Vivar

Vivar is a modern ethnic community and possible prehistoric empire based in Central Europe, centred around the Caucasus and extending as far away as Ireland. The Vivarians were Neanderthals and represented the greatest extent of Neanderthal society. Proponents of the Vivarian theory assert that the Vivarian Empire collapsed when modern humans invaded the Empire and defeated it after multiple, long wars, with some suggesting that the Vivarians so feared modern humans that, once modern humans overcame the Vivarians, they systematically slaughtered them, so ending not just the Vivarians but the Neanderthal species as a whole.
Today, the Vivarian community is an active one numbering several million, living mostly in western Europe. They are a minority in every country they live in, where several activist groups represent them and fight against many claimed instances of injustice against the Vivarian people, who believe humans "stole" their land and subjected them to servitude. The modern community claims links to the ancient peoples, though no definitive link has been made.
The existence of ancient Vivar is extensively debated within modern scholarship, with several scholars asserting the people are nothing more than a myth. The Vivarians left no written records, and the earliest known attested mention of the peoples is in Galway, Ireland in 1972 when a group of Irish youths claimed they were descendants. On the other hand, since 1972, multiple discoveries have shown that the Neanderthals were capable of nation-level societal complexes, with a potential "capital" even being found near Rouen, Normandy.
== The Galway Nine and early discoveries ==
The first known mention of the concept of the Vivarian people came on February 19, 1972, when English paleontologist Richard Bradbury interviewed a group of four men and five women, all aged between 19 and 25. The group, who called themselves "ethnic Vivarians", had been operating in Galway for some time and were well known in the Galway youth scene. Bradbury came to learn of the Vivarians when his daughter, Angela, briefly dated one of the members, which spurred Bradbury to pay the group a visit.
Upon visiting the Vivarians for the first time, Bradbury was instantly skeptical, noting that the group were quite unabashed in their drug use and that all nine people lived out of their Land Rover. The Vivarians "spun many wild tales", said Bradbury and passed along some items the group claimed were fossils they found while out for a drive in the nearby countryside.
Nevertheless, Bradbury noted that the group had "obvious Neanderthal features" which abated his skepticism somewhat, with Bradbury later believing that the group may have been "crazy" but they were "right". Bradbury's analysis of the items the group left him showed they were authentic Neanderthal fossils, and an excavation of a site near Galway showed that a Neanderthal city may have existed there. These discoveries would spur more research into the Vivarian people.
==Vivarian history==
According to Bradbury, the Vivarian Empire lasted from 45173 BC to 37559 BC, although later research shows that dates between 39000 BC and 37000 BC are more likely. The interviewed Vivarians claimed that "Vivar" means "light" in the Vivarian language, a language that is now lost.
The Vivarian Empire was founded by a woman named Azyel, who was the first to recognize "the human threat" and organized the Neaderthals in order to face them. The Empire started in a place known as Pomric, in what is now Rouen. Excavations at this site show that a prominent city did develop at this site from 39100 BC before falling by 37500, with multiple items recovered that showed that there was extensive trading across Vivarian realms.
From Pomric, Azyel forged an empire that stretched at least from Spain and Ireland all the way into Jutland and the Carpathian Mountains, although Bradbury's notes assert the Vivarians managed to make it all the way to the Central Asian steppe, the Levant and the Iranian Plateau, roughly the range of the entire Neanderthal species. Bradbury notes that expansion was quick and thorough, with the Vivarians easily establishing their power, though archaeological research shows that any Vivarian expansion was gradual.
Nevertheless, what is agreed upon amongst Vivarian proponents is that by 38600 BC, Pomric appeared to have been a vibrant city and that by this point a Vivarian Empire was established. It was also at this time that Vivarian slavery of modern humans began, as the first wars between the humans and the Vivarians occurred during this time. By its zenith, the Vivarian Empire had built a society where the Vivarians stood atop the social pyramid while humans occupied the bottom rungs, most being slaves that held no rights. Within this structure, the Vivarians enjoyed ample free time while the humans did all the real work, allowing Vivarians to exercise their minds and cultivate many innovations that humans would later adopt, such as the wheel.
According to proponents, the zenith of Vivarian culture occured in 38200 BC, lasting for over 600 years. Other scholars are skeptical of this claim, believing that the Vivarian social structure was ultimately unsustainable and likely wouldn't last more than 100 years.
