History of Oksandanderi

The history of Oksandanderi spans many millennia. From the arrival of the first humans to the rise of kingdoms and empires.

= Prehistory =

It is unclear when humans first began to settle in Oksandanderi. Some conservative estimates state that humans first arrived between 9000 to 8000 BGS and that they were late paleolithic hunter-gatherers of small stature. Some others have estimated the arrival of humans to have taken place as far back as 16000 or even 20000 years ago. If this is true, the prehistory of Oksandanderi would contain several habitation gaps. A sudden decline of population and later return might be marked by the changing and often hostile climate.

Mesolithic
One of the most prominent archeological cultures of the Oksandanderian mesolithic is the so called Roundhouse culture. The roundhouse culture is characterised by certain megalithic dwellings, which form circular house-like structure, albeit being far larger than regular houses. It was speculated that these roundhouses might be an ancient precursor to the Yorp, an eight sided sacred enclosure. The roundhouse culture arose around 5000 BGS and flourished in the Eastern Highlands of Oksandanderi. Around 4400 BGS the culture had reached its mature stage and had spread to other parts of the Midlands. The namesake buildings remained most abundant in the Eastern Highlands though.

The Roundhouse culture flourished for over a millennium until it suddenly vanished. For almost five centuries, quality of human habitation worsened. The reasons for this are unclear. The population only began to grow again during the mid 4th millennium BGS. The Roundhouse culture is also called the Ulitin culture, as it was discovered by Daast Ulitin. The structures themselves were known much earlier and in some cases still used for religious practices. Ulit erroneously assumed them to be leftovers of the ancestors of his own culture and made up several peculiar and quite daring theories about their origin. He also believed them to be much younger than they actually are. Ulitin's theories became somewhat famous in his time and for better or worse his ideas of history became somewhat entrenched in the historical traditions of Oksan. Hence why in in-world context these are specifically mentioned in context of Ulitin's theories.

Neolithic
The climate of the 4th and 3rd millennia BGS was much more benign in Oksan. Large areas which would later turn into desert are during time period covered in steppes. On these steppes live pastoralists herding Mabur, lesser and greater as well as Nupa. Among Ardanic scholars, there are two theories. One which states that Ardanians used to live within the Yarlish Lowlands and then migrated west, while the other proposes that Ardanians used to live all over Lowland Oksandanderi. The later base this on Ardanic substrate words in Yarlish languages, albeit the order of loaning is often obscure. During the Neolithic a largely uniform culture of herders, their linguistic affiliation however remains obscure.

Along the central Yarla resided another culture, called the Kapkhanda Agricultural Core (culture). From around 3800 BGS onward it spread its influence both upriver and downriver. Whether the KAC originates from pastoralists moving upriver or highlanders moving downriver is also unclear. Migrations and cultural impulses went both directions. Some assign the linguistic background of the KAC to Proto-Yarlish, while others assume a more ancient connection between the Yarlish languages and the Korrenic languages. Around 2500 BGS there is a major movement of peoples out of the Highlands, settling down in the piedmont. This movement repeated itself at around 1700 BGS and originated from the region of Kuperi. Some associate this population with the spread of Lowland Yarlish (or Proto-Yarlish). At around 1500 BGS the climate of Oksandanderi becomes much drier and the southern steppes turn into deserts, barring also passage to Khey and separating populations.

= Ancient History =

Early history in Oksandanderi begins with the invention of writing. It is overall unclear when and where writing was first invented on Fountainhead. The same goes for writing in Oksandanderi. In many places ancient symbols of unknown age have been excavated. Some are dated as far back as the fourth millennium BGS, although nobody proclaims that these symbols represented language. The first stages of writing seem to appear in the second millennium BGS, but also still only fragmentary. The beginning of actual writing is more confidentally placed into the first millennium BGS. The transition between the neolithic and the bronze age likely takes place during the early to mid 2nd millennium BGS. The oldest tools of bronze have been found in two locations: The ancient city of Pakkan and the region of Surmin. It is also during this time when the first towns grow into cities. By traditional accounts and archeology, the oldest cities of Oksandanderi are Pakkan, Erme and Tyelesh. Pakkan is generally said to be the oldest of them all.

