City and Kingdom era
| History of Chotar | |
|---|---|
 This article is part of a series | |
| First Empire (c. 1600–1030 BCE) | |
| Dark Age (c. 1030–760 BCE) | |
| First Interdynastic (c. 1030–930 BCE) | |
| Ukmai Empire (c. 930–850 BCE) | |
| Second Empire (c. 930/760–359 BCE) | |
| City and Kingdom era (359–220 BCE) | |
| Third (Urumen) Empire (220–54 BCE) | |
| Third Interdynastic (54 BCE – 58 CE) | |
| Fourth Empire (58–324 CE) | |
| Equinox era (324–586) | |
| Fifth Empire (586–1052) | |
The City and Kingdom era or Second Interdynastic was the period of Chotarian history from the fall of the Second Chotarian Empire in 359 BCE to the Urumen conquest of Chotar in 220 BCE. The era was marked by a general condition of political fragmentation, as the Chotarian heartland east of the Varudine mountains was divided between several competing kingdoms, while Chotarian towns and colonies in the peripheries established independent governments of their own. The threat of raiding from the Urumen principalities to the west and the migration of peoples such as the Argotes and Old Axiovy from the north, both of which had begun in the late Second Empire, contributed to the insecurity of the period. This political fragmentation led to the disintegration of the Ishtinist cult of the Emperor, which had first developed its classical form in the Second Empire, as different polities established autonomous temple-courts and the title of Emperor was debased by its adoption by a large number of independent leaders. None of these various states succeeded in asserting hegemony in the century following the end of the Second Empire, and the City and Kingdom era came to a close only with the invasion of Chotar by the western Urumen, establishing the Third Empire. The practice of religious and political autonomy in the City and Kingdom era left a significant legacy, however, contributing to tensions within the Third Empire owing to formerly independent temples maintaining their peculiar practices under Urumen rule, and later serving as a model for the development of provincial independence in the Fourth Empire.
| Preceded by Second Empire c. 930–359 BCE |
Chotarian history City and Kingdom era 359–220 BCE |
Succeeded by Third Empire 220–54 BCE |