Hieret

Hieret, derived from Old Aletazem hi'aret, meaning wide earth, ultimately from Proto-Hiereti hihret, was a geographical term used to denote the area centred around the Hidesh River. The region was ethnically, linguistically and culturally diverse, being home to at least three major language families, in addition to a number of language isolates.

Etymology
Hieret was derived from Old Aletazem hi'aret, which meant wide earth, and was in turn derived from Proto-Western Hiereti hihret, ultimately from Proto-Hiereti hihret. It was borne from the early concept that Hieret was essentially the known world, and that the other parts of the world existed on the outskirts. Hieret was bordered in the north and east by large mountains and in the south and west by a open seas, contributing to the idea that Hieret was the whole world. Its cognates included hihureɸ, yiyirir, hihret and ayirat, from Proto-Akenafri, Old Yilireti, Proto-Southern Hiereti and Proto-Eastern Hiereti respectively. In Martuk and Meruk, it was referred to as irhram and ertam respectively, both being calques of the Hiereti word.

Prehistoric Inhabitancy
Hieret had been a site of inhabitancy for thousands of years before the rise of the first civilisations. The early inhabitants of Hieret were a mixture of fishermen, hunters and foragers, who lived a nomadic or semi-sedentary lifestyle, spending most of the year moving between areas of food but also settling in temporary villages. They generally stayed at the coastal regions, where resources were more plentiful. The first permanent villages coincided with the rise of agriculture and were generally centred around temples dedicated to a particular god or goddess. These early villages were found almost entirely in the south and around the Hidesh River, where agriculture was encouraged by the riverine terrain. These village people grew wheat and barley and domesticated animals such as goats and dogs. They also crafted crude pottery and clay sculptures of various gods, religious figures and events. Their society was arranged on tribal lines and they practiced a form of primitive democracy, involving all areas of society. Around 7000 ED, the first forms of writing were invented, promoting the early bureaucracy that had been established.

Early History
The invention of writing coincided with the formation of the earliest form of the state, whereby villages regarded themselves as distinct entities with distinct customs, observances and authority. Villages coalesced into towns, and towns joined to become cities. This demographic change came alongside two other main changes. Agriculture became more advanced as, through a system of trial and error, practices such as irrigation, domestication of livestock and interbreeding of grains became the norm. The greater populations necessitated the need for more food, and this required collective action, which had to be controlled by an undemocratic force. The first undemocratic leaders were the priesthoods from the temples around which the villages were based. At first, they worked within and alongside the people's democracies which had come to be, generally instructing policy through divine right.

The first city in Hieret was Yijizeb, later to be known as Jiyteb, which was founded in c. 5500 ED. This was followed by Irbid, founded in c. 5400 ED, Amitir, founded in c. 5300 ED, and Gizenatter, founded only a few decades after Amitir. Most of the early cities were concentrated in the south and west of Hieret, while the north and east of the region (with Amitir being an exception to the rule) were populated largely by nomads. All of these early urban centres were based around a temple, the religious seat for each respective people, and their inhabitants were governed on the basis of tribal democracy. The extent of these democracies differed between cities, with some extending franchise to all free men and women, and with others having many more restrictions.

Overtime, these tribal democracies evolved into theocracies, dominated by a religious elite centred in the temples of each city. Further political evolution would lead to the rise of the first monarchs, with Jiyteb and Irbid developing monarchies around 4700 ED.

Two Empires Period (4700 - 3986 ED)
In 4632 ED, the Yilireti Empire was established as a union between Jiyteb and some of its neighbouring villages and outposts. Jiyteb became the centre of a multicultural kingdom, which would grow to encompass around a fifth of Hieret. In the same period, the Irhmeti Empire was formed. Much of Hieret's early history was thus dominated by these two empires and their rivalry, with the Irhmeti Empire exercising control over the north and west of Hieret and the Yilireti Empire controlling directly or indirectly the affairs of southern and eastern Hieret.

The Irhmeti Empire established economic dominance of Hieret through a westward expansion. By 4200 ED, the Irhmeti Empire controlled the largest port cities of Hieret, E'Dabbi and Tabid, trading pottery, grain and metal with the civilisations of other regions, with Irbid becoming a centre of commerce for Hieret. While the Yilireti Empire benefited from control of Rum, Thiyiḥitheb and E'Wayyli, their trading was primarily internal or conducted with eastern vassals. Toys and barley came from the north and spices and jewels came from the south, while pottery, grains and jewels were exported from E'Dabbi and E'Wayyli. Both empires remained separated by a large band of desert and the only conflicts between them were a series of pirate raids, which had limited results.

Most cities by this time had come under the dominion of one of the two empires, though several independent cities existed on the outskirts of Hieret, mostly grouped in the far north or in the east. These cities were prey to the bandits and marauders that lived in the mountain of the north-east and were continuously subject to raids. They existed by trading with the Irhmeti and Yilireti empires, or with societies and civilisations outside of Hieret.