Formative-Literary Period
Main article: Writing in Oksandanderi

The Formative-Literary Period begins in the 7th century BGS and lasts until the 3rd century BGS. This period sees the appearance and maturing of writing in central Oksandanderi. While there are some precursors to writing, which appear already in the early 1st millennium and perhaps as far back as the middle 2nd millennium BGS, they are sparse and fragmentary in nature. The 7th century BGS sees a literal explosion of the usage of writing. In the matter of a few decades the number of seals, stamps, clay tablets, impressions and inscriptions jumps from tens to hundreds to thousands. The overall number of writing-like symbols attested from the 8th century BGS numbers only 112. The whole of the 7th century BGS has an attested number of 3314, while from the 6th century BGS there are around 5600 attested objects with writing on them. The number exceeds the ten thousand in the 5th century BGS. Almost all of these documents are tax and trade records. Personal names hardly appear ever. A minority of inscriptions from the mid 7th century onwards are blessings to particular people and perhaps deities and spirits. However, these are often very primitive in nature. One such inscription repeats the symbol for "sacred" thirty times. However the content of these inscriptions and their structure becomes gradually more complex over time. The oldest royal inscription is dated to 480 BGS. It commemorates the death of the King of Erme and describes his deeds in a rather archaic, but understandable language and style. It states that forty years prior he had founded a union between the Kingdoms of Erme and Vukhun. It marks one of the first detable political events in the history of Oksandanderi. The Formative-Literary period ends gradually in the 3rd century BGS. At this point writing has spread to all the major cities in the Yarlish Lowlands and is on its way to the Ardanic Basin as well. Writing is complex enough to fully represent spoken language as well.

Early cities and Dominions
The oldest cities were founded already during the neolithic. The site of Pakkan was inhabited as far back as 3500 BGS, although not a city at this point. The presence of roundhouse sites at Pakkan even shows an even older habitation, although there is a gap of around three hundreds years, where the site was completely deserted. Around 2600 BGS the settlement seems to have exceeded the population size of over two thousand. The next two cities to exceed this number were Erme and Tyelesh, likely around 2100s or the early 2nd millenium BGS. Most cities of the Yarlish Lowlands grew in size during the time period of between 1500 BGS and 1000 BGS.

These cities formed complex states and generally speaking all early cities were ruled by a priestal class. The priests were most invested in managing agriculture and infrastructure, which they saw as an extension of their divine duties. In essence, cultivating the land was sacred. Fertile soils and plentiful orchards were seen as worthy of devotion. The priests were responsible to maintain the fruits of the land and care for the people. As such, priests also lead the entirety of the early economy of these cities. Apart from the priests, farmers and craftspeople, there was another dedicated social caste which developed during this time, the warrior caste. With increasing size, rivalries between the cities grew in intensity too. While at first being mostly temple employees, soldiers over time grew into a caste of their own, beginning to make decisions on their own.

The second half of the 1st millennium BGS saw two developments. One by one priest and warrior castes go into conflict. These conflicts were not just two-sided, farmers, craftspeople and different merchant organisations also contributed to these struggles. Different forms of government began to form. In some cities, the warriors becme an aristocratic class, while in other merchants formed councils of their own. The Ardanic Itif seems to be a special case, which developed during this time as well, albeit under slightly different circumstances. In some cities this struggle was perpetual. The city of Vërev for example went through several stages of priestal rule, aristocratic councils, restoration of the priest caste, compromise and finally ultimately the overthrow of the priests. The last city to remain a theocracy was Imnagal, which is frequently referred to as the most sacred city.

The second development was, that cities began to subjugate each other under what is referred to as a Kortón. Cities ruled by a king most frequently formed such a Kortón or Dominion. The first to do so was the Kingdom of Erme and Vukhun. A kortón are several cities under the rule of a single king or a single city (or two in the case of the Ermean-Vukhunite duarchy). This can be brought about by conquest and alliances. As such as smaller cities, brought into an alliance, also part of the dominion of a city. Over time different dominions arose in the Lowlands and the Midlands. After the Dominion of Erme and Vukhun, the Dominion of Kamag arose. The Dominion of Pakkan arose in the Midlands and finally the Dominion of Vërev arose and later became the foundation for the Astmergian Empire.

= Astmergian Empire and Dominion = Main article: Astmergian Empire

= Era of Fragmentation =

= Four Empire Period = Main articles: Makhatganda, Yarlaganda Empire, Tyon-Arat, Walken Empire

= Age of Harmony and Disharmony =

= Imperial Age =