Lahan

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Lahan
Lahan and islands.png
Area1,300,000 km2 (500,000 sq mi) (guesstimate)
DemonymLahani
Countries3(+) (list of countries)
LanguagesEkuo-Lahiri, Sanju-Jutean, Shohuanese
Time zonesSCT +7/SCT +8

Lahan is one of the smaller continents (or larger islands) on Sahar. It is located east of eastern Baredina and south of eastern Miraria. forming the Sañu straight with Puzimm and marking the far eastern bounds of the Paršita Sea. It is [very] approximately 1.3 million km² and composed of just a few countries, with a population of [still very approximate] 120 million people. Besides the mainland, the geopolitical region of Lahan also includes the Tujuan Archipelago, the Ikang Islands, and insular Jute.

Lahan has a unique ecology, featuring very few mammalian species, and a large number of of endemic bird species, and is the original source of the rubber tree and other important plant crops.

History

Pre-Sañuan

Lahan has been inhabited by modern humans for at least ?? thousand years. Records of early inhabitants are sparse. It is known that ancient Lahani people first began producing rubber from the rubber tree at least ?? thousand years ago, and mostly kept to the coastlines, where they fished the plentiful waters.

Sañuan Migration

The Sañu people, a branch of the Sañu-Jutean Saru-Asuran people, first arrived on Lahan 1X,000ya, from ???. They outcompeted native inhabitants in the coastal zones where they arrived and spread along much of the island's coastline. They practiced limited early agriculture and ate a mostly vegetarian diet, supplemented by seafood.

Lahiri Migration

The Lahiri people of the Ekuo-Lahiri group came to Lahan in approximately BCE 4000 across the Sañu straight from Puzimm, originally settling only in small islands like the Ikang Islands between the two continents. The early Lahiri people first settled in what is now western Tuyo, displacing some of the Sañuan residents. They brought new forms of agriculture to the island and began spreading inland, clearing forest to make way for farms. This brought them into conflict with the native Lahani people.

Colonial era

From the early 1?th century until the late 1??0s much(/all) of Lahan was under colonial rule, initially by the Neviran Saruan Empire and later by Shohuan. This drastically affected the history of [southern/all of] Lahan.

Saruan Empire

The Lahiri people, as relatives of the conquering Nevirans, had more culturally in common with their new occupiers than the earlier Lahani peoples did, and enjoyed a certain amount of privilege under them. However, all native groups of the island suffered under Neviran rule. Lahani natives were forced to work for the colonizers, producing high yields of natural rubber latex and food crops.

Shohuanese Colonization

In ???? the Shohuanese began fighting Nevira for control of Lahan's valuable natural rubber trade and other natural resources. They succeeded in overtaking some parts of modern Tuyo and Kaiyyo.

Geography and climate

Lahan is a small continent, tilted on its axis to point northeast and southwest. Most coastal areas are low-lying, creating expansive sandy beaches that lead to the thick inland tropical forests. It is nearly evenly split between equatorial (in the north/west) and tropical monsoon (in the south/east) climates.

Ecology

Lahan has a unique ecology, with a high amount of endemism. The only megafauna native to the island are birds, mostly flightless; all mammals and reptiles are small-to-medium in size. Many of the flora species are also unique to Lahan.

The native apex predators in Lahan are all bird species. The undisputed highest rung is claimed by the giant Haast's eagle, which can prey on all most mammalian and flightless bird species on the island, including the giant moa.

Some of Lahan's more famous endemic bird species include the kea, moa, kākāpō, kiwi, weka, cassowaries, and giant eagles, including Haast's. The only mammals native to Lahan are small-to-medium arboreal marsupials like sugar gliders, tree kangaroos, and possums, as well as some bat species, including the burrowing bat. The continent is also home to oversized insects, such as wētā.

Lahan is also the original source of the rubber tree, the main source of natural rubber, and a handful of tropical fruits, including the king coconut. Other endemic plants of economic or cultural importance include the massive kauri, tōtara (a favoured boatmaking wood), makomako (wineberry), the cabbage tree,

Many endemic species are critically endangered, generally attributed to overhunting, deforestation, and outcompetition by human settlers, and the introduction of predatory or opportunistic mammals, including cats, dogs, pigs, and omnivorous rodents. Some animals have become extinct since human arrival, including at least three moa species.