With the dominance of the Irhmeti Empire clear, the Yilireti emperor felt obliged to act to upset the balance and restore the Yilireti Empire's position as the main power of the region. It began with a series of raids against Irhmeti border villages, escalated with the banning of Irhmeti merchants from Yilireti commerce centres and ended with violence in the Gizenatter War. In the Gizenatter War, the Yilireti Empire succeeded in defeating the Irhmeti Empire, with Emperor Vāthigēth VIII forcing his Irhmeti counterpart to accept Yilireti dominance. The Irhmeti Empire lost three cities, dozens of villages and outposts and was forced to pay a massive tribute of grain and other goods, while the Yilireti Empire became the undisptued power, with the largest population, economy and army in the world. The Yilireti Empire, however, neglected the established customs and trade routes of the Irhmeti Empire, neglected their newly-annexed lands and operated as though nothing had changed, while the Irhmeti Empire waned under the loss of their land and position. The Irhmeti Empire met a slow end, leaving the Yilireti Empire as the sole power in Hieret. This period of complete Yilireti dominance lasted for just three decades, between 4012 ED and 3986 ED. The Yilireti Empire was overwhelmed with migrants and bandits from the north. Regional flooding from the Hidesh River increased the salinity of the soil, making most harvests impossible. The failure of the Yilireti Empire to maintain and expand the Irhmeti infrastructure was demonstrated when a series of secessions reduced the empire to a handful of core cities. Revolt in Jiyteb forced the emperor to flee to Rum, which had broken away, and exist as a figurehead for the city's governor. The Two Empires period came to an end, leaving Hieret in ruins.

First Interregnum (3986 - 3704 ED)
Over the course of centuries, the inhabitants of Hieret recovered, with cities such as Irbid and Gizenatter being restored to their former glory. Jiyteb, however, remained in ruins, and would not recover for several hundred years. In 4018 ED, Gizenatter came under the control of the Waba Dynasty, a group of bandits which had raided the city but decided to remain. They inherited the broken infrastructure which had declined under the administration of the Yilireti Empire and set about repairing it. They re-established trade from Gizenatter, with merchants sending goods down the Hidesh River to Rum, which had similarly reconstructed itself after the decline of the two empires.

By 3900 ED, the three largest cities in Hieret were Irbid, Gizenatter and Rum. Irbid and Gizenatter fought a number of wars against each other, attempting to establish dominance over each other. Both cities were sacked multiple times during the conflicts, but eventually Gizenatter managed to overpower Irbid. In 3747 ED, the Waba Dynasty was expelled from Gizenatter and a native dynasty claimed power. After a fierce period of warfare, this new dynasty managed to annex Irbid and its vassals, becoming the largest single entity in Hieret. By this time, the Erhemmii Empire, based around the north-western city of Erbi, had risen to prominence, becoming a regional power. Its conflicts were generally waged against bandits to the north, which had taken over the ruined cities, centuries-old remnants of civilisation. This empire was also involved in wars against the Ateter Kingdom, but eventually established close links with the Ateter Kingdom and had firm economic ties with E'Dabbi, which was essentially its vassal. Rum fell into relative obscurity, but still nominally-controlled several nearby cities and outposts as vassals.

By 3700 ED, Gizenatter was the largest city in the world, with forty thousand inhabitants. Erbi, E'Dabbi and Rum were also home to large populations of around twenty thousand inhabitants. Around this time, the bandits in the north became fledging kingdoms and united under the command of a warlord, forming the Uriṱeriqṱer Kingdom. This empire would come into conflict with both Erbi and Gizenatter.

First Ateter Period (3704 - 3196 ED)
Hieret would once again experience some degree of political unity, under the entity of the Ateter Kingdom. The kingdom was founded in 3704 ED, as a union of the crowns of Irbid and Gizenatter, with the latter claiming a final military victory over the former. The vassals of Irbid became incorporated into the kingdom, swelling the population of the kingdom to around one hundred thousand people. By this time, the Ateter Kingdom was still lesser in size and population than the Uriṱeriqṱer Kingdom in the north and the Erhemmii Empire to the west, though the kingdom's individual cities tended to be larger than their Uriṱeriqṱer and Erhemmii counterparts.

The Uriṱeriqṱer Kingdom and the Erhemmii Empire commonly-found themselves at war during this period. The Erhemmii Empire, though continuing the "traditions of civilisation", using a mixture of retinue and militia forces, found itself overwhelmed by the barbarous armies of their northern neighbours, who employed large amounts of chariots. Many Erhemmii cities and towns were sacked, between a period of sixty years between 3650 ED and 3590 ED, when a joint-Ateter and Erhemmii effort succeeded in repelling the city-dwelling barbarians of the north. Conflicts between the Ateter and the Uriṱeriqṱer would persist for a number of centuries, and saw the Erhemmii Empire swallowed by the Ateter Kingdom. The Ateter Kingdom managed to secure a few Uriṱeriqṱer cities, but never managed to pacify the bandits of the north, who would resort to nomadism when their cities were sacked or taken.

During this period of northern conflict, the city of Rum grew increasingly-independent from the Ateter Kingdom (up until this point, most of its merchant centres had been run by Ateter tradesmen and artisans), and began to set up a kingdom of its own. At its height, the city of Rum exacted a tribute from many of its neighbouring cities, including Jiyteb, but was unable to do much more than impose this tax. When Rum attempted to expand its influence over its neighbouring states, it was generally met with fierce resistance, including a widespread revolt. In 3319 ED, in an attempt to impose its rule over Rum, the Ateter Kingdom demanded a one-sided trade deal, that would amount to little more than a payment of homage on the side of Rum. A rejection from Rum in this matter would lead to a conflict, which ultimately led to further expansion of Ateter influence.

By 3300 ED, the Ateter Kingdom occupied most of western Hieret, and had considerable holdings in the eastern half of the region. All of the largest and most powerful cities on the Hidesh River had come under the control of Gizenatter, and only the extremities of Hieret were untouched by Ateter rule. In 3257 ED, there was a stirring in the north and east of Hieret, where many nomads roamed outside of urban environments. The Ateter kings began to erect a series of mudbrick fortifications on their northern frontier, to hold against barbarian incursions, which began increasingly frequent and violent. These fortifications proved inadequate to hold against such a large volume of bandits, who had grown to hate the mantle of civilisation as upheld by the Ateter Kingdom. They abandoned their urban centres, which had only ever acted as masks for their uncivilised nature, and turned to revanchism, seeking revenge for the massacres levied against them by the Ateter in the previous centuries.

