A Brief History

The history of Rasvidi is long and complex, and this is reflected in the political relationships between the present Republics as well as the cosmopolitan population within Rasvidi. It is generally agreed that roughly 15,000 years ago, the first human inhabitants arrived from the south and brought with them simple tool-making cultures. These were simple hunter-gatherer groups, and they resided mostly in the safety of the foot of the Phanagorian Mountains and along the fertile coast. Geologic records indicate that the climate was much colder then it was today, but had recently begun to warm up as the world began to recover from an ice age. This supports the idea that humans originated outside of Hiborea, and migrated to it over a land bridge during the ice age when ocean levels would have been significantly lower. Then, as the climate began to warm up, humans moved farther into northern regions such as the Rasvidi Highlands.

The appearance of modern humans during this time also coincides with the extinction of several species of indigenous megafauna, as well as the apparent extinction of a hominid species already present in the area. It is thought that as the world began to warm up, it allowed human populations to flourish and begin developing more complex and varied cultures. By around 5,000 years ago, the first civilizations in Terragon began to establish themselves, including the Volga civilization that thrived along the coast of modern day Rasvidi and eventually around the coast of the North Sea. However, this civilization was never more then an extended trade network of city-states, all of whom saw themselves as originating from and modeled after Móþirborg (lit. Mother Town/Stronghold), which was situated near present day Krasnoyarsk. It wasn't until around 2,500 years ago that the first true empire rose out of the Volga civilization, to form the famous but poorly documented Volga Kingdom.

By this point in history, the only city-states in Rasvidi existed almost exclusively along the coast and short distances inland, with the notable exception of Gjovik. In Móþirborg, an absolute monarchy was established with the monarch being elected from the tribe to serve for life. This monarch had total control over all aspects of the government and city as well as it's surrounding territory, and appointed for himself a cabinet. Later on in the development of the kingdom, as they annexed and absorbed more tribes, each tribe began to be represented by a fixed number of representatives. The number of representatives varied with each tribe based on it's relative importance to the kingdom, with the tribe of Móþirig being the most represented. The kings and queens then appointed a cabinet from amongst the chiefs of subservient tribes. Within 200 years, the Volga Kingdom had grown to include much of coastal Rasvidi and NX401, with territory around Móþirborg expanded as far inland as the northern edges of the Dobrynya Plateau. By the 9th century BHE, the monarchy of the Volga Kingdom collapses and the Volga Republic is established. This began an era of renewed prosperity and culture for the region.

After the last king of Volga was exiled and the Volga Republic formally established, it became ruled by three people who held the highest office of Løgmaþir. It was also around this time that the Tavastian Kingdom was established in Gjovik and the immediately surrounding territory within the Phanagorian Mountains. In Volga, there was more aggressive expansion as the military and metalsmithing became more powerful and widespread, especially along the coast. The Volga Republic expanded further inland along the coast of Rasvidi and NX401, and Volga colonies were established around the North Sea. In the south, the Tavastian Kingdom also saw expansion, as it moved across the Phanagorian Mountains and taking advantage of the defensive qualities of the mountains. The first Tavastian raids into the Rasvidi Highlands are considered to have taken place in the 8th and 7th centuries BHE, most of which were successful. By around the end of the 7th century BHE, the Volga Republic and Tavastian Kingdom began to come into direct conflict as the Volga tried to establish control of central Rasvidi. By the middle of the 6th century BHE, the Volga succeeded in this endeavour and drove the Tavastians back into the mountains, who continued to raid and pillage the periphery of Volga territory and possessions in the area.

Hyvanism was also widespread in the Republic by this time, and even the emperors adhered to it's practices. The religion, which originated with the Tavastians, was quickly adopted by the local population in place of regional animist religions. Some of the "old" gods were incorporated into Hyvanism, however, and some of the more prominent mythological figures are actually some of the oldest deities worshipped by the inhabitants of Rasvidi. Many ancient temples dotted the landscape for centuries, though many were destroyed in more recent centuries by the Commonwealth in an effort to wipe away any memory of the Hyvanists, and then later on by the UPRR to reduce the presence of religious history in the region. Of the hundreds thought to be built, it is estimated that little more then a dozen remain.

By this time, the Volga held considerable possessions, controlling a large swath of territory from the Mordivia River, down south to the northern edges of the Phanagorian Mountains, and stretching east to the Carter Mountains, and north along the coast of modern Gracealona. In the west and north, the Volga held many colonies along the coast of the North Sea and controlled territory, but it did not extend very far inland. However, this growth marked the height of the Volga Republic, and increasing pressure from barbarians and surrounding chiefdoms caused a stagnation on expansion. Particularly, the Volga were never able to hold on to any territory within the Phanagorian Mountains, and the Tavastians constantly raided central Rasvidi. In the east, Gracealonan tribes actively resisted and invaded Volga territory, which was eventually abandoned in the middle of the 5th century BHE. By the 4th century BHE, the Republic began to fall apart, and in 320 BHE the Volga Empire was established. This saw the return of absolute power vested in a single leader, but limitations on the power of the Emperor meant that the office of King was not quite restored to that which existed in the Volga Kingdom.

