Sonegio
Sonegío
sonegío | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Etymology: Corruption of Terítsonegíero | |
| Nickname(s): Palace City | |
 Location of the city in Barradiwa. | |
| Country | Barradiwa |
| First settled in | 2760 BCE |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Gídsueká Mánísut |
| Area | |
| • City | 2,670 km2 (1,030 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 570 km2 (220 sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,100 km2 (800 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • City | 14,638,315 |
| • Density | 5,500/km2 (14,000/sq mi) |
| Website | www.sonegio.bd |
Sonegío (Ekuostian: sonegío, IPA: /sʌn̪eʝʌ/), also known as Palace City (or Terydsonegíero), is the capital and largest city in Barradiwa. With a population of approximately 14.6 million, the city is (as of 2015) the 6th largest city in the world by measure of population in the city proper and the largest city in Baredina.
The city—being where the Emperor of Barradiwa lives and operates—serves as the cultural, economic, and administrative center of Barradiwa. Despite being located in the region of Ekuostia which is governed from Rydkes, Palace City has historically acted as a sort of "over-capital" to Barradiwa as a whole, and the country's three regions and their capitals nominally serve under it.
The city is located on the Ekuos River, approximately 97km upstream from the Ekuos riverbend where the river sharply diverts southward. This location has helped the city foster and maintain wide regional influence, and has been crucial to its position in regional trade and commerce both historically and in modern times.
Due to the city's long and rich history, large size and population, and its importance in the global economy, it is a popular destination for both tourists and immigrants.
Etymology
Sonegío is a shortening of the name Terydsonegíero (Ekuostian: terítsonegíero /tery:d̪s̪ʌn̪eʝerʌ/), which literally translates to "Palace City" (teryd "city" + sonegíero "palace"). The city has been referred to as Palace City since the Letsatian Empire, when its most prominent feature was its multiple palace complexes. Whenever Ekuostia is throned by a new dynasty, it's tradition for that dynasty to commission the construction of a new palace and use that as their residence, while the previous palace is then repurposed.
History
Ancient
Evidence of human activity around the Ekuos Riverbend is believed to stretch back over 100,000 years. Only minor cities and towns are recorded prior to the arrival of the Letsi-Halarian Empire in the 28th century BCE, and then according to tradition, the city was established around 2,760 BCE by the legendary Baroít dynasty.
The history of the city during the tenure of the Letsi-Halarian Empire is poorly documented. According to records written by Ekuost scribes dating to c. 1800 BCE, the city was considered a second capital of the LHE, acting as the empire's southern capital while Stalo was its northern capital. This view has pervaded in the region for most of history, but starting in the 1950s, scholars began to question the validity of this claim. Most modern historians agree that Sonegío was probably an important city in the LHE due to its position on the Ekuos, but it was not anywhere near as highly regarded as Stalo at the time.
Tradition holds that Sonegío was founded by the Baroít dynasty, thought to originate as descendants of a Letsic general named Bara sent to conquer the region. The city then fell into the hands of the rival Kasáta dynasty, before their final king, named Pjókrus, led a campaign into the Ekuosian Desert never to be seen again; they were then replaced with a dynasty of wealthy farmers, called Ekuost, the namesake of Ekuostia. (Tradition also holds that Pjókrus successfully founded a city—Baigros—and that his descendants became the Kudzat people)
However, the historicity of the Baroít and Kasáta dynasties has been widely disputed for centuries following the revelation in 1356 that the supposed locations of their dynasty palaces were actually previously city blocks, not singular buildings. Archeologist Marín Balásk stated in 1971 that the Baroít and Kasáta dynasties likely had some historical precedence, but most of our information about them was fabricated as an extension of the wider South Halarian mythological canon.