The Ateter were unable to react to the influx of barbarian peoples into their kingdom, who displaced countless farmers and sacked a number of cities and towns. The central government in Gizenatter was unable to respond adequately to these threats, and cities withdrew from the kingdom. The governor of E'Dabid, a close relative of the Ateter king, refused to send aid to Gizenatter when barbarians were seen on the horizon. By 3220 ED, the Ateter Kingdom was reduced to a shadow of its former self, besieged and surrounded by barbarians, fed only through ever shrinking imports of grain from the few cities it still owned on the Hidesh coastline. With the closing of the century, the cities still loyal to the king in Gizenatter numbered only three, and included Rum and Irbid. Of the cities, Rum was the only city with the capacity to export much-needed supplies to Gizenatter. When bandits from the east, unrelated to the Uriṱeriqṱer, began leaving the mountain foothills generally considered their homeland, Rum came under threat. In 3196 ED, Rum was sacked and the exports of grain to Gizenatter stopped. The people of Gizenatter were left starving and the king was forced to surrender. He was captured by the Uriṱeriqṱer and taken to their traditional homeland, where he was tortured and executed.

Second Interregnum (3196 - 3144 ED)
With the fall of Gizenatter and the collapse of the Ateter Kingdom, few cities remained able or willing to take up and continue the mantle of civilisation. Central Hieret, from E'Dabid to Gizenatter, suffered decades of deprivations and banditry, as the nomads from the north and, more frequently, from the east, raided the remnants of civilisation. Eastern Hieret was subject to the whims of these same barbarians, though Rum managed to repel some of these foreign invaders and reclaimed old Ateter territories. Only in the far south did civilisation seem to flourish, in a rejuvenated Jiyteb. Though it was threatened and raided by pirates from E'Wayyli, Jiyteb and its inhabitants remained untouched by the ravages of the bandits from the north. To the north of Jiyteb, separating it from Gizenatter and surrounding cities where nomads now reigned, was the Rterte Desert, a stretch of barren land several hundred of kilometres in width and height. This presented an impassable landscape, sparing Jiyteb from the most horrific abuses of banditry and thus allowing civilisation to survive.

In 3187 ED, a considerable force, under the command of the Yilireti king Yiḥidhevsa, was assembled in Jiyteb and assailed the pirates of E'Wayyli, bringing Yilireti rule to the island for the first time since 3986 ED. Around this time, the cities of Dhivethāḥitheb and Wayyteb united willingly under the leadership of Yiḥidhevsa and soon, all of southern Jiyteb was once more part of a resurgent kingdom based and ruled from Jiyteb. This new empire attempted to impose sovereignty over Rum and other cities on the coast of the Hidesh River, tracing its legitimacy from the previous Yilireti Empire and considering all areas once ruled by this empire as its rightful territorial possessions. Rum, at this time, was ruled by Ateter governors, who had seized control of the city to preserve the Ateter Kingdom's cultural practices, and united the nearby cities and towns (those that had been reclaimed from the oriental barbarians) to aid in its defence. Yiḥidhevsa was slain when he assaulted Rum, his fleet of rafts burned or captured and his army destroyed. The survivors of the battle were allowed to live in return for military service for Rum.

In 3169 ED, Adi'ater I, who had outlived all other governors of Rum and was the nephew of the last ruler of the Ateter Kingdom, became the sole ruler of the city. He forewent the title of kigitiwov, loosely translating as administrator or councillor, and adopted the title of kigitiw, meaning king. Though only a child during the fall of the Ateter Kingdom, Adi'ater, known natively as Gidigiff, began attempts to reclaim the throne of Gizenatter. He repelled the eastern barbarians, driving them back to their homelands at the foothills of the mountains that bordered Hieret, retaking a number of cities and towns and vast swathes of farmland. He erected a series of fortifications on the eastern edge of his kingdom, to protect it from further bandit assaults, and adopted a rudimentary militia system. He conquered Jiyteb, E'Wayyli and other cities in the south of Hieret, using the very troops that had been used to attack Rum in 3175 ED. He also sent an expedition to raid the cities, towns and outposts on the Viffe Ocean, forcing many of them to submit to Rum rule or face destruction. By 3160 ED, Adi'ater exercised command over E'Dabid, Tabid and Thiyiḥitheb, having captured and rebuilt these cities from the grips of barbarian rulers, and ruled over a kingdom with a population of over half a million people.

The barbarian warlord, Kiyuriṱeriqṱerṱe, nominally the chief of all northern barbarians for his successful suppression of a Hieret-wide revolt against barbarian rule and in charge of a great host of over fifty thousand men and double this number of camp followers and other hangers-on, grew wary of Rum's expanding influence, and sought to check Adi'ater's advance. In a great battle, through the use of an Adi'ater innovation, the war chariot, Kiyuriṱeriqṱerṱe was defeated and forced to retreat north, essentially ceding all of central Hieret to Adi'ater. By 3150 ED, Adi'ater's kingdom had expanded to cover Irbid, Gizenatter and Adirem, with only a few pockets of banditry and barbarianism persisting. Kiyuriṱeriqṱerṱe would prove to be a resilient enemy, sacking Gizenatter on three occasions (3149 ED, 3146 ED and 3145 ED), until he was slain in 3144 ED and all pockets of banditry were removed from central Hieret.

