Sumert Empire

The Sumert Empire, also known by the names of the Sumert State and Sumertia was an ancient state located withinin northwestern Mawbol and the southernmost parts of Cornia. The period during which it reigned over the region is considered to have been a period of growth, economic prosperity, and cultural and religious rebirth, seeing the construction of many cities and grand temples, large walls and defense complexes along with the development of Sumert written text and record keeping, allowing historians to get a glipmse into the natives of Messer during the 300's to 700's CE, which cannot be said as much for other periods of pre-colonial Messer and Mawbol.
==History==
=== Pre-Imperial History (3200 BCE-350 CE) ===
The first possible records of the Sumert people come from southern Bardalia, where clay pottery and burials in style similar to those of the later Sumerts have been identified around the towns of Biqstar and Grumchich, dating to from 3200 to 2900 BCE, with more pottery of the same style found southwards near the Bardalia-Mawbol border dating roughly to 2900 BCE. Sometime during the middle of the 2800's BCE, the Sumerts seem to have moved southwards into modern day Kumoir and Hermann as Sumert-style burials, pottery and weapon designs appear near Sulivan, Kausilia and the surrounding mountain valleys and lakes. They would further move down south during the period from 2500 to 2200 BCE, with burials dating to this time frame emerging around Mausia, Sir Elton City and Serptas, with the largest amount of them being found around Serptas Lake. By the late 2000's BCE, the Sumert had continued their migration south and a large number of burials began to appear in and around Rivero, Viatill and Dooring, as well as a few in Kingland, though large scale settlement of the area around the city would only begin about two centuries later. With the Sumert migration to southern and central Amater, what historians have now come to call the "First Sumert Golden Age" would begin, as large communal cities and gathering spots can be found all along the Yellow River, in sights such as Grenchurch, Wistell, Montbelly and others, made up of rows of homes, workshops and communal kitchens, large burial sites and outdoor meeting places for ceremonies or religious festivals, typically located near small streams or lakes. In a few sites around Luodia, evidence of early writing has been identified among the ruins of these ancient cities in the form of multiple clay tablets with simplistic symbols carved into them, though the meaning of this early script still remains a unsolved mystery to historians and archeologists. This golden age would last from around 2000 to 1600 BCE, with the Sloms and Svilians seemingly also being a part of it, as proven by the Slomish and Svilian style pottery and burials found within the Sumert cities in quite large numbers. 
The end of this golden age seems to have been a long and slow process of decay, with the communal cities being abandoned one by another and the population as a whole slowly migrating northwards, with multiple fields full of poorly burried and armed people seemingly pointing to possible conflict between the various groups of the Sumert, Slom and Svilian to go along with it. The last of these communal cities are recorded to have been abandoned around the 1400's BCE, mostly located within northern Amater and southern Malarnas, with burials further away from them still appearing around the 1300's BCE, though most of the population had already moved further north into central Malarnas by this time. The reasons for this collapse remain unknown, though the most likely causes of it are either major changes to local climate or intense warfare leading to a lack of resources and sharp population decline, driving the remainder of the people into starvation and their cities into decay, eventually forcing them to move out of them and migrate further north for better land to settle in. Any signs of the Sumert from this period are highly sporadic, with a few burials and temporary settlements found in the 1000's, 900's, 700's and 500's BCE, while the other tribes completely disappear from the historical record until the late 200's BCE. It is believed that the Sumerts began to migrate from central Malarnas to northern Malarnas from around the 300's to 100's BCE, further moving into Ikrayi by the start of the 100's CE, as proven by multiple burials, weapons, pottery and other objects in the Sumert style found along the way, most dating from 200 BCE to 50 CE. By the 200's CE, larger settlements and city organisation begin to once more appear, with a new more grid like system emerging by the 300's CE as the standard design for Sumert cities, with the burial sites, communal kitchens and other buildings found in the older communal cities of Amater also once more reappearing within them. It is believed that by this time the first true Sumert states had also begun to emerge, with the return of written script and the first records of centralized city government and organised conflict between cities over territory, alongside the first mentions of Sumert gods and religious practices. It is in this period where the origins of the soon to become Sumert Empire can be found, beginning around the 350's CE.
