History of Hendalarsk

Despite recorded human activity in the region stretching back millennia, Hendalarsk as a state has only been synonymous with the land it now occupies for the last few centuries, a period which itself has been punctuated by multiple civil wars. The history of Hendalarsk is therefore not just a history of the Hendalarskara state itself, but also of those polities and peoples which have over time been absorbed into it. For purposes of coherence, this article will nevertheless focus on the history of the Hendalarskara state and its society, with other polities discussed in more detail elsewhere.

An Age of Glory: The Road to Unification, 1401-1650

- Peace in 1401 puts King X of Hendalarsk as the senior partner in a personal union with Khunyeria, but the two states remain legally and administratively separate
- One final revolt after his death in 1429; when it's finally crushed in 1434, the independence of the Khunyer kingdom is abolished and it becomes a subordinate kingdom of the Archkingdom of Hendalarsk
- Monarchs mostly focus on integration and reform for the next century, and the country is relatively peaceful and therefore prosperous; by contrast the lower Zalgis is in turmoil due to the rise of Hernemünde while Werdach in the east begins to collapse. Being unaffected by this turmoil gradually comes to put Hendalarsk at an advantage
- A mercenary condottiere takes control of Zalgisbeck by 1540 and this sets in motion another, more destructive series of wars in the Zalgis basin. This comes to put Hendalarskara commerce at risk and eventually the state acts under Maximilian

Maximilianic Unification: 1558-1592

For more information, see Maximilianic Unification

An Age of Decay: 1650-1798

- Ruling such a vast territory effectively becomes difficult, and local aristocracies begin to reassert themselves against the centre
- Cultural conflict in the Kupferberg as colonisation of the region by Goths intensifies and sparks local resistance; degradation of legal status and scattered atrocities
- Much of eastern Hendalarsk (except the Pentapolis) is stagnant as the economy is wholly reoriented towards the Zalgis
- The monarchy itself also becomes moribund, and eventually this gives rise to nationalist reform movements, particularly in Frehmenwerth
- Isolationism due to concern about defending such vast frontiers if war hits, plus the nation being effectively landlocked and dependent on the Isthmus for access into the Kilikas, itself dangerous

An Age of Extremes: 1798-1925

- An industrial revolution! All that copper and other ore in the Kupferberg becomes very important
- Some kind of pagan revival movement among the indigenous Mountaineers, maybe millenarian, in response to continued Gothic encroachment
- The liberal reformers frighten the aristocracy, the monarchy is able to exploit this, and a neo-absolutist state emerges
- There's a Russia 1905 moment at some point in the 1860s, and some parliamentary concessions like a States-General emerge from it, but they're mostly symbolic
- The rise of an industrial proletariat accompanied by a rise of syndicalism and communism as relevant ideologies - and fascism in response
- Red Interregnum, financial crash, weak recovery and fascist paranoia about communist militancy gets you...

Hendalarskara Civil War: 1919-1925

For more information, see Hendalarskara Civil War