Second Ateter Period (3144 - 3076 ED)
Following the death of Kiyuriṱeriqṱerṱe, Adi-ater disbanded most of his military, moved the capital of his empire to Gizenatter, proclaimed the formation of the Second Ateter Kingdom and began a large civil works project, restoring much of the ancient buildings of Gizenatter and other cities to their former glory. Hieret flourished under the stability introduced by Adi-ater's rule, but his stewardship simply disguised a number of problems in the region. Adi-ater now ruled over the largest empire in existence, with over a million people living in a multi-ethnic empire spreading from former Uriṱeriqṱer lands in the north to E'Wayyli in the south, and controlling all major ports on the Hidesh River. Many people felt that they owed a personal debt to Adi-ater, for freeing them from the abuses of bandits and brigands, and dissent remained low under his reign. However, after Adi-ater I died in 3129 ED, becoming the longest-lived monarch at that time, and under his son, Adi-ater II, the tension across Hieret exposed themselves blatantly. The reign of Adi-ater II saw the breaking away of Jiyteb from the rest of the kingdom and many other parts of Hieret refusing to pay homage to Gizenatter and refusing to respect its ordinances.

Adi-ater II died in 3113 ED, with his demise proving disastrous for the current order in Hieret. The custom in Hieret at the time was for monarchs to kill off or otherwise disown their younger sons once their heir had come of age. Adi-ater II had proved unwilling or unable to carry out this custom, leaving many potential heirs upon his demise. While he had been alive, they were pacified by governorships of various cities across Hieret. With his death, there was little to restrain them from descending into civil war, in an attempt to press their claims for stewardship over Hieret. While this in itself was not impossible for the central government in Gizenatter to overcome, the situation came in tandem with certain climatic circumstances witnessed across the world, but which were particularly harsh in Hieret. This event resulted in a flooding of the Hidesh River in the centre of Hieret and great drought in the periphery of the region. In Gizenatter, Irbid and other similarly located cities, entire harvests were wiped out, driving grain prices up and putting increasing strain on the workers. In Hieret's coastal regions, the consequences were the same, but stemming from drought rather than flooding. Across Hieret, except mainly Jiyteb, intense famine and a collapse of societal order followed. Bandits from the north and east of Hieret, held at bay only by the presence of a powerful Ateter Kingdom, quickly rushed southwards, also attempting to escape an equally-harsh climatic situation. They were pursued into Hieret by a group of outsiders, who slew Adi-ater III, the nephew of Adi-ater II and last king of the Ateter Kingdom, and settled in northern Hieret. Within a matter of decades, the newly-imposed law and order in Hieret ceased to exist, and the Ateter Kingdom gave way.

Third Interregnum (3076 - 2800 ED)
After the fracturing of the Ateter Kingdom, Hieret passed into an uncertain age of inter-city strife and warfare, with warfare being an almost-constant background to Hiereti life. This background of eternal warfare contributed to a rise of militarism among the city-states of Hieret and the population of the region as a whole and, despite overwhelming environmental pressure warning against such resource-consuming endeavours as warfare, many military campaigns were conducted during the period. The flooding around the Hidesh River stopped, with drought consuming all of Hieret, not simply the circumference. The drought was so severe and so long-lasting that Gizenatter, originally a coastal city, was separated from the nearest body of water by many tens of kilometres of desert and, in many places, the Hidesh River was crossable by foot.

Rum and Gizenatter were sacked frequently by these bandits, and several other cities were brought under their direct or indirect command. Despite surviving the environmental challenges imposed upon the rest of Hieret, Jiyteb was also not free from raids and sackings. Its highly-fertile soil, now perhaps the only land not affected by drought in the whole of the Hieret region, was an attractive location for enterprising bandits and city-states alike. Of particular concern to Jiyteb, the people of E'Wayyli, following the crash of the Ateter Kingdom and insurmountable drought in their homeland, had resorted to their traditional life of piracy and brigandage, sailing across the now narrower strait to the south of Jiyteb and raiding the farmlands outside the city. In the first few critical decades after the decline of the Ateter Kingdom, the south of Hieret, notably less affected than areas further north and east by drought and banditry, in fact found itself in a far worse end position. Mass migrations from the east, facilitated by a receding Hidesh River, and from the north followed, putting increasing strain on the region and Jiyteb in particular. Native farmers attempted to halt the advance of these migratory people, but their defence proved inadequate in the face of the great desperation of these newcomers, and little help was forthcoming from the city itself. The region's fragile agriculture system collapsed under the weight, and the last area of Hieret to be relatively untouched by the discord of the interregnum fell to disorder.

The following decades were ones of death and depression, as Hieret reached its demographic nadir. Entire towns and cities were depopulated, and their rural surroundings became deserted. Tens of thousands of people fled from the region along three major migratory paths: north into Antylika, east into ___ and south-east into ___. Many more took to rafts and rudimentary vessels, fleeing Hieret by sea, hoping to find prosperity and food elsewhere. Even bandits found Hieret to be less than promising, there being no riches left to steal and no infrastructure left to exploit. The region would perhaps have become entirely devoid of human habitation, had not similar circumstances befallen much of the surrounding areas, for as much as Hieret became depopulated by its native people, it was refilled with migrating foreigners. These foreigners inter-mingled with the last glimpses of native life, combining theological, linguistic and cultural traditions.

