Khajiit

Description from original post (created 2012-05-02 19:57):

The kingdoms of the Khajiit existed long before recorded history.[1][8] Elsweyr consisted of 16 kingdoms of about 20 different types of Khajiit early in the First Era, which were a model of cooperative specialization and harmony compared to other races of the time.[1][9] The Thrassian Plague would upset this balance in 1E 2260, leaving only two primary kingdoms.[1] The province was fashioned into its modern state in 2E 309 when Keirgo of Anequina and Eshita of Pellitine combined their long-feuding domains and gave the land its name, sparking a class struggle that briefly threatened to draw outside intervention.[9][10] The people of each kingdom found themselves drawn together by their leaders, which was considered a betrayal by many, as the northern Anequina saw Pellitine as depraved and decadent, while the Khajiits of Pellitine thought Anequina barbarous.[1]
Peace was eventually restored amongst the Khajiiti by the generally non-partisan Mane, Rid-T'har-ri'Datta, who "bestowed to the classes equality under the bi-lunar shadow, dividing their power in accordance with two-moons-dance".[9] What this established, in a more understandable sense, was a rotational power base in which both sides of Khajiiti society, the southern city-dwellers under the nobility and the northern nomadic tribes under their chieftains, shared alternate control of the region based on the phases of Masser and Secunda, which are held in great reverence in Khajiiti society.[9] The terms of this measure, the Riddle'thar, were overseen by the thinly-veiled dictatorship of the Mane himself.[9] The efficacy of each individual Mane has varied greatly, and some led the Khajiit to periods of strife and war throughout the Third Era, especially with the Bosmer.[1][11][12][13] They have historically achieved greater peace and prosperity under Imperial rule (according to Imperial scholars), yet often rebel against their authority in keeping with their unique view of the world.[1][14]
In 4E 98, the moons Masser and Secunda vanished, creating fear and strife amongst the Khajiit.[15] When the moons reappeared two years later and the Thalmor announced they had used magic to restore them, the Khajiit praised them as their saviors.[15] In 4E 115, popular support for the Thalmor led to a coup against the Imperial-backed government in Elsweyr and the reestablishment of the ancient kingdoms Anequina and Pelletine as client states of the Thalmor.[15]