===The Origins Of The Sumert State (340's-390's)===
The origins of the Sumert State remain mostly shrouded in mystery, leaving historians to form multiple possible explanations and theories for the rise of the empire, using the few discovered Sumert sources from the time period and a few later sources by Imperial scholars along with archeological findings as the basis for these theories. The origin location of the state also remains a mystery, though it has by now been narrowed down to an area near the edge of the Xenver RangeFormerly referred to as "The Ikrayi Mountains" until the 1970's and 80's. thanks to multiple pre-imperial sources from the region along with more archeological findings that support the narrative presented in these and later texts. The history of the Sumert State possibly begins in the late 340's CE with the city of Arctekopl, which is located in the previously mentioned edge of the Xenver Range, as two clay tablets found within the city claim that a person by the name of Urcupulon had proclaimed himself the new Head Templist (Priest) of the city and attempted to burn down the city's temple with the help of the populace as a sign of protest to their unnamed policies, fleeing the city with his remaining followers after failing to do so and founding the new city of Zemar, which would later come to originate the Sumert Empire under Urcupulon's descendants. These writings align closely to those of later Imperial scholars, who claimed, in texts such as the "Thoughts of Sumert Beginnings", that their empire originated from a religious split over human sacrifice in a to them forgotten city, which was the cause for the foundation of their first capital Saimar. At the same time, other writings from the region doubt the validity of these events and believe them to be overexaggerated, including multiple records from the city of Arctekopl itself, causing other historians to dispute this theory and even suggest that the two clay tablets used as proof for the theory were in reality later Imperial fabrications to prove their connection to the reason and possibly position themselves as the better side in a debate over human sacrifice that may have been going on at the time in the empire, though no record of such a debate, large or small, has yet to be found.
Moving into the 360's CE, another possible theory for the origin of the Sumert State arrises within the city of Dentikoplu. The theory is based on the comparison between the later Imperial work "The Tale of Old King Maozdim" and multiple civic records from Dentikoplu, with both sharing many similarities. In "The Tale of Old King Maozdim", it is claimed that the first supposed emperor of the Sumert State, King Maozdim, was originally a general of a small army serving under an unknown chief and state, findings his way to Saimar in the 370's and proclaiming the Sumert State there, winning decisively against the unknown state and thus becoming the founder of the Sumert Empire. This matches up closely to the records from Dentikoplu, which document a local military commander organising a revolt against the city's chief from the neighboring town of Zeimar, which, along with the sources mentioned in the previous theory, seem to at least confirm the existence of a real life Saimar, though it's direct origin remains disputed. Whatever the case, it is claimed that this general would go on to defeat the city's newly raised army in battle and forced the chief to hand over it's silver reserves to the unknown general, with the sources continue onwards to claim that the chief was possibly planning to escape from the city, though that is where they come to an abrupt end. While these records share many things in common to "The Tale of Old King Maozdim", other historians have claimed that due to many later details in the texts not aligning the theory should be further investigated with the assistance of archeologists, who have for now only found a few scattered remains of armed men near the ruins of Dentikoplu, which most historians agree on as not being sufficient enough of evidence to be of any use to proving or disproving the theory.
