History of Gylias
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The history of Gylias has been shaped by its geographic position, a series of human migrations and contacts, a series of wars, and various social, economic, and political movements.
Human habitation of Gylias began in the Upper Paleolithic. The Gylic peoples, the majority of whom originated in Siduri, arrived in Gylias over a longer period of time. Under pressure of Bronze Age collapse and expansionism from other civilisations, their states constituted the Liúşai League in the 4th century BCE.
The Liúşai League would last until the early 18th century. It was successful in defending Gylic independence against various external threats. Its seafaring nature, economic prosperity, and democratic development attracted migration and settlement of other peoples, contributing to ethnolinguistic and cultural diversity.
The Ŋej began to arrive in the 17th century, with their colonisation activities causing tensions. These led to the Colonisation War, in which the Ŋej state of Xevden conquered the League, but lost its homeland in the process to simultaneous foreign invasion. The imposition of Xevdenite rule resulted in the reorganisation of the economy and the marginalisation of existing Gylic and non-Gylic populations. The demographic disparity between the Xevdenite elite and other populations encouraged popular resistance.
Following the Rebellion of 1749, the Treaty of Aðnat established a tenuous peace under queen Senalta. Under her rule, Xevden was transformed into a nominal constitutional monarchy, modernising reforms were introduced, and native populations received some freedoms but were largely excluded from citizenship. Her adoption of christianity as a state religion deepened religious strife.
The Xevdenite state reverted to an authoritarian course after Senalta's death. Deficient industrialisation and severe corruption hollowed out the state from the inside, while the Gylian ascendancy produced a common Gylian identity and created institutions and organisations outside the Xevdenite state. The Glorious Rebellion, although an ultimate failure, succeeded in splitting the ruling class, allowing the emergence of a reformist moderate conservative government in the 1890s and then a liberal-nationalist coalition in 1900.
The reactionary backlash to the latter led to a coup d'état in 1902, which installed king Karnaz. Karnaz attempted to assert autocratic power and suppress threats to his rule. Heavy-handed repression was undermined by centuries of administrative decay, and disastrous foreign policy caused the Cacerta-Xevden War. A victorious Cacertian Empire incorporated the province of Alscia in 1908. Alscia's rapid economic and social development made it a crucial base for Gylian resistance and radicalisation.
In the 1930s, the new king Láaresy attempted to resolve Xevden's crisis by ending repression and seeking a constitutional settlement. His efforts were too late, and extreme polarisation and conflicts erupted in the Liberation War. The victorious faction would be the Free Territories, which succeeded in uniting the opposition under its umbrella and defeated Xevden.
Gylias became independent in 1958, and a transition from the Free Territories took place. Numerous elements of the Free Territories were preserved, including direct democracy, economic model, and legal foundations. Gylian life was permanently changed by the Golden Revolution, which touched on every aspect of the country.
Early history
Prehistory
Human settlement of the Gylian region is documented as early as 20.000 BCE. Various nomadic populations inhabited the area during the Stone Age, and different archaeological cultures have been identified.
Ancestors of the Gylic peoples began to arrive in Gylias sometime between 10.000 – 8.000 BCE. Many of the Gylic tribes originated elsewhere in Siduri, and were driven eastwards by the emergence of complex societies, such as Arkoenn, Tennai, Quenmin, and Mubata. The Eşari and Dalak, who settled the southern islands, arrived by sea and are of unclear provenance.
The transition from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to agriculture and settlement took place between the 7th and 4th millennia BCE. The first Gylic states took shape during this period. Movement by land was originally restricted by the Yaskan people, whose stronghold in the Salxar and Naryn Mountains gave them control over the Mytin Pass and western entrance. The Zinerans were able to settle in eastern Gylias due to their distance from Yaskans, and the Varans would later separate from the Zinerans to form their own tribe.
