Verse:Hmøøh/Wen Dămea
Wen Dămea was an empire that controlled much of ancient and medieval Talma. The name Wen Dămea is a partial borrowing of Proto-Talmic lūgobui damīaħni 'the leafy land'.
Early history
The earliest known agricultural settlement in Wen Dămea is dated to 10000 years BP, before the arrival or any Quame or Lakovic speakers.
First Quame speakers came from the east (Dodellia), and then Lakovic speakers came by sea from the south, separated by an east-west mountain range down the middle; hence Talma's division into the northern Talmic area and the southern Lakovic area today.
Luminous Realm
The Luminous Realm is a largely legendary period, described by Mărotłite legends as being governed by divinely inspired sage-kings. Figures from the Luminous Realm appear in the Latlaseekh.
Warlike Epoch
The Warlike Epoch (Wdm. fi Șicuaf Yămătäng) was a turbulent 250-year period when the institutions of the nascent Windermere empire began crystallizing. The two Talman sacred texts, the Latlaseekh and the Imθumăytil, were finalized in their canonical forms during this period.
Windermere Empire
The Mărotłites gained power and established the Windermere Empire (Classical Windermere: Soonuł Wen Dămee). The Empire was a theocracy with some separation of powers:
- the Mărotłite religious law as taught in the Pĭdaic texts such as the Imθumăytil served as the "constitution";
- the Supreme Pĭdaic Court consisting of a panel of 29 pĭda-judges resolved disputes and interpreted laws;
- the Emperor (Nusoonuł, a hereditary title) and his subjects made executive decisions like executive orders, signing treaties, making war, taxing and budgeting, etc. but was subject to the above two.
House of Gweats (0 fT - 522 fT)
(Windermere: prea Gweats 'Gweats blood')
House of Fnüeng (522 fT - ???)
(Windermere: prea Fnüeng) The printing press was invented in Skella by Lleemi Þrohd later this period. It was also a time when the Empire's hegemony was in decline and the government was perceived to be incompetent and corrupt.
Ngronaist Revolution (935-961 fT)
A few decades after, an Anbirese civil servant and writer by the name of Emisom Anjeodgan published his translations of the old Tigol writings and his protest politico-religious poems, which were widely disseminated thanks to the printing press.
The Windermere imperial authorities were of course none too pleased, and tried to suppress the spread of Anjeodgan's ideas. But it was too little, too late: Ngronaism had already provoked a firestorm of rebellious and nationalistic sentiment across the Talmic-speaking part of Talma.
Thus the imperial authorities made a compromise: they recognized the new religion, on the condition that it accept the legitimacy of the Empire's authority. Nevertheless suspicion still lingered.
TODO: how the war began
The war caused the Empire to lose much of its territory.