History of Majatra

Work in progress.

The history of Majatra begins with the first settlement of biologically modern Homo sapiens sapiens on the continent of Majatra in prehistoric times to the present day.

Enetric Migrations
The earliest attested historical events are related to two major migration events, that greatly impacted the history and demographics of the continent. The first migration wave, the so-called Enetric Migrations, represents the settlement of the Enetric peoples on Majatra from their initial homeland in modern-day Kundrati. The Enetric peoples first settled on the Selucian archipelago, where they were to become the ancestors of the Selucian people, while those that continued their journey Southward into today's Kalopia-Wantuni were the ancestors of the Kalopian people.

Qedarite Migrations
The Qedarite Migrations, also referred to as the "Qedarite Exodus", were a series of related migrations from Squibble across Seleya to Majatra. They represent quite possibly one of the largest and most lasting ethnic migrations in Terra. In the aftermath of the migrations, nearly all of Majatra was settled by Qedarite-speaking tribes. The migrations also hold a central role in the national mythologies of the Qedarite peoples, being especially important in Yeudism, a religion that was born from the context of the Migrations.

Ancient Qedarite civilizations
The direct aftermath of the Qedarite Migrations was the development of ancient Qedarite civilizations on the continent. Two of these are most prominent, due to both their antiquity and long-term cultural impact. The Kingdoms of Qolshamih and Irkawa are some of Terra's oldest civilizations, and their pioneering efforts in fields such as sciences, art, and politics were adopted by subsequent civilizations, giving Majatra the monicker "cradle of civilization".

Ancient colonization
The period known as classical antiquity began with the rise of the Cildanian, Selucian, and Kalopian city-states on the shores of the Sea of Majatra. The independent city-states and colonies were a centre of culture and learning throughout the continent, and modern ideas of philosophy, politics (the very notion of democracy), and science have their roots in the cultural achievements of Kalopian, Selucian, and Cildanian city-states.

Qedarite Empire
Most of the many city-states around the Majatran Sea were brought under the political control of the city-state of Qart Qildar in modern Cildania in the 5th century BCE, creating the Qedarite Empire, the first large empire in Majatran history. In spite of its dominion over the majority of the shores of the Majatran Sea, the Qedarite Empire was essentially a decentralized empire ruled by an oligarchic trade republic. Nonetheless, the Empire was a unifying force on the continent, paving the way for the subsequent spread of the Hosian religion.

Jelbo-Tukaric Migrations
The Qedarite Empire collapsed due to the arrival of the Jelbo-Tukaric peoples, a migratory population speaking a number of closely related languages and originating from the continent of Seleya, who moved to Majatra in large numbers between c. 100 BCE and c. 50 CE. The migrations led to the settlement of the Jelbo-Tukaric peoples throughout the continent, especially in the area now covered by Pontesi, Barmenia, Vanuku, Jelbania, Deltaria, and Jakania. A number of territories of the Qedarite Empire, most notably the Kingdom of Lochidim, managed to avoid conquest by the Jelbo-Tukarics.

Birth of Hosianism
The last stage of the Qedarite Migrations was the settlement of the Yeudi people in today's Beiteynu around 500 BCE, following the revelations received by Ariel in Cildania that led to the development of Yeudism. Within the context of Yeudism the Hosian religion was to be born in 1 CE from the teachings of a former Yeudi High Priest, Eliyahu of Yishelem. The young religion was to remain a minority belief for centuries, but owing to its adoption as a state religion by the Augustan Empire in 509, Hosianism became the dominant religion in Majatra until the Ahmadi conquests.

Augustan Empire


One of the successor states of the Qedarite Empire was the Selucian-speaking Kingdom of Lochidim, located in present-day Ushalande. Taking advantage of the disunity and infighting of the surrounding tribes and city-states, Lochidim King Augustus the Great embarked on a campaign of conquest that culminated in the incorporation of the Kingdom of Irkawa in the emerging Augustan Empire. His successors would expand his empire to encompass nearly all of South Majatra, creating an empire that would last almost a thousand years and forever mark the histories of Zardugal, Cobura, Jakania, Deltaria, Kalopia, Solentia, and Istalia.

