Huyfárah

2009-05-21T20:53:01Z

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{{Nation
| nation = HuyfÃ¡rah
| native = lu-serin Ã¦m HuyfÃ¡rah
| map = [[Image:Huyfarah.gif|250px|Map of HuyfÃ¡rah c. 130 YP]]
| capital = Ussor
| cities = MiÉdu <br>MÃ¦medÃ©i <br>Sertek
| language = [[FÃ¡ralo]]
| demonym = FÃ¡ralo
| gov-type = monarchy
| rise = c. -400 YP
| fall = c. 800 YP
| succ = WippwÃ¢ <br>MÉ¨du <br>etc.
| author = [[User:Zompist|Zompist]]
}}
{{Article}}
'''HuyfÃ¡rah''' ([[Faraghin]]: ''Soifaragh'', "Faraghin coast") is a nation of [[Akana]], located north of the [[EigÉ]] delta. It was one of the most powerful states in the 1st millennium [[Year of the Prophet|YP]], setting up a maritime empire and founding colonies all along the coast between [[XÅ¡alad]] and [[Siixtaguna]].

= History =
== Timeline ==
* c. -1400: Faraghin conquer [[Oltu]] valley.
* -1310: Faraghin break into multiple baronies.
* -1258: Temporary Ndak reconquest of lower Aiwa and Oltu valleys.
* -1170: Faraghin regain control of the Oltu.
* c. -800: Truce of Deunagho between Faraghin barons enables burgeoning trade and settlement.
* -762: Sertek founded by FÃ¡ralo merchants, establishes itself against [[FerÃ¥jin]] on the [[PorÃ¡Å¡]].
* c. -650: Wars with Sertek end the Truce of Deunagho; many FÃ¡ralo settle away from the fighting as far as Kasca and Oltumosou.
* -520: Barons of Ussor conquer MiÉdu.
* -480: Ussor invades [[Kasca]], and quickly conquers the delta till PÃ¥we and Momuva'e push it back; decades of war follow, ending with Ussor controlling half the delta with nominal control over the rest. MiÉdu drifts in and out of FÃ¡ralo control.
* c. -400: FÃ¡ralo naval expedition discovers [[Siixtaguna]], bringing back several [[EtÃºgÉ]]ist monks.
* -198: Mentek, baron of Ussor, unites HuyfÃ¡rah, beginning the Balanin dynasty.
* -185: HuyfÃ¡rah occupies the [[DagÃ¦m islands]], beginning its imperial period.
* -167: HuyfÃ¡rah in control of Oltumosou; begins pacifying the inland FerÃ¥jin.
* -142: Äisse founded in order to protect HuyfÃ¡rah's eastern border against the Doroh.
* -133: MiÉdu, seeing which way the wind is blowing, voluntarily joins to HuyfÃ¡rah.
* -112: PÃ¥we conquers Momuva'e, leading to war with HuyfÃ¡rah.
* -109: HuyfÃ¡rah conquers Momuva'e (though it does not hold it for long) and occupies most of the Kascan delta.
* late 220s: Balanin civil war in HuyfÃ¡rah; FÃ¡ralo Golden Age ends.
* 230: Ascension of Etou I; under his rule HuyfÃ¡rah expands west to the borders of [[Lasomo|LaÅ¡umu]].
* 248: Etou I dies; ascension of Etou II.
* 255: Failed FÃ¡ralo invasion of LaÅ¡umu: Supply lines of Etou II are cut by [[Empire of AthalÄ|AthalÄran]] military.
* 294: Etou II dies; civil war in HuyfÃ¡rah.
* 295: Gadein I emerges victorious and becomes emperor.
* 312: Gadein I dies; ascension of Etou III.
* 318-319: Military campaign of Etou III against the [[Tlaliolz|Talo]] and [[Puoni]].
* 319: Exodus of the Puoni.
* 326: Etou III dies; ascension of Gadein II.
* 328: Various Kascan towns become vassal states of HuyfÃ¡rah by treaty
* Mid-300's: The port town of [[AzbÇ½bu]] grows to great size.
* 343: Gadein II dies; Baodan I starts the Malei dynasty.
* c. 343-405: FÃ¡ralo Silver Age.
* 351: Acquisition of [[Buruya]].
* 363: HuyfÃ¡rah absorbs more of Kasca, including (de jure anyway) Momuva'e.
* 370: HuyfÃ¡rah claims rule over Fmana-hÅ-Talam. A planned city is begun.
* 375: Baodan I dies.
* 405–443: Declining stability: Several natural disasters hit; barbarian raids; power shifts toward [[Sertek]] as emperors relocate there (but the official capital, and the Senate, remains in [[Ussor]]).
* 444–453: War between HuyfÃ¡rah and AthalÄ, resulting in FÃ¡ralo control over LaÅ¡umu.
* 453–489: Recovery; LaÅ¡umu is organized as a client state of HuyfÃ¡rah.
* 489–546: The decline begins: LaÅ¡umu is lost again and the southern half ceded back to AthalÄ; the treaty states that northern half will remain independent as long as it is not dominated by HuyfÃ¡rah in any way. Meanwhile AthalÄ encroaches along the EigÉ. The emperor is removed by the Senate for having lost the war, but returns two years later after his replacement is assassinated. A sense of unease and moral decay. More assassinations. Buruya is lost. The natives of Fmana-hÅ-Talam push back the FÃ¡ralo to the north end of the island.
* 547–584: Gigantic, confused, multi-phase civil war, among three principal factions. In the aftermath, the Malei Dynasty is deposed, the empire shrinks further, and loses the coast from MÃ¦medÃ©i south, which reorganizes as [[LewsfÃ¡rah]] ("Free FÃ¡rah"), a federation of city-states run by religious and political reformists (calling themselves the ''KÉgeiru'', "Atheists").
* 579–584: LewsfÃ¡rah stops fighting HuyfÃ¡rah, but it is mired in revolutionary chaos.
* 600's: [[TakuÃ±a]] pirates establish small footholds in areas of ineffectual rule within the disintegrating empire.
* 786: The bitter end of the empire comes with the sack of Ussor by a faction of the [[Doroh]].
* late 700's: LewsfÃ¡rah is dissolved, and splits into its constituent city-states. [[MÉ¨du]] and [[AzbÇ½bu]] vie for naval dominance.
* 786-800's: Isthmus chieftains rule over the Oltu Valley. Gradually they are linguistically absorbed by FÃ¡ralo-speakers.
* mid-800's: FÃ¡ralo landowners depose the Doroh rulers, and proclaim a kingdom of [[HajÅ«]], consisting mostly of the Oltu Valley.

