Empire of Athalē
| The Empire of Athalē Serin ax Athalē | |
| |
| Capital | Athalē |
| Major cities | Akelodo Thāras Khalanu |
| Languages | Adāta |
| Demonym | Athalēran |
| Government | parliamentary democracy; constitutional monarchy (initially an oligarchic republic) |
| Formation | 183 YP (annexation of Thāras) |
| Collapse | c. 1000 YP |
| Successor states | Khalan Kingdom of Thāras etc. |
| Credits | |
| Created by | Zhen Lin, Radius, Dewrad etc. |
| Edit me | |
The Empire of Athalē (Imperial Adāta: Serin ax Athalē) is a con-state set in 1st millennium Akana. The concept was originally suggested by Zhen Lin and further developed in a collaborative manner by other participants in the relay, led by Radius Solis and Dewrad.
The capital of the empire was the holy city of Athalē, the birthplace of the prophet Zārakātias. The founding date of the empire is generally said to be the year 183 Y.P., when Athalē conquered the then independent city-state of Thāras; however, some historians see the informal confederation of Rathedān city-states as the true origin of the empire.
History
Timeline
- 0: Death of Zārakātias.
- 64: Athalē and allies defeat Thāras; the Dāiadak league formed.
- c. 100: Dāiadak cities expand toward the Ēza valley; missionaries carry Zārakātias' teachings to nearby regions.
- c. 140—: conflicts and battles between Thāras and Athalē.
- c. 170–180: Semōn the Elder, general and statesman, rises to power in Athalē.
- 183: Thāras is conquered by Athalē, and the royal family is taken to Athalē as hostage; the rise of Empire of Athalē begins.
- 196: Khalanu is conquered by Athalē; all Rathedān is united under Athalēran rule
- 199: Semōn the Elder dies; Semōn the Younger seizes power.
- c. 200—: Athalē expands into the upper Ēza and Milīr valleys.
- 201: Semōn the Younger is assassinated; the republic is restored.
- c. 228: Aiathi becomes the most powerful member of the Athalēran khiara.
- 229–231: Itatizan War: the Empire of Athalē absorbs the lower Milīr.
- 234: Aiathi dies; his son Phanal assumes his position of power. Conflict with the Ndok kingdoms of southern Lasomo.
- 237: A treaty is concluded between Athalē and Ngahêxôldod, fixing the borders.
- 244: Phanal dies; Tēmekas I of the House of Mir (the former Thārāran royal family) seizes power in Athalē, dissolving the zāthar. He is considered the first monarch of imperial Athalē.
- 253: Tēmekas I dies; his son Mikha succeeds as monarch.
- 255: The Athalēran military cut supply lines of Fáralo emperor Etou II, at the request of Roit-neheu (king of Ngahêxôldod).
- 257: Uremas I, son of Phanal, assassinates Mikha, and replaces him as monarch (after restoring the zāthar); the threat of civil war forces Uremas I to marry Naiōla, sister of Mikha. During his reign, Athalē expands its influence in Lasomo.
- 274: Tēmekas II, son of Uremas I, becomes monarch of Athalē; he uses Huyfárah as a model for imperial reform, and is the first Athalēran ruler to use the title Emperor (Seathiauk). Gexoitsoi-ibauxeu (king of Ngahêxôldod) revolts against Athalēran domination.
- 275: Athalē invades Lasomo.
- 277: First fall of Ngahêxôldod (Adāta: Akeladada or Akelodo). Empire of Athalē absorbs southern Lasomo; Tēmekas proclaimed king of Ngahêxôldod.
- 310: Tēmekas III succeeds Tēmekas II, but soon dies of the plague; his brother Uremas II becomes the Emperor.
- 325: Uremas II of Athalē retires. Texozonon I, his half-brother, becomes emperor.
- 336: Texozonon I dies. Hekhes rules as regent until 342.
- 342: Texozonon II takes the throne.
- c. 350: Athalē absorbs the upper Milīr and the Xōron Eiel.
