Seven Kingdoms

The Seven Kingdoms were the human states that became sovereign after the disintegration of the Empire of Arathor, approximately 1,200 years before the First War.The Seven Kingdoms
==History==
The seeds of the kingdoms of men were Arathorian city-states. First among them was Strom, a mighty fortress city of the Arathi tribe located in the regions south of Quel'Thalas. This bastion became the capital of the nation of Arathor, which saw its number grow as humans from all over the land traveled there to the protection and safety of Strom.Arathor and the Troll Wars
After the Amani defeat at the end of the Troll Wars and the death of Thoradin, the Arathorian king, the younger generations of Arathor — then an empire — sought to expand beyond the borders of the lands surrounding the capital.The Guardians of Tirisfal Among them, a group of magi journeyed north because they felt fettered by the strict laws governing magic in Strom. On the southern shore of Lordamere Lake, these fledgling spellcasters founded Dalaran,The First Guardian the second Arathorian city-state.
During the following centuries, other city-states arose across the continent. Among them were the militaristic Gilneas and Alterac (both strong supporters of the empire), whose mighty armies explored the mountainous southern lands of Khaz Modan and made first contact with the dwarves. On an island south of the imperial capital, Kul Tiras was built and developed a prosperous economy based fishing, shipping, and commerce. Meanwhile, Dalaran became the chief center of learning for magicians throughout the land. Although the four city-states had their own customs and commercial workings, they all held to the unifying authority of Strom, which acted as the central hub of the expansive empire.
As the economy of Arathor flourished, its strongest elements began to disintegrate. The nobles of Strom, seeking lusher lands, purity, and enlightenment, decided to leave the arid surroundings of the imperial capital against the arguments of the royalty. Far to the north of Dalaran, the greater citizenry founded a city-state named Lordaeron after the surrounding region, which became a mecca for religious travelers and all those who sought inner peace and security.
Left within the crumbling walls of ancient Strom, the Arathi descendants decided to travel south past the rocky Khaz Modan. After many long seasons of journey, they settled in the southern region of the continent they would name Azeroth and founded the kingdom of Stormwind, which quickly became a self-sufficient power in its own right.
Meanwhile, in the almost silent Strom, the few warriors still left decided to remain and guard the ancient walls of their city. As Strom was no longer the center of the empire, the soldiers developed it into a new martial nation known as Stromgarde. Though each of the seven city-states became prosperous in its own right, the empire of Arathor had effectively disintegrated. As each nation developed its own customs and beliefs, they became increasingly segregated from one another and humanity lost the unity achieved during the rule of King Thoradin.
In time, the kingdoms gradually developed rivalries, as before the coming of the orcs, the human kingdoms of Lordaeron faced challenges and obstacles from each other as the games of politics played out.Arthas: Rise of the Lich King, pg. 27 & 31 Decades before the First War, while Azeroth enjoyed a time of relative peace, villages squabbled with villages, and kingdoms spied on kingdoms. In the Eastern Kingdoms, humans engaged in rigorous trade with dwarves, gnomes, and high elves. Some nations, like Lordaeron, acted as regional leaders and trendsetters, mediating disagreements between smaller kingdoms and used their strong militaries to impose order over the land. Still others focused their resources on defending themselves from old rivals.
Among the history books in Medivh's library, some mentioned references of genocides, assassinations, and massacres between humans of the seven kingdoms, using claims of nobility, heritage, and honor to justify their conflicts.The Last Guardian, chapter 12 Among these battles, there were military conflicts between the nations of Alterac and Stromgarde, as the proximity of the two and the apparent ambiguity of their mountain borders had led to several wars and skirmishes. On more than one occasion, King Thoras Trollbane led the armies of Stromgarde into battle against the honorable General Hath of Alterac.Tides of Darkness, chapter 16
Before the Second War began, King Terenas Menethil II of Lordaeron formed a council of delegates from each of the seven kingdoms, after which the Alliance of Lordaeron was founded.Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness manual, A Brief History of the Fall of Azeroth, The Alliance of Lordaeron
==Post-Arathorian kingdoms==
Alterac.jpg|Alterac
Dalaran-flag.jpg|Dalaran
Gineas.jpg|Gilneas
Kul-tiras-flag.jpg|Kul Tiras
Lordaeron-flag.jpg|Lordaeron
Azeroth.jpg|Stormwind
WC2 Manual Stromgarde.gif|Stromgarde
==Demonyms==
Demonym is a term for the residents of a locality and is usually, though not always, derived from the name of a locality. 