== Settlement of the North Coast ==
<div style="position:relative">
[[Image:PeilaÅ¡ regions.png|thumb|right|300px|A map of northeastern PeilaÅ¡. The location of '''HuyfÃ¡rah''' is indicated.]]
<div style="position:absolute; top:65px; right:135px; font-size:smaller">
'''HuyfÃ¡rah'''
</div>
</div>

In ancient times, the Oltu river valley and the nearby seacoast were divided between two related peoples, the barbaric [[Faraghin]] and [[FerÃ¥jin]]. The civilized world was to the south, along the great [[EigÉ]] river. The first civilized people were the [[Ngauro|Åouru]], who arose in the river delta - [[Kasca|KazÉgad]] - about 4000 years before classical times. The peoples and wars of the valley were many, but for our purposes the chief fact was the conquest of KazÉgad by the [[Ndak Empire|EdÃ¡k]], a people who had lived upriver, in [[Lasomo|LaÅ¡umu]].

The EdÃ¡k were themselves conquered more than once, but their edge in population allowed them, each time, to expel or absorb their conquerors. They emerged from the last of these episodes with a new imperial vigor, and set themselves the task of conquering the known world. They reached their greatest extent around -1900 [[Year of the Prophet|YP]] under the emperor [[Tsinakan text|SiÉnÄÃ¦n]]: the entire EigÉ valley, the southwestern mountains once held by their rivals the [[Gezoro]], a wide stretch of the eastern seacoast, and the lands of the Feraghin and FerÃ¥jin.

This latter region they called ''HagÃbÉl'' ([[Ndak Ta]]: ''Sau Ibli''), the North Coast; they colonized the seacoast and river valleys, leaving the Faraghin (and to a lesser extent the FerÃ¥jin) to the mountains, forests, and pasturelands. For some centuries the EdÃ¡k remained as overlords; then they lost the hinterlands; then the empire collapsed, leaving the local EdÃ¡k ruling the colonized areas. The local balance of power reversed: the Faraghin hill tribes, accustomed to horses and frequent internecine war, raided the EdÃ¡k and pillaged or even razed their main settlements.

