Tsétlaxó

Tsétlahó, officially known as the Polity and Republic of Tsétlahó, is a founding city-state of Énqusqó which also serves as the seat for the supra-national government. Human settlement at the site has been evidenced to date back to around 1700 BCE and the site is believed to be the oldest, continuously inhabited city in Vidina. The modern republic extends its rule over an area of [LAND AREA] since its independence in 1949.

The city-state has held heavy political and economic sway over its neighbours for much of its modern history, despite being one of the smaller member states of the Énqusqan Republic.

Prehistory
Several archaeological sites from across the modern city have revealed the site to be one of the longest continually inhabited regions. The oldest evidence of human settlement, a small collection of fishbones, fishing spears and wooden structures comes from the Cecéqon region. Carbon dating of the site puts the active period of the settlement to around 1700-1500 BCE. There approximately 70 such sites spread across the metropolitan area and the three major rivers.

Foundation
Due to the late adoption of writing amongst Énqutsa people, there exist no accurate historical records of the founding of Tsétlahó. There is, however, a legend associated with its founding that relates to the city's patron gods. This myth has had many forms over the course of history and was often changed deliberately by cultural leaders to push political agendas. The legend states that a young girl had been playing along the banks of the [MAIN RIVER] when she had been bitten by a snake, causing her to drown in the river. Moved by the tragedy of hrt death, the seven neighbouring families convened in mourning and founded a city around the girl's tomb. The city's foundation myth calls upon the themes of the two patron gods Énsémútli and Qaya, mortality and the loss of innocence. These two deities are still reflected in the modern state, with both a moon and a winged serpent appearing on the flag.

Archaeological evidence of a centralised, walled settlement appears in around 1000 BCE, which correlates closely with estimates made from dates from the foundation myths. In further agreement with the myth there were several original settlements located around the [MAIN RIVER] that coalesced into the central walled city.

Antiquity
The early history of the preliterary city is unfortunately not recorded in any contemporary records and much of the modern understanding of the operation of the early city comes from writers who lived around the start of the common era. The first recorded reference to the city comes from the mention of a grand settlement called Tar-Sedl in an invoice from a Dinuuen merchant. [PROMINENT HISTORIAN] wrote often of the early city in his second poetic history The Moon and Her Garden of Serpents. The early city was ruled by two bodies, the first of which was an oligarchic council of the seven matriarchs of the ruling families of the city, who presided over a senate of nobles. The second seat of power was the king who's power was somehow restricted by the oligarchic council, although the exact mechanism of this is unclear.

By the time [PROMINENT HISTORIAN] lived in Tsétlahó, around 230 CE, this system of governance had evolved into what is considered the first parliamentary system in the world, albeit in a very limited form. The title of king had lost any semblance of hereditary monarchy and was now a popularly elected position. Candidates would be proposed by the matriarchs of the senate, from members of the senate and then they would be put before a public gathering, sometimes consisting of some 30,000 people where each candidate would be voted for with applause. The candidate with the most applause won the vote. The king was allowed to retain their seat within the senate, and could vote on senate proceedings with the same power as any other senator. Further to this, new senators were elected by a similar popular vote when a seat became vacant. Even the matriarchs were not immune to the turning of the political wheel as the senate could vote to strip a matriarch of her status through various means (commonly through ostracism) and replace her with either her daughter or the matriarch of another family (like the king, these candidates had to be members of the senate). [PROMINENT HISTORIAN] wrote about these reforms to the system and explained they had come into force after the fall of the First Kingdom as a form of rejection of autocracy and tyranny.

The Moon and Her Garden of Serpents ends with an appeal to the gods for a continued prosperity for the city and the development of its unique political system to be more open and free for every citizen. This future expressed by [PROMINENT HISTORIAN] did not come to fruition however, as the Nurvidin plague and a series of natural disasters devastated the city in the 4th century. In 366, the senate voted to reinstall the incumbent king for a period of "36 faces of Qaya" or a period of approximately 3 years. This extension to king [PLAGUE KING]'s rule was continuously reinstated by the senate until 375, in which the senate officially extended his term of office to life. King [PLAGUE KING] very quickly forced large amounts of legislation through the senate to solidify the powers of the monarchy, however, in 377, King [PLAGUE KING] died from a severe brackish fever infection. In subsequent years, the position of king was granted to a prominent senator upon the death of the previous king. This system of governance was praised by the philosopher [PHILOSOPHER] as it provided the benefits of monarchy without causing a tyranny through inheritance.

War of flowers
By the 10th century CE, the city had undergone expansions of its dominion along the Bay of Qalon, incorporating or raising many urban centres. This had brought the polity to the forefront of regional politics. The early half of the century fell under the reign of King Va Shóo Tín who had adopted a peaceful and cooperative foreign policy and a revolutionary internal policy. Textual evidence suggest that King Va Shóo Tín was exceptionally well educated and had spent much of his time reading political treaties by philosophers across the Kidal Sea. He had used his office to restructure Tsétlaxan society and government, opening up the senate to all citizens of Tsétlahó and providing a system by which unelected citizens could suggest bills to the senate. A revolutionary policy that is cited as one of the first instances of direct democracy in the world, although it’s scope was limited.

During this period, another city-state on the Narícan peninsula, Cílonyósqu, had also been expanding and a rivalry between the two polities had begun to form. To curtail this, King Va Shóo Tín arranged a marriage between his son, Prince Muú Shóo Tín, and the princess of Cílonyósqu, Póo Mín Tsetli. This political betrothal failed to mitigate growing tension, however, instead provoking plots amongst those loyal to Muú Shóo Tín. After the death of King Va Shóo Tín in 948, Muú Shóo Tín assumed control of the army and laid siege to the senate building within the palatial complex at Tsétlahó in order to prevent a vote to select the next King. To garner legitimacy, he allowed only the senators that were loyal to him entrance into the senate to pass through an illegal vote to place him in office. Due to inheritance laws in Cílonyósqu, once married to his betrothed, Muú Shóo Tín would receive the titles of King La Mín Tún. This became a priority for Muu Shóo Tín as it would allow him to legally solidify his rule and provide the tools to restore the old absolute monarchy of Tsétlahó. Numerous correspondences between the two kingdoms have been preserved that show a refusal to recognise Muú Shóo Tín as a rightful ruler. In 954, King La Mín Tún of Cílonyósqu was poisoned and died. Contemporary and modern historians agree that this was likely orchestrated by Muú Shóo Tín as an attempt to claim the throne through the right of betrothal.

Within days of her father's death, Princess Póo Mín Tsetli had mustered the army and navy of Cílonyósqu and declared war upon her betrothed for the assassination of her father. The subsequent war, afterwards named the War of Flowers, was a three year campaign that culminated in a 6-month-long siege of the palatial complex. The war was won by the Cilonyósqan forces and Muú Shóo Tín was beheaded and thrown into the sea from the cliffs of Cáamupó.