Recovery Period (2800 - 2470 ED)
Thus began a cultural revival of Hieret, with these foreign influences rejuvenating the remnants of Hiereti heritage. Old and new, native and alien; all contributed to this resuscitation. By around 2800 ED, the climactic conditions of Hieret had recovered, with clouds bringing much-needed rain to the region once again. The Hidesh River, once choked with death and stagnation, began to flow once more. The ruined agriculture was repaired, as the landscape was once again irrigated and shaped by human hands. Slowly and steadily, stable government returned to the region and people took up residence in the ruins of their ancestral cities, or else built new ones nearby. An urban population began to take root, united to their rural neighbours by economical and agricultural inter-dependence. The worst for Hieret had passed, though the politics of the region was by no means strong, and it would take only the most minor of disasters to extinguish what little order had been regained.

The old cities were quick to regain prominence, with Rum, Gizenatter and Jiyteb reclaiming their positions as the largest cities in the region. These cities were better-suited for regrowth than the others, for a number of regions. Both Gizenatter and Rum were well-positioned on the coast of the Hidesh River, allowing them to trade with each other and with other residences along the shore. They also had natural defences which protected them from foreign incursions, with Gizenatter being protected from the south by a harsh desert and Rum being guarded by an easily-defensible bay area. Jiyteb was unique among these cities in that it had no easy access to the sea, but instead benefited from very fertile soil, fed by volcanic outcroppings in the region. This gave it a vast advantage over other areas in agriculture, allowing a surplus of wheat and barley to be produced for the city. Bread and beer from Jiyteb were traded throughout the region, and even overseas. In this way, goods from Jiyteb received more foreign exposure, and Jiyteb generated more influence as a result. Gizenatter and Rum still had things to offer to the wider world, however. Olives brought by foreigners from the north migrating to Gizenatter found the areas around the city favourable and Rum's natural mineral richness allowed colourful artistic expression to flourish among the traders and artisans.

While it would take many more centuries for the population of Hieret to recover from the shocks of the waning years of the last millenium, within a hundred years of the revival Gizenatter, Rum and Jiyteb had perhaps one hundred thousand inhabitants between them, and many more were spread across the populations of other urban areas. Further still, many dwelt in the rural countryside or in the primitive suburban areas just outside of these cities. This created a stratified and economically-regimented city which rulers could easily and effectively exploit.

At long last, c. 2700 ED, centralised governments returned to Hieret, with new monarchic dynasties, flavoured by outside influences brought to Hieret over the previous centuries. These new kings used their power to mobilise their steadily growing populations, maximising economic conditions by transferring populations from and to the urban and rural areas as the necessity dictated it. Across Hieret, the environmental and economic situation continued to improve, with the production of raw materials doubling, tripling and even quadrupling within a few centuries, but the quality of life for many declined.

Rural populations were ruthlessly exploited by their central governments for economic gain. They were made to pay extortionate rates for the privilege of working the land, taxed heavily for their produce (or made to give most of it to the city) and forced to pay fines for damage caused to their own crops through flooding, drought or criminal action. Worse yet, they were arranged into villages of twenty or so people, often with the result that families could be divided between villages, and each village was made to nominate one-tenth of its population for militia duty and one-tenth of its population to take part in juries. The result was essentially the creation of a primitive, collective economic system, in which the rural populations were enslaved and worked for the greater good of their master city. Later monarchic decrees would tie the offspring of these village-farmers to their villages, reducing them to complete slavery, turning them into property of the government. In Jiyteb, the more fertile soil gave farmers more allowances, but life remained grim. Freedom to promote oneself to life in the city could only come through the payment of one's debt and the debt of one's family, or through the receipt of absolution from a priest or the king.

The state of affairs in the city was different, and city-dwellers generally experienced a better quality of life than their rural counterparts. Namely, they had greater freedom of employment and residence, were not forced away from their families and were free to leave the cities or towns of their birth. Here, the main industries were focused around crafts such as pottery, metalworking and stone-working, mainly intended for foreign markets. Despite this extra power, urban populations were still entirely obedient to the kings, who ruled with absolute power and authority, their seats of government also functioning as the heads of religious power. The absolutism of the ancient Irhmeti and Yilireti empires were revived. The first coins, minted in Gizenatter, but later spread to Rum, Jiyteb and the other cities, were minted in the kings' names and with their faces. Everything in the city and in the countryside was considered the king's property, and the king could be the only source of justice.

While this palace economy system worked well to rebuild Hieret, the harsh conditions imposed upon the enslaved rural populace inevitably led to discord. Growing tensions between rural and urban populations exploded in internecine violence across Hieret, but was witnessed more acutely in Gizenatter and Rum. In these cities, the kings and priests were overthrown by farmers and thousands of city-dwellers were slaughtered. The violence did not stop there, however, and the revolters themselves attacked each other, causing further turmoil. For Gizenatter and Rum, the situation could have perhaps been salvaged had nomads from the periphery of Hieret not begun to make their first strikes against them in c. 2500 ED. In 2498 ED, Rum was sacked by these nomadic peoples and later conquered. Gizenatter would have shared this fate in the 2470s ED, having struggled with bandits from the north for decades, were it not for the intervention of Jiyteb.

Of the major cities in the region, only Jiyteb was left unscarred by rebellion, due to the periodic absolution of debt for the rural peasantry by the king, allowing them to seek a new life in the city if they desired. Jiyteb was approached by Gizenatter, which was seeking for aid against its bandit enemies. In return for a regular tribute of olives, grains and jewels, Jiyteb agreed to assist Gizenatter, a deal which Gizenatter readily accepted. An army was thus assembled in Jiyteb, marching north to relieve Gizenatter. After a brief skirmish, the nomadic army threatening the city was defeated and dispersed, and thus Gizenatter was saved. The period of banditry, however, had left Gizenatter in a dire economic state, with its irrigation systems destroyed and its hostile rural population, to the extent that Gizenatter was unable to repay its debt. With no army to speak of, Gizenatter was quickly occupied by Jiyteb as punishment, ending Gizenatter's position as a significant power for centuries.

