Laeryt
Laeryt | |
|---|---|
City | |
 Laeryt Cathedral and harbour wall | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Country | Cadenza |
| Kerepaqa | Earldom of Laeroni |
| Area | |
| • City | 1.67 km2 (0.64 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • City | 10,957 |
| • Rank | 10th |
| • Density | 6,561.08/km2 (16,993.1/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 14,712 |
| • Metro | 18,554 |
| Demonym | Laerytian |
| Time zone | UTC−1 (TCT) |
Laeryt (pronounced /ˈlɛərɪt/) is a city and exclave of Cadenza in western Azmir. A historic port town, it lies on the Cape of Laeryt and shares Cadenza's only land border, with Azmir. The modern city is coterminous with the Cadenzan earldom of Laeroni, of which it is the capital. It has an urban population estimated at over 11,000 in 2017. Contained within an area less than two thirds of a square mile, this makes it by far the most densely-populated urban area in Cadenza and among the most dense in the Trellinese Empire.
Including its environs, Greater Laeryt has a population of about 14,700, with several thousand living across the Azmiri border. Most of this suburban population works in Cadenzan Laeryt and is Cadenzan in ethnicity. The government of Cadenza has made several attempts to claim this area, including appeals to the Trellinese monarchy. One such occasion led to the temporary suspension of Azmir from the Ethlorek Community. Laeryt is the only territory of Cadenza on Trellinese Central Time, which it shares with Azmir and most of Trellin.
Laeryt has been continuously occupied since about 400 AD, making it one of the oldest cities in the southern Trellinese Empire. It was a key port on the west Azmiri coast for most of its history, leading to its conquest by Kur'zhet in the ninth century. Alongside Savrit, it became a strategic centre of Kur'zheti Azmir until its reconquest in the late eleventh century. Laeryt was annexed to Cadenza at the end of the Azmiri Crusade and has remained a territory of Cadenza since.
Name
The earliest names for Laeryt are believed to be Caamak-Taila and Raada-Hailitan (West Azmiri meaning "white castle" and "new church", respectively), found in early medieval manuscripts. The oldest form of the modern name Laeryt is found in the Annales Roeccensis, a chronicle written in Ro'ekha, where it is referred to as Lehe-Arit, a West Azmiri name meaning "Sandy Berm." The -ryt/-rit suffix is also found in the name of Savrit. Lehe-Arit was known as Lehrit during its time as a Kur'zheti dominion. Back under Azmiri control, it was occasionally known as Laehrit. The official name became Laeryt in 1343, although this spelling had been preferred by Cadenzans for more than three centuries.
History
According to several medieval chronicles, including the Annales Roeccensis and Liber Cemmana Laeryt was first settled in 342. Various names are given for this town, including Caamak-Taila and Raada-Hailita. A fort was built at the site, the eponymous "white castle", but it was destroyed and abandoned by 370. The site was resettled in 402 and the castle rebuilt.
After the Fall of Tyarz, which precipitated the Azmiri Crusade, Laeryt came under siege by the Misravic Order on several occasions. It was captured in 1343 and conceded to the Cadenzan Republic, which had lost all its other holdings in Azmir. A cathedral was built in Laeryt between 1347 and 1418, enclosing an older chapel built in the 1210s. The territory was elevated to the status of earldom in 1393, at a time of heightened tensions between Azmir and Cadenza.
The city was occupied by Kur'zheti forces during the War of 1635 and came under siege by Azmiri forces upon the outbreak of separate hostilities between Kur'zhet and Azmir. The occupying garrison surrendered the city in September 1635. Laeryt was then occupied by Azmiri forces until its return was negotiated in early 1636.
Laeryt Cathedral burned down in 1804 and was rebuilt over the next thirty years. The original chapel largely survived the fire and remains in the new cathedral.