Antiquity
Wars with various tribes and emerging powers ultimately led to Yaskans losing control over the mountain gateways in the 9th century BCE. Other populations settled in the region, including the Tanans, Rezakans, Tomesians, and Aréş. These either shared similar languages which were assimilated into the Gylic sprachbund, or were Gylicised through cultural assimilation.
Early development of sailing techniques allowed sea contact with nearby cultures, including Cacertians and Miranians in Kirisaki. Other influences during the period included Tennaiite culture and contact with Syaran Makedonians, dating to the 1300s BCE.
Liúşai League
The mismatch between the low population and large mainland made military conflict between Gylic states impractical, allowing relations to evolve in a cooperative direction. Cultural-linguistic similarities helped draw the states closer, while expansion from Arkoennites and Ainetui led them to form alliances to resist external pressures.
A Bronze Age collapse and Bastarnae invasions affected the region in the 4th century BCE. This proved the catalyst for the consolidation of existing alliances into the Liúşai League in 390 BCE.
More than a simple military alliance, the Liúşai League was also a loose confederation of Gylic states. These used various forms of government, including elective monarchies and republics, but shared a common democratic evolution. Each community formed a governing assembly to govern itself directly, and selected delegates to larger assemblies at the state or League level, establishing the foundation of Gylian direct democracy.
Low population on average prevented the growth of social inequality and the emergence of aristocracy like in other parts of Tyran. Rural areas practiced collective farming based on the principle of communal land. Cities, mainly concentrated on the coast, benefited from seafaring traditions and flourished through trade.
The prosperity, stability, and democracy of the League proved attractive to immigrants, and sustained migration rates consolidated ethnocultural diversity. Influenced by Hellene settlement and ties with Cacerta and Kirisaki, the League achieved significant social and cultural development during its existence. Many of its cities remarked themselves as centres of education, research, culture, and the arts.
Southern missions
Having already faced Viking raiders from Acrea and Æsthurlavaj, the Liúşai League gained a new enemy in the 12th century: Nordkrusen. The christianisation of the Nordling petty kingdoms led them to launch wars of conquest and conversion, with some success in Megelan, before reaching Siduri. The religious aspect of the conflict galvanised League opposition in a way that the Vikings had not, producing an exceptionally bitter conflict.
Nordlings established several crusader states outside Gylic territory, but made little headway. Much of the conflict would resemble a series of tit-for-tat raids and sacks. Against the crusaders' aggressive tactics, the League employed a Fabian strategy of harrying the invaders and refusing pitched battle except when they possessed numerical superiority.
The Southern missions had a significant impact on the Liúşai League. They engendered a strong hostility to christianity in Gylic societies, making them more determined to retain their ethnic polytheisms. Gylic authorities introduced stricter bans on missionary activity, treating it as a threat to the public order. One Megelanese scholar wrote that through their brutal conduct towards the population, the Nordling crusaders turned Gylics into "the most tenacious and resourceful enemy" of christianity in Tyran.
Colonisation War
The Ŋej people began to arrive in the 17th century. They established early settlements in the Nerveiík Peninsula, and traded with Gylics. However, their activities aroused tensions, particularly after several incidents that made Gylics think they had a hidden agenda. Their arrival in increasing numbers worsened the situation.
Tensions erupted in 1695, when the Ŋej state launched the Colonisation War against the Liúşai League. The war lasted 9 years, with the Ŋej advancing slowly northwards in the face of the League's determined resistance and war of attrition tactics.
Disaster struck the Ŋej during the campaign: their concentration of forces for the Colonisation War allowed neighbours to declare war and conquer it. The Ŋej elite, military, and many civilians fled the conquest of their homeland by sea, and landed in the territories seized by the Colonisation War.
When the war ended in 1704, a new state of Xevden was proclaimed. The Colonisation War was a disaster for the Ŋej: having lost their homeland to foreign invasion, they found themselves a numerically inferior alien elite ruling over vast territory inhabited by populations now hostile to them. The trauma of the war determined the course of Xevden for the rest of its history.