Ul'dahn History Lesson: Where exactly WAS Sil'dih?

[ScootPatoot]

(1/2)

As a lover of all things Ul'dah, I am in the process of compiling a "cheat sheet" of sorts, containing information about the city-state's governmental and military structures and its leaders past and present.

However, in the process of doing so, I came across an aspect of its history that confused me.

The lore book explains that the civilization of Sil'dih fell following what the War of the Sisters, waged during the reign of sultan Sasagan III. Following the war and the ascension of the Thorne Dynasty, the Arbiters of Truth were established to hide the true methods of the Ul'dahn's victory from the public (EE 129).

Indeed, it looks as though the Ul'dahn leaders sought to erase all traces of the fallen kingdom. In 1.0, we hear that "There's barely a mention of [Sil'dih] in the histories" (Runaway Little Girl). Ul'dah itself was later relocated to sit atop the ruins of Sil'dih (EE 129).

[ScootPatoot]

(2/2)

If Ul'dah sits on top of Sil'dih, then why are mentions of ruins elsewhere? Dialogue from Nenekko in 1.0 reveals that she has gone outside the city to look upon "the ruins" (Runaway Little Girl). However, the quest log entry used to read that characters meet her at a place where only "the mirage of the Sil'dihn ruins can be seen" (GamerEscape).

Additionally, following the Calamity, some more ruins have been exposed in Thanalan. In ARR (which is where I began playing), there is a location in central Thanalan referred to as the Sil'dihn Excavation site, which does have some visible structures.

I'd like to make sense of all this. Was the expanse of Sil'dih that huge, and the the campaign to forget their existence so successful that the Ul’dahns forgot where Sil’dih was? How does the mirage play into this, if at all? Any additional clues we can scrounge on this topic would be much appreciated!

[Anonymoose]

Unfortunately, you know what I know!

When it comes to situations where one thing was said in 1.0 and then there's a large gap in mentions until something (seemingly) contradictory is said later, I try my best to refrain from speculation until it's clear the lore team is at least aware of it.

If I had to guess, the folktale that you could look beyond Ul'dah and see Sil'dih is an urban legend lent credence by pareidolia in the desert haze and a heaping helping of confirmation bias. That and a few Sil'dihn trinkets dug up in adjacent territory (such as fragments of aqueducts or temples) perhaps sealed the deal in keeping people from suspecting the truth.

I'm sure that in such a case the Arbiters of Truth were ecstatic to let that catch on. (Imagine Area 51's relief when everyone was looking for aliens in blurry lights rather than earnestly trying to glean tech-specs of experimental aircraft.)

[Belhi]

Well we know that the tunnels we escape through in 2.55 are Sil'dih if only by where they come out. Personally my big question is where was Ul'dah originally?

[Torquil]

This all kind of resolves itself if you don't take "Ul'dah itself was later relocated to sit atop the ruins of Sil'dih" too literally. The excavation site is close, very close. Perhaps Uldah was simply relocated really really very close to Sil'dih.

[RomildaRayne]

Ul'dah was moved above Sil'dih's ruins to take advantage of the aqueducts and the superior irrigation. This bit them in the arse towards the end of the Thorne Dynasty, when Ashkin rose up from the ruins and Ul'dah spent years beating them back.

If Sil'dih is anything like Belah'dia or modern city-states, they'd have sets of ruins beyond the borders of the main Sil'dih itself. Were modern Ul'dah to fall into ruin, you'd likely find ruins all over Thanalan - from Drybone to Black Brush to Horizon. Sil'dih may have been the same and had camps and settlements beyond the main city.

I've brought this up to Moose as a possibility before, but...



Given what we know of Ul'dah's history, is it not possible that this mirage is not of Sil'dih, but of the original city-state of Ul'dah prior to its relocation if not, as Moose said, a simple urban legend?