Museum of the Empire, Eveari, Ananto

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Early Kalistani History


Anantan Empire, ca. 1830, before Artanian and Majatran Imperialists vivasected the State

Pre-Dynastic Ananto
The Anantan Empire was the first State in what is the modern day Empire of Ananto and Kalistan. It was initially settled by Kemokian raiders voyaging north, who set up a kingdom on the Island of Ananto before the year 466 BCE, when Ananta declared himself "Khan" on the Island of Ananto ("Land of Ananta"). He constructed his first capital at Luxon and from there ruled a thasalocratic empire that stretch south to Vintalli and Gaduridos.

At the same time, various city states in what is now Vrassa united under a single entity which began calling itself the Vrassan Empire. Ananto and Vrassa soon came into competition for territory on the mainland, with Ananto colonizing the area around modern day Gendaris, and Sulari. The Vrassans were successful enough against the Anantans, holding them at bay, but were soon swept away by the arrival of the Jelbo Tukaric hordes which swept into the region from Lodamun, obliterating all semblances of local independent government and wiping out all cultural borders. Ananto held onto a few major outposts on the mainland but were largely relegated to Ananto, Vintalli and Marlingantos in Gaduridos.

The eventual collapse of the Jelbo Tukarics was preceded by a reunification of the Island of Ananto that had been involved in civil war during the period of Jelbo Tukaric domination of the mainland. The Anatans were successful in paying off the Horde, maintaining their independence, though nominally fulfilling the role of a tributary state, though eventually temporarily losing control of their Vintallian territories. A civil war and disunion during the middle ages led to Anantan weakness and nominal independence for the Mainland, while invasions from Kazulian Velreiðar, who eventually established Dulnerstaad as a southern base of operations kept the Island disunited. In the early 1300s, a new King arose on Ananto that united the divided Anantans, kicked the Velreiðar out of the Island, and began conquest in central mainland Kalistan, first wiping out Odoronan Kalistan and then turning his sights on both modern day Suldanor and Vrassa, establishing Yoshimi as a major southern port. He was also the first Anantan ruler to adopt the name Ananto as a surname, thus establishing the first Anantan Dynasty, or I Dynasty "Cacarito".

The First Dynasty, "Cacarito", and the Second Dynasty, "Ananto"
The First Dynasty ruled between 1306 and 1542. During this period, Kalistan also experimented with republicanism, as the Emperor, called the Floob in Ananto, was relegated to a more ceremonial role, while a government representing the interests of the Aristocracy rose to prominence. When the Republic was finally put to bed and co-emperor offices were consolidated, the Cacarito branch finally lost control of the monarchy and the ancient House Ananto finally returned to power. Lodamun was added to the Empire during this period, and by by 1542 the Second Dynasty of Anantos had been founded. This was formally known as II Dynasty "Ananto" as it was founded by David I of House Ananto, which at the time was just one of many competing houses of Nobility.

The 2nd Dynasty saw many major shifts in Kalistani Culture as the period was marked by relative stability. Andalay was formally annexed and remained with the Empire until it was stripped in the late 1800s as a result of the Plateau Wars, and Vintalli, who had rebelled during the Second Dynasty during a period known as the Schizmatic era was ultimately returned to Ananto and formally annexed after a brief interlude under the control of break away Suldanor and Athosia. Kalistan during this period began being influenced by the external world, as more and more expansionistic empires began encountering Ananto where it was. These include first contacts with Luthori and Selucia, who later would prove to be the ultimate nemeses of Ananto.

The Disastrous Third Dynasty, "Seluco-Anantan"
The Third Dynasty, formally known as III Dynasty "Seluco" was founded by a Vintallian named Bruno, who formally reunited Ananto and Vintalli and ruled from Ananto. He also expanded Kalistani influence across the Western Wall into the Lindor Valley of Baltusia, making much of modern day Baltusia into a vassal state. His son completed the job, turning all of Baltusia into an Anantan plantation. These Emperors also completed the incorporation of the rest of modern day Lodamun into the Empire, and stretched the imperial boundaries to Likatonia and Valruzia.

During the 17th Century, Vrassan traders began adopting Luthori as a pidgin to conduct business in Lodamun. Luthori was making moved into the region and had established Likatonia as its primary Seleyan outpost. From there, healthy commerce was conducted for decades, and Kalistani traders had learned Luthorian as the primary language of trade in the region. That language, when spoken in northern Kalistan became known as Vrassan. It was soon adopted as the formal language of the Empire, and it has remained so ever since. Meanwhile, Egelian was also developing in Gaduridos, and filtering into Suldanor, and when it interacted with Vrassan-Luthorian, the latter won out, but was deeply inflected by the former, to form the dialect known as Suldanoran. These changes happened remarkably quickly, beginning in the 17th Century and finding near total completion by the 18th Century. Along with the language came Luthorian religion, which Kalistanis found fairly easy to adopt, as their old religion, based as it was in the ancient traditions of the Kemokians, had run out of steam centuries before and had faded into the background of Kalistani Life. Also influencing the region was Selucian Patriarchalism, but not to the degree that Luthorism did, a process helped by the language conversion.