First Yilireti Period (2470 - 2284 ED)
With Rum in the hands of foreigners and Gizenatter occupied, Jiyteb thus became the greatest power in Hieret. The city was quick to solidify its position, and soon armies from Jiyteb attacking Hieret's southern coast and up and down the west coast of the Hidesh River. Once again, a dominant singular power had arisen on Hieret, the first in over five hundred years. By the end of the 2400s ED, Jiyteb would be the seat of an empire ranging from E'Wayyli to E'Dabbi, with trade depots and envoys in cities and towns on the east banks of the Hidesh River.

During this time of dominance, the position of the monarch in the empire shifted, with the emperor being viewed not simply as the supreme and mortal religious authority, but also as a deity in his own right. The process begun with the sacral kings of the Irhmeti Empire had grown to even greater lengths. Great monuments were erected in his name and grand festivals were held in his honour. Upon his death, he was interred in the greatest of tombs, outside the city walls, guarded by a personal retinue, even in death. Thus, monarchism in Hieret evolved, and the view of kings as gods outlived the Third Yilireti Empire and was transmitted across Hieret.

The Third Yilireti Empire also became a place of technological growth. Under its rule, the spoked wheel was invented and the first iron artefacts were crafted. Ramps and giant slings were constructed, allowing city walls to be brought down without prolonged struggle. New architecture was developed and spread across Hieret and to the greater world through the tendrils of the empire.

By 2300 ED, the Third Yilireti Empire had reached the height of its power, encompassing much of western Hieret. Under the reign of King Yithaneth II, a great expedition was planned to conquer Rum, which was still held by the foreign tribes that had entered its gates in 2498 ED. The construction of a great fleet was ordered, incorporating for the first time in Hieret large sailing ships which could bear many men, a technological advantage over the fleets of rafts and canoes employed by other states in the region. Some of coastal Hieret was rendered devoid of lumber by the sheer scale of the project, with over one hundred vessels being constructed. In 2291 ED, King Yithaneth II led his armies across the Hidesh River, invoking the memory of Yiḥidhevsa with his invasion of Rum. Yiḥidhevsa's memory was not the only thing invoked, and in true Yilireti fashion, Yithaneth II was slain outside the gates of Rum. His army was butchered and his fleet was seized.

His death was followed by a rapid decline of the empire. Rum raided up and down the Hidesh River, creating alliances with the peoples that Jiyteb had conquered or oppressed. A rebellion in E'Wayyli quickly led to the seizure of Dhivethāḥitheb. The loss of the city strangled Jiyteb's foreign trade, and it was not long until roving bands of the Wayyteb began raiding deep into the heart of Yilireti territory. King Yithaneth II's infant son was slain in 2284 ED, ending conclusively a dynasty of kings that had lasted since for the best part of three centuries and destroying Jiyteb's dominance.

First Rum Period (2284 - 2205 ED)
The fall of Jiyteb came with the rise of Rum. Grateful to Rum for their independence, the other cities of Hieret offered annual tribute to Rum and freely and regularly entertained its envoys. Rum also held some towns on either side of the Hidesh River and still maintained the fleet they had captured from Jiyteb in 2291 ED. Rum thus began with implicit control of the Hidesh River and its trade. It was because of this that the annual tribute given to Rum soon evolved from a thank-you to a peace offering, with the most primitive displays of hegemony originating from this period, when Rum's fleets would regularly visit Hieret's coastal cities with full military complements, though typically without violence.

Originally, there was some benefit to be gathered from continuing tribute to Rum. Rum committed its forces to defending stability in Hieret, assisting the armies of its client cities against bandits and mediating disputes between cities. Gradually, however, the price of homage was increased, and troops from Rum appeared in foreign cities with increased regularity. Rum soon found that it could still take tribute from its client states without committing itself to their struggles with brigandage and banditry, and demanded preferential trade with these cities for nothing in return. With its large military and large navy, Rum was easily a match for any other power in Hieret, and could afford to maintain such tactics for the time being.

However, before the end of the century, the unsustainability of Rum's tactics were painfully demonstrated. In 2231 ED, traders and diplomatic officials from Rum in Gizenatter were expelled. Growing discontent among Rum's client states had finally erupted in a great rebellion against Rum's rule. Soldiers were dispatched by Rum to deal with what was seen as a simple revolt in Gizenatter, but they encountered fierce resistance from a militia army, led by the king of Gizenatter himself. The revolt was quickly put down, but was followed in 2229 ED by a revolt in Jiyteb, in 2224 ED by a revolt in Tabid, in 2219 ED by a second revolt in Gizenatter and, finally, in 2211 ED, as a product of years of careful negotiation between the rulers of various cities across Hieret, including Jiyteb, E'Dabbi, Tabid and Gizenatter, a massive revolt was sparked against Rum. Rum's policy of extracting homage from the other cities of Hieret was ultimately shown to be its demise. Dependant on this tribute to maintain its armies and fleets, these successive revolts destabilised Rum and led to the city's own internal rebellion. In 2205 ED, the foreign dynasty of Rum was expelled and its supporters slain, with a new native dynasty taking its place. Like Jiyteb before it, Rum's period of dominance had come to an end, as quickly as it had begun.