The demonyms for the Seven Kingdoms' residents are:
*Alterac = Alteraci.Sean Copeland on Twitter: "Lore from Chris Metzen and Micky Neilson! Alteraci (“alterackee”), Lordaeronian, Stromic, Dalaranian, Stormwindian. BOOM." March 10, 2014
*Dalaran = Dalaranian.
*Gilneas = Gilnean.Gilnean Ring of Ruination
*Kul Tiras = Kul Tiran or Tirasian.Sean Copeland of TwitterScavenged Tirasian Plate
*Lordaeron = Lordaeronian.
*Stormwind = Stormwindian.
*Stromgarde = Stromic.
==Current status==
High King Anduin Wrynn is the last King of Stormwind, which maintains its position as the beacon of humanity and the most powerful nation in the Alliance, and Lordaeron's former champion Turalyon has become the Regent of Stormwind in Anduin's absence.
Genn Greymane continues to lead his exiled nation of Gilneas, having rejoined the Alliance after the Cataclysm years ago. However, the lands of the kingdom apparently remain mostly abandoned due to the lingering effects of the Blight employed by the Forsaken during their invasion.Dave Kosak on Twitter - "It's a dangerous place, but roleplayers can explore it if they wear face protection and limit their exposure. :)"
Archmage Khadgar is the last leader of Dalaran City, which was last situated near the Broken Isles, having become the Kirin Tor's leader after Jaina Proudmoore stepped down when the Council of Six voted to re-admit the Horde into the city, their members having previously been expelled in the Purge of Dalaran. The actual lands of the magocracy of Dalaran near Lordamere Lake, however, are contested between remaining Dalaranian forces and the Forsaken.
Jaina Proudmoore, after leaving Dalaran and successfully reuniting her family and her homeland, became the new Lord Admiral of the Admiralty of Kul Tiras, and has returned her people into the Alliance as well, lending their formidable naval might to their cause.A Nation United (quest)
Danath Trollbane and the League of Arathor have rebuilt Stromgarde Keep and successfully reclaimed most of its surrounding territories in the Arathi Highlands, finally leading the Kingdom of Stromgarde into the Alliance once again.Turalyon#Stormwind Keep
The Kingdom of Alterac continues its existence mostly in the form of the Syndicate, its members still hostile to both factions, although Alterac Valley was contested between the Frostwolf clan and the Stormpike Guard, as well as most recently other Alliance and Horde forces in the region.
