Vardanids

The Vardanid Empire was a large nation centred around the Solitary Peak. It was the first to unite the disparate tribes of Suren's Desert, and one of the most long-lived empires on the continent.
The Vardanid Empire met its end after the Vardano-Reman Religious Wars, when rogue Reman legions crossed the border by the dozen.
The Vardanid Empire had an advanced hierarchical structure, with civilian and military ranks being separate from each other. 
Civilian Rank	English Equivalent	Military Rank
Shahanshah 	King 	
Shah 	Duke 	
Sheikh 	Count/General 	Masshah
Valandar 	Baron/Commander 	Nakhda
Farmandar 	Governor/Captain 	Sotvarn
Bel 	Official/Officer 	Hahre
== History ==
The Vardanid state rose out of the ashes of the Fifty Year War - the trading republic of Sardan had been torn apart and Parham Vardanid, warlord of the city of Soran, conquered the rubble.
The Vardanids quickly conquered and consolidated the region Sardan had inhabited, before striking southwest. By the turn of the 3rd Century, the Vardanid border had been solidified at the Dale Hills, and the warlords turned their gaze north, into the Lastrian Hills. Rather than fight, many lords of the independent Parsanian holds in the east instead swore fealty to the Shahanshah. 
After the Great Gap, the Vardanid Empire had consolidated its gains but was at a stalemate with Reme in the east and Tianguo to the west. It was hemmed in by the Mountainfolk to the north and the Plainspeople in the south as well, giving it no room to expand.
Over time, the Vardanids plotted ways to break this stalemate, and found their answer in religious turmoil. The Vardano-Reman Religious Wars were an attempt to conquer Reme and push east, but this plan was thwarted by the selfish actions of many rogue Reman legates, who sent their armies into the Vardanid Empire and weakened it to the point of collapse, and then beyond.Category:Countries