Free City of Ankershagen

The Free City of Ankershagen was a city-state in the central Vasterlands centred around the eponymous city.
== History ==
Ankershagen was founded in the 4th Century BCE, a bustling metropolis connecting the Vadyan tribes to the Armedeans of the eastern Vasterlands. 
It was a relatively peaceful city until the first countries began to form nearby, inspired by the successes of Prince Amharon. The city elders decided to centralise the government of Ankershagen, for its own defence, and in 184BCE the Free City of Ankershagen followed Penzlin, Falkenborg and Uckeritz in declaring its sovereignty.
These four cities formed the basis of an alliance to repel outside invaders, an alliance which lasted until the Great Gap. Afterwards, Falkenborg had been absorbed into the Republic of Lintzee and Uckeritz into the duchy of Gehemnia. Ankershagen and Penzlin had become militarised, with the areas around the cities lined with forts and walls.
The two cities remained independent for a long time after the Gap, depending on their defensive networks to defend themselves. Despite this, the castellans of Ankershagen and Penzlin did not understand the advanced technology that went into the fortifications, meaning that though they looked formidable they were badly defended and, by the beginning of the 6th Century, the forts and walls were falling into disrepair.
This is a point not ignored by the expanding Republic of Yerlen, which devised plans to invade Ankershagen several times. Until the middle of the 6th Century, though, Yerlen was too busy attacking weaker targets, like Nordzeeland and Unterwerden.
In 562, Yerlen initiated the War for the Free Cities, moving levies into the area between Ankershagen and Penzlin and laying siege to both. Penzlin fell after a year, but the larger and better-supplied fortress of Ankershagen managed to hang on until 566.
After the sack of Ankershagen, the War for the Free Cities was over and the Free City of Ankershagen was no more.
== Legacy ==
The Free City of Ankershagen was home to Gunther of the Iron Hand, an ex-soldier, adventurer and one of the more famous knights of the Guerr-en-Exile.
Category:Countries