Limete

The city of Limete was an ancient city ruled by the Palanthid dynasty. It is most famous for its library and professional soldiers fighting in the Tardian Phalanx style

## History

### The Xenisensis Era

Limete was founded by a group of local herdsmen called the Palanthes in 512 b.Z. In their tongue Limete means 'city of salt' as it lays next to a dried up march which provides the city plenty of salt reservoirs. The wealth brought by selling this salt caught the attention of many local tribes and peoples and the population quickly rose, the city had 5,000 inhabitants in 500 b.Z. and 50,000 in 400 b.Z. This explosive population growth worried the native Palanthes who quickly became a minority in their own city. In 388 b.Z. they passed a law that only allowed individuals to settle in Limete if their father or mother was born in the city. This upset the many new inhabitants who could not bring their families over to the wealthy town and a class struggle broke out. Two factions emerged in the city: the Itagenis, the home-grown and the Xenisensis, the foreign-grown. Tensions remained for over a hundred years but violence only broke out when the Palanthes rulers passed a law which forced Xenisensis to leave the city, their belongings seized. A popular revolt broke out and the most prominent Palanthes were killed by the mob. The Palanthes fled the city and for 36 years the Xenisensis ruled the city. This period was characterized by another massive population boom and the city became wealthier and more powerful then it had ever been before. In 352 b.Z. the Palanthes returned with a Speratoi army and forced the city to let them back in. The Palanthes quickly seized power again and the Xenisensis got purged. A rule of terror emerged as the Palanthes used their Speratoi army to quell any resistance amongst the population. This ended in 334 b.Z. when the Speratoi army demanded a higher pay, which the Palanthes promptly refused. A war broke out between the city and the mercenaries which lasted 5 years. The war ended when the population rose up against the Palanthes and expelled them, paying off the Speratoi mercenaries by offering them one fifth of all that they possessed.

### The Palanthid Dynasty

Now the Palanthes were once again expelled the Limetes had to find a new way to rule the city, they failed. Chaos broke out and the inhabitants of the city turned on each other. Street violence was of the order of the day and in the 'Anarchy of Limete' 5600 men and women found their death. For 3 years the anarchy lasted until eventually the people had had enough of the violence. They reached out to the once hated Palanthes and invited them to rule the city once more, with the promise to do so fairly for everyone. The outcasts accepted and once again they took power but they kept their word and ruled fairly. During the coming years of peace Limete grew in wealth and prestige once more and even expanded its borders. It was during this expansion they met their doom. One day Limete undertook an expedition into the Great forests that are Laurelorn and conquered a small settlement there. The kingdom of Laurelorn took great offense at this and Kithband mustered its forces against Limete. The city was no match for the men of the forest and within 2 years Kithband stood at the gates. In their panic the Limetes caught a killing frenzy and killed all the Palanthes they could find. The streets were filled with blood by this horrible deed and a day later the city regretted their actions deeply. But in their day of rage they had overseen one Palanthes. A popular young boy by the name of Nestor. In their shame the population of Limete humbly gave this boy the rule of the Palanthes, making him the king of Limete at the age of 16. Nestor was young indeed, but he was no fool and quickly made a deal with Kithband, paying them one fifth of the city's belongings for peace, as Limete had done with the Speratoi. As such the Last of the Palanthes brought peace to his kingdom. The Palanthid as he came known ruled for 71 years until he was 87. His daughter Helene succeeded him and continued her father's wise rule. She in turn was succeeded by her son Nestor II who was succeeded by Nestor III. These three rulers ruled for 123 years combined and in the Nestorian Era Limete became a mercantile city filled with great projects and beautiful temples. In 86 b.Z. the Nestorian age came to an end when Menelaus I succeeded his father Nestor III. From henceforth Limete would become a city of art, wisdom and knowledge. This was no sudden decision by Menelaus I as the salt reservoirs which had made the city so wealthy had become depleted and to secure the future of Limete it needed to adapt. Thus Limete became thé city of science and it prospered as it had done before. Menelaus I became most famous when he ordered the construction of the Library of Limete in 40 b.Z., the grandest of all buildings on the world with the greatest collection of knowledge ever assembled by men. The king would not see completion of his magnum opus as he died 4 months after commissioning it. His son Menelaus II spent his entire life constructing and expanding his father's project but it was under his son Menelaus III that it was finally finished, in the year 14 a.Z. The library was opened with the visit of three great leaders of the age: Orion I of Laurelorn, Arturo I of Kartaga and Hesiod Kyvernitis of Macarmonil. Each of them was impressed by the library and within years it was considered the greatest wonder in the whole of Adonatus.

### Decline

Menelaus III was worried by the conflicts of his day, especially the second Salamanderian war, and he ordered the establishment of a military that could withstand outside threats. Led by Ajax, nephew of Menelaus III, the Phalangitoi Limetè became an efficient and well disciplined force fighting in the Tardian style. Limete was spared by the Midsea wars of the coming years and remained at an uneasy peace whilst its scholars thrived. There was only so much money to spend however and when the salt reservoirs were finally emptied in 34 a.Z., a year later Menelaus III died after having ruled for 54 years. The last king of the Menelaud Era had left sons nor daughters and thus his two nephews came at blows over who would become the new Palanthid. There was the earlier mentioned Ajax, head of the Phalangitoi, and there was the wiser Odysseus. The people of the city chose Odysseus but the army that Menelaus III had raised to protect his country turned on it and seized the city, installing Ajax on the throne. Odysseus was executed and his family fled to Kartaga. With the help of Suffete Santiago I the Odysseids returned led by Odysseus sister Penelope. The Karteese sieged Limete but the grand defensive works of Menelaus III and the disciplined Phalangitoi were not to be beaten. When Ajax allied himself with Laurelorn the Karteese retreated. Another 4 years of war followed until the battle of Marnorn when Santiago I decisively beat Kithband and Ajax in open battle. Ajax died in the battle and Penelope installed herself on the throne. The price to pay for her throne was not a cheap one however and Limete became a puppet of Santiago I. Every year the city paid tribute to Kartaga and the coffers slowly began to shrink. Penelope ruled for another 10 years until 49 a.Z. when her son Icarius succeeded her. Icarius saw the Haltican rebellion of 54 a.Z. as the right time to throw of the shackles of Kartaga but Santiago returned two years later decisively beating Icarius in battle in front of Limete itself. The city was annexed by Kartaga but when Santiago I died in 60 a.Z. it found its independence back. It was short-lived however as the Doom of 62 brought great upheaval to Adonatus and Limete was sacked in 65 a.Z. by a tribe called the Eroges. An Eroges king by the name of Merivis made Limete the capital of his new kingdom but the city was slowly abandoned until it was naught but ruins in the year 81 a.Z.