Kadah
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Republic of Kadah Kadah Balasaqe (Kadahian) Capital: Yaladaam
Population: 1201390 (2025) |
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Kadah is a subarctic country located in the Northern Hemisphere, characterized by numerous mountainous regions and abundant high-quality water resources. The southern part of the country features narrow plains. Compared to countries farther south, Kadah experiences heavier snowfall in winter, but enjoys pleasant summers. In the south, average summer temperatures range between 15 to 20°C. The country has a population of approximately 1.2 million, primarily concentrated in the southern regions.
The population is predominantly made up of the Kadah ethnic group (87%), along with minority groups such as the Kashmurian, and descendants of immigrants from China, Japan, and Norway. Kadah is governed as a parliamentary republic. The country’s main sources of income come from the export of significant quantities of nickel, aluminum, and tin ores.
History
origin
There are two main theories about the origin of the earliest humans in Kadah. One suggests that they migrated from the western part of the continent to the east, eventually settling in the area. The other proposes that they came from southern islands, crossing a land bridge that had not yet been fully submerged by seawater at the time. Archaeological evidence suggests that the latter theory is more likely, as the earliest signs of human activity in the region have been found just south of present-day Kashmur in the southeastern part of Kadah, dating back approximately 11,000 years.
Since these humans arrived in the region, they gradually began to develop their own civilization. However, it is evident that the area lacked favorable conditions for agriculture, so they continued their traditional lifestyle of fishing and hunting, with little evidence of farming activity.
Gradually, these people spread across the entire region, marking the beginning of sustained human development in the area.
From antiquity to the early middle ages
According to records from foreign sources, in the early period, there were four distinct cultural groups in the Kadah region. Although they spoke similar languages, their ways of life were quite different. In the southeastern corner lived a people known as the Yubakians, who were skilled in taming falcons and incorporating them into their daily lives. In the northern mountainous regions resided the Qebolabeians, who operated in clan-based units. Along the plains of the Qutabe River in the south, two different peoples lived on opposite banks: on the left bank were the Kadahians, known for their mounted archery and reliance on reindeer for riding and herding; on the right bank were the Kashmurians, who specialized in using long spears and raised shaggy wild cattle.
As time went on, the Kadahians on the left bank acquired ironworking techniques and iron tools from further west, giving them a significant technological edge over the other groups. This technological superiority fueled their desire to expand their territory. Eventually, the Kashmurians were gradually pushed out of the Qutabe River region. The Kadahians then expanded southeastward, encroaching upon and ultimately assimilating the Yubakians. The Qebolabeians in the north were also absorbed into Kadahian society. Over time, the Kadahians became the dominant ethnic group and their culture the mainstream in the region.
The First Formal Attempt at Unification of Kadah
Around the 9th century CE, the Kadahian had likely gained control over the vast majority of the region. By this time, Kadah society was primarily divided into four Khanates:
- The Khojtub Khanate, with its capital at Zalakhaq in the north,
- The Nasab Khanate, based in Yaladaam in the south,
- The Qabukhar Khanate, centered in Qabukhar in the southwest, and
- The Kasu Khanate, with its capital at Vashlu in the southeast.
In the early stages, these four Khanates operated independently. However, over time, they began organizing a form of assembly to coordinate regional cooperation. This assembly eventually evolved into a noble council that represented the interests of the four Khanates.
In the Kadah language, this council was called "Qurma," meaning "the main tent." The Qurma system bore a strong resemblance to a modern parliamentary structure.
As time went on, the Qurma eventually decided to unite the four Khanates into a single state, known historically as the Buzaq Khanate. The Great Khan of Buzaq was appointed in rotation by the Khans of the four original Khanates, ensuring a nominally fair representation for each.
The Era of Great Conquest and Fragmentation
As the 12th century began, after consolidating domestic power, the Khanate embarked on a campaign of external expansion. It didn’t take long before the entire Kadah region and its surroundings came under the control of the Buzaq Khanate—as direct territory, vassal states, or areas under its influence.
However, the good times didn’t last. The four main Khans of the Buzaq Khanate, once united in purpose, gradually fell into schemes and rivalries. The Qurma Assembly, which was meant to unify them, eventually became nothing more than a platform for quarrels. They were never able to elect a new Great Khan to balance their competing powers.
And so, they fractured. In the 13th century, the Buzaq Khanate once again split into four parts.
In the late 14th century, Yej ascended to the position of Khan of the northern Khojtub Khanate. At first, he focused on leading his people to develop their own lands, achieving modest but steady success. However, the increasing prosperity of the Khojtub Khanate soon drew the jealousy of the southern Khans. In 1377, under the indirect leadership of Khan Nasab, the Qabukhar and Kasu Khanates launched a military campaign to the north, attempting to weaken the power of the Khojtub Khanate.
Upon hearing the news, Khan Yej did not panic or show fear. Instead, he personally devised a strategic trap, luring the enemy to attack the northern gateway of Boshla. His forces maneuvered through the forests and mountains to flank and encircle the invading army from the rear. In the end, they achieved a decisive victory, defeating the invading forces.
