History of Soltenna
The history of Soltenna is very long and complex due to its long history of written records and centralized states. From the earliest writing in what is now Qonklaks through the Avite Empire's expansion from what is now Lugida, to the formation of the Soltennan Council, Soltenna's history is both a combination of domestic achievements and a microcosm of wider Sahar history.
Prehistory
Humans migrated from Ekuosia to Soltenna in two different waves. On around 50,000 BCE is the first wave migration, which arrived in Soltenna through the Terminian land bridge and modern-day Quaxin Xun. Two major ethnic groups—the Ngerupic and the archaic Qonklese peoples—whose descendants would later comprise the largest combined portion of Soltennan ethnicities originate from this migration group.
Following them is the second wave, which goes through the Veridian land bridge into Vaniu. This people group is ethnically distinct when compared to the first wave groups. The wave would then enter Soltenna from the east through Yerlan, after which the second wave populace are assimilated with the first wave peoples, creating an ethnic area of transition between the two migration wave groups on eastern Liosol and northern Kadya.
The islands west of mainland Soltenna remain relatively untouched by humans until 20,000 BCE, where people on the mainland began to settle the islands and eventually reaching as far as Piringia.
The earliest evidence of farming dates back to around the 10th millennium BCE on Qonklaks. Agriculture then spreads across Soltenna, the date of which varies across the region. For example, the earliest evidence of farming in both Riyana and Yerlan dates back to the 8th millennium BCE, but the earliest evidence of such in Lugida only dates back to early 5th millennium BCE.
Ancient ages
Ngerupic colonization
On around the 4th millennium BCE, a Wa Ni-speaking ethnic group of people known as the Ngerupic people began to colonize Akulanen and much of southern and maritime Soltenna from its initial homeland on northwestern Magali. Ngerupic people then colonized much of Akulanen and went as far as the southern coast of Lugida and to Kema Mi Amo and Vemou.
Antiquity
Letsatian period
On 25 CE, Letsatia started to conquer Akulanen, thus beginning the Letsatian expansion into Miraria. Letsatia would then continue to conquer most of Akulanen lands and the Gulf of Sharkunen, turning the region into Letsatian colonies. During this period, Ekuosian influence in Soltenna flourished, and Soltenna saw a rapid growth in technology and economy. This period also marked the zenith of Ekuosian influence on Soltenna.
The conquests brought immediate attention from both Soltennan and Vaniuan empires and dynasties at the time. One extreme example is Qonklaks' Lou Dynasty. Under the fear of Letsatia eliminating or superseding Qonklese influence in Soltenna, the dynasty along with Lugida's Altha Dynasty—whose coastal area was lost to the empire—along with some other Soltennan dynasties declared a joint war against Letsatia on 90 CE. However, military progress would remain stagnant on both sides throughout the war. Eventually the war exhausted most of the dynasties' treasuries, effectively beginning the decline of the dynastic system on the Sharkunen basin in favor of the Letsatian system of governance as well as breaking apart Lou Dynasty into five different states.
Letsatia adopted Iovism on around 112 CE, and it began to spread throughout much of the Sharkunen basin. Initially, Iovism was met with resistance from many people who already adhered to their indigenous religions, including Yerlanis and Lugids. Iovism only began to be widely accepted on around 136 CE through its branch called Avism, which originated in Lugida near modern-day Kitlimis. However, Avism remains confined in Lugida before the 3rd century CE.
Following the Peace of Galadrosia which started a series of civil wars across Letsatia-occupied Miraria, Letsatian influence began to decline as the empire began to lose much of its Mirarian territories. This made the Letsatian emperor Madrandas end his support for the Mirarian colonization, until eventually the empire left Miraria almost completely on around 191 CE. By this time the former Letsatian lands in Soltenna have broken apart into numerous empires ruled by local peoples.