First Yejuzmol Period (2205 - 2132 ED)
Yejuzmol (from Akyēḥūyt Akyēġuzimol, meaning our city or the city of ours) was an ancient city located in the north-east of Hieret, and one of the few major cities to be isolated from the Hidesh River. The city was at least as old as Jiyteb, but was systematically abandoned during times of economic or climatic depression, being found as ruins many times over the course of its history. Following the recovery period in Hieret's history, however, the city became the site of more permanent habitation, with people living in it almost constantly after c. 2500 ED. By 2205 ED, the city had grown to have a population of almost twenty thousand and was easily the largest city in northern Hieret, behind only Jiyteb, Gizenatter, Rum and E'Dabbi overall. It quickly became a magnet for the nomads of the region, many of whom settled down in the lands near the city, with Yejuzmol's rural population exploding in the three centuries between 2500 and 2200 ED. The city also had marriage ties and an alliance with the Berka Kingdom of Antylika, with soldiers from Yejuzmol aiding the kingdom against the Ahakattasa of northern and eastern Antylika.

Under the reign of Yēgayz-ol-Yēgikazil I (a name meaning the gods are gracious), the city grew in importance and in infrastructure, with large and complex terraced farms being built, exploiting the region's mountainous nature. Inland trade routes were set up with cities to the north and east of Hieret, with Yēgayz-ol-Yēgikazil I even entertaining envoys from Hizoruḥol (vaguely meaning the great east).

Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil I used his city's growing economy to finance a professional army. He instated a tax on farmers, taking a certain amount of their wheat and investing it into a municipal granary. He then used the contents of this granary to feed his army, and housed them in a series of border towns, so called ġzemā. This professional army, at its height, consisted of around five thousand men, the officers of which were drawn mainly from the city. Under Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil's leadership, this army conquered much of northern and eastern Hieret, straddling the periphery of the region, with the mountains forming the spine of the growing kingdom. By the time of Rum's collapse in 2205 ED, Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil's kingdom was the largest in Hieret and one of the largest in the world, with a population of around two hundred and fifty thousand, or about a twelth of Hieret's total population.

Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil I died in 2189 ED, with power passing to his two sons, Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil II, given the title of muliḥteyl ġzimol (meaning the high lord of the city), and Pukizol-Yegizol I (a name meaning son of the gods), who was given the title of himlek, or high priest. This power-sharing, with theologically derived power going to the younger sons, and royally derived power going to the eldest son, typified Yejuzmol's government and would be the main cause of many of its civil disputes and rebellions. Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil and his brother worked well together, and compromised on many matters for the good of the realm, increasing the kingdom's influence under their joint-reign. Sympathetic governors were installed in Tabid, providing the kingdom with access to maritime trade and allowing them to bypass Rum's dominance of the Hidesh River, while Rum was humbled and forced to give trade outposts away.

The first crippling disputes arose upon Pukizol-Yegizol's death, regarding who would succeed him. Many, including Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil, believed that the title of himlek should pass to Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil's second son, rather than Pukizol-Yegizol's eldest child. After a brief but destructive civil war, mainly between the army under Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil II and the priesthood under Pukizol-Yegizol's son, Ikiryēhulizol (meaning gods' blood). Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil crushed his nephew's forces in a fierce engagement in the capital, forcing him into exile in Gizenatter, where he later married the king's sister. Ikiryēhulizol's presence in Gizenatter would later spark a war between the city and Yēgayz-ol-Yēgikazil's kingdom, and would become a rallying point for rebels in the kingdom. Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil's victory determined that, upon the death of the holder, the title of himlek would pass to the second son of the muliḥteyl ġzimol, or to another brother or to the nearest male heir, who would act as a regent until the muliḥteyl ġzimol had a second son. This had the effect on centralising power in the immediate household of the muliḥteyl ġzimol.

In 2171 ED, Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil II died in battle with rebels in Tabid, with his eldest son becoming Pukizol-Yegizol II. Pukizol-Yegizol added the cities of E'Dabid and Erbi to his kingdom and, in 2157 ED, ordered the construction of Zruḥol, a city outside the traditional boundaries of Hieret, marking the earliest expansion of a Hiereti kingdom outside the region. In 2139 ED, at the age of forty-six, Pukizol-Yegizol fell ill while he was putting down nomad tribes on the kingdom's eastern border. Seeing a weakness, Ikiryēhulizol, now an old man, raised an army with the blessing of Gizenatter, and marched to reclaim what he saw as his rightful title. Pukizol-Yegizol II's brother, the current himlek, immediately negotiated a deal with his cousin, whereby he would be allowed to retain his position as himlek, with Ikiryēhulizol taking the title of muliḥteyl ġzimol. Upon hearing this news, Pukizol-Yegizol rallied his men and returned home to engage Ikiryēhulizol, defeating him and driving him into exile once again. Pukizol-Yegizol's three sons all perished in the battle, however, and Pukizol-Yegizol died of his illness only a few months later, in the winter of 2138 ED, paving the way for Ikiryēhulizol's final return.

Ikiryēhulizol, now Ikiryēhulizol I, seen as a kinslayer, a foreigner and an usurper, had to endure early rebellion, which caused famine, depression and the secession of much of his western and southern empire. By 2133 ED, a rebellion in Yejuzmol drove him from the capital, to head a government in Zruḥol, which now had a population of around ten thousand. Desperation drove him to ask his nephew, now King Weygelzu I (a name meaning by grace of gods), to intervene on his behalf. In return for being restored to power, Ikiryēhulizol offered to surrender to his nephew the trade outposts along the east coast of the Hidesh River, which Ikiryēhulizol's father and uncle had seized from Rum decades ago. When the nobles in Zruḥol, mostly loyal first and second cousins, heard of these plans, they were horrified, and killed Ikiryēhulizol. Within a few months, the kingdom had disintegrated, and was eagerly gobbled up by Gizenatter.

