The Kingdom of Hyrule is the primary setting for most of the Legend of Zelda games. It was first founded following the aftermath of the Great War and survived for many generations through the Imprisoning War and until the return of Ganon that resulted in the Great Flood. Even during those dark times, the spirit of the Kingdom persisted through the will of the Goddeses until it was re-established in a new land away from its original location (at that point under the Great Sea). No matter how many times the Kingdom has been attacked or subjucated, the actions of the Hero and the will of its people make sure that it persists.
The creation of a single, unified political entity that would be the Kingdom of Hyrule was necessiated by the events known loosely as the Great War. The conflict itself was ended when the king of the Hylia, through force, created an armistice and placed each race under the aegis of the new Hyrulian government. Indeed, the word Hyrule is derivative of the fact that the kingdom was of Hylian rule.
Once settled, the hierarchy was put into place and the capital of the new kingdom was established in the Hylian settlement, now renamed Hyrule Market Town, and the construction of the Castle was begun. The kingdom then settled into a period of peace that would last for many, many years.
Also during this time the Sheikah pledged fealty to the Royal Family.
Soon, dark clouds were bound to form over the kingdom and new evils were bound to bring war again to the green lands of Hyrule. The first echoes of the coming conflict were sounded (though unheard) at the ritual centennial birth of a Gerudo King, named Ganondorf Dragmire. As he grew up, Ganondorf found himself resenting his lot in life, spent among the coarse sands and blistering heat of the desert. He increasingly came to covet the green fields and pleasant clime of Hyrule, and decided in turn that he should be the ruler of the land.
To bring about this aim, Ganondorf used his position in Gerudo society to place himself in the highest echelons of the Hyrulian government, climbing so high on the ladder that he would become a trusted advisor of the King of Hyrule, himself. Using this position, Ganondorf gained access to the Royal Family's vast libraries and began to research the tools he might use to bring about his dark aims. Eventually he would learn of the supposed location of the Triforce and the ritual one must follow to access it. Unfortunatley for Ganondorf, he realized that certain keys to the Triforce would need to be collected, from peoples that would not be want to part with them.
As such, Ganondorf formulated his plan and set it into motion, creating situations which would bend each targetted race to his will. No one yet saw convincingly enough of his plans to realize that Ganondorf was a threat, and therefore continued to welcome his presence in the Castle. Only Princess Zelda saw through the smokescreen and knew the Gerudo king for what he actually was.
It was the destined meeting between her and the young boy Link that would seal Hyrule's fate. She sent him to retrieve the three Spiritual Stones so Ganondorf could not and thereforce keep the Triforce out of his dark grasp. However, this was no impediment to the dark one's plans, as Ganondorf worked easily around this obstacle with new contingencies. Soon, rather than fighting Link, he was cheering the boy on, preparing to build his empire upon the child's attempted heroics.
This change of plans camer to fruition when, following Ganondorf's seige of the Castle, Link took the Ocarina of Time and used it along with the spiritual stones to open the DoorOfTime and retrieve the Master Sword. Unfortunately for Link, and for Hyrule, this was all part of Ganondorf's plans, and marked the beginning of Hyrule's imprisonment.
Ganondorf immediately followed Link through the Door of Time and into the Sacred Realm. There, he claimed the Triforce and wished for Hyrule itself. The sacred triangles complied and Ganondorf used his new power to conquer the Kingdom and install himself as King.
Seven years after that fateful day, Hyrule's savior was awakened, and through the designs of Rauru, the Sage of Light, Link was sent out to awaken the other sages and use their help to bind and banish Ganondorf. After a long and arduous journey, Link and the Sages confronted Ganondorf at his Tower. There, Link and Zelda struck down the King of Evil and banished him to the SacredRealm. The binding was supposed to last forever.
It did not. Like always, evil found a way to strike at peace and harmony, and once more Ganondorf threatened Hyrule, having ripped his way out of the Sacred Realm somewhere on Death Mountain. Normally, the Hero would be called to cast down the evil one like before, but this time was tragically different. This time the Hero was gone, the lineage scattered away in obscurity. Ganondorf seized this opportunity for power and laid seige to the Castle.
Resigned to the coming defeat of his kingdom, the King sent the civilians from Hyrule Castle Town to the mountains for safety, and called upon the mercy of the Goddesses. They answered Hyrule's prayers by sealing the entire kingdom, along with the King and Ganondorf, under the vast ocean in a Great Flood.
After many centuries, the family of the hero finally produced one who could take up the mantle of Hero and save Hyrule. Guided by the King of Red Lions, Link traveled the Great Sea and eventually, like his predecessor confronted Ganondorf atop his tower. With the help of Tetra, the descendant of Zelda, and the King, Link defeated Ganondorf and slew the King of Evil.
Realizing that the old Hyrule would be nothing of a burden to the descendants of those that fled for the mountains, the King decided to end its long slumber by destroying it. Sending Link and Tetra up to the water's surface, he then called the Great Sea down on top of the ancient kingdom, and so the old land was washed away, and the need arose for a new land.
The following day, Link, Tetra, and the Pirate Crew set sail aboard Tetra's ship for the north and in search of a new land in which to refound the Kingdom of Hyrule. After many months at the high seas, they sighted land far to the north of the Great Sea. There they landed and built a settlement. From there they set out to rebuild the lost kingdom.
The new Kingdom persisted for many centuries though beset by many major crises. The first major crisis was when the government was briefly, and stealthily, overthrown by Agahnim, a puppet of Ganondorf. The King was murdered and the RoyalGuard possessed. Ganondorf nearly used the situtation to break out of his prison in the DarkWorld?, but was thwarted by another Link from the family of the Hero.
In the years that followed that event, the Kingdom expanded to the north, tripling their territory through the acquisition of all lands north of the Death Mountain Range, as well as east across the sea to the large island called EastHyrule?.
The second major crisis was when the government was forced to flee in exile when Ganondorf returned once more from his etheral prison and attacked the Kingdom. The political establishment fled north and settled in the old fortress known as NorthCastle?. Only through the actions of another Hero, though this one from a land beyond Hyrule, Ganon was defeated (as is the custom) and the southlands, Hyrulian heartland, was cleansed of his evil taint.
The Kingdom of Hyrule could be classified as an absolute monarchy, in that the monarch (usually a King) has absolute power in the government without the "meddling" of a parliament of other executive body.
While the Head of Government/State was often the King, there was a period of time where the kingdom was ruled by a Crown Prince instead. This particular situation emerged from the splitting of the Triforce in the events prior to Legend of Zelda and the then-understanding that the be a True King, the monarch must possess all three Triforce pieces, the "True Force".
The economy of Hyrule was basic and based primarily around the trade of crafted goods and agriculture. The Kingdom practiced little or no regulation, levying no taxes and taking a general laissez-faire attitude toward the economy.
The Kingdom's defense was entrusted to two distinct entities, the Royal Guard and the Hylian Knights. The Royal Guard acted as a constabulary and general police force, and armed themselves fully for all out war. The Hylian Knights were the most elite of the Kingdom's armed forces, serving after the refounding as the bodyguards of the King and Royal Family and the vanguard of Hyrule's armed forces. It was from this line of knights that the Hero would always emerge.
Local, racially exclusive, militias might be called upon to defend the Kingdom as well.
The Kingdom of Hyrule placed their faith in the Three Golden Goddesses and worshipped in the many temples of Hyrule. While Goddess-worship was the state religion, there was a separation of temple and state, in that the King did not oversee the faith.
Old Hyrule
New Hyrule
New Hyrule with Northern & Eastern Hyrule
