Hryvinia Official Factbook [Archive]

Hryvinia

21-03-2008, 05:00

Overview and Statistics

Statistics

Full Name: The Kingdom of Hryvinia
Common Name: Hryvinia
Demonym: Hryvinian
Pronunciation: Hryvinia (Rih-vin-ee-uh), Hryvinian (Rih-vin-ee-an)
National Animal: Polar Bear
National Athem: Ballad of the Viking Warrior
National Motto: (God Bless Our Land)
Official language(s): English, Hryvinian
Capital: Krogstad
Largest City: Krogstad
Government: Absolute Monarchy
Head of State: King Sverre IV
Head of Government: King Sverre IV
Seat of State: Krogstad Palace, Krogstad
Seat of Government: Krogstad Palace, Krogstad
Founding: 312 A.D. (present form)
Largest Religion: Protestantism
Total Area: 10,000,000 km²
Total Land Area: 7,500,000 km²
Total Water Area: 2,500,000.00 km²
Total Population (2008 est): 336,000,000
Total Population (2000 census): 310,000,000
Total Population Density (2008 est): 33.6/km²
Total Population Density (2000 census): 31/km²
Exchange Rate: HK1=$1.3751 USD
GDP (Total ©): HK10,267,376,931,053.40
GDP (Per Capita ©): HK30,557.67
HDI: 0.617 (medium)
Currency: Kroner (HK)
Time zone(s): GMT-5
Internet TLD: .hr
Calling Code: +407

Hryvinia

21-03-2008, 05:41

History and Detailed Information
The land now known as Hryvinia was first settled circa 3100 BC. These early Hryvinians were of Norse descent like many of the cultures in the area, though little is known about their daily lives. Archaeological records indicate that these early Hryvinians were nomadic hunter-gatherers who most likely relocated constantly of a need to find fresh game. At any rate, the Hryvinians settled down and began farming around 1800 BC, around the time the first written records appeared. Records from this time indicate that society consisted of several city-states ruled by kings, which frequently warred. Many of these city-states survive in some form today, owing in part to the skilled craftsmanship of the Hryvinians. The language of this time is referred to by scholars as Proto-Norse, though in reality the Hryvinian language and common Norse tongues have little in common. While the language has yet to be fully translated, we do know that "Hryvin" probably meant warrior, hence the name Hryvinia (land of the warriors). Whether this name was conferred upon the land and it's people by themselves or by outsiders is currently unknown.

Arguably the most significant event in Hryvinian history occurred in 312 AD, with the arrival of Carl Hryvin and his military, which according to records of the age numbered 100,000 people (modern figures put this number closer to 45,000). In short order the ancient Hryvinians, which were at this time still a loose confederation of city-states, were defeated and Carl proclaimed king of a united Hryvinia. King Carl I brought with him Christianity, which he proceeded to force on his conquered kingdom, with mixed results. At any rate by the time of his death in AD 341 (possibly from poisoning) the majority of the kingdom was Christianized.

Carl was succeeded by his son Christian, who established the capital at present-day Krogstad. Remnants of Christian I's Old Palace are still standing on the current grounds of Krogstad Palace. Little of Christian I's reign is known though it is believed that during this time period, the viking era in Hryvinia began.

From 341 until around 970 the kingdom grew steadily, adding territory and material wealth at an exponential rate, due in large part to frequent raids on the coast of nearby Zukariaa. In 970, King Erik I and his wife gave birth to one of the most famous Hryvinians in history: Leif. Leif became king in 984 at the age of 14, following the poisoning of his father by a rival. Lief went on to become one of the most prolific vikings in Hryvinian history, acquiring the equivalent of $1 billion in a single raid according to legend. Leif could also be quite brutal to his own subjects however. One apocryphal story from the era relates how he put down an insurrection in Krogstad and had the conspirators behind it skinned alive and nailed to the city walls. His acts of viking bravery seem to have outlived his brutality within his own time however, as he was known to his time and to the history books as Leif the Great.

Hryvinia's First Golden Age reached it's peak around 1000, after a highly successful raid on the Zukariaan coast added three coastal villages to it's empire. This was not to last however as the Zukariaans fought tooth and nail to take back their territory, followed by a declaration of war on Hryvinia itself in 1100. For one hundred years the Zukariaans and Hryvinians fought off and on, until 1207 when the last king of the Hryvin Dynasty was killed in battle having never produced an heir. From that point on, Zukariaa established a puppet monarchy under the Huron Dynasty of it's own nation, which ruled from Krogstad but was responsible to Aiur. This pretender dynasty was initially loathed, but in time came to be accepted by the masses. However this too was not to last, as in 1350 the Zukariaans, faced with turmoil in their protectorate and a crisis of succession, abruptly pulled out.

The abrupt pullout of the Zukariaans left Hryvinia without a leadership structure, and the Cohenians arrived shortly thereafter. Most accounts seem to indicate that the Cohenians were uninterested in occupation of the land per se, but we do know that for the 50-year duration of Cohenian occupation a series of backbreaking taxes was leveled on the populace. In 1400, having been run nearly bankrupt, the Hryvinians under Magnus Erikksen (later Magnus I) rebelled, and were shortly successful in driving Cohenia out. Upon conclusion of the war in 1412, the Treaty of Krogstad established the Erikksen line as the one true royal line of Hryvinia. However, 300 years of turmoil had nearly broken the land, causing Hryvinia to enter isolationism for nearly 600 years.

The most significant change in recent history has come with the coronation of King Sverre IV in 2008. Sverre has in the course of his reign gradually bought Hryvinia from isolationism and built up the nation's military strength. While it is too early to predict what might come to be in the future, the new age of Hryvinia remains to be seen.
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