Longzhou

Disclaimer: All dates are temporary and should be taken with a grain of salt. Longzhou, officially the Tianlong Dynasty (Mandarin: 天龙朝 Tiānlóngcháo), is an ruled by the House of Long (Mandarin: 龙 Lóng) and the Emperor of Longzhou in Northern Sinju. Located in Northern Jungju, its name, Longzhou, means the "Land of Dragons". Longzhou is bordered by Hokan to the west, Mincang to the south, and Meisaan and Douguo to the east.

Longzhou has over 60 million residents and is divided into 15 commanderies. The capital and largest city is Xijing with almost 10 million inhabitants in the Xijing metropolitan area.

The first recorded inhabitants of the area were the Five Tribes; Dong Buluo (东部落), Nan Buluo (南部落), Xi Buluo (西部落), Bei Buluo (北部落), and Zhong Buluo (中部落) that made up the Five Tribes Era (Mandarin: 五部落时代 Wǔ bùluò shídài). These tribes lasted until the Dong-Bei War in 324 BCE between Dong Buluo and Bei Buluo which resulted in the overthrow of the Dong and Bei Chieftains and the reorganization of the Five Tribes into kingdoms. The Five Kingdoms Era (Mandarin: 五国时代 Wǔ guó shídài) comprised of the Dong Kingdom, Nan Kingdom, Xi Kingdom, Bei Kingdom, and Zhong Kingdom. Along with the Five Kingdoms were three Dynasties that failed to unite Longzhou, the Xi Dynasty, Jin Dynasty, and Zhong Dynasty. The Five Kingdoms Era ended with the Xi Kingdom’s Long Wutian Unification of Longzhou under the Tianlong Dynasty in 416 CE. Longzhou is also the home of popular online political simulator, Guozhou (Mandarin: 国州), made by famed author Maxi Bairi (Mandarin: 马戏白日).

Etymology
Longzhou (Mandarin: 龙州 Lóng zhōu) is comprised of the words Long (龙), meaning Dragon and Zhou (州), meaning state. Due to legends of ancient dragons inhabiting Longzhou, the Longzhouen have always referred to Longzhou as the "Land of Dragons". 龖 - a vista of a dragon in flight.

Ancient History - Long Era
Inscriptions found in Pre-Five Tribes Era and Five Tribes Era tombs mention an ancient empire that ruled Longzhou an indeterminate amount of time ago called the Long Dynasty (Mandarin: 龙朝 Lóngcháo). Said to have been ruled by the Dragon Emperor and inhabited by dragons and humans alike, the existence of the Long Dynasty is under much debate. Aside from these inscriptions, little other evidence has been found that supports an ancient empire that ruled all of Longzhou. This era is known as the Long Era.

Prehistory
Humans first arrived in Longzhou some 60,000 years ago. Little is known about the pre-Five Tribes humans but the formation of the first of the Five Tribes, Bei Buluo, began around 4294 BCE.

Five Tribes Era
The Five Tribes Era was the period where the Five Tribes; Dong Buluo (东部落), Nan Buluo (南部落), Xi Buluo (西部落), Bei Buluo (北部落), and Zhong Buluo (中部落). existed in a state of war and peace, spanning from 4294 BCE to 324 BCE. Despite the many wars between Tribes, the borders and tribes stayed relatively stable until the Dong-Bei War in 324 BCE between Dong Buluo and Bei Buluo. Luo Xu, Chieftain of Bei Buluo. growing greedier by the day, declared a war on conquest on Dong Buluo. The war was a disaster for both sides, resulting is a massive loss of manpower and widespread destruction for both Tribes and an uprising in both Dong and Bei. Bei Buluo's House of Luo was deposed for 2 months before they forcibly retook power from the House of Lian. Dong Buluo's House of Shi was deposed by the House of Di. Seeing the chaos in Dong and Bei, the other 3 ruling houses scrambled to maintain power in their tribes, declaring themselves Kings, bolstering their personal powers. This led to the Five Kingdoms Era.

Di Dynasty
Ruled by the House of Di from 3062 BCE - 2331 BCE, whether the Di Dynasty can really be called a Dynasty is much disputed, as some historians claim it was just a large Tribe using a different title. Nonetheless, the Di Emperors were the first to use Di (Mandarin: 帝) in their titles.

Baiwang Dynasty
Ruled by the House of Wang from 2203 BCE - 1815 BCE, the Baiwang Emperors were the first to use Huang (Mandarin: 皇) in their titles.

Later Long Dynasty
It is unknown where the Long Clan (different from the House of Long), who established the Later Long Dynasty came from. Appearing suddenly in Zhang'an in 1392 BCE led by Long Erhuang (Mandarin: 龙二皇), the Long Clan quickly usurped the House of Zhang and secured loyalty from nobles of Zhong Buluo. In the following decade, the Long Clan conquered Bei Buluo, and much of Nan Buluo, Dong Buluo, and Xi Buluo. Long Erhuang claimed to be descended from the Dragon Emperor, claiming the mantle "Later Long" as a continuation of the mythical Long Dynasty. It lasted until 603 BCE, collapsing due to a mix of inter-clan fighting, increased resistance from the House of Zhang and House of Luo, a string of incompetent emperors, and renewed fighting from Xi Buluo, Dong Buluo, and Nan Buluo.

Xi Dynasty
Formed from the Xi Kingdom after its conquest of Bei Kingdom, Zhong Kingdom, and much of Nan Kingdom in 268 BCE. Conquered and made a mostly autonomous vassal state of Cheonje in 1 CE. Ended with the collapse of the Dynasty and return of the Bei, Zhong, and Nan royal families to power in their respective kingdoms in 35 CE.

Jin Dynasty
Formed from the Bei Kingdom after its conquest of Zhong Kingdom, Dong Kingdom, and Nan Kingdom in 74 CE. Collapsed in 241 CE after widespread rebellion.

Zhong Dynasty
Formed from the Zhong Kingdom royal family's usurpation of the Jin throne in 241 CE and their conquest of the newly independent Dong Kingdom, Nan Kingdom, and parts of Xi and Bei Kingdom. Fell in 416 CE with the Sack of Zhang’an to Long Wutian's Unification of Longzhou campaign.

Cheonje Era
From the years 1 CE to 876 CE, all of Longzhou, including the later Xi, Jin, and Zhong dynasties were under the rule of Cheonje. After the Raze of Danyang and collapse of Cheonje, the Tianlong Dynasty gained independence.

One Dynasty, Five Clans
In Longzhou there is the saying "One Dynasty, Five Clans" (Mandarin: 一朝, 五氏族 Yī zhāo wǔ shìzú), referring to the political powerhouses of Longzhou, the Imperial Family, the Luo Clan, the Di Clan, the Zhang Clan, the Nan Clan, and the Wu Clan. These families hold most of the power in Longzhou.