Liden
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| File:Lidenlocator.png | |
| Country | Vittmark |
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| Capital | Månsta |
| Area | tba km2 km2 |
| Population | tba |
| Density | tba km2/km2 |
| Demonym | Lidenite or Lisenish |
| Time zone | UTC-3 |
Liden is a member state of Vittmark in the form of a principality. Before it became a member state, it was an autonomous kingdom. The state is the most centrally located, right between Mellersta Haga, Sörmark and Liden, although it's Kopparland and Östervallen bordering to its east. Capital of the state is Månsta.
Etymology
The word lid means hill or slope in Wortsproke. In the case of Liden, the definite form of lid, it is not exactly clear to which particular hill it refers. The name is in use in the region as a suffix in many placenames, like Matsliden, Härielida and Tammerlidh. The current explanation is that the first written source mentioning Kongarikhet De Lidhs simply refers to a united kingdom of "lidens" covering a large part of this particular region. That first mention of the kingdom from 7242 is however much later than written references to an army "Här Liden" or "Härr de Lidh", which already occur in Orkanan registries from the 7210's.
Kingdom of Liden
Liden formed gradually after the fall of the Greater Stoldavic Empire during the first half of the 73rd century in a region east of the former capital of Östervallen. The lawlessness of the era immediately following the empire's implosion took its toll on the region, since many displaced army units and nobility were trying to establish new local and regional bases of power here. Dozens of warlords were in constant conflicts with each other about overlapping zones of influence, all of them trying to gather wealth by taxing locals and recruiting young men for war efforts.
During the 7120's, the burgraves of Månsta managed to extend their zone of influence outside the walled city and changed title to margrave instead. Through strategic alliances, by marriage and by business agreements, Månsta managed to establish a weak control over an area of about 2500 km2. It was this area that was referred to as Kongarikhet De Lidh in 7242, which is formally seen as the starting point of the Kingdom of Liden by proclamation.
For about 3 centuries, Liden's realm expanded. A major milestone was the inclusion of the city state of Skara in 7444 through a personal union, followed by the manifestation of Lidenite rule over the island of Mivö a few years later. From that point on, Liden came into conflict with much larger nation states like Hagen to the east and Ådalen to the west. On both sides, a patchwork of ever shifting enclaves and exclaves emerged, creating zones of opportunistic political allegiance.
Of the later Vittmarker member states, Liden was at the front of economic and societal development, including mechanisation and industrialisation. With exports to friendly nations like Auresia and Anisora, Liden received a high level of wealth and welfare. The countryside became dotted with new industrial towns emerging on railway crossings, creating the typical pattern of scattered urbanisation that characterises Liden up to today.
In the 7520's the north coast of Stoldavia became more and more affected by the Pan-Anarian War. Due to the destruction on the Anarian mainland and Thultannia, fighting parties looked towards the relatively quiet northern Stoldavian region for building up shipyards to manufacture naval vessels for the ongoing war. Liden became allied with Auresia, with shipyards in Tammerköping providing the Auresian navy with new equipment. As a response to the occupation of Mörenburg by the Wolgos, combined forces of Auresia and Liden crossed the Blue Mountains and established a military presence there. It led to an alliance with the small kingdom of Kulla.
The region proved rich in coal and iron ore. A territory called Nelvesdalia was created as a condominium between Auresia, Liden and Kulla, in order to extract and transport the valuable raw material to facilities north of the mountains. The transports went with rather inefficient steam trucks during the 7540's and 50's, where it is estimated that about half the fleet was hauling coal to midway refueling points to keep the other half operational.
During that era, Liden and Ådalen fought several wars over the control of cities like Sandsala, Kletudde, Byggebo and Östervallen in the Högg and Kram provinces. Östervallen was at the time formally a part of the Kulla Kingdom south of the mountains, thus allied with Liden. These squirmishes continued even after the Pan-Anarian War ended in 7554. In 7561 Ådalen tried to cut off the supply lines of Liden through the Blue Mountains, but Liden countered with an attack on a much northern front, cutting off the chain of logistics towards the troops operating further south. By 7564 Liden had conquered about a quarter of Ådalen's territory.