After the victory, Khan Yej did not rush to pursue the defeated forces. He was confident that Khan Nasab would continue his attacks. Therefore, he sent letters directly to the Khans of Kasu and Qabukhar, stating that while the conflict had its reasons, he would not hold them accountable. His main target remained the Nasab Khanate, and he sought to improve relations with the other two Khanates. Upon receiving the letters, possibly weakened and exhausted, the Kasu and Qabukhar Khanates declined further attacks urged by Nasab. Consequently, Khan Nasab invited several Sayan tribes from the Pelokhasian of UL23c to the north, in another attempt to defeat Khan Yej.
The two forces met once again at Boshla. Khan Nasab personally went to the front lines to confront Khan Yej. They set up camps on the northern and southern banks of the Tasabe, a tributary of the Qutabe River. Fearing that Yej would once again attempt a flanking maneuver, Khan Nasab specifically ordered the Pelokhasian warriors—renowned for their skill in forest warfare—to guard the rear of his camp to prevent any surprise attacks.
However, he once again misjudged Yej's intentions. Yej carried out several fake night raids on Nasab's main camp, gradually exhausting his enemies and making them believe that he had no real intention of launching a serious night assault. Then, on a clear-weather day chosen for a full-scale daylight offensive, Yej acted a day earlier than expected. On the night before the planned battle, he personally led his elite troops—mounted on reindeer—into Nasab's camp under cover of darkness and set it ablaze.
Immediately after, Yej's entire force crossed the river southward. Chaos erupted in Nasab's camp. In the confusion, someone shouted that Khan Nasab had died, which further demoralized the troops. By the next morning, no one could find Nasab. It is believed that he may have been trampled to death in the panic.
After the great battle, Khan Yej launched a victorious pursuit and captured Yaladaam, the wealthiest town in the entire region, bringing about the fall of the Nasab Khanate. This triumph gave him the confidence to attempt the unification of the Kadah people. He then extended an invitation to the two remaining Khanates, hoping to reunite them and restore the former Buzaq Khanate.
The Khan of Kasu agreed and submitted to Yej’s rule. However, Qabukhar refused, relying on its alliance with the neighboring Pelokhasians for support. With no other choice, Yej prepared his forces, and in 1380, he led his army across the Qutabe River. There, he encountered fierce resistance from both the Qabukhar forces and their Pelokhasian allies.
Just like Yej himself had done in the past, they used night raids, flanking tactics, and constant harassment, causing great frustration for Yej. But then, some good news arrived — the Shjelarian kingdom, located further west in the UL23c region, declared war on the Pelokhasians. This diverted Pelokhasian attention and forces, indirectly relieving pressure on Yej’s front.
With the tide turning in his favor, Yej was finally able to defeat the Qabukhar Khanate. Under his leadership, the Kadah people were once again unified.
After Yej completed the unification of the Kadah region, he declared himself the Great Khan in Yaladaam. However, he did not restore the name of the Buzaq Khanate. Instead, he named the country "Kadah," adopting the name by which the Kadahian referred to themselves. His goal was to foster a sense of national identity through this change.
He also established the first comprehensive set of laws, which would later be known as the Kadah Code, a legal system that endured into modern times. These laws strictly outlined legal statutes and set forth an administrative framework. He appointed officials and put an end to wasteful ritual sacrifices.
Economically, he strongly encouraged merchants to circulate goods throughout the region. He sought to gradually abolish the tolls imposed by local lords on merchants, although he retained internal import taxes in major cities — a precursor to modern customs duties.
In terms of foreign policy, he did not harbor hostility toward the Pelokhasian, despite their support for his enemies. On the contrary, he allowed the Pelokhas to bring in goods from farther west that were unavailable in Kadah, permitting them to trade along the border. He also established friendly relations with several of the more powerful Pelokhas tribes. On the surface, the Pelokhas even believed that Khan Yej simply aimed to unify his own lands, and they continued to profit greatly through trade with the Kadah.
However, it turned out that they had severely underestimated the seriousness of the situation. The Pelokhas' excessive complacency allowed Kadah’s influence to infiltrate their internal structure like a sieve. In 1388, the Great Sayan of the Pelokhas passed away. Under Khan Yej's manipulation, several major tribes nominated a pro-Kadah successor to become the new Sayan. However, another faction opposed this choice, leading to a civil war within the Pelokhas.
Seizing the opportunity, Khan Yej publicly declared his support for the pro-Kadah candidate and intervened in the conflict. In the Battle of Totokholi (which means "Stone Lake" in the Pelokhas language), Yej defeated the opposing faction and successfully installed his puppet as the new Sayan. With minimal cost, Yej had thus eliminated the greatest threat on Kadah's western frontier.
In the north, Khan Yej deployed small cavalry detachments into the northern reaches of what is now known as UL23c. Owing to the region’s sparse population and cultural affinity with Kadah, the occupation met with minimal resistance. An outpost and a permanent garrison were soon established, serving as the region’s administrative and military center. Notably, this northern expansion predated the Battle of Totokholi by several years.