===Fall of Vivar===
According to Bradbury, the Vivarian Empire entered into decline in 37600 BC, spurred upon by treachery within the Imperial Court. Vivarian infighting damaged the coheisiveness of the Empire, and the human slaves eventually rose up in revolt en masse. After over 100 years of fighting, the decisive battle- the Battle of Montclair, near modern day Paris- was won by the humans under General Borgman Assisi, who thoroughly annihilated the Vivarian Army and effectively wiped out Vivar's ability to counter the revolution. Assisi, according to Bradbury, then commissioned a thorough massacre of the Vivarian people and ordered the destruction of every record of Vivarian existence. This included wiping out the Vivarian language, which Borgman replaced with an entirely manufactured one that would eventually evolve into today's European languages.
==Historicity==
The historicity of ancient Vivar is heavily debated. The Vivarians, if they existed, left behind no written records or a language, with the names they used only being sourced to The Galway Nine, who were obviously not contemporaries. In addition to this, many scholars have called out the plausibility of the Vivar narrative, believing that the time and conditions of the period that they supposedly lived were not suitable for a united Vivarian Empire, which these scholars assert is nothing but "an idealistic fantasy".
Nevertheless, many archeological finds have shown that sites like Pomric were possible, with other finds suggesting there may have been deep levels of connectivity across Europe at times during the Neaderthal era. Scholars mostly doubt an empire as large as the one that is claimed by Vivarians existed, however, owing to technological and logistical limitations.
Many scholars point out the similarities between Vivar and the Irish supremacy theory the Ionad, which similarly claimed a "pre-historic" empire called Raidhse existed. There is speculation that the idea of Vivar arose out of the Ionad because of the similarities, as the (modern) origins of Vivar can be traced back to Ireland. Modern Vivarians, though, not just deny such a link they detest it
==Modern Vivar==
The modern day Vivarian movement doesn't start until 1975, when Bradbury's work inspired the appearance of a Norman "Vivarian culture" that asserted it was a continuation of the Neanderthal population and that Bradbury had "given them an identity". The Galway Nine were initially dismissive of their claims, but scientists and scholars noted that the Norman Vivarians more closely resembled the Vivarians than the Galway Nine did.
Since then, Vivar has emerged as a vibrant community around western Europe, predominantly in Ireland, England, and Gaul, especially Normandy, where it is claimed the Normans are direct descendants of the Vivarians. In an ironic historical twist, most Vivarians are poor and work menial jobs, with several stereotypes emerging that Vivarians, while known for their strength and knowledge, are seen as lazy and unwilling to follow orders or decorum, with Vivarians often breaking their country's laws believing that those laws do not apply to them. They have also begun to be known, like the Emeldic in North America, for their hyper-sensitivity, with Vivarians known to commit acts of violence for the tiniest of infractions.
Thus, Vivarians are often victims of racial profiling, and a number of activist groups have emerged to counter the Vivarians' poor treatement, the most prominent of which is the Vivarian Resistence Movement. Other Vivarian groups have also emerged, such as the Good Vivarian Project, urging Vivarians to do more to integrate into the societies they are a part of. Groups such as the GVP are praised for their more inclusive tone and their peaceful rhetoric, but groups like the VRM denounce them believing they are nothing but "tools of the oppressors".
== The Vivarian Effect ==
The Vivarian Effect is the name given to an extreme variation of the scientific phenomenon of collective false memories (CFM). Unlike typical CFMs where groups of people claim to have a memory of an event that did not happen, the Vivarian Effect occurs when an entire culture or a religion arises out of a particular CFM. What distinguishes the Vivarian phenomenon from more traditional religions is that the entity that the adherents follow in the Vivarian model has been shown by scholarship to be demonstrably false, yet the adherents reject that finding for whatever reason.
The term was coined in 1987 by cultural researcher Septimus Julius, whose own research into the Vivarians made him conclude their culture was based on a falsehood. Since this finding, Julius had led research into understanding the Effect and how it came about, as well as its implications for wider society. His work is considered controversial, mostly from religious circles who feel that Julius wishes to discredit their religions. Julius has denied this is his goal, though other researchers into the Vivarian Effect (unaffiliated to Julius) have researched whether the Effect can apply to the older religions.
== See also ==
* Ionad, a similar theory postulated to be the origins of Vivar and is also denounced by scholars.
* Richard Bradbury
* Galway Nine
Category:Nations of Vicendum
Category:Ideologies of Vicendum