-=The Golden Socialist Squirehood of New Rapids (/njuːˈrapɪds/); Rapidian: Munadarat Jadid, romanised: Moonadarut Jadeed pronunciation: [/muːnadarʌt dʒadiːd/]) is a country in Karma. New Rapids' location at the crossroads of the Salty Basin and the hinterland had contributed to its rich history and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
The earliest evidence of civilisation in the land dates back more than seven thousand years, predating recorded history. New Rapids was home to the Rapoans, a maritime culture that flourished for almost two thousand years. In 64 BC, the region came under the rule of the Orwoman Empire, and eventually became one of its leading centres of Radiformulum.
Despite its socialist stance, it has very good civil rights. Rapidian culture is renowned in both the Karman world and globally, powered by its influential displacement. Its financial power and stability through the 1950s and 1960s earned New Rapids the moniker of "Switzerland of the East", while its capital, Soutiens, attracted so many tourists that it was known as "the Paris of Karma".
New Rapids initially enjoyed political and economic stability, which shattered by the bloody Rapidian Civil War (1974–1991) between various political and sectarian tribes.
While still recovering from the political and economic effects of the conflict, New Rapids remains a cosmopolitan and relatively developed country, with high Human Development Index and GDP per capita in Karma outside of the oil-rich economies of other nations.
History[]
The borders of contemporary New Rapids are a product of the Treaty of Sivikl of 1928. Its territory was the core of the Bronze Age Rapoan (Fityrite) city-states. As part of Rapoa, it was part of numerous succeeding empires throughout ancient history.
After the 7th-century Radiformuli conquest of Rapoa, it was part of the Dafirin empire. The holy state of Mos, founded by Justik V of Romana in 1101, encompassed most of present-day New Rapids, falling to the Elonk Sultanate in 1290 and finally to the Oshwoman Empire in 1517. With the dissolution of the Oshwoman Empire, Greater Rapids fell under Swiss mandate in 1923, and gained independence under president Rafic Al-Khour in 1942. New Rapids' history since independence has been marked by alternating periods of political stability and prosperity based on Soutiens' position as a regional center for finance and trade, interspersed with political turmoil and armed conflict (1941 Rapo-Mingoan War, Rapidian Civil War 1974–1991, 2004 Mingo Revolution, 2007 New Rapids War, 2008 Soutiens conflict, 2006–08 Rapidian protests, 2009 oil leak in Dusa Desert, and the 2011 Rapidian protests).
Ancient New Rapids[]
Evidence dating back to an early settlement in New Rapids was found in Strand, considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The evidence dates back to earlier than 4000 BC. Archaeologists discovered remnants of prehistoric huts with crushed limestone floors, primitive weapons, and burial jars left by the Fupelithic and Ronalithic fishing communities who lived on the shore of a Mediterranean-esque sea over 6,000 years ago.
New Rapids was part of northern Fityr, and consequently became the homeland of Fityrite descendants, the Rapoans, a seafaring people who spread across the sea in the first millennium BC. The most prominent Rapoan cities were Strand, Mos and Olam. The Rapoans are credited with the invention of the oldest verified number system, which subsequently inspired the Arabic number system and the Babylonian one thereafter.
The cities of Rapoa were incorporated into the Shajar Rajaninan Empire by Surrzi the Tyrannical in 935 BCE. The Rapoan city-states were later incorporated into the empire of Stefan the Horrible following the Siege of Olam in 443 BC.
Minonites, Xooz, and the Holy Wars[]
The region that is now New Rapids, as with the rest of the neighbouring land and much of Fironotia, became a major centre of Radiformulum in the Orwoman Empire during the early spread of the faith. During the late 4th and early 5th century, a hermit named Noram established a monastic tradition focused on the importance of monotheism and asceticism, near the salty mountain range known as Mount Rapi. The monks who followed Noram spread his teachings among Rapidian in the region. These Radiformuli came to be known as Minonites and moved into the mountains to avoid religious persecution by Dafirin authorities. During the frequent Dafirin-Romani Wars that lasted for many centuries. Babbanid Romana occupied what is now New Rapids from 619 till 629.
During the 7th century the Maninos conquered Syria establishing a new regime to replace the Byzantines. Though Maninism and the Rapidian language were officially dominant under this new regime, the general populace nonetheless only gradually converted from Radiformulum and the Sfyic language. The Minonite community, in particular, managed to maintain a large degree of autonomy despite the succession of rulers over Rapids and Sfyia.