The Earth Kingdom in Avatar: The Last Airbender is the largest and technically strongest nation, sured in of military prowess by the Fire Nation only during the Hundred Year War. There are dozens of villages, towns, and cities scattered across the continent, many of which are socio-culturally distinct.
As the name implies, the Earth Kingdom is home to Toph Beifong to the Dai Li. The nation's capital, Ba Sing Se, is the largest city ever built by humanity and simultaneously the safest for those who seek to escape Fire Nation invasions.
The Origins Of The Earth Kingdom
Not all civilizations begin as cities, but Ba Sing Se is the exception. It has existed for over fifty centuries, starting as a small hamlet built by those who leave their Lion Turtle, but grows over time to the massive metropolis it is now.
At this point, the Earth Kingdom is fragmented into dozens of warring factions, but the power of Ba Sing Se manages to bring them under one banner. It can be argued that the Earth Kingdom functions as little more than one city's puppet show.
The Love Of Oma And Shu
The story of Oma and Shu, a couple bound by love but separated by familial ties, decide to maintain their relationship despite the potential opposition from their respective tribes. It is said that these two are the original Earthbenders, having learned the art from the underground Badgermoles.
Oma and Shu proceed to earthbend a complex maze that would protect their love while hampering any witnesses. When Shu dies in a battle, Oma displays the tremendous force of her Earthbending, declaring a t truce between the two tribes. The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu is apparently constructed on the hill where the two lovers used to meet.
The Formation Of Sandbending Culture
A subset of Earthbending, Sandbending is the manipulation of sand grains, mixing techniques from Waterbending and Airbending into their own style. This unique artform develops in the Earth Kingdom's Si Wong Desert, the largest and most torrid of its kind in the world.
Interestingly, this unforgiving nature of the desert is why the Si Wong tribes remain free from any Earth Kingdom influence. In fact, they are so cloistered from the rest of the world that their traditions are radically different from Earthbending culture.
The War Of Chin The Conqueror
During the reign of the 46th Earth King, a chieftain named Chin gathered enough military to wrest control of the Earth Kingdom. In many ways, his uprising is a direct result of the general public's displeasure with the monarchy, but Chin goes a bit too far when he styles himself The Conqueror.
To stay true to his self-titled epithet, he demands that the peninsula of Yokoya submit itself to him. Sadly for Chin, he sets his eyes on Avatar Kyoshi's home, which does not end well for him.
The Misidentification Of The Earthbending Avatar
After Avatar Kuruk's untimely death, the Earthbending Masters Kelsang and Jianzhu travel to Yokoya in search of the next Avatar. Their toy test fails everywhere, although a young Kyoshi doesn't exactly complete it.
Much later, the two Masters find a young man named Yun, misidentifying him as the Avatar. It takes another couple of years for Jianzhu and Kelsang to start suspecting that the Avatar might actually be the servant-girl Kyoshi.
The Founding Of The Dai Li
As unbelievable as it sounds, given their noxious reputation, the Dai Li are actually formed by Avatar Kyoshi. Her intentions to create a cadre of powerful Earthbenders are to preserve harmony, especially after the recent peasant uprisings.
Kyoshi personally takes care of training, gradually forging her students into an unbreakable unit. She is also responsible for the Earthbending gloves that the agents are iconic for. In the graphic novels, however, it is revealed that Kyoshi feels remorse for what her creation turns into.
The Earth Kingdom's Rich Resources
Unlike the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom hasn't turned into a militarized technocracy, but this has more to do with the Earthbending aspect of neutral jing — the act of ive waiting — than any lack of resources.
The Earth Kingdom has a renewable source of material in the rocks around them, using Earthbending in their architecture and cityscape. Further, the country is known for its near-limitless mineral ores, most of which is reserved for exporting.
The Ambiguity Of Political Leadership
Officially, the Monarch of the Earth Kingdom rules from Ba Sing Se, and their power extends to the extremities of the country, no exceptions. Well, except a few — the cities of Omashu and Zaofu are enclosed within the geographic bounds of the Earth Kingdom, and they are well linked to other cities by trade and business.
And yet, neither city's ruler is subject to the Monarchy's laws and guidelines; for instance, Zaofu's autonomy is enforced by the platinum shells that protect the city from intrusion, political or otherwise.
The Birth Of The United Republic
The colonies at the end of the Hundred Year War are a matter of contention for three parties: the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and the colonies themselves. Although things take a turn to the worse initially, Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko institute the Harmony Restoration Movement.
This campaign finally grows into a new nation for benders and nonbenders alike, known as the United Republic with its government situated at Republic City.
The Move Towards A Democracy
In The Legend of Korra: Ruins of the Empire graphic novel, the Earth King Wu declares that the monarchy's end had come and that the Earth Kingdom would slowly start moving into democracy, one phase at a time.
Wu experienced opposition from a few of his governors, but Gaoling State is chosen to have the first election ever. Unfortunately, the process does not proceed smoothly, and the elections are ultimately called off until the majority of Gaoling is open to the idea.