This marked the beginning of the most successful period in the entire history of Rasvidi. Under the guidance of Emperor Ragnar Lodbrok, much of the former possessions of the Volga Republic were restored and many barbarian tribes were either absorbed or destroyed. The capital of the empire was moved from Móþirborg to a more central location in modern day Ulyanovsk, then called Gelonus. In the Phanagorian Mountains, the only successful invasion in the history of the region took place and for nearly 100 years the Volga Empire exerted direct control over the former Tavastian Kingdom. Gjovik remained autonomous, however, successfully fending off invasion attempts and eventually existing in a state of peace with the Volga Empire. As the empire grew, it's holdings around the North Sea became considerable. The regions of modern day Rasvidi and Serilaq, Gracealona north of Phanagoria, most of NX401, and the lands along the northern and western coasts of the North Sea fell under it's control, representing it's largest extent. It was the largest empire in the history of Rasvidi, and at the time of it's existence was the largest empire in Hiborea. However the empire became unstable after some time, beginning with the independence of the Tavastians in the 2nd century BHE, who re-established themselves as the Phanagorian Republic. This was accelerated around 1 HE with the establishment of empires in Gracealona, NX401, and "Old" Isis Rakael, and the current calender is even based around this time as the "Rise of Hiborea" as multiple empires across the continent began to take hold and flourish.

It was around this time that Vahemmanism began to take hold, and in the many decades leading up to collapse the Volga emperors were all Vahemmanists, and had implemented it as the state religion. While persecution of the Hyvanists certainly took place, with notable massacres, there was never a large-scale organized attack on the religion apart from making it illegal. However, these laws were rarely enforced, especially in the southern regions where Hyvanism remained the predominant religion.

In 183 HE, the Volga Empire finally collapsed. The territories along the northern coast of the North Sea were lost, and Rasvidi was controlled by several warring kingdoms. The Volga Empire is seen by some to have continued in some form in the Kaiserov Empire, which rose along the coast of Rasvidi and was continued by the Volga Emperors. In the west, the Sokudian Empire established itself in Mordivia with it's capital in modern day Kabelinn, then called Capellus. In the east, the Burgundian Empire dominated the eastern Rasvidi Highlands, terminating at the western edge of the Carter Mountains. Central Rasvidi became a political and literal battleground as the empires battled over it's fertile lands, each trying to gain control over the other. While all the major nations of Sokudi, Kaiserov, Burgundia and Phanagoria all held considerable territory, Burgundia and Phanagoria rose as the premier regional powers.

Eventually, in 399 HE the Phangorian Republic was able to negotiate a union with the Sokudian Empire as pretext to invasion. After inadvertently signing away their empire in a notorious and ingenious display of political manipulation, the Phanagorians moved in to take control of their new assets. They rebranded the republic as the Fjellsted Republic, Fjellsted translating roughly to "Land of Cunning Men", sometimes erroneously translated as "Land of Criminals" as the Sokudians incorporated the term Fjelunn into their native Murre language to mean "One who commits crime". In response, in 403 HE the Burgundians forcibly invaded, conquered and annexed the lands of the Kaiserov Empire. They continued to call themselves the Burgundian Empire.

Due to it's almost constant isolation from the Volgas and therefore Vahemmanism, the Fjellsteds were staunchly Hyvanist as they had been for the past several hundred years. The Burgundians, however, were fanatical Vahemmanists as a result of being at the center of the religion's development, most notably it's formation. This would set the stage for bloody rivalry and warring, which would continue into the modern era and can still be seen in the hatred that Norske and Magyar ethnic groups have for one another.

[I got a bit tired of writing at this point. WILL BE CONTINUED. Note: All dates are according to the Tiberiam calender]

What is Tiberiam year 0?

Updated a little bit, added some religious stuff which was startingly lacking.

Sorry, I didn't see your post EEE; I don't think there is a year 0. Most calenders don't, including the gregorian calender. When you think about it, a year 0 doesn't actually make a whole lot of sense; is it AD or BC? Are there two Year 0's for each one? It just makes more sense to go from 1 BC to 1 AD.

In fact, historically the beginning of a century has considered to be the year ending in 01 instead of 00; the idea that centuries begin in the 00 year (2000, 1900, 1800, etc.) is actually a very recent phenomenon that only developed in the late 20th century. 2000 was literally the first 00 year where a new century was thought to have begun. If you look back, all mentions of "the new century" only begin in 1901, 1801, 1701, etc. because back then nobody considered the previous 00 year to be a part of the next century. In other words, 1800 was considered to be part of the 18th century instead of the 19th, as we think of it today.

So the idea of a Year 0 is a modern invention, and probably wouldn't exist in the Tiberiam calender, which is presumably old like the gregorian calender.