Third Ateter Period (2132 - 1900 ED)
King Weygelzu I, born in 2149 ED and coming to the throne in 2136 ED, thus had inherited the ancestral lands of Gizenatter from his father and had managed to wrest control of most of his uncle's kingdom. In 2130 ED, he summoned all the governors of the various cities under his dominion to Gizenatter and divided control of his state among them, also marrying Akmuyukir, the daughter of Ikiryēhulizol and queen of Yejuzmol, officially uniting the crowns of Gizenatter and Yejuzmol. The following year, he issued a decree stating that his eldest son (or younger brother if he died without issue) would become himleḥte, roughly meaning highest king, of the whole state, and himleḥ (which means high king) of Gizenatter and its surrounding areas, while his youngest son (or younger brother) would become himleḥ of Yejuzmol and its neighbouring cities. After this, their respective issue would inherit their titles, and youngest sons would be placated with governorships or command of armies. Thus, the Ateter Empire was formed, and the empire was clearly divided into governable regions, each headed by a high king, who would still be a vassal to the highest king, based in Gizenatter.

The empire became one of the most stable states in Hieret and in the world as a whole, with a clearly defined hierarchy, clear rules of succession and clear laws governing who could do what. Weygelzu also united the various religious beliefs of his empire, bringing the pantheons and gods together and making new temples for their worship. The stability of the empire was ultimately demostrated by its longevity, and even when it did ultimately collapse, much of the empire remained together as a cohesive unit and a clear identity of the empire persisted long after its demise. Under Weygelzu's watchful eye, the empire was grown and encouraged, and a massive public works programme was begun, with people being moved across Hieret to build great cities and monuments. During this time, and in the preceeding era, the population of Hieret exploded, growing tripling in the five hundred years between 2500 and 2000 ED, with most of the growth being witnessed in the last two centuries of the millenium.

During this time, the empire formed an alliance with the Berka Kingdom of Antylika, receiving all Berka territories south of the Ibnesh Mountains in return for Ateter assistance in their war with the Lusuppur Kingdom and the Asapadava Kingdom. Troops from the empire fought valiantly at the Battle of Edybekar, the most decisive engagement in the war, capturing King Imliki II of Asapadava and essentially ending the war.

Weygelzu's descendants continued to expand the empire and solidify its position, to the point that, by 2000 ED, it had reached a population of two million (of which about three quarters were found in Hieret), encompassing many of the largest cities in Hieret, including Gizenatter, Yejuzmol and E'Dabbi. It also controlled considerable holdings outside of Hieret, based around Zruḥol, and an expedition to E'Wayyli resulted in the island's temporary belonging to the empire. It was far larger than any previous empire, and it would take many hundreds of years for another empire to rival its size.

In 1951 ED, with the death of the great Emperor Glezuṯ II, who added Dhivethāḥitheb, Ytebiveth and Rumov to the empire, and the ascension of his ten year old grandson, Emperor Weygelzu IV, to the throne, the empire's fortunes began to reserve. As soon as he became emperor, Weygelzu was groomed and manipulated by various members of the imperial court, including his uncles, his mother and the himleḥ of Yejuzmol, Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil VI, who would briefly become Emperor Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil. Each party did so for their own personal gain, rather than for the good of the empire as a whole. His uncles and his mother each demanded their own city to govern, and Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil managed to extract extra powers for his position, weakening the post of emperor. In 1945 ED, his uncles and his mother went to war, using up much of the empire's manpower and resources, resources upon which the empire would now have to extract in increasing volume from Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil, who used this desperation to increase his own position.

The civil war grew to engulf the entire western half of the empire, lasting for over ten years, and even Gizenatter was not safe from the strife, with the emperor almost being slain by one of his uncles' agents. This was enough to provoke his involvement in his family's civil war, which only served to make matters worse. His own mother led an army against the capital, forcing the emperor to call on Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil for aid. Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil did so, relieving the capital and then overthrowing the emperor himself. As emperor, Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil was quick to put down the civil war, but his harsh handling and the fact that he was an usurper only provoked even more revolt. By 1930 ED, all of the lands gained under Glezuṯ II were lost, and Tabid and E'Dabbi were threatening to declare independence. Worse still, the nomads to the east of the empire had united under the leadership of a warlord, and were preparing an attack on the empire, to claim their ancestral lands. In 1927 ED, Weygelzu was restored to power, and Yegayz-ol-Yegikazil was sent off to be drowned in the Hidesh River, having been emperor for only five years. Weygelzu died soon after his restoration, with his son, Emperor Weygelzu V, replacing him.

Weygelzu V worked tirelessly to restore the empire, and almost succeeded, putting down a revolt in E'Dabbi, capturing Ytebiveth once more and crushing the eastern tribes in a decisive engagement. The stress of this task, however, led to his early death in 1920 ED, leaving an infant son in charge, who was later drowned by his grand-uncle, who in turn was poisoned by his brother. By 1900 ED, the empire had gone through seven different emperors, and over a hundred members of the imperial household, each descended from the first emperor in some way, had been murdered. During this time of discord, Rum and Jiyteb grew steadily under the competent rule of their kings, going powerful enough to challenge the empire's dominance and securing many border towns.