Arrival of Deltarians
In a series of population movements, the Deltarian people, a group of ethnicities originating in Artania and ruled by the Tokundian tribe, moved from their Artanian homeland into Majatra, finally settling in Central Majatra. Owing to their violent warlike nature, the Deltarians easily subjugated the local tribes, integrating some of them (such as the ancestors of today's Ushalandans and Dissuwans) into the Deltarian tribal confederation. The arrival and settlement of the Deltarians destroyed Augustan hegemony in Central Majatra, the Empire's original homeland, and the Eastern periphery of the Augustan Empire gradually became independent from central rule, all paving the way for the Empire's collapse one thousand years later.

Tokundian Empire
Due to the disorganized nature of the Deltarian tribal confederation and the constant infighting between the seven Deltarian tribes, their empire did not expand beyond their core territory around modern-day Deltaria. This would change however when Thane Štefan of the Tokundian tribe unified all the other tribes under his rule in 991 by force and diplomacy, founding the centralized Tokundian Empire. The new Empire was a much more dangerous foe for the neighboring polities, and during the Empire's golden age, Tokundian rule expanded to control most of the Southern coast of the Majatran Sea, conquering the First Jelbek Khanate and the remaining Augustan possessions in the area. Although the Tokundian Empire adopted Hosianism in its Augustan form in 1239, it continued its aggressive policy against the other Hosian powers on the continent. The Empire eventually collapsed under pressure from the rising Ahmadi Caliphate and due to a revolt of the Deltarian tribes against the Tokundians that led to the expulsion of the Tokundian tribe from Deltaria.



Ahmadi era
The geopolitical map of the continent would change forever with the rise of a new religion in contemporary Barmenia, Ahmadism. Founded in 1186 by Prophet Ahmad in the aftermath of the collapse of the Sacred Monarchy of Beiteynu in 1154, the new religion quickly spread, peacefully or by force, to the Eastern parts of the continent, establishing the Ahmadi Caliphate. Aided by the conversion of the Turjaks, then ruled by the Augustan Empire, to Ahmadism, the Caliphate managed to remove Augustan hegemony from the continent altogether in the Great War of the South, which established the Great Empire of Turjak, a vassal of the Caliphate, and nearly destroyed the Augustan Empire itself. The Empire would be conquered by the Caliphate in 1401, profiting from the invasion of Augustan lands by the Tokundians fleeing the revolt against their rule in Deltaria, paving the way for Ahmadi rule over Majatra. Between 1401 and 1500, nearly the entire continent was brought under the nominal authority of the Ahmadi Caliph, the caliphate collapsing only due to its disintegration into its constituent parts, which had never been fully unified.

Decline of the Caliphate
As the Ahmadi Caliphate was never a fully centralized empire, the power of the Caliph began to decline even further beginning with the fifteenth century, as the governors of the Caliphate's numerous provinces began to exert greater autonomy, using their increasing power to make their positions hereditary. By the end of the Ahmadi Empire the Caliphate had fractured into a number of independent dynasties, in spite of their nominal allegiance to the Caliph. The Queranzari-Abadi split, caused by a dispute to the succession to the Prophet immediately after his death, ultimately ended the Ahmadi Empire after the death of Caliph Azi Bünyamin, when the Al-Majali Sultan of Badara and Kafuristan, citing old arguments over Ahmad's succession, proclaimed himself Caliph. The loosely linked Caliphate subsequently broke apart into its separate independent dynasties. Some of the territories of the former Caliphate were reconquered by Hosian dynasties, such as the Kingdom of Zardugal or the Kingdom of Cobura.

Artanian colonialism
Beginning with the 16th century, areas of the continent were brought under the influence of Artanian powers. Artanian colonial outposts were established around the coasts of the Majatran Sea, primarily in Badara and Kafuristan, bringing them into conflict with the local populations. The subsequent wars were usually won by the Artanians, due to their by now superior technology. In time, the local tribes learned the value of appropriate weaponry including guns and were able to arm themselves accordingly by raiding Artanian settlements and through trading with other tribes across the continent. Nonetheless, beginning with the 19th century, Artanians were able to expand their influence to include whole nations, such as the Badara Protectorate, ruled by Dundorf.