Treaty of Nisipari
The international community, not in the least the post-war Anarian monarchies and democracies, saw the ongoing conflict between Liden, Ådalen and Hagen as a possible casus belli between those nations that recently had negotiated a bristle end of hostilities. The fighting parties, including some smaller territories not affected by this Three Ways Conflict equally much, were invited to Nispari to discuss a cease-fire. Negotiations went slowly, until the Anarian nations proposed the formation of a confederation which would see to equally sharing resources and markets, thus taking away an important factor that was fueling the conflict. The confederation would be led by the monarch of Kulla, a more or less neutral part despite its alliance with Liden in the south. But Karl av Kulla offered a similar type of condominium construction to Ådalen and Hagen.
Through the Treaty of Nisipari Liden became a part of Vittmark, just as their rivals Hagen and Liden. However, in order to create a balance between the main fighting factions, Liden had to let go of Mivö and the city state of Skara, as well as hand over control of the buffer towards Ådalen and the southern, mountainous regions to federally administered territories.
Principality of Liden
Liden became the focal point for industrial development in Vittmark, having an efficient and extended rail network and access to energy sources. During the first decade, the political party affiliated with Liden was the largest in federal parliament, thus securing the dominant economic and cultural position of Liden within the federation.
However, the First of Liden, Magnus av Månsta De Lidh, came into conflict with Queen Anna of Vittmark more often, mainly regarding issues of control over regional resources and armed forces. In 7572 Magnus supported a coup d'état against Queen Anna behind the scenes, with Lidenite military patrolling the streets of Östervallen during the putsch attempt. The coup failed with workers from Kopparbruk driving out the military. It led to an internal conflict where some of the Stifts kept supporting Magnus, while others started backing his cousin Östen who was presenting a much more cooperative line. Magnus was arrested in the outskirts of Kopparbruk in 7573, trialed and convicted to outlawry. He was subsequently killed while being transported to a facility in Tammerköping just before the crossing of the Lidenite border. The conflict lasted until 7575 with a siege of the naval facility in Tammerköping by federal troops and a revolt by the local population of Månsta against the remaining followers of the late Fist Magnus.
Vittmark carried out a railway project linking Östervallen to Hagneå and Hinnorum through Månsta, strategically crossing the existing railway network in cities where the local boards had supported Östen De Lidh during the conflict. This meant that further economic development ended up in towns and cities loyal to the new regime, while other towns gradually lost their businesses due to a process of scaling up. This way, even the urban population was forced to relocate to places under the more modernist regimes.
In the 7580's Vittmark engaged in war with Aedeland. Important sea ports like Tammerköping became a target for Aedelish and other Häverist military, leading to destruction of valuable infrastructure. When these facilities were rebuilt in the 7600's, much of the trade and export had moved to places that had managed through the war relatively unharmed, like the well defended capital of Östervallen, or cities where foreign investment had led to a more efficient economy of scales, like Hinnårum. For centuries, the main flow of cargo had been north-south, following the rivers and later railway lines through those valleys, but the war was a turning point where most of the transit became east-west orientated by short-sea shipping or cargo rail.
The capital of Månsta did not receive any war damage, but the progressive local policy of banning car traffic from the entire city (apart from some arteries) meant that industrial development had come to a halt here. This clear disadvantage became the city's saviour however, since the dense urban structure with good living conditions meant that it had the optimal lay-out for the emerging service sector of Vittmark. Many service industries and offices left coastal cities like Östervallen, Skara, Kletudde and Tammerköping and relocated to the historical city of Månsta. Where national and exporting industries on the Lidenite countryside faced a difficult future, much of it was replaced by more local and regional supplies manufacturing. Lidenite cities became interesting locations for headquarters in financial and trading services, since they were located between busy ports like Östervallen, Kletudde and Hinnårum.
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