostriches 'Nero' and then presenting him to the court.
75 | ESTRELLA | An Estrellan man of uncertain birth declares himself 'Nero Reborn' and vows to retake Rome. He gathers a large number of followers amongst peasantry
in northern Estrella with the intention of gaining a foothold from which to launch his invasion, but he is crushed trying to storm a local garrison for weapons and supplies.
80 | XHAKHORO | King Yiri disowns his son and heir after a boardgame rules dispute. He then appoints a stableboy as the next ruler of Xhakhoro, stating that the boy 'looks quite capable'.
The king's relatives take up arms in rebellion.
81 | XHAKHORO | An attempt to poison King Yiri fails. Although he drank the poison, he was saved by his court physician. He claimed that he drank the poison on
purpose to 'prove' he was immune to 'such petty tricks'. He announces that anyone is free to challenge him to a duel if they have an issue with the way he runs the kingdom.
82 | XHAKHORO | King Yiri is killed in a duel against a local priest who took offense to the king commenting that the temple should 'make up some more interesting gods'.
His plan to make a stableboy the next king is not followed through with.
100 | ESTRELLA | A beautification campaign sees some of the wealthier Estrellan cities take inspiration from Roman architectural styles.
395 | GLOBAL | The Roman Empire is divided into east and west, never again to be unified.
406 | ESTRELLA | With the Romans expelled from Britain, one of the few major sources of tin, Nauticau's tin greatly rises in value throughout the mediterranean.