The Eastern Chaskan city-states (pronounced CHOSS-kahn) are a collection of politically unaffiliated yet culturally similar cities on the eastern coast of the Chaska Sea. These communities have maintained their independence for most of their histories, often by manipulating the interests of their larger neighbors against each other.
History
Each city on the eastern Chaskan coast has its own long history, but there have been events that have shaped them collectively as well. Many have been inhabited since the ancient past - it is not uncommon for each city to be built on top of multiple layers of its own ruins. Though still hotly debated in universities and other scholarly circles, communities in this region are widely believed to be the earliest human permanent settlements in the world.
For much of their histories, the city-states have been the subject of both Khapeshan and Ishtaran ambitions, falling under the control of one or the other as alliances shifted, wars were waged, and fortunes changed.
The rise of Belet-Shuthnir and the subsequent Eastern Crusade in Y8431* were formative in shaping the city-states into what they are today. Using her legions of undead thralls, Belet-Shuthnir united the cities of the eastern Chaska for the first time, conquering from her base in Anaharath to as far south as Aradet and Gath Padalla. The crusade against her that soon followed saw an influx of new arrivals from Thadria, Hellea, and elsewhere, some of whom joined together to form a new kingdom in the region with its capital at Nindara. This new Kingdom of Tirione was the first major nation along the coast, growing and contracting over the centuries as it occasionally took control of the northern- and southern-most cities along the coast.
Demographics
Most inhabitants of the eastern Chaskan city-states are human. They are joined by sizable numbers of dwarves and half-elves, as well as smaller populations of other ancestries, brought to the region through the cities' long history of trade with faraway regions.
Culture
Religion
Despite being viewed by many as the lands in which the Chaskan pantheon first emerged, today the city-states of the eastern Chaska are quite religiously diverse, rather more so than Tamkaranu or even Ishtar. Most inhabitants of the cities still adhere to Chaskan beliefs, but others worship Khapeshan, Kirnashal, or even Hellean deities. Various ancestral pantheons are commonly worshiped as well. Smaller faiths, such as Monadism, have gained footholds in the region as well.
Languages
Telan, Ishtaran, and to a lesser degree Meroitic are all spoken in the cities of the eastern Chaska. Their status as mercantile centers means that many speakers of foreign languages are brought to the area, and as a result Common sees wide use.
Architecture and urbanization
Similar to that of Tamkaranu, Khapesh, and Ishtar, the architecture of the city-states tends to favor mud brick or stone construction, usually with flat roofs made of stone, thatch, or lead.
The majority of large settlements in the region lie on the shores of the Chaska Sea. Inland the landscape quickly turns arid, far less accommodating to large communities. Though the northern plains between Ishtar and the Arrajan Wilds are somewhat more hospitable, they are likewise sparsely populated, largely due to their lack of access to major rivers.
Trade
In the modern day, and indeed for much of their history, the city-states derive their wealth and status from trade, but not all from merchants along the same routes. In the north Anaharath and Rusadir lie along the Nestra River that connects the Arrajan Wilds to the coast, a source of rare natural resources and items scavenged from ancient ruins, while in the south Aradet and Gath Padalla both lie on the western terminus of the Golden Path that crossed the Taizzan Expanse to Amshan. Other cities see large numbers of merchant vessels traveling the Chaska Sea.
External politics
Despite the aspirations of the nations that surround them, particularly Khapesh and Tamkaranu, as well as those of the stronger cities to the north within Ishtar, the city-states have largely managed to maintain their functional independence. They have done so through a mix of threats, largely to levy restrictions on trade that would equally hurt their larger neighbors, as well as through paying tributes under the guise of gift-giving as gestures of goodwill. Such machinations are less pressing in the modern day, as Khapesh now looks inward rather than towards its eastern neighbors and Tamkaranu is far more interested in its colonies across the sea, but the governments of the city-states remain watchful for any who would threaten their autonomy.
Some of the northern city-states, such as Aspalis, Allani, and Kotharat, are instead more tied into Ishtaran politics and governance, with little threat today from external forces.
Government
Most of the city-states are governed as merchant republics or autocracies, though the details of these structures varies depending on the city.