Irbid

Irbid, from an earlier form Irhlebid, from Martuk irh-, meaning great, and lebid, the locative form of lebuk, meaning stone, ultimately from Proto-Martuk urtlebut, was an important city of Hieret and the capital of the ancient Irhmeti Empire. The city traditionally came under the dominion of the Ateter Kingdom and was subjugated by this kingdom on a number of occasions. During the war with Satar, the city revolted but was recaptured. By the time of the ??? Empire, the city had phased into a state of relative unknown, until it was rebuilt by ???. The city then served as a port for a number of political entities, most notably for the ??? Empire.

Early History
The city of Irbid was founded in c. 4700 ED on the banks of the Hidesh River, making it the second oldest city in Hieret. Due to its position on the riverside, the availability of workable land and large initial population, the city greatly expanded in size and it came to dominate the nearby regions. It had regular conflict with its neighbouring cities, including Gizenatter, slowly absorbing them or, in the case of Gizenatter, making them vassals. The kings of Irbid thus ranked among the most powerful kings in Hieret at that time, rivalled only by the rulers of the Yilireti Empire.

Irhmeti Empire
In 4661 ED, the king of Irbid, King Ikaŋ I, built the city of Irem, massively extending the influence of Irbid. The Irhmeti Empire was declared and Irbid became the heart of this empire. Irbid became one of the richest cities on the world, with grain and pottery from all around Hieret begin traded in the large temples of the city. Under the Irhmeti Empire, Irbid experienced great peace and was kept safe from most conflicts. With continuous westward expansion, the empire soon stretched from the Hidesh River to the Viffe Ocean and had gained a foothold on the Rivi Peninsula by 4250 ED. The capital benefited greatly from this access to the ocean and goods were transported from E'Dabbi to Tabid and from Tabid to Irbid. With the opening of this new avenue of trade for the capital, Irbid soon eclipsed Jiyteb and became the pre-eminent economic power in Hieret. Pottery from the north came across the Viffe Ocean to be sold in Irbid markets and mercenaries came as far as ??? to fight in Irhmeti armies. During this time, the Irhmeti Empire remained at peace with the Yilireti Empire, except for a series of raids known as the Raft Wars.

By 4200 ED, it was clear that the Irhmeti Empire was stronger than the Yilireti Empire. While the Yilireti Empire was larger, the Irhmeti Empire had a greater population and established external trade routes. Through Tabid and E'Dabbi, Irbid could trade with societies from the north and south, across the Viffe Ocean. Gizenatter also allowed them to trade with outposts and cities on the Hidesh River. The foreign policy of the Yilireti Empire changed to accomodate a more aggressive approach towards the Irhmeti Empire. The Irhmeti Empire found itself subjected to raids and Irhmeti merchants were banned from Yilireti trade centres. Despite this, the Irhmeti Empire continued to prosper.

This era of prosperity was brought to an end in 4112 ED, when massive flooding in the area of Hieret destroyed a significant part of the irrigation network around Irbid. Famine was averted only through the massive grain taxes levied on Irem and Adirem, which caused much dissent in the Irhmeti Empire. Gizenatter, which lay to the south of Irbid, was in a more dire state than the Irhmeti capital, and large parts of its population migrated south, into the territory of the Yilireti Empire. This provoked the Yilireti Empire to attack Gizenatter, which brought the Yilireti Empire and the Irhmeti Empire to war. The Gizenatter War resulted in the sacking of Irbid and the loss of Irem and E'Dabbi to the Yilireti Empire. The victorious Yilireti ruler demanded regular tribute of gold and grain, causing even more problems for Irbid. With the collapse of the Irhmeti Empire in 4012 ED, Irbid was left as a shadow of its former glory.