- 389: Athalē conquers the upper Tjakori, reaching its maximum extent; Texozonon II dies soon after. The throne passes to the House of Rikhus by marriage of Aloze, niece of Tex. II, to Zāiekātus of Rikhus. The golden age of Athalē begins.
- 414: Imperial Adāta is declared the official language of the empire by Khepōnon I.
- 444–453: War between Huyfárah and Athalē, resulting in Fáralo control over Lasomo.
- 489–546: The peak of Athalēran power. The southern half of Lasomo is ceded back to Athalē, while the northern half is under Athalēran domination while remaining nominally independent. Athalē expands along the Ēza at the expense of Huyfárah.
- 971: second fall of Akeladada: Athalē loses southern Lasomo.
- c. 1000: The Empire of Athalē becomes defunct, and fragments into several successor states.
Origin and formation
The decades after Zārakātias's death saw the acceptance of his reformed religion throughout the Rathedān. Along with this went two other developments: an increased cohesion among the city-states of the Rathedān, and the rise in prestige and influence of Athalē, the birthplace of the Prophet. The growing influence of Athalē did not go unchallenged, especially by its traditional rival Thāras; the defeat of a Thārāran army in 64 cleared the way for the formation of what was later called the Dāiadak league, a web of alliances with Athalē at the centre.
The period of cooperation that followed saw the Dāiadak city-states taking on a more expansionist outlook. Several of the cities expanded their territories beyond the Rathedān; most notably for our story, Khalanu and Thāras pushed toward the Ēza valley, leading to increased interaction (including occasional border conflicts but also some alliances) with the Nok kingdoms of Lasomo. While this expansion resulted in an increase in power, prosperity, and prestige for the Rathedān as a whole, it also eventually led to a renewal of internal strife. Khalanu's and Thāras's greatly expanded territory and their control of access to the upper Ēza, together with their growing military prowess, led to new rivalries that eventually split the Dāiadak League.
Beginning in 140, the League was rent by a series of conflicts, mostly fought between Khalanu and Athalē, each supported by a shifting group of allies (Thāras switched sides repeatedly, but was most often allied with Khalanu). Though the conflicts were mainly fought among the Dāiadak city-states, occasionally the Nok kingdoms in Lasomo became involved as well. There were stretches of negotiated peace during which the rivals carried on their conflict by proxy, sending their allies against each other or supporting opposite sides in minor wars among the kingdoms of Lasomo. At first Khalanu had the upper hand, but after numerous reversals, it ultimately surrendered unconditionally in 196.
Expansion
By this time, the Dāiadak League had become the Empire of Athalē; rebellious city-states such as Thāras and Khalanu lost their political autonomy entirely. The general responsible for much of the unification, Semōn the Elder, had accumulated so much power that despite calling himself only "general", he was the de facto dictator of the fledgling nation. Upon his death in 199, his son Semōn the Younger was the first to proclaim himself ruler by right of inheritance. This did not sit well with the nobility of Athalē, who were accustomed to a more republican form of government. In 201 Semōn the Younger was assassinated, and governance of Rathedān gradually returned to normal.
The idea of royalty was far from dead, however. In 207 and again in 213, powerful politicians nearly succeeded in setting themselves up as absolute rulers. The khiara (council; House of Lords) of Athalē remained in power, however. The final blow to true oligarchy was not immediately obvious when it came: Aiathi, the head of one of the most powerful noble houses of Athalē, succeeded in gradually exiling all his political rivals from the khiara. The five other remaining members were all firmly in his pocket by 228. Matters came to a head early the next year, when Aiathi – in control of the army – ignored the zāthar’s (assembly; House of Commons) attempted veto of his decision to invade the lands of the Itatizan (Hitatc). This was not well-received by the public, and riots occurred that spring.
The Itatizan War took two years, but was a victory. Aiathi's son Phanal was the popular hero of the war and – unlike his father – the darling of the zāthar. Aiathi installed Phanal in the khiara (to keep him under his thumb, some historians say) and the two of them ruled their fledgling empire. Thus when Aiathi died in 234, it was a natural transition for Phanal to come to power. Smarter than Semōn the Younger, Phanal did not call himself a king, or even a ruler – he simply exercised control through the machinery of the khiara.