== The Faraghin conquest ==

Around -1400 YP, the Faraghin put aside their usual disunity and conquered the Oltu valley and its capital, [[Ussor]], and then the EdÃ¡k littoral, which they renamed ''HuyfÃ¡rah'', the Faraghin Coast. This time, the horsemen were here to stay. EdÃ¡k society - highly stratified and urbanized - was transformed. As nomads, the Faraghin believed not in real estate and civil protection but in moveable property and honor. For the settled EdÃ¡k, the archetypical villainy was murder; for the Faraghin it was theft. (Murder could be paid for.)

If this seems barbaric, we should recognize as well that the Faraghin were much more individualistic and enterprising than the EdÃ¡k, whose devotion to stability led less to peace than to stagnation. It was possible to move up in Faraghin society, and trade and markets developed here, while the EigÉ valley was still dominated by archaic command economies.

The great vice of the Faraghin warrior class was a disinclination, on the death of a respected king, to support their unproven young heirs. The unity of the Oltu lasted only a century; the region then became a squabbling patchwork of baronies; if some ambitious ruler unified them his kingdom would collapse in a few generations. Once the littoral was even temporarily reconquered by a resurgent KazÉgad.

Nonetheless, trade continued to flourish, and the people of HuyfÃ¡rah developed a great skill in navigation, and explored the littoral a great distance to the east and south.

== The Golden Age of HuyfÃ¡rah ==

The turning point was the discovery of the nation of ''HistuÉnÉ'' (Siixtaguna), to the east, and its religion [[EtÃºgÉ]]. Its great sage ''[[SÃºtapaj|Hutaba]]'' preached ''nubÃ¡zi'' "the realization" - the realization being that all knowledge is false; only action (''etÃºgÉ'') and belief (''muÅ¡itugÉ'') are real. NubÃ¡zi frees the spirit to live in ''ifisÃ¦nÉ'', the spiritual world.

The explorers brought back EtÃºgeist monks. These were at first mocked, even persecuted and tortured; but their calm conviction and eloquence won respect. Finally the entire country was won over, and the new doctrine not only consolidated FÃ¡ralo identity, but brought a new respect for unity and loyalty. The [[Balanin dynasty]], able generals and devout EtÃºgeists, unified the country, and soon turned to empire-building. First the [[DagÃ¦m islands]] were occupied - a useful acquisition for a maritime empire; then the lands of the FerÃ¥jin just to the east, then KazÉgad - which was by now, however, only a poor shadow of its former glory.

The people of classical HuyfÃ¡rah called themselves the ''FÃ¡ralo'' - essentially a form of "Faraghin" - and thought of themselves as descendents of this warrior nation. Nonetheless their language descended from that of the EdÃ¡k (that is, [[Ndak Ta]]), though with heavy Faraghin influence.

== The Etou dynasty ==

In 226 YP, the last Balanin emperor of HuyfÃ¡rah died without issue at an early age. He had had no close relatives beyond his wife, so a search was conducted to determine his most closely related cousin who could then assume the throne of HuyfÃ¡rah. The search produced multiple candidates who were all equally closely related; two of these proclaimed themselves emperor, and the resulting conflict boiled over into civil war: bloody, but mercifully short. When it was over, no living Balanins remained.

The former emperor's wife, while not a legal candidate for the throne, was power-hungry and politically skilled. She succeeded in manipulating the nobility and Senate into accepting her lover - a powerful noble in his own right - as the new emperor of HuyfÃ¡rah, and he was crowned with little more drama than the muffled muttering of the discontent.

Unlike the Balanins, the new emperor [[Etou I]] was not a devout EtÃºgÉist. He made lip service to the religion, but did not personally uphold its tenets. Overall he was not a bad ruler, however, and under his reign the Empire healed from the civil war and began to expand its borders once again - this time succeeding in bringing the entire western forest region and its inhabitants, the [[Tlaliolz]], fully into the Empire.