Deltarian colonialism
After having expelled the Tokundian tribe, the other Deltarian tribes organized themselves into six independent kingdoms. The Deltarian polities began a process of colonial expansion beginning with the 17th century, establishing settlements in Keris, north Seleya and Dovani, in time giving birth to the Deltarian-speaking nations of Trigunia, Kizenia, Statrica, and Valruzia.

Nationalism and Nation-States


Beginning with the 19th century, a new ideology, nationalism, took hold over the peoples of Majatra. Calling for self-determination for the nations of the continent, nationalism led to the unification or independence of the various ethnic groups on the continent within nation states, establishing the modern borders that would last, with limited changes, to this day. Many of the nation-states in Majatra would be formed as a result of often brutal wars of unification, bringing together the small kingdoms and principalities that had dominated the continent since the fall of the Ahmadi Caliphate. The first nation-state established in Majatra was the Divine Empire of Cildania, formed as a result of the Cildanian War of Unification. Other nations would soon follow suit, with Beiteynu obtaining its independence from Pontesi in 1966, Vanuku becoming unified through its own War of Unification, Giita Havesh bringing together the Jakanian tribes, or the Republic of Deltaria being established in 2086 after the century-long Terror.

Old Deltaria
The continent would however become dominated by a new imperialist power, Deltaria. Initially a formally democratic state, newly unified Deltaria soon descended into totalitarian rule with the regime of the Absolvers, which was then transformed into a neo-feudal regime, called the Dynastic Oligarchy of Deltaria. The Dynastic Oligarchy was slowly taken over by a nominally absolute monarchy, Czarist Deltaria, which was to last, with numerous democratic interludes, until 2996.

Deltarian-Quanzari Conflict
The first military conflict of the modern era was the Deltarian-Quanzari Conflict (2109-2130), a cold war between the Republic of Deltaria and the Quanzari Emirate. Although it never broke into a shooting war, Deltaria instituted policies of ethnic cleansing against Quanzari nationals living within the Republic, culminating in a massive loss of life and international condemnation. This conflict was the first step in creating the hegemony of Old Deltaria on the continent, and the resulting Quanzari Holocaust established Deltaria as an international pariah.

Selucian-Deltarian Conflict
Concomitant with the Deltarian-Quanzari conflict was the Selucian-Deltarian conflict, started with the sinking of Selucian transport ship HMS Waterfowl in Deltarian waters. Although this conflict did not escalate to the point of open military hostilities, it did lead to the Selucian Genocide, which forced the Selucian government to grant a number of concessions to Deltaria to end the indiscriminate killing of Selucians in Deltaria. The international community, although expressing outrage, did little to attempt the ending of the genocide.

Deltarian Imperialism


With the establishment of the Dynastic Oligarchy of Deltaria and later the Deltarian Czardom, Majatra began to witness a more direct form of Deltarian imperial rule over its neighboring nations. The first victim of Deltarian imperialism was Jakania, which was annexed to Deltaria to form the Deltarian Border Marches. Deltarian intervention in Kafuristan in the Kafuristani Conflict (2307-2321) resulted in the conquest of Kafuristan by Deltaria and the implementation of genocidal policies against Kafuris. In 2321, following the overthrowing of the Darnussian government by its Lusitanian minority, Deltaria intervened, creating the Deltarian Protectorate of Darnussia which was to last until 2352.

