Syloz Safali

A state in the Skahazadans, jointly ruled by the two Archaeons: Nazair ad Qazzar and Rohanne Seloris. The flag of Sylos Safali is three legs, bent in a tripple spiral, at head at their centre, orange on a field of white. 
Located in the far west of the Skahazadans, the countries northern coasts border the Pagan Sea, while the western part of the country extends into the Levanthian Sea, featuring hundreds of small islands. Syloz Safali is bordered by Volubis to the east and in the south, the highlands and mountains of the Eunisian Belt separate the country from Gezza. Due to its vast archipelago, Syloz Safali has one of the longest naval traditions in the world and has historically had vast holdings in the Albaan region of the Magnian continent.
== Culture ==
The Sylozi people are of Amareed descent and predominately Amareed Urubuhls and are known for their extremist and very literal interpretation of the Demonomicon. They believe the Gods gave them their land and that they should humble themselves. It is often frowned upon to own too much of anything you did not make yourself or to eat what you did not sow. As governed by their belief, it is strictly forbidden to consume meat, to set sail in the month of Fuh and to engage in sexual activities outside of the month of Kushaaba. 
Many small communities in the country also hold more extreme interpretations of the Demonomicon, such as the belief that only women should carry weapons, because only those who can give life are allowed to take it. Despite their extreme beliefs, Sylozi, as per their humble nature, are very tolerant of people of other beliefs and ethnicities, the exception being Hedjazi Urubuhls. 
== Economy ==
The land of Syloz Safali is very much divided between vast plains of dunes and grasslands, and small coastal communities that are mostly self-sustaining, while the larger coastal cities, especially those situated near or in the Nemaari Archipelago, trade extensively with Magnian countries such as Valona, Attalan, Edierne, and Corveaux. The country also acts as the only trade connection south of Gezza, to far away sub-enunisian lands told of in tales, from where the Sylozi acquire ivory, strange spices, and other exotic goods. They are also famous for their striped horses, well-suited for arid plains and desert, which is their primary export to countries such as Vaslor and Benghezakhan.
== Administrative Divisions ==
Syloz Safali is currently divided into 9 pasharates, each ruled by a Pasha:
* Razaban, ruled by Barberos Behir from the city of Razaban
* The Ayzulian Enclave, ruled by Eminna Ariin from the city of Otezza
* Iblis, ruled by Adario Azuul city of Ascobol
* Nemaari, ruled by Pynto Neharis from the city of Illiathis
* Dakaahl, ruled by Xandaro Dakaahl from the town Melilja
* Atteca, ruled by Tomasi Sahar from the town of Atecca 
* Toniira, ruled by Kameri ab Toniira from the town of Syf
* Chuul, ruled by Elfira ab Toliir from the town of Tredaan
* Tasselonia, ruled by Wararni Otheryos from the town of Tasselon
== History ==
The lands of Syloz Safali first became inhabited by Maracacans around 400 years before our time, establishing depots for salt and ore along the coast and up the Lycan River. They slowly extended their hegemony across all of the western land and paid the emerging Vaslorian tribes in the mountains an annual tribute to ensure their cooperation in the exploration of raw materials. 
From around 300 years before our time and to the year 432, the lands encompassing modern-day Syloz Safali was an independent Amareed kingdom. The kings of Barbaka controlled the vast, ill-defined territory through alliances with the smaller tribal leaders, expanding westward and populating the Nemaari Islands, which resulted in the development of early ship-building in the region. From around the year 200, the Kingdom experienced significant economic development, aided by the discovery of new technology and the creation of products that became highly sought after to the east. 
=== Urubuhl Conquest ===
In the middle of the 7th century, the Urubuhls of the east began their conquest of the Barbaka Kingdom. It lasted from 642 to 710, when Illiathis fell, as the last stronghold of the Barbakari. Arriving in the region, the Urubuhls took advantage of the rampant infighting within the kingdom by launching lighting-fast military expeditions, destroying one force after the other before any of them could unite under a common cause. With them, the Urubuhls brought the Sabian language and the Urubuhl faith, which the local Amareed tribes slowly adopted. The land came under the rule of the Rahusha Emirate.