The Thārārans saw this ruse for what it was. Thāras had always been a monarchy before its incorporation into the Dāiadak league, and its disaffected royal family had quietly waited for decades for its chance. That chance came in 244 when Phanal died unexpectedly, leaving behind only a young son. Tēmekas, head of the Thārāran royal family (the House of Mir) and Phanal's best general (and grandson of Semōn the Younger as well), stepped into the gap. The Athalēran khiara was by this time unaccustomed to any actual power, and gave way to Tēmekas with little fight. Tēmekas was the first to proclaim himself Emperor and succeed. To prove the point he disbanded the zāthar and fought a series of campaigns extending the Empire's borders to the east and north.
When Tēmekas died in 253, the throne passed to his son Mikha. Mikha ruled for four years as a weak emperor, notable only for his military intervention in Lasomo when Huyfárah invaded it. He was assasinated by Phanal's son Uremas, who was eager to return the Empire to the Athalēran control. When Thāras threatened to break from the Empire, risking civil war, Uremas was forced to marry Mikha's sister Naiōla to pacify the Thārārans by uniting the Houses of Aiathi and Mir.
Uremas died in 274, his 16-year-old son took the name Tēmekas II and ascended the throne. Tēmekas II was the first to study the model of Huyfárah and apply many of its methods to the ruling of an empire. In 275 he invaded Lasomo in response to a revolt there, culminating in the first fall of Akelodo in 277. This made him popular at home, but rather less so in the Empire's newest province. Tēmekas II ruled 36 years and fathered numerous children.
Tēmekas III, eldest son of II, took the throne in 310 upon his father's death, but died later that year in a plague. He was succeeded by his brother Uremas II. Uremas II ruled another fifteen years and then retired under pressure from the nobility; he was succeeded by his half-brother Texozonon I, son of Tēmekas II by his second wife. Texozonon's heir, Texozonon II, was not old enough for accession at the time of his father's death, and a regent ran the empire until the boy reached his majority. Texozonon II went on to become the longest-reigning emperor of Athalē, holding the throne for 47 years.
The golden age of Athalē
After the conquest of Lasomo, the empire had started to extend its sway upriver into the steppe regions along the Ēza and Milīr rivers, permanently absorbing both the upper Milīr and the Xōron Eiel before 350. In 389 the empire reached its maximum extent by incorporating the uppermost reaches of the Tjakori valley. The following two and a half centuries may aptly be described as a Golden Age, characterized by widespread peace and growing trade and literacy.
In the early fifth century, Imperial Adāta was standardized as the official language of the empire. Due to the centralistic cultural policy of the government, vernacular Adāta dialects became the everyday language of the whole Athalēran sphere along the middle and upper Ēza. Most of the local non-Dāiadak languages in the provinces were replaced. Nevertheless, the sheer size of the empire and the ethnic and cultural diversity of its peoples made linguistic unity unattainable.
Beginning in 444, a series of wars with Huyfárah occupied much of the Empire's energies. The main point of contention was control of Lasomo, which changed hands a few times but ultimately was restored to Athalēran rule. The early sixth century marked the peak of Athalēran power in the Ēza valley, as the empire expanded downriver at the expense of Huyfárah.
Decline and collapse
The Lasomoran cities along the Boíəba were never conquered by the Dāiadak. Throughout the 9th and 10th centuries they repeatedly attempted to liberate their former capital, finally achieving their goal in 971. This highly symbolic event instigated rebellions in all corners of the empire, and within a few years Athalē was reduced to its immediate surroundings. The emperor was displaced by a group of nobles, and the empire disbanded. The Dāiadak sphere was now organized on a local or regional level once again, with numerous city states and a few minor kingdoms. Cultural unity was lost, and the heirs of the Dāiadak diverged into a number of separate peoples.