After the Fourth War, much of the Kingdom of Lordaeron remains destroyed, although some of its territories have recently been reclaimed by the Alliance.The Battle for Lordaeron Although the Undercity and Brill were abandoned by Sylvanas Windrunner and the Forsaken, her use of the Blight has rendered the Ruins of Lordaeron as well as much of Tirisfal Glades uninhabitable to both her people and the living. The remaining lands of Lordaeron remain largely divided between the Forsaken, the Alliance, the Argent Crusade and the Scourge (although the latter two were largely inactive during most of the Fourth War, which did not involve the Plaguelands for the most part). However, the Alliance has made considerable gains during the conflict, capturing Fenris Isle and Shadowfang Keep with its surroundings in Silverpine Forest, as well as reclaiming and rebuilding Southshore in the Hillsbrad Foothills.World of Warcraft: Exploring Azeroth: The Eastern Kingdoms
The Seven Kingdoms 	The Seven Kingdoms 	First War	Second War 	Interim 	Third War 	Interlude 	Alliance-Horde war 	Third Burning Legion Invasion	Fourth War 	Current status 	Current affiliation
Lordaeron 	 	- 	Damaged"Quel'Thalas: The Razing of Tyr's Hand", Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Blizzard Entertainment."Quel'Thalas: The Destruction of Stratholme", Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Blizzard Entertainment.	Rebuilt 	DestroyedArchived page 	See Scourge and Forsaken 	Ruined 	- 	See Battle for Lordaeron	In ruins, defunct 	Contested/ForsakenUltimate Visual Guide, pg. 17 & 125
Stormwind 	 	Destroyed	- 	Rebuilt 	- 	- 	Damaged 	Rebuilt 	- 	Active 	Alliance
Dalaran 	 	- 	Damaged"Tides of Darkness: The Siege of Dalaran", Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Blizzard Entertainment. 	Rebuilt 	Nearly destroyedUltimate Visual Guide, 20.	Rebuilt 	Rejoined Alliance 	Damaged 	Rebuilt 	Capital healthy, other territories ruined	Alliance/Neutral
Kul Tiras 	 	- 	Damaged"The Great Sea: Assault on Kul Tiras", Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. Blizzard Entertainment. 	Rebuilt 	- 	Fell silentUltimate Visual Guide	- 	- 	Rejoined Alliance 	Active 	Alliance
Stromgarde 	 	- 	DamagedKhaz Modan: The Fall of Stromgarde", Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Blizzard Entertainment. 	Left Alliance 	- 	Damaged 	DamagedRejoined Alliance, See League of Arathor	See Stromgarde 	See Warfront 	Active 	Alliance
Gilneas 	 	- 	- 	Left Alliance 	- 	See Worgen 	Rejoined Alliance 	- 	- 	Active, land abandoned (See also) 	Alliance
Alterac 	 	- 	Subjugated by Alliance"The Northlands: Betrayal and the Destruction of Alterac", Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness. Blizzard Entertainment. 	Rebuilt"Prelude to New Worlds: Alterac", Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal. Blizzard Entertainment. "Alterac Keep" is intact by the time of Ner'zhul's Horde invasion of Lordaeron.	- 	See Syndicate 	Damaged 	- 	- 	In ruins, defunct 	Contested/Syndicate
Other Human Nations	Other Human Nations	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Theramore 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	Founded 	Destroyed 	- 	- 	In ruins, defunct 	Alliance
Arathor 	 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	- 	Defunct 	-
==Notes==
*Despite being called "kingdoms", both Dalaran and Kul Tiras never evolved into states ruled by royalty: the former became a magocratic nation, while the later remained a city-state ruled by a noble.
**However, Boralus would later be known as the capital of Kul Tiras.
*In Day of the Dragon, Tol Barad is described as an "island kingdom", and in Of Blood and Honor, Hearthglen was said to have been a "principality" in the past.
*Though most of the human kingdoms held a sphere of influence restricted to the lands surrounding the original city-states, some — notably Stormwind and Lordaeron — came to control vast territories in the continent that would be known as the Eastern Kingdoms.
*In older lore accounts, such as The Guardians of Tirisfal, Dalaran was said to have been founded by non-magi. Those citizens tolerated the wizards arriving to their city-state because of the magic-based protection granted by them to the local economy. However, in more recent accounts, like The First Guardian, Dalaran was initially founded by magi and non-magicians moved there later in order to provide necessary services for the residents of the thriving magocracy.
*Currently, four out of the Seven Kingdoms have a playable race. The humans of Stormwind; the worgen, cursed humans of Gilneas; the Forsaken, former living citizens of Lordaeron; and the humans of Kul Tiras.
==Gallery==
Chronicle Troll Wars Map.jpg|Arathor, Quel'Thalas, and the Amani Empire during the Troll Wars.
Chronicle Map of Arathor's City-States.jpg|The city-states of Arathor (Stormwind was not founded until a later date).
;Fan art
Seven Nations by Hipnosworld.jpg|Seven Nations by Hipnosworld.
Footmen of the Seven Kingdoms.png|The Seven Human Kingdoms by miloscub.
==See also==
*The Seven Kingdoms, part of the History of Warcraft
==References==
Category:Human nations
Category:Kingdoms
Category:Lore
es:Los 7 Reinos