Around the year 789, the native Amareeds revolted against Urubuhl rule, beginning among the tribes of the west, and quickly spreading across the region. The revolt was quick and brutal and afterwards, neither the local Urubuhl Pashas, the last loyal subjects of the Rahusha Emirate, nor their successors the Rifahn Emirate, could re-impose their rule on the area. 
=== Age of the Archaeons ===
Following the revolt against Urubuhl rule, the region fragmented into a collection of small independent Amareed states, called Archeons. The most prominent of these were Barbaka, a confederation of Amareed groups on the Levanthian Coast, Illiathis, situated in the Nemaari Isles and a few enclaves of the Pagan Coast, and Razaban, which sought to dominated the lands around the Lycan River. 
While Razaban focused on consolidation of a strong, centralized realm, fending off smaller tribes in the area, as well as Greenmen raids from the mountains, Barbaka pursued a policy of rapid expansion, fighting a total of nine wars for the Nemaari Isles, and voyaging south to conquer Gezza. After sacking one of the Ashen Forts, the Gezkari reportedly retaliated with powerful magic. The cities of Barbaka and the entire western coast sank into ocean, never to be seen again. Although many ruins have been found off shore from Syloz Safali, scholars attribute this to potential rising sea levels and rapid floods during this time. 
Though the Archeons fought each other almost constantly, the Amareeds of the region gradually went on to shape their own version of the Urubuhl Faith, which became the Amareed Urubuhl Faith, and eventually aided in the unification in Syloz Safali, between 987 and 1002. 
=== Conquest of Albaan ===
In 1002, the Archeon of Razaban had succeeded in unifying Syloz Safali, annexing the Nameeri Isles, which had recently become a seafaring Emirate, ushering in an age of flourishing culture and growing nationalism. In 1047, the Sylozi Archeon Zomeeri Ziyad launched a great fleet, gained after its annexation of the Nameeri Isles, across the Pagan Sea to conquer land in Magnia. She landed in the region of Albaan and won decisive victories in 1048, defeating the Metinan King Sigmund III. By 1054, Syloz Safali controlled all of Albaan. Their advance into Magnia was only stopped by Prince Louis IV of Corveaux at the Battle of the Temeri River.
In Syloz Safali, the power of the Zomeeri Archeons already began to decline in the later half of the 11th century because they had begun to look weak in the eyes of the Sylozi. In Magnia, they were losing ground to the Cister Cartian church and by 1212, they had been driven from nearly all of Albaan, except for an Urubuhl Kingdom emerging around the city of Valona. 
After a failed attempt to conquer the city of Markesh in 1089, the Archeon retreated, but his ships were blocked from entering Otezza. A battle broke out and the Archeon died trying to assail the harbour. It marked the end of Zomeeri power, and afterwards, Sufjan Tumaar was chosen by an Inner Circle to lead the country. Soon after, he declared himself Emir of the Amareeds. 
=== The Amareed Emirate ===
Sufjan Tumaar revolutionized Sylozi society with his theological ideas and established a new and a stronger hierarchy with a centralized power, with an inner circle of governors, transcending previous tribal-dominated rulership. He also established a large standing army of religious followers and slaves. 
Sufjan launched several attacks against Markesh and in 1120, brought the entirety of Western Skahaz under Amareed rule. Then, he crossed the Pagan Sea and spent many years attempting to stabilize his rule of Albaan, but in his absence, an anarchist movement of devout Urubuhl, which had grown since his ascension, saw its opportunity to strike. They overthrew the pashas in several important coastal cities and marched on Razaban, calling for the end of expansionist policies, which they perceived as antithetical to the will of the Gods, as well as the abolition of the Inner Circle, which functioned as a shady government at the time. Forced to respond to the anarchist movement, Sufjan returned to Syloz Safali and left the efforts in Albaan to his cousin Mezaman Nazyr. After an initially succesful advance up the Lycan River, allowing him to join with the forces of the Inner Circle, Sufjan was defeated by an alliance of four devout revolutionary forces, which had gathered in Ascobol. He then retreated to Razaban. 