Geography
By the early 6th century, Athalē was but the nominal capital and religious center of the Empire. The strongest provinces in economic and military terms were Akelodo (the portion of Lasomo between the Ēza and Milīr rivers) and Greater Thāras (including Nitazē city to the south, and much of the middle Ēza to the north). Minor economic centres were Radias (controlling trade with the Xšali), Khalanu (access to Lasomo only via Greater Thāras, but having the best connection to Xōron Eiel), and the Milīr province (halfway between Nitazē and Akelodo, having direct access to Kasca/Huyfárah and to the less important upper Milīr).
Politics
Originally, the city-state of Athalē was an oligarchical aristocracy, and this remained true in the early years of the Empire: the ruling body was known as the khiara, a council of nobles. The first true monarch was Tēmekas I of the house of Mir, the former royal family of Thāras, who ascended to the throne in 244. At this time, the zāthar, an elected assembly of the common people, was dissolved. The zāthar was reinstated under the rule of Uremas I, and the bicameral legislature, collectively called the mōmuseza, remained in place until the collapse of the Empire.
In 275 YP, Tēmekas II adopted the title of seathiauk ("Emperor"), based on the Imperial model of Huyfárah. The throne was usually inherited by the eldest son of the previous Emperor; if there were no close male relatives, the crown would pass to the husband of the last Emperor's eldest daughter or sister.
The Empire was divided into principalities (dizakalas, ← "kingdom") with princes (dizaka, ← "king") at the top of the local nobility. Princes had limited sovereignty. Some principalities (e.g. all the original Dāiadak city-states) retained their own local legislative bodies. With the expansion of the empire, new principalities were added for each of the conquered territories. Ministries existed both at the imperial and regional levels; theoretically these were led by the minister (seanat), a member of the Privy Council, but in practice were often run by the chief civil servant (huiazarabu asu).
The House of Mir
- Main article: House of Mir
- Aiathi r. 228-234
- Phanal r. 234-244
- Tēmekas I r. 244-253
- Mikha r. 253-257 (assassinated)
- Uremas I r. 257-274
- Tēmekas II r. 274-310 (275 seathiauk, 277 king of Akelodo)
- Tēmekas III r. 310
- Uremas II r. 310-325
- Texozonon I r. 325-336
- Hekhes r. 336-342 (regency)
- Texozonon II r. 342-389
Athalēran nobility Thārāran nobility
| |
| | Semōn the Elder
| | |
| | Semōn the Younger
| | |
Aiathi Idores -- -------------- Makīla
| |
| |
Phanal Bathisēpa --------------- Tēmekas I ------------- Liduni
| | |
| | |
Uremas I ----------------- Naiōla Mikha
|
|
Maphīni ---------------- Tēmekas II -------------- Ngaxeuda
| |
____________|____________ |
| | | |
Tēmekas III Uremas II Hekhes |
| | |
| | |
| Masōthi --------------- Texozonon I
Bunōrā |
| ____________|____________
| | |
Diphur ----- Iotirā Texozonon II
|
Aloze
|
House of Rikhus
The House of Rikhus
- Main article: House of Rikhus
- Zāiekātus r. 389-412
- Khepōnon I r. 412-423
- Uremas III r. 423-424
- Mēthes I r. 424-440
- Ōias r. 440-447
- Mēthes II r. 447-451
- Khepōnon II r. 451-453
- Koiunas r. 453-482
- Tēmekas IV r. 482-492
House of Mir
_______________|_______________
| |
House of Rikhus Texozonon I Marāla
| | .
| ______|______ .
| | | .
Axētus ------- Mēni Diphur ----- Iotirā Texozonon II .
| | .
| | .
Zāiekātus ------------------- Aloze .
| .
_____________|_____________ .
| | .
Iazūni ----- Khepōnon I Mēthes I --- Ēnuzothi .
| | .
| | .
Uremas III Nurīni ------- Ōias House of Sānak
| |
____________________|____________________ ________|________
| | | | | |
Mēthes II Khepōnon II Donakātus Koiunas -------- Ilurā Phūres
| | |
______|______ | |
| | | |
Pesas Thukixenon Tēmekas IV Maponon I
Culture and demographics
- Main article: Dāiadak