Rise of Terran Patriarchalism
A major force behind the rise of Deltarian Imperialism was the Terran Patriarchal Church. As the Holy Apostolic Hosian Church of Terra collapsed in 1819, there was no single body for Terra's Aurorian Patriarchal faithful, so that when in 2134 Pius I became the first Terran Patrairchal Pápež, he was accepted Terra-wide. The newly established Terran Patriarchal Church became the sole institution for the Patriarchal faith, bringing together the various national churches that resulted from the collapse of the Holy Apostolic Hosian Church of Terra. The TPC's monopoly was soon ended with the Patriarchal Schisms of the 22nd century. Initiated in the aftermath of the Cadaver Synods of Innocent I in which all the Kardinals in Terra tried a series of deceased clergy, saints and former Popes, including Pius II, and further exacerbated by the pontificate of Jana I, the schisms led to the establishment of the Theognosian Church, the Coburan Patriarchal Church, the Luthori Patriarchal Church, and the Selucian Patriarchal Church, reducing the Terran Patriarchal Church to Deltaria and a few former Deltarian colonies.

Saiser
A newly formed international organization, the New World Order, based on racial supremacist and militarist ideals, gained a foothold in Majatra during the Triumvirate period in Zardugal. The Triumvirate was a reluctant alliance between the Delic-supremacist Saiserist League, the authoritarian meritocratic Illuminati, and the Historical Communist Party of Zardugal, that gained power in the nation in 2513. The Saiserist League, led by Volodimir Saiser and affiliated with the New World Order, soon gained the upper hand within the Triumvirate, and the implementation of racially-based slavery by the Saiserists led to the disintegration of the Triumvirate and a civil war between the Saiserists and the liberal and democratic opposition, called the Zardic Slave War. Although the war ended in an abolitionist victory, the conflict continued for several decades. The reborn Free Federation of Zardugal remained under Saiserist control, and in 2533 Zardugal invaded Cobura, which however ended in Zardic defeat in 2539. Saiserism emerged as a new ideology, closely associated with the New World Order, and was one of the dominant ideological systems of thought in the 26th and 27th century.

Grand Crusade


The centuries-long conflict between Pontesi and Beiteynu, started in the middle ages with the conquest of Yeudi lands by Pontesi, gave birth to a new religious conflict in the late 27th century. As a result of the persecution of local Hosians by the Beiteynuese government, the monarchs of Luthori and Greater Hulstria, whose dynasties had ancient claims to the Holy Land via Richard the Lionheart, called for the entire Hosian world to intervene in Beiteynu to protect the rights of its Hosian population. The result was the Grand Crusade, an ecumenical Hosian military endeavour whereby Beiteynu was invaded and conquered by a number of Hosian military-monastic orders from Darnussia, Deltaria, Greater Hulstria, and the Holy Luthori Empire. The Crusade resulted in the establishment of the Hosian Empire of Beiteynu, a loose confederation of Crusader Kingdoms unified by an elected Hosian Emperor; the Empire was comprised of the Kingdom of Yishelem, the Grand Principality of Gran Tadraki, the Duchy of Telira, the Counties of Kudon and Tepal, the Principality of Charoniph, and the Free City of Kreuzritterberg. While the Hosian Empire itself was short-lived, lasting only until 2714, the Kingdom of Yishelem, essentially a Luthori puppet-state, remained in control of the region of Endild for centuries. Apart from the immediate political and military consequences, the Grand Crusade had the effect of ending the Beiteynuese colonial empire (partitioned between Luthori and Deltaria), and the revitalization of the Terran Patriarchal Church, who once again emerged as a Terra-wide institution in the aftermath of the Grand Crusade.

Beiteynu-Luthori War


After the Grand Crusade, the Kingdom of Yishelem continued to exist as a separate entity on the territory of Beiteynu. In 2823, after a financial crisis left Beiteynu unable to bailout its largest banks, Beiteynu accepted the offer presented by the Kingdom, whereby the entire Beiteynuese state would be incorporated in the Kingdom of Yishelem in exchange for large monetary investment from Luthori that would save Beiteynu's economy. The Kingdom of Yishelem thus became the sole political authority in the Holy Land, a situation which was to last until 2863, when a Yeudi revolt against Luthori rule escalated into the Beiteynu-Luthori War. The decade-long conflict was ended with the compromise of the Treaty of Poesy, which reformed Beiteynu and the Kingdom into the Commonwealth of Beiteynu and Yishelem, limiting the power of the Luthori monarch to a symbolic position and restoring Yeudi rule in the nation.