The 18th Century also saw continued political expansion of the Anantan Empire. Colonies in Dolgaria and Sekowo were added, Athosia, which had long been an integral part of the Empire became the staging ground for deeper integration of the Baltusian hinterlands, and the hold on Andalay and Vintalli was tightened. But all was not well in the Empire: Valruzia attempted to support Baltusia in its bid for independence, with the goal of making Baltusia and Tukarali a puppet of Valruzia. They were supported in this effort by Luthori, who decided that Likatonia was not enough for them and they wanted to take Lodamun for themselves too. The Anantan Empire was being checked in the north by Luthori, who was rapidly and greedily expanding its frontiers across as much of the globe as it could lay hands onto.

Kalistan won the First of the Plateau Wars, incorporating the nominally tributary states in Baltusia into the Anatan Empire as full colonies, along with Southern Athosia in Tukarali. But Luthori moved to seize Lodamun from Kalistan, and Valruzia took this as an excuse to start the Second Plateau War. As Valruzia joined with Baltusian traitors to conquer the Lindor Valley, treacherous republicans in Lodamun, inspired by Luthori, rebelled and were promptly and materially supported by Luthori. The result was a loss of Interior Baltusia to a Valruzian and Luthorian backed puppet regime and the stripping of Rapulia and Golavia from the Anantans.

Selucia at this time smelled blood in the water and backed a Gaduri revolt. Gaduridos won a quick but bloody war of independence agaisnt Ananto, and were just as quickly swallowed up by Selucia, severing Kalistan permanently from its ancient homeland. But the end of this time, Ananto consisted of Ananto Proper, Kalistan Proper, the Jahmaican Duchies of Andalay (Norstavan and Kregon), Athosia, and colonies in Dolgaria, Sekowo, and a barely established colony in the Duchy of Outtanais in Lourenne. Selucia and Luthori worked together to half Anantan territory.

The rest was short lived. Nine years after peace was concluded, Luthori once again moved to swallow more Anantan land, this time focusing its efforts in Lodamun and against Athosia. Initially, Kalistani defenses held in Lodamun, but when Kalistan launched a move to reacapture its lost territory, leaving its fortified positions, the war was immediately joined by Luthorian puppets in Valruzia and Baltusia who supported Luthorian counterattacks and expanded the war to Athosia. Meanwhile naval battles were fierce, bloody and costly, draining Kalistan of manpower and treasure to a relentless Luthorian fleet. The battlefield expanded to Dolgaria and Sekowo, where Luthori captured these colonies, adding them to their empire fairly easily. Meanwhile, the ever opportunistic Selucia, who Kalistan had long considered an ally, refused to send assistance, but instead turned on the Anantan Empire, stabbing it in the back, and seized Outtannais for itself, completing their domination of Lourenne. Kalistan only held Kalistan and Ananto, a small part of Norstavan along the Jah Frontier, a tiny redoubt in Dolgaria, and the northern part of Athosia by the end of the Plateau wars. As quickly as the Empire had been built, it was stolen by opportunistic and treacherous foreign powers.

The abolition of the Empire
With the Anantan Empire on its final legs, revolution broke out in Kalistan. The last Emperor of the Seluco-Anantan Dynasty was Pedro II, who was forced to abdicate at gunpoint on May 2nd 1907 and from then on, the Empire was a thing of the past. The provisional democratic government overthrew the Empire and quickly moved for peace with Luthori, quitting claim to its over seas colonies, delivering up the last of Norstavan along with a small strip of land south of the Jah River to Luthorian Lodamun, and surrendering the remainder of Athosia to Luthori's puppet state in Baltusia. Luckily for Kalistan, the age of imperialist expansion in Seleya was rapidly coming to a close, or there is no doubt Luthori would have demanded the rest of mainland Kalistan as well. But Kalistan itself was wracked by Civil war and revolution.

1917 saw the reignition of war in Lodamun, in an attempt by the Republican Government to regain the Norstavan buffer as protection against repeated Luthorian provocations in Vrassa. The war went well at first, but Lodamun landed soldiers in Ananto, and the government quickly fell to a period of competing warlords made up of Imperial deadenders and local aristocratic types. During the period of 1917-1921, no less than six individuals claimed to be the new Emperor of the Anantan Empire. All failed in their bids, one by one, and in 1921, Pickles Ananto was elected first President of the 2nd Republic. She initially governed from Kalistan, and hence the name of the nation has informally been Kalistan ever since. She made peace with Lodamun, paying reparations, and established the Federal Republic of Kalistan.