In ancient times, the people of Eldia existed as a primitive tribe. The Eldian tribe pillaged and raided opposing peoples, even cutting out the tongues of those they took for their slaves and gouging out the eyes of disobedient slaves.^[10]

Around 2,000 years ago, a slave girl named Ymir gained the power of the Titans. The ruler of the Eldian tribe used Ymir's newfound powers to war against enemy nations such as Marley, and he would later take Ymir to mother his children in the Fritz family.^[11] 13 years later, Ymir Fritz died in defense of her king, and her powers were inherited by her three daughters when they cannibalized her body.^[12] Her powers would spread until there were Nine Titans. With their Titan powers, the Subjects of Ymir established the Eldian Empire.^[2][13]

The Nine Titans building the Eldian Empire

The Eldians used the Titans as weapons of mass destruction to conquer other nations, wiping out countless cultures in the process.^[14][3][15] It is estimated that the number of people the Eldians have slaughtered is over three times world population of year 854.^[15] Allegedly, Marley was once again victim to Eldia's warmongering around 1,200 years ago, when Eldia assaulted Marleyan cities during the "Fall of Lago," the "Devastation of Monte," and the "Ravaging of Valle." Survivors from the Fall of Lago fled into the wastes, but were caught by Titans who had been awaiting their retreat.^[16] However, the historical validity of these Eldian attacks against Marley are a matter of debate.^[17]

Around the year 240, the Subjects of Ymir within the Eldian Empire were spared from widespread death from a worldwide epidemic through the actions of the King of Eldia. Using the power of the Founding Titan, the Subjects of Ymir were altered in their biology, rendering them immune to the disease.^[18]

At some point in later history, the Eldians made allies with Hizuru.^[19]

Eventually, the Eldians ran out of enemies and began fighting each other.^[15] The eight of the nine houses with the Nine Titans remained in a state of conflict, but the Fritz family maintained order with the Founding Titan.^[20]

The Great Titan War

After 1,700 years, the Founding Titan came into the possession of Karl Fritz, the 145th King. The King believed that Eldia's sins cannot be atoned for, and that Eldians and Titans should not have existed in the first place.^[21] He pitied the Marleyans and devised a plan alongside the Tybur family, the keepers of the War Hammer Titan, to end the Eldian rule.^[21] The King abandoned the internal conflicts, and without the Founding Titan to keep order, the Eldian Empire collapsed. The Eldians fought and weakened themselves during the Great Titan War, while the King and the Tybur family presented the legend of Helos, a Marleyan hero who joined with the Tybur family to defeat the King.^[21] The Tybur family fought to restore Marley in the war; other noble families would evidently follow suit.^[22] They succeeded and Marley gained seven of the Nine Titans as a result. The King moved the capital to Paradis Island, Eldia's last remaining territory, and gathered as many Eldians he could on the island.^[23]

King Fritz used the Founding Titan to erase the memories of Eldia

On Paradis Island, the King used the Founding Titan to turn his subjects into Colossus Titans to form three concentric Walls around their territory: Maria, Rose, and Sheena.^[24] Afterward, Karl Fritz, now known as the First Reiss King, used the Founding Titan once more to erase the Subjects of Ymir's memory of the Great Titan War and all of history before the raising of the Walls.^[25] For the next century, the Subjects of Ymir in Paradis Island lived on in peace, unaware of their past conflicts, their history as the Eldians, and the world outside the Walls.

On the mainland, the Eldians who did not flee to Paradis Island were conquered by Marley. Marley spared these Eldians, who became second-class citizens. They were forced to reside within internment zones, such as Liberio's, separate from the Marleyan population.^[26] Marley used their new influence to spread slander of the Eldian Empire, claiming they had resorted to eugenics against the other races of the world for 1,700 years and that Ymir Fritz had gained her power from the "Devil of All Earth."^[27] Any Eldians accused of committing wrongdoing against the Marleyans were sent to "Heaven" and turned into Pure Titans, doomed to wander for eternity.^[28]

However, some Eldians attempted to resist and restore Eldia. The remaining members of the Fritz family still on the mainland led a revolutionary army against Marley, but the army was crushed and its members were executed, including Eren Kruger's family. Others, such as Grisha Yeager, met together in secret, plotting to venture to Paradis Island and retrieve the Founding Titan in order to bring back the Eldian nation.^[29] Few Eldians were allowed to keep their status after Marleyans conquered them. One notable example is the Tybur family, who retained their status and wealth because they fought for the Marleyans in the Great Titan War.