Before his death in 1123, Sufjan appointed his young 10-year-old son, Sufjan II, as the next Emir, but only six months later, in early 1124, the young Emir died in an accident. The Inner Circle quickly rigged the election of his ageing uncle Abbad Nazyr, the brother of Mezaman Nazyr, but the rapid appointment only angered the population and caused more to flock to the rebel Urubuhl side. Not long after, the Emir was assassinated and his assassin, Tiadara, with the help of her brothers, quickly seized control of the capital, opening the city's gates to the advancing Urubuhl army. A brutal sacking and slaughter of the upper residential areas ensued, which took the lives of nine of the Inner Circle. The other five fled the country. In Valona, Mezaman Nazyr dispatched an army to confront Tiadara, but seizing this opportunity, their Magnian holdings revolted against Urubuhl rule and Mezaman was forced to flee. This marked the end of the Sylozi era in Albaan and the slow decline of the Amareed Emirate.
=== Rise of the Amareed Urubuhls ===
Following the coup in Razaban, a reformation took place within the country's religious and political systems. The Inner Circle was disbanded. As was the title of Emir. Instead, the new religious heads of the emerging Amareed Urubuhl Faith, as we know it today, decreed that there should always be two Archaeons, chosen by the faith, to rule jointly, so one could always keep track of the other. When Tiadara tried to oppose this ruling, she was chased from the city and fled to Markesh where she established herself as Emir of Benghezakhan. 
Between 1144 and 1148, the new Archaeons were able to assert their rule over all of Syloz Safali. Due to their new religious policies, they did not attempt further expansion, instead focusing on internal consolidation.
Throughout the 13th century, the cities of Syloz Safali prospered greatly and the country entered a golden age, a period marked by extensive trade and many new advancements in naval technology and crafts. The Archaeons initiated huge construction projects across the land. Despite not initially concentrating on military might, each succession of Archaeons seemed to focus more and more on expanding their armies, especially with the growing threat of Benghezakhan to the east. At the height of their military power in the mid 14th century, the Archaeons commanded a standing army, 40.000 strong, while their personal guard numbered around 7.000. Due to the expense of such an army, it was both imperative to employ it, and to gain an influx of gold to pay for it. War was inevitable. 
=== War for Benghezakhan ===
In 1337, the Archaeons of Syloz Safali attempted to conquer Benghezakhan, to put and end to the increasing threat of the growing state, and to seize control of its valuable mines. In 1338, from their naval base at Altaiiya, they took the town of Mareed and in 1342, they managed to conquer Markesh. However, the following year, a revolt of local tribes ended any hopes of taking the mainland. Tiadara's son Alexander allied with Volubis and managed to expell the Sylozi. When they attempted to retreat, they were cut off near Astentina and suffered a crushing defeat, pinned between the forces of the Astentine-Benghek coalition, attacking from both sides. The remaining Sylozi forces withdrew entirely and was forced to give up the town of Altaiiya.
The two Archaeons began to blame each other for the defeat, which eventually led to a short-lived civil war within the city of Razaban in 1348. At the end of the year Archaeon Mya Anina Fariis killed her co-ruler, but was strangled by her own daughter not long after and the power of the Archaeons began to decline.
=== Decline ===
After the death of Mya Anina Fariis, and the election of the next two Archaeons, the real power lay with the faith, somewhat resembling the old structure of the Inner Circle. The country was divided and political anarchy set in, with different religious heads and foreign powers supporting different sides. In 1359, a horde of Greenmen came down from the Eunisian Mountains and occupied Ascobol. Soon, a group of Ascobol mystics rose to fight back against the invaders and, having had no support from the capital, claimed autonomy, and in the 1370s, Illiathis broke off under a coalition of merchants and Urubuhl leaders. To the east, Volubis and Benghezakhan continued to rise in power and the Benghek rulers took advantage of the country's instability by attacking the coast.
In the 15th century, Syloz Safali was hit with a financial crisis, due to their over-reliance of Benghek metals for coinage, after which the Archaeons had to stop financing the different local tribes of the south. No longer could Razaban subdue the tribes, who only grew bolder and bolder. 
In 1431, when the slave trade was reopened within the Valonian League, after the formation of The Triarchy, Syloz Safali suddenly saw a economic boom on the slave market. Although Valona chose to conduct most of its slave trade with its ally, the Ayyubid Emirate, Syloz Safali was both closer and cheaper. The land has yet to recover from its economic troubles, but its decline seems at least to have stagnated.
Category:Countries
Category:Skahazadans