Alva: Difference between revisions
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While there was always elven habitation of the region, none of the people there used writing for several centuries after the Urgabom Script writers disappeared. Instead, a largely nomadic society arose, with small tribes moving across the steppes with grazing livestock such as goats and cattle. It was not until more than a thousand years later, in approximately 1200 BC, that written materials ascribed to the natives of the area begin to reappear in Alva. The language, while believed to have descended linguistically from what the Urgabom Script Civilization spoke, was written in an entirely different script - both referred to as Old Alvish. The name "Alva" appears to have already been in common use before the texts were written, as some of the texts refer to Alva as an "ancient place" or "the Alva of old." Contemporary Alvan historians use these texts as evidence that an Alvan policy existed as early as 1200 BC and that it was a direct descendant of civilizations that had existed in the area prior, but because they are few in number and the claims made are not attested in records found outside the region, historians outside Alva consider these claims controversial.
[[File:GenghisKhan&BörteGenghisKhanEquestrianMonument.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Wax figures of Gunghris Khan and wife in the National Historical Museum in Alvakot. Gunghris was famous for taking human wives from lands he conquered.]]
By approximately 800 BC, texts found in what is now [[Packlivania]] refer to "the tribes of Alva," and a leaders who were known by the title "Kaan." This date is used by most international historians to date the first formalized Khanate of Alva. The title of Khan was believed to be martial in nature, rather than hereditary, which whichever chief who was able to marshal enough support among other tribes gaining the title. In this era, there were typically multiple Khans, with one Khan gathering power in one particular region and engaging in hostilities against other Khans. Power tended to fluctuate between tribes in the more arid
Internal conflict among the Alvan tribes was the norm for much of early Alvan history. However, in the fifth century AD, a siege by united
===The Alvan Empire===
In 1125, a succession crisis arose when the Khan at the time had neither sons nor brothers to assume the throne after his death. A brief civil war ensued among various competing bases of power, but it was won very quickly by a young chief from the north known as Temuj who would assume the title Khan of all Alva in 1128. As Khan, he would use the name ''Gunghris'' and is often recorded in history by the name Gunghris Khan. This ended the
[[File:Alvan empire.png|left|thumb|300px|The Alvan Empire at its peak extent, shortly before the death of Tugri Khan in 1254. The total area was over 5.2 million square kilometers.]]
Under Tugri Khan, Alva expanded both to the west and the south, conquering territory on both coasts of the Sea of Alva and as far south as what is now [[Pyrovalia]]. Upon his assumption of the title of Khan, Tugri proclaimed that his lands would be known as the Alvan Empire. In addition to martially expanding the borders of the state to their largest extent, he also emphasized literacy and education among the population, not just among the bureaucratic elite. He also proclaimed that people living in conquered territories would have freedom of religion and that so long as they agreed to Alvan rule, they would be allowed full rights of citizenship. However, there were some among the leadership of the Empire who felt that Tugri was taking the people away from their traditional culture, as Tugri encouraged the establishment of permanent settlements in the Alvan homeland just as he saw in conquered territories. The city of Urgabom, a name meaning "rich port," was established by Tugri Khan in 1234. Tugri would eventually be assassinated by members of his royal guard in 1254, and the Empire would fracture with power going to five of Tugri's sons after his death.
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===Collapse and Decline===
As the world outside began to modernize, Alva began to see tension again build between the east and the west. The city of Urgabom had existed as a sedentary settlement for 400 years by the mid 17th century and was a major center for trade and commerce in the region. As essentially the only permanent settlement in the country, it was also the largest settlement and home to most of the political elite. The period in Alva after the collapse of the Alvan Empire is known as the
While Urgabom remained relatively wealthy and cosmopolitan, the other areas of the country were relatively impoverished, and many continued to live in the traditional nomadic manner into the 20th century, especially in the far north and east of the country. However, in the 19th century, significant oil deposits were discovered in Alva, as well as mineral deposits of various kinds. As larger surrounding powers began to make moves toward taking the resources, the various tribes began to band together to defend themselves. A loosely organized state called the Alvan Confederation, with a capital nominally in Urgabom, was founded in 1850, the first united Alvan state in three hundred years. While it was successful in defending Alvan resources and coordinating resource extraction and foreign investment, the Confederation was plagued by instability and internal power struggles. The functional center of power moved between areas as different chiefs gained and lost sway, and corruption was common as foreign money began flowing into areas that had not typically seen it, such as the rural east.
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===Modern Era===
[[File:Chinggis Square.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Great Khural complex in Alvakot.]]
The governmental framework of the Alvan Confederation lasted for over a hundred years, and gradually, modernization began to spread through the country, including electrification, railroads, highways, and technologies such as the telegraph and later the telephone. However, the internal power struggles only grew in intensity as time went on. In 1974, the period known as the Great Frustration began, as armed conflicts arose across the country in resistance to the national government. Areas in the far north and far east seceded first, declaring themselves independent. The national government, believing swift and strong action would bring a quick end to the resistance, reacted with significant violence, causing nearly 10,000 fatalities and committing some actions that were decried as war crimes, including - in some cases - the rape and torture of captured rebels and civilians. While this
While originally the conflict stemmed from complaints that some regions were better favored by the Urgabom government than others, as the conflict went on, it began to devolve as criminality of all kinds increased. Violence within members of the same tribe increased as anarchic elements or organized crime syndicates took advantage of the situation. At the peak of the violence between 1986 and 1990, some 400,000 people were killed in various crimes and terrorist acts. As the situation worsened, the local tribal governments began to seek peace with each other so they could focus on their internal situations. In 1992, a cease fire and peace settlement were signed in Urgabom, which ended the Alvan Confederation and established the Great Khanate of Alva in its place. It was agreed that a new capital city called Alvakot would be established in the center of the country, and that guarantees would be put in place so that all tribes would see appropriate representation in Parliament. At the same time, the tribes agreed to give much more substantial authority to the central government so that it could better keep order.
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==Economy==
[[File:Oil well.jpg|right|thumb|300px|An oil well in southern Alva.]]
The economy of Alva is based almost entirely in the sectors of resource extraction and energy. Petroleum deposits were discovered in Alva in the mid-18th century and have been the country's largest and most lucrative export since. In the 21st century, Alva began to extract and process its oil sands and oil shale as well as traditional sources of petroleum. Due to Alva's central location on the continent, oil drilled and refined in Alva can be shipped all across Yasteria by rail or road, and from the port in Urgabom it can be sent by tanker ship all over the world. Alva has a large logistics industry to support the transport of oil as well as other products, and has one of the largest merchant marines as measured per capita
In addition to oil, Alva has extensive reserves of metals and minerals such as iron, copper, nickel, uranium, potassium, manganese, and aluminum, among others. Mining and refining these minerals is the dominant industry in the more mountainous eastern and northern regions of the country. Many mines and refineries have significant numbers of foreign workers in addition to the Alvans they employ, as even though the unemployment rate in Alva is typically low, there are too few workers in the country to support the demand for the industry. Work visas for foreigners are politically popular in Alva because they allow the industry to keep wages lower, although it is difficult even for people who have worked in Alva for several years to gain citizenship.
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