Serasarda
| Nation | Snefaldia |
| Province | Sring Issa |
| Population | 16,534,712 |
| Districts | 3 |
| Elevation | 260 m |
| Principal Industries | education |
| Twinned Cities | none |
| Dialling Code | 210 |
Contents |
History
Origin & Early history
Inhabited by Luwitic-speaking peoples for hundreds of years, the city now known as Serasarda wasn't officially established until 230 CE. Prior to the ascendance of the Trimna Dynasty, Sring Issan power lay in the west, centered around the city that would become Isaardlang.
According to the myth of the Nâlatâmma, the city was founded by the warrior-king Alaksandu, who fought against the Tawsini alongside the founders of Isaardlang. According to the poem, Alaksandu was given the lake around which he built his city by Muwatalli the Golden, the victorious king of the Sarangissan kingdom. Historical records do not confirms the specifics, but evidence indicates that the city was first founded during the timeperiod the myth is set in, and continued to develop as an auxiliary city of the central Isaardlang nobility until 5 CE, when the gulf between the groups was too large and the city, called "Sa-ra-sa-THA" in records, seceded with several eastern cities and rebelled against the rulers of Isaarlang.
As an independent unit, the city ruled what is referred to as "The Shaddawatta Hegemony." Focusing around Serasarda and the city of Washukanni, they opposed the Sarangissan rulers until internal problems dismantled the Isaardlang state. The peace did not last long, for incursions from Bae sowed disharmony between the two powerful cities of the hegemony, which culminated in the conquest of the city by Anzapahhadu IV, king of Washukanni, in 50 CE. The last king of the Alaksandrid line, Tarhuntaradu, disappeared with his family.
The city was largely abandoned for several decades until the conquest of Washukanni itself by Bajeong incursions, when hundreds of refugees established small villages by the lake. In 180 CE, the warlord Trimna Yazdaran seized control of the lake and the villages, and in 230 CE began razed the many small villages and refounded a city on the hilltop, naming it "Sa-ra-sa-THA" after having a prophetic dream. Establishing himself as King, he used his military might to building a powerful state in eastern Sring Issa.
Under the Trimnaid Kings Serasarda became the chief power in the north, extending hegemony over the other princely states and kingships in Sring Issa and north Dayan. This continued until 1035 when Edram Ta'us, a Dayan prince, formed a league of Dayan nobles and attacked Serasarda, killing the King and inaugurating the Dayaniram period.
Dayan Period
During the Dayan period Serasarda was largely unimportant. She largely escaped destruction in 1035, which perserved the ancient structures, and had largely maintained her stock of ancient objects and Bae implements. The city was ruled by a board of electors; nobles from the surrounding countryside, called the Headlands, who elected a single ruler, the Lord Over Serasarda, from their ranks.
In 1315 Kshayavang arrived in Sring Issa with his Amershaman Medrahov, preaching the tenets of Aatem Nal. With a group of followers he arrived in Serasarda in the spring of 1360, and Aatem Nal took root in the city. The office of the Lord Over Serasarda was replaced when the nobles converted to Aatem Nal, and an ecclesiastical council was formed in 1400. The waning Dayaniram elite were replaced in the north and central areas by Sringi, and Aatem Nal spread across the country.
Aatem Nal
Serasarda became the center of Aatem Nal, with the first library being built there in 1255 (the original foundation can still be seen today, in the Grand Library), and the riches of Aatem Nal flowed into the city, turning it into a theocratic and educational haven. Coupled with the religious support of education, collection of knowledge, and science, Serasarda became the preeminent centre of learning in Snefaldia.
Architecture, art, and the sciences flourished from the inception of Aatem Nal almost to the end of theocratic rule in 1895. In 1590 the Grand Library was begun, and is continuing to expand to this very day. A triumph of architecture, the Grand Library houses the most precious and expansive library in Aatem Nal, including ancient artifacts dating from the Terangal period and the earliest Bajeong Guea. When, in 1701, the secular Segovan took over the administration of the nation from the Aatem Nal leadership, Serasarda became the official capital of the entire country.
Modern Day
Serasarda was the official capital from 1701 until 1895, when Sargedain became the seat of the national government. However, the Tuhran Bel still meets in Serasarda, and the ancient city is far from declinging in importance.
Serasarda is a mixture of ancient and modern. Skyscrapers rise out of the streets and sit alongside thousand-year-old houses, and the organic, twisting nature of the streets will leave visitors delving deeper and deeper into Senfaldian history with each step they take.
