Matobo

Matobo, officially the Republic of Matobo (Matobwe: Nyika yeMatobo) is a located in southeast Miju. Its territory also includes the island of Nduri. It is surrounded by the Meskuswe Sea to the south and east, Lu'Wavzo Mountains to the west, and the Kupenya River to the north. It shares a land border with Tsongtiko. Covering an area of 3,757,317 square kilometers, Matobo is the largest country in southern Miju and consists of many climates. Its population of 168,951,244 is made up of 184 distinct recognized ethnic groups.

The first settlers in Matobo landed 8,000 years ago in the fertile Sahezi River delta region and developed an agrarian society. Matobo's first political system, the Zadwabi Empire, was founded in the 20th century BCE. In the 4th century AD, the warlord Kugenda the Great led a massive army of Matobwe nomads from the Likwende Plateau southward down the Kupenya River and conquered the Zadwabi capital of Indiluku. This brought a cultural shift to the Empire and led to the establishment of the yeLukubo Dynasty, which ruled the region until the Tsibonga Crisis in the 9th century AD. The succeeding yeBondo Dynasty expanded aggressively northward along the Kupenya River and established trade throughout Miju. Sinjunese explorers landed in Matobo in the 15th century, and were restricted to three trading ports in the southern parts of the empire. Dynastic rule was ended in the mid 19th century, after a series of unequal treaties and military conflicts with Sinjunese powers led to the occupation of several key Matobwe cities. Matobo won a streak of battles against Sinjunese imperials in the early 20th century, and re-established its complete sovereignty in 1922. After using the Eulhae War as a means of pushing foreign powers further out of the continent, liberating other subjugated Mijunese nations, and consolidating its own power, the Republic of Matobo was founded in 1943.

Today, Matobo is a regional power with a quickly growing economy and expanding infrastructure. It is one of the founding members of the Pan-Miju Conference and maintains a policy of intervention regarding the well-being of other Mijunese nations. Matobo is renowned for its beaches and is a major tourist destination.

Prehistory
The northern regions of Matobo and the surrounding area are at the forefront of paleontology. The oldest hominid to date was found in the North Likwende region in 1991. The most well known hominid discovery, the Cheguta Man, was discovered in the Cheguta valley region in 1975. It is one of the most complete and best reserved examples of early hominids, and is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago.

Matobo is also considered one of the earliest sites of the emergence of anatomically modern humans,. The oldest of these fossil finds, the Arar remains, were discovered in the Lower Arar region and date back to around 300,000 years ago. Additionally, skeletons of were found in the upper Kupenya River valley. Dated to approximately 160,000 years ago, they may represent a distinct subspecies of Homo sapiens, or the immediate ancestors to anatomically modern humans.

In 2016, archaeologists discovered a 30,000 year old Middle Stone Age rock shelter in the Lu'Wavzo Mountains. This dwelling is the earliest case of humans dwelling at high altitude ever discovered. Thousands of animal bones, hundreds of stone tools, and ancient fireplaces were discovered.

Evidence of some of the earliest stone-tipped projectile weapons were discovered in the East Likwende region in 2011 and date to around 279,000 years ago. They are believed to be the tips of spears or javelins.