Following this, in 1394, the Shjlar Kingdom—already weakened by its earlier defeat at the hands of the Pelokhas—was forced to submit under the iron cavalry of Kadah. In 1397, after barely stabilizing the situation in the occupied territories, Yej declared war on the Kaarti Kingdom, citing its possible harboring of Pelokhas opposition forces as justification. The sudden declaration caught Kaarti completely off guard. Kadah forces quickly occupied Kaarti's southern and eastern cities.
Yej then led his troops in a campaign toward the capital, as well as the central and northern regions. However, at Sawilinna and Wainola, they encountered fierce resistance. When repeated assaults failed to bring success, Yej abandoned direct attacks and instead laid siege to these defiant cities.
At the same time, he dispatched forces to UL19ag and UL19af, claiming and occupying these areas as new territories of the Khanate. However, the ongoing resistance from the Kaarti, Pelokhas, and Shjlar peoples forced the Khanate to divert more troops to maintain internal stability. This stretched Kadah's front-line forces to the breaking point.
In 1409, Yej personally led his elite troops in an attempt to capture the heavily fortified city of Sawilinna, hoping to finally crush Kaarti morale. The campaign failed. During a major assault, Yej was struck by a crossbow bolt. Compounded by the harsh winter conditions, he fell ill and, tragically, died the following year.
After his death, a succession crisis erupted within the Khanate, as Yej had not designated an heir. Uprisings against Kadah rule broke out across the realm, spreading rapidly and fiercely. The four principal constituent khanates of Kadah splintered once more, bringing an abrupt end to the fleeting golden age of the empire.
The Era of Turmoil
After the decline of the Khanate, the Four Great Khanates were nominally subordinate to the Kadah Khanate government led by Yaladaam. However, in reality, they maintained their own independence. After the end of the golden age, people no longer identified themselves with a particular khanate but instead began to see themselves as Kadahian. This shift in identity marked the emergence of nationalism in the region. The nobility also exploited this growing sentiment to wage war against one another, plunging the land into a dark and chaotic era. They remained embroiled in conflict for two centuries until 1617, when merchants from Izaland and the Bai Empire crossed the seas and discovered the region. They sold their goods at high prices to the local rulers and established a trading post in Nyerqak, under the rule of Qabukhar, to gain a foothold in the area.
Subsequently, these merchants from other continents brought with them firearms, which further intensified the chaos of war. Gradually, they came to control the legitimate Kadah Khanate government, led by Yaladaam with Qabukhar and Kasu as his main supporters, turning the khanate into their puppet regime. Meanwhile, in the north, Zalakhaq gradually established its own independent authority. Citing its pure Khojtub family bloodline, it refused to obey the orders of Yaladaam's government, denouncing it as a regime of traitors who had sold out the nation.
They fought against each other for decades. The northern government, relying on the complex and rugged mountainous terrain, stubbornly resisted the southern government forces controlled by the foreign merchants. It wasn’t until the countries to which those merchants belonged declined or lost interest in the north that the northern government launched a proactive offensive, destroyed the southern puppet regime, and achieved reunification.
The Road to Unification and Republic
After the northern Zalakhaq government took control of Yaladaam, they attempted to restore the old systems and regulations, strictly enforcing and deciding all affairs according to the Kadah Code. Initially, only the emerging civic groups and capitalists were displeased, while the vast majority of herders accepted it willingly. However, the era of feudal rule was clearly a thing of the past and could not be revived. Inspired by republican revolutions in other regions, the people began to spontaneously awaken and rise from the bottom up, aiming to uproot the exploitative nobility and establish a republic belonging to the people themselves.
As tensions escalated, the Khan was forced to concede, allowing the revolutionaries to elect leaders and form a council. But the conservative nobles strongly opposed this movement. They resisted the revolution by kidnapping the Khan, abolishing the decrees, and arresting those who attempted to form the council. Eventually, a revolution was forced to break out. The outcome was clear: the nobles were defeated, the Khan, as a remnant of feudalism, was overthrown, and the Kadah Republic was officially established.
A New Era of Peace and Stability
After the establishment of the republic, they tried to change the nomadic tradition of herders setting up camps everywhere, which was difficult to manage. They established multiple Kade (which are villages) for centralized administration. The republic government discouraged people from following old traditions such as blood feuds, instead encouraging them to bring various cases to the courts. In Yaladaam, they established a parliament whose participants included not only capitalists but also citizens and herders. From the very beginning of the republic, they set a rule that no single class was allowed to hold more than one-third of the seats in the parliament; otherwise, it would be considered illegal.
Years of continuous warfare had devastated livelihoods across the country. Therefore, the republic government launched a long-term recovery strategy. To increase national revenue, they invited experts from other countries to explore and discovered multiple deposits of nickel and aluminum ore, which were then mined on-site. They conducted bilateral trade with countries such as Huaxia, Wyster, and Izaland, and established an all-weather strategic partnership with Kaarti, turning former enemies into friends.、
Today, the Kadah Republic has risen to become a major regional mining power, emerging from poverty and war. However, it still has a long way to go before reaching the level of developed countries.