However, his son [[Etou II]] was nowhere near the competent leader his father and the Balanins were: instead of inspiring his people, he manipulated the institutions and machinery of [[EtÃºgÉ]] for personal gain. Using EtÃºgÉ as a banner to inflame his armies with fervor to conquer the infidels, Etou II blundered into [[Lasomo|LaÅ¡umu]], tried to assimilate the entire region at once, and watched the invasion blow up in his face when his insufficiently defended supply lines were cut. Hiding this disaster from the citizens at home, he took his armies north to harass the Tlaliolz - a people he already nominally controlled - because they remained non-EtÃºgÉist and thus out of his full control.

This was the action that finally went too far. When word reached [[Ussor]], those citizens who had already had enough of the corruption of EtÃºgÉ took matters into their own hands, rioting and burning the Imperial Palace and its associated temple of EtÃºgÉ. The temple, after all, was only stone and mortar; the truth of EtÃºgÉ was eternal with or without a building. The uprising was not to last, however. Etou II and his armies returned home angry as a wasp and put the nascent rebellion down like a rabid dog. His regime remained entrenched for another four decades while discontent simmered and the machinery of EtÃºgÉ was exploited to keep his citizens in check.

During this time, nominal membership in EtÃºgÉ rose while devout belief became rare. Many people were bitter: the older generation for the perversion of what to them had been the one, true, and serious religion, and the younger generation in resentment for being ruled by fear. It was in these fertile grounds that the seeds of further revolt were planted. A number of young thinkers rose to covert influence by preaching against EtÃºgÉ's use as an instrument of control. Many of these were discovered and arrested, while the smarter ones kept meetings quiet. But their actions over the last decade of Etou II's rule brought about a segment of the population in the central cities that had renounced EtÃºgÉ and wanted a change. The most faithful of these prepared and waited for the day action could finally be taken.

== Civil War ==

In his nineties, still iron-fisted and authoritarian as ever, Etou II finally died by tripping one morning over his own robes and cracking his head by sheer accident. It did not take long for word of the emperor's demise to spread; one of his own grandsons was secretly among those who preached against EtÃºgÉ. Within 24 hours Ussor was in riot. Within the week, so were all the other cities of the central Empire.

Both of Etou II's sons had already passed on by the time he did; he left only grandchildren. Two of these became important: [[Gadein]], the heir apparent, ascended to the throne early the next morning while his city was aflame, and [[Daodas]], the aforementioned anti-EtÃºgÉist, rose to ascendancy among the rebel forces over the next several days.

Gadein proved quickly to be a true heir, being just as corrupt as his grandfather. But it took him a little too long to gather and reorganize the army to his side, time in which the growing rebellion continued to organize out of the early chaos and gather steam. In the end, however, Gadein did prevail. It took months, but he succeeded in driving the rebel forces out, first from Ussor, and finally from the other nearby cities. What was left, a rather ragtag army of perhaps a hundred thousand, saw how the wind was blowing, and Daodas convinced them to flee west to the hinterland province of Tal.

Calling themselves the ''Epuonim'' (modern term [[Puoni]]), "infidels", Daodas' people took up residence with the Tlaliolz (modern term ''Talo'') - who still had yet to embrace EtÃºgÉ. There can be no doubt that this was not a coincidence.

== The exodus of the Puoni ==

A generation passed. The two groups - Talo and Puoni - intermarried and became as one people. Gadein died, leaving the throne to his son [[Etou III]]. This fourth emperor of the Etou Dynasty was finally a ruler competent enough to lead HuyfÃ¡rah well. He made peace with many of his father's enemies, and concentrated a much larger portion of the imperial funds on improving agriculture and rebuilding the navy. He also restored the long-burned temple of EtÃºgÉ and encouraged the remaining true believers of the faith - the now rare breed descended in spirit from the original sincere EtÃºgÉist population - to come forth and proselytize. In time, the religion healed and gained converts once again by merit instead of by threat. But nobody is perfect. Etou III also inherited his father's few passionate hatreds largely intact, first and foremost his hatred of the Puoni and Talo for their continued stubborn disinclination to be good citizens. After a decade of careful nurture of the Empire, Etou III once again roused the Imperial regiments to go west and do something about the infidels in their lands once and for all.

Very much a Balanin in spirit if not in name, Etou III proved to be as capable a general as he was a ruler. To make a long story short, he made quick work of many of the inhabitants of the west, routed many of the survivors out of the forests, and made quick work of them too. Nearly half a million were marched back to Ussor in chains, and later distributed throughout the Empire as intentured servants or sold in foreign lands as slaves.

