The rulers of Neusmik are called The Wise; they are the head of a sort of ruling council of scholars called the College of Doctors. The Wise is elected upon the death or retirement of the previous holder of the position.
890-920 - Porus the Great, first Wise of Neusmik, cobbled together an alliance of the cities and towns of the islands, forming them as a country, when the scholars of the college of the city of Neusmik realized that if they did not put up a show of strength, they would be absorbed into the (very different, culturally) country of Biru.
920-944 - Jarasandha completed the unification of the islands into the nation of Neusmik.
944-971 - Sahadeva attempted to settle all of the islands, eventually giving up after determining that the two small eastern islands simply didn't have enough land to support food growth for any real population. However, he did found Troyius on Heltor island, which grew into a large town, holding about 14,000 people at its height.
971-1031 - Somapi, who was elected when only 22, and held the position for sixty years. He ruled through the peak of the wars with Biru. His brightest student, a a scholar-warrior from Neusmik named Susharma Chand, eloped with Helen, daughter of Tyndareus of Biru, in 1004. This resulted in a ten year long war with Biru that ended with the utter destruction of the city of Troyius, located on Heltor island; no trace of the city remains. Helen and Susharma fled to Neusmik; Tyndareus and most of his generals, along with three quarters of the army, were slain in the final battle, and the survivors limped home. Helen was forgotten and the war ended.
1031-1054 - Susharma Chand took office next, and ruled through the reconciliation with Biru. During his reign, the practice of Biruans of sending their children to be educated in Neusmik, and often marrying locals and remaining there, began.
1054-1079 - Subrata was an intensely religious man, devoted to peace, who built many temples to Vishnu.
1079-1099 - Bimbisara, the first female Wise, ruled through a period of great peace. She oversaw the complete removal of all the debris of the city of Troyius, so the memory of the slaughter there would not continue to be a blight. The stones of the city were used in various projects all over the country, and the bones of the dead were buried at sea.
1099-1015 - Ajatasatru, the second female Wise, announced to her people that she had seen a vision from Vishnu that told her she could have a long reign, but it would be followed by a terrible war, as her successor would choose conquest over peace. She chose to commit suicide at a relatively young age, so that a new Wise would have to be immediately chosen.
1015-1045 - Shishunaga spent much of his reign keeping militant factions of the country's powerful from starting a war with Keth. He did cause the settlement of Mahala in 1025, Pega in 1032, Xouani in 1037, Reist in 1041, and Doagi in 1045, shortly before he died. Only Mahala has ever grown very large.
1045-1071 - Mahanandin accomplished little during his reign, except for fathering a large number of children on a number of mistresses.
1071-1099 - Mahapadma, the third female Wise, spent much of her reign fending off attempts to remove her by various sons of Mahanandin. She forged an alliance with Lyda; the two countries still honor the alliance.
1099-1121 - Chandragupta sought out other means for the country to prosper, and surveyors found extensive deposits of silver and gold, which are still mined to this day.
1121-1144 - Bindusara survived the murder of his mother when he was yet unborn (but within days of his birth); the poison that slew her marked his forehead with a blue spot, known as a bindu in the ancient and nearly forgotten language of the original colonists. He devoted himself to his country, never taking a wife or mistress, and had no children.
1144-1163 - Ashoka further expanded the mining operations of the central island, and the country began to enjoy almost fabulous wealth. During his reign he built numerous temples, schools, hospitals, roads, and other public works; mandated free education for all, and encouraged many to become priests, which helped improve general public health vastly. This came crashing down when all of the deities of the Indian faith died during the Judgement War. The dependence on magical healing left the populace unable to deal with sickness and injuries, and the population plummeted. The country was wracked by internal struggle, and Ashoka was eventually assassinated, the first ruler of the country to die from such.
1163-present - Dasaratha Maurya, a female Wise, has tried to hold the country together since the loss of all their gods. Most of the population would not even consider changing their faith, so this has been difficult - foreign priests would not be welcome, as it would be assumed they would try to convert those they helped. She has imported a large number of doctors, herbalists, and so on, but few are willing to move far from home, even at generous pay.