Board Thread:Manga/@comment-33485746-20171026061402/@comment-27938131-20171026082818

Hello there and welcome! :)

About your question, the Eldian empire was founded after they attacked and conquered Marley. They ruled the continent for ~1700 years, until Marley rose against the empire and won (hey, they gained the control of seven of the nine Great Titans)

From that moment the Eldians/Subjects of Ymir were divided in two: those who fleed with the King on Paradis island and those who stayed on the continent. About the last category, they weren't slaughtered but forced to live in internment zones they couldn't leave without permission.

There were some organizations that tried to restore the Eldian empire, such as the Eldia Restorationists, a group Grisha and his first wife, Dina, were part of. They knew about the power of the Founding Titan and thought of taking it back in order to defeat Marley and free their people. And among their members, Dina Yeager (born Fritz) and her son Zeke were of royal descent and would have been perfect to host that power. But one day Marley announced their intention to do the same, so Grisha decided to make Zeke a spy and get the Founding for the Restorationists.

However the poor kid didn't ask for anything and reported his parents and the whole group. So Grisha and all his comrades were tortured then sent to Paradis to be turned into mindless Titans. They all were, except Grisha who was saved by Kruger, an Eldian spy in the Marley military and the holder of the Attack Titan. So Grisha got his questions answered and inherited of the said Titan before going to the Walls to finish the group's mission.

Hope you'll like it here, and if you have other questions don't hesitate. :)