Another theory relating to "The Tale of Old King Maozdim" proposes that the founding of the empire took place in the 370's, though it only uses one written document from the time period for comparison to the later Imperial text, causing many historians to be skeptical of the theory. It claims that the events of "The Tale of Old King Maozdim" didn't take place near Dentikoplu, but instead near Arctekopl, with Maozdim being the son of Urcupulon and rebelling against his father's tyrannical rule over a supposed Saimarin Kingdom, defeating his father in battle and reforming the kingdom into the Sumert State, going on to invade and capture Arctekopl. These events are mostly gathered from bits and pieces of the unnamed record from the time period, comparing it to "The Tale of Old King Maozdim" and attempting to create a unified narrative, though this has caused constroversy in the historical community due to the disregard of the other parts of the text, which many historians claim disprove the theory entirely, along with it once more having a lack of archeological evidence to back it up, though with it being common among all proposed theories it doesn't hold much sway over the argument. Another version of the theory also claims that Maodzim and Urcupulon weren't family members but one and the same person, incorporating some parts from "The Story of the Early Kings" and "A Tribute to Maozdim", two texts supposedly written during the early Imperial era, though the legitimacy of this dating is disputed by multiple other historians, with most historians agreeing on the nature of "A Tribute to Maozdim" as being a later work of the Imperial era.
The final possibility for the origins of the Sumert State is in the 390's with Martodin, who is claimed to have been the son of Maozdim in "A Tribute to Maozdim" and from whose perspective the story is written, while "The Story of the Early Kings" only claims that he was a relative of Maozdim, not trying to assert any claim that he was specifically his son. The theory proposes that Martodin was in fact the first ruler of the Sumert State and either he or later emperors invented Maozdim as a propaganda tool to claim descent from older roots than they in reality had. While there are no sources to be found in support of this theory directly, historians have used the lack of Maozdim in sources from the time period as a possible indicator of his invention by later Sumert scholars, though other historians have countered this with the fact that Maozdim would have probably not been a major figure for most of his reign, only achieving dominance over the local region by the end of his reign, as most Sumert sources from the time period or slightly beyond are considered by most historians to either be exaggerated or later fabrications by Sumert authors to paint a positive image of the empire. The theory also has some archeological backing, as the ruins of most major Sumert cities only go back to the 390's and 400's, though other archeologists have simply claimed this to be due to lack of deeper excavation or the possible destruction of these early settlements due to raiding, with them being rebuilt later, though these claims are not taken seriously by most archeologists as raiding and lack of excavation cannot explain the total lack of findings from before the 390's. 
These theories are still openly being debated and many historians have tried suggesting other theories, though most of these failed to catch on within the wider scientific community and thus have not been included in this list of possible origins for the Sumert State. Due to this uncertainty and the constantly changing nature of the debate as new evidence in support of a certain theory is found every year, this article will not pick a side on the issue and will instead begin presenting the Sumert history from the year 394 CE and onwards, as this is the point at which consensus among historians on the empire's history begins forming, allowing us to present one single or sometimes two different narritives that are far easier to follow than the multiple theories before 394 CE. 
=== The Early Sumert State/King Maozdim and the Three Early Emperors (394-406 CE) [Possibly date change and name change] ===
The first undisputed event in Sumert history, as described by multiple contemporary sources and later Imperial sources, is the crowning of Martodin as King or Emperor of the Sumerts in 393 or 394 CE, which, according to most sources, took place at a small ceremony hall right outside Saimar, though some later sources also claim the ceremony to have taken place in the grand palace of Saimar, but this is typically dismissed as false due to the first claim also having archeological backing, with multiple structures having already been identified as possibly being the ceremony hall. While the exact borders of the state Martodin was crowned leader of are not known, they are believed to roughly correspond to the previously described area on the edge of the Xenver Range, with his influence possibly extending down the Parten river. Just a year following the ceremony, a revolt took place in Arctekopl and Gorqakel against Martodin, which would swiftly be crushed and supposedly lead to the destruction of Gorqakel, which is supported by archeological findings around the supposed location of Gorqakel, identifying a sudden cut off of any archeological evidence post the 390's CE. Following this victory, Martodin probably spent the next few years consolidating his state and possibly defeating further small insurrections, though not many sources survive from the period, giving us a less detailed understanding of the time period. More comprehensive documents reappear around 398 CE, in