Only a remnant of the westerners were left - perhaps two hundred thousand. Since the forests along the border had finally proved insufficient to secure them from too much Imperial control, and with the other 2/3 of their population deported, the remainder fled south. The army pursued them and exacted heavy casualties from them, but the majority made it to safety across the [[EigÉ]] river. Wanting to put more distance between them and Ussor, they continued south into the forests of [[Kuaguatia]], at the inland southern fringes of [[Kasca]]. Now calling themselves only Puoni, they settled in those lands and have been there ever since. Daodas is said to have lived just long enough to see his people firmly settled in their new lands in his dotage, finally dying that same year, after having guided them well for three decades.

== The Silver Age ==

Etou III's heir [[Gadein II]] did not share his father's hatred of the Epuonim. Those who had been sold as indentured servants retained their religious beliefs and within a generation -- by the middle of the 4th century -- many were able to buy their emancipation from their masters, and once free, formed close-knit communities in the major FÃ¡ralo cities such as MiÉdu and Ussor.

During this time, HuyfÃ¡rah grew more powerful by absorbing much of Kasca as client states in 328. Gadein II died peacefully in 343. He had no male children, and there was a brief dispute for the crown before a cousin, Baodan of the House of Malei, was named â the long-reigning Malei Dynasty had begun.

[[Baodan I]] was by all means one of the greatest emperors of HuyfÃ¡rah. He had a keen understanding of economic policy, and devoted his reign to the purification and promotion of EtÃºgÉ, working closely with the Senate, keeping the people well-fed, and conquering lands afar. He did build up something of a cult of personality, with statues of him adorning many public places, though he was probably right in thinking this was a good spirit-building activity.

His policies, coinciding with the acquisition of [[Buruya]] as another client state in 351, were contributing to a strong economic boom during this period. This, with ensuing cultural developments, led to what is known as the FÃ¡ralo Silver Age, roughly encompassing the second half of the fourth century YP.

= Names =

{| {{bluetable|lightbluebg}}
|-
! Language
! Name
! Pronunciation
! Source
|-
! [[Ndak Ta]]
| Sau Ibli
| [sau Ëib.li]
| "North Coast"
|-
! [[AdÄta]]
| HazÄ«li
| [Ëha.ziË.li]
| â NT ''Sau Ibli''
|-
! [[FÃ¡ralo]]
| HuyfÃ¡rah
| [hujËfa.rah]
| â Faraghin ''Soifaragh'' "Faraghin Coast" (borrowed)
|-
! [[Delta_Naidda|Naidda]]
| Puivara
| [Ëpuj.va.rÉ]
| â FÃ¡ralo ''HuyfÃ¡rah'' (borrowed)
|-
! [[Buruya Nzaysa]]
| XuyfÃ¡Êah
| [xujËfa.Êah]
| â FÃ¡ralo ''HuyfÃ¡rah'' (borrowed)
|-
! [[Ndok AisÃ´]]
| Hoifaxa
| [hÉjËfaË.Êa]
| â FÃ¡ralo ''HuyfÃ¡rah'' (borrowed)
|-
! [[Mavakhalan]]
| haÅºiÄ¾
| [Ëha.ÊiÊ]
| â AdÄta ''HazÄ«li''
|-
! [[AyÄsthi]]
| Ä¡Ã ÊÄ«ly
| [ËÉ¦É.ÊiË.lÉ¨]
| â AdÄta ''HazÄ«li''
|-
! [[ÃÃ°adÄ]]
| HÃ¦zili
| [ËhÃ¦.zi.li]
| â AdÄta ''HazÄ«li''
|-
! [[AÎ¸Ã¡ta]]
| AsÃli
| [aËÊi.li]
| â AdÄta ''HazÄ«li''
|-
! [[NamÉ¨du]]
| HÉ¨wora
| [hÉ¨ËwÉ.É¾É]
| â FÃ¡ralo ''HuyfÃ¡rah''
|-
! [[Puoni]]
| Rufara; Ragui
| [rÊËfarÉ], [rÉËgwi]
| â FÃ¡ralo ''HuyfÃ¡rah'', ''HagÃbÉl''
|}

= See also =

* [[FÃ¡ralo]]

[[Category:Nations]]
[[Category:HuyfÃ¡rah|*]]
[[Category:1st millennium]]

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