Ni-Rao: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox country
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|image_flag = File:Nirao Flag.png
|alt_flag = The flag of the August Empire of Ni-Rao, consisting of 17 golden hollow squares on a purple swallow-tailed field.
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|image_coat =
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===Ancient History===
[[File:ni and rao.png|left|200px|thumb|Approximate borders of the State of Ni (in blue) and the Kingdom of Rao (red) at the time of the Merger of the Crowns in 900 BCE, superimposed on modern borders. The current area of Ni-Rao is shown in dark gray.]]
The earliest cultures identified as "proto-Raonite" are attested as early as 3100 BCE in the Ni Valley south of the Danvreas Range on the northwest coast of Gondwana. The proto-Raonites are among the first documented urbanized, literate [[orc|orcish]] societies. Immediately east of the Ni Valley are the Rao Highlands, an area of significantly higher elevation that eventually rises to the Rao Plateau. The two immediate predecessor states of Ni-Rao were the State of Ni, a city-state on the coast that dates to approximately 1800 BCE, and the Kingdom of Rao, which was originally located further inland and has been dated to approximately 1600 BC. The primary population of both states were felines who are believed to have migrated to the coast from the interior of the continent. As the historical record indicates that the languages spoken in Ni and Rao were written in similar scripts with nearly identical grammar, it is believed that both groups of felines descend from the same population. Fragments of tablets found in Ni dated to 1500 BCE show that the royal court of Ni was concerned at the time that "countrymen of Rao are almost indistinguishable from our own [citizens] and can commit crimes among us unnoticed."
Conflict between the two states was common, although not typically severe. Villages on the frontiers of both states often changed hands. In approximately 900 BCE an event known as the "Merger of the Crowns" occurred and Ni and Rao were merged into a single state. However, the records written in each state both indicate that it was their own army that conquered the other state. As literacy and the ability to write were both restricted to a select class of scribes in both states, written records are scant, and it remains uncertain if the Merger was caused by one state conquering the other or by mutual consent. The head of state of the newly-combined state was called the Emperor, a tradition that continues to the current day. A commonly-believed anecdote is that, in the country's combined name, "Ni" comes first out of recognition that it is the older (and therefore seniormost) state, but the people are called "Raonites" and not "Ni-Raonites" in recognition of the fact that both peoples were said to have come down through the Rao Highlands as they migrated from the interior of the continent. Written records kept by royal scribes at the time seem to confirm this hypothesis, but the matter is still debated.
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===Decline===
[[File:Ni rao 1300CE.png|left|200px|thumb|The approximate territorial maximum of Ni-Rao, in 1300 CE. The area is approximately 1.5 million sq km.]]
Ni-Rao reached its territorial maximum in approximately 1300 CE. At that time, in addition to its traditional holdings in the eastern gulf coastal lowlands and highlands, it also held significant holdings in the north, reaching as far north as what is today [[Bana]] and controlling part of King's Island in what is now [[Tavaris]]. To the west, Ni-Rao established a colony in [[Reijia]] and held significant holdings along the Strait of Khaj. However, also at around 1300 CE, the various Tavari
In about 1400, a plague struck Ni-Rao that was quickly expanded across the entire empire in part, it is believed, by rats that were hidden among the cargo of various traveling merchants. The plague reached, and struck particularly hard in, the northern reaches that had less stable supply lines and infrastructure. However, all areas of the country were affected by the plague, and between 1400 and 1500 CE, approximately 1 out of every 6 residents of the country died. The plague did not affect non-felines, however, meaning the humans and elves opposed to them were made relatively stronger as Ni-Rao was weakened. In 1448, [[Reijia]] became independent after a local lord purchased the right to be the King of Reijia from the Raonite crown. Ni-Rao held on to the region surrounding what is now Ranisport until about 1550, but continued organized military opposition from Bana led to their withdrawal back to the south of the Danvreas Range. By the turn of the 17th century, due to military losses and economic decline, Ni-Rao had effectively shrunk to an area with similar boundaries to what is currently South Ni-Rao.
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The 17th Century started with Ni-Rao in a state of general disarray and poverty. For this reason, Tavaris began a campaign of humanitarian aid in Ni-Rao, led largely by the [[Akronism|Church of Akrona]]. This would lead to Tavaris establishing a colony, called Emerald Coast, in the northern regions of Ni-Rao in 1668. This was done without the express consent of the government of Ni-Rao. Ni-Rao theoretically claimed the area but had ''de facto'' ceded control to Tavaris because it could not afford to defend the area or maintain its infrastructure - both things that Tavaris was doing in the area already. This establishment of a Tavari territory on the mainland of Gondwana, immediately south of Bana, was considered by both Ni-Rao and Bana to be a massive breach of the status quo and led to the [[History of Tavari-Banian Relations#Fourth War|Fourth War]] between Bana and Tavaris. Ni-Rao joined the war on the Banian side.
While Tavaris initially suffered great losses in the beginning of the Fourth War, Tavaris' larger population served as an advantage that allowed it to outlast both Bana and Ni-Rao, especially after Queen [[Melora II]] of Tavaris conscripted virtually the entire adult population of the Kingdom into military service. Eventually, Tavaris pushed Bana back, and after ending the Banian threat, Ni-Rao's weak military could not withstand the full attention of Tavari forces. Ni-Rao surrendered in 1680 and signed a treaty agreeing to return to the status quo ante bellum. While not explicit in the terms of the treaty, this surrender effectively ceded Ni-Rao's claim on Emerald Coast.
With its holdings winnowed, Ni-Rao lost status as a regional power. The 17th and 18th Centuries saw Ni-Rao adopt a constitutional monarchy as the general populace began to resist the traditional system of feudal authority. Ni-Rao's economy was largely agricultural, although as the Industrial Revolution spread, some industry did take hold in the major population centers. Population slowly increased. Additionally, the economy saw a boost as international trade came to the region and foreigners took note of the ancient pyramids and tombs. The monuments became an international tourist destination, and the government focused resources on repairing and maintaining the pyramids and in things such as roads and hotels in the region. The ancient monuments of Ni-Rao remain a popular tourist destination to the current day. Also in the 18th Century, a religious movement known as the New Ranites (from Rania, a city in the east that is believed to share an etymology with the word "Rao") rose up and eventually left Ni-Rao to cross the Danvreas Range and re-inhabit the gulf coast in that region.
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