History
PrehistoryLittle is known about the prehistory of Dungeyland, and lot of the information we have is based on tales told by mouth, modified by religion and morphed into "old wives tales". One such piece of information is a story which goes as follows:
Five Men walked about
Pune's Peninsula, it splashed mestout*
Then out came, a monster blue
And with a crash, it killed them pu**
*Mestout is a word in Old Dangish which fell out of use before it could be translated. It is a topic of much argument in Dungeyland, and the best theory is that it meant "alot".
**Pu is another word in Old Dangish, which fell out of use before it could be translated. It is not however, well known even in Dungeyland, as invaders from Rolamec wiped it out by executing all who said it, as it is an Old Rolamecian Curse.The Five Cities of Dungeyland, and UnificationIn around 950 BCE, five cities emerged in what is now Dungeyland. They were called: Intel, Clover, Lustren, Jaffa and New London. In 850 years, those five cities had turned into five small kingdoms (of which Intel was the largest) who were constantly fighting for power. In 97 BCE, the King of Intel died, and passed the throne onto his younger sister - Princess Eleanor. Queen Eleanor was a disasterous ruler, and within fourteen years, New London's Army had reached Intel's border. Queen Eleanor abdicated, and her general, Maximus declared Intel a Republic. Democracy was set up, and this is stated to be the birth of Republicanism in Dungeyland.
However, it was not to be. New London's Army was still on Intel's door, and on the 5th March 83 BCE, the Army broke in. The Army hid beneath the many bushes which surrounded Intel (Intel is Dangish for Thorns), and "President" Maximus declared that the doors should be opened. At night, in a similar theme to Troy, the New London Army crept into the city. But instead of murdering civillians, the King of New London was called for. On March 7th, he gave a speech in City Square, saying:
People of Intel. You may know me as the King of New London. Well today, that is NOT me. I am the King of Intel. No more shall you suffer. No more shall you feel pain. Under my leadership, we shall be strong. I hereby establish the United Kingdom of New London and Intel. God Save the King!]
He was met by cheers, and was a popular ruler. Obviously, the combined might of the two cities was a powerful and dangerous force. So without any fuss, King Henry I conquered, in order: Jaffa then Lustren. However, they were to be met with a challenge when it came to conquering the mountain-city of Clover. Clover had an excellent army, but were mainly supported by their position in the Clovest Mountains (which gave the city its' name). The two armies seemed set for a fight to the death, until suddenly the new King of New London (King Henry II) married the daughter of the King of Clover (Princess Beth).
The two Kingdom's were then united under the King of New London, as Princess Beth was an only child and the King of Clover died. By 63 BCE, the two Kingdoms declared themselves one, in the
United Kingdom of New London, Intel, Jaffa, Lustren and Clover. While it wasn't the catchiest name possible, it stuck for many years, albeit with the abreiviation "New London". New London now governed all of Dungeyland.
At this point, Dungeyland was not known as Dungeyland. In fact the word "Dungeyland" was brought over by the Rolamecians hundreds of years later.The First Dangish EmpireThe United Kingdom of New London, Jaffa, Lustren, Intel and Clover rested after 63BCE, the year of unification for a long time. Indeed, little is known about history then for it was destroyed by the events that occurred later on with the invasion of Rolamec. In the year 16 CE, King Michael I died, and left the throne to his son, Prince Michael (who took the name of King Michael II.) Michael II began a campaign known as the
First Imperial War. Michael began by invading the bordering nation of DiCinnoa. The DiCans fought hard, and so did the Dangish, but in the end, New London won the battle.
DiCinnoa was set-up as a state of Dungeyland, with its own King. However, King Michael II took the title Emperor Michael I, and each state of Dungeyland was given a King. This political system was known as the
Imperial Federative System. DiCinnoa was not happy about its take-over. However, the Dangish Army was mighty, and DiCinnoa failed to survive as an independent state. On the 4th February 17 CE, the DiCans in the south-west of DiCinnoa (furthest from Dungeyland) staged a revolt, and considering its distance from New London, they won.
For three years, New London fought to maintain control of DiCinnoa. Their attempts were a mixure of success and failures, but in 20 CE, New London forced its way to the capital of the self-proclaimed
Independent Republic of DiCinnoa. There, New London set-up an independent state under the control of New London, in a similar fashion to Vichy France. It was called the
Independent Kingdom of DiCinnoa, with Louis Bitton declared King. This would cause problems later.
In 22 CE, Emperor Michael II decided it was time for New London to return to its conquests. He called upon his military advisor, Shen Shyen, who, according to myth and legend, was greeted in his sleep by Pholtus, and told to invade Mohawk and Towret at the same time. This was mainly the start of the Imperial Orthodox Church in New London, although it is still a superminority today.
New London sent its armies, and began to invade. However, Mohawk and Towret decided to form an alliance against the New London Empire. This was called the Pholtus' Knights, nicknamed by the Dangish
Phellars. The Phellars sent 10,000 troops to the River Sesq, which is a river which borders the east of New London with Mohawk in the north and Towret in the south.
The Phellars passed the river, taking towns, including Intel, which wouldn't return to prosperity until the Industrial Revolution. Eventually, the New London Army returned, with much haste and embarrasment, and fought the legendary
Battle of Sesq. The Dangish Troops were outnumbered by 4,000, but with their military skill and tactics, they managed to win the battle. The Phellars mostly drowned, as most had not experienced the perils of the River Sesq. They surrendered completely, and Dungeyland stretched its Empire across these nations.
After this, the New London Empire expanded greatly. By 30 CE, it covered all of New Earth, bar the Eastern Strongholds of Rolamec, and the Kingdoms behind it. The Empire was set, and would last for a great 1200 years. Great technological improvements were made, democracy was planted and culture sprouted. However, by 1200 CE, cracks had appeared in the Empire's walls. Indeed, Rolamec saw this as a perfect opportunity to invade. In 1252, Rolamec seized the outer provinces of Chaosbull, in a sudden invasion.
Emperor Henry and his President decided to pursue a policy of appeasment, but alas, it did not work. By 1321, Rolamec's army reached New London City. Emperor Heften X declared New London to be a territory of Rolamec, non autonomous and ruled straight from Rolamecsburg. New London was to be called Dungeyland, Rolamecian for "Western Territory".
Rolamec and RepublicsDungeyland was ruled by Rolamec for 326 years, until 1647. The Rolamecians destroyed much of Dungeylands' history, culture and technology, and claimed some of it for themselves. Little is known about the period of Rolamecs' rule, but what is known is that it was a harsh time for all in Dungeyland. In 1632, a key group was launched, called the
The National Organization for the Removal of the Rolamecians from Dungeyland.
The Group, more commonly known as NARRD linked with other organizations across New Earth to form the
International Society for the Removal of Rolamecians from New Earth. This group, known commonly asw ISRRNE (pronounced Is-wren-e) fought heavily against Rolamec.
Many losses ensued, but with strong espionage, and banana munching Guerrilla warfare (pun intended), Dungeyland and New Earth was free from Rolamec. Dungeyland was declared a Republic, with a capital in New London.
So in 1647, Dungeyland was a Republic with a Presidential System. The system did not work, with corruption in politics, and a huge failure of the Government to ail Dungeyland's problems. In 1772, the President of Dungeyland, Matthew Begoin declared himself King of Dungeyland.
Dungeyland did not react in the way that you'd expect a Republic turned Monarchy to react. Instead, the news was welcomed as Begoin was one of the best Presidents Dungeyland has seen. Begoin pledged to rule Constitutionally (well, without a codified constitution), and reform politics. This was the start of the Golden Age for Dungeyland.
The Sun Never Sets on the Dangish EmpireParliament was formed, to be consisted of Commoners and Lords. Almost immediately, the Dangish began to look outside their nation, at foreign affairs. Their neighbours were strong, military folk, and Dungeyland simply could not afford to fight them. Despite this, the Dangish were a proud folk, and under the governance of the Rt. Honourable President Kenneth Clarke MP, the Dangish Empire was formed.
Initially, the Empire consisted of Dungeyland and Varrockia, as it had always done. Slowly but surely, however, it expanded. First came the discovery of Kanstada, a large, cold province across a vast ocean. Then came Austrestia, a vast archipelago of islands, centred around a continent. Third came Nashensteg, a sizeable province in the sun. After Nashensteg, Dungeyland didn't acquire new territory at such a rate, but was still gaining land, sea, and air. There was one large province for which Dungeyland had her eyes on: Qualsta.
A large, secluded continent, Qualsta was a remnant of the Rolamecian Empire. After their ousting from New Earth, Rolamec moped around, politically and militarily. It had been in charge of Qualsta for over two hundred years, and wasn't planning on ceding it after the humiliation of New Earth. Rolamec itself was a large nation with a small population; a good quarter of the Rolamecian Armed Forces were placed on Qualsta. In numerical terms, this was not very much, and Dungeyland was prepared to take that risk. The Qualstans themselves hated their cruel, Rolamecian overlords, compared to the civil Dangish.
With a difficult battle, Dungeyland succeeded, and won Qualsta. Dungeyland now entered an imperial age, with a massive economic, social and political lead over other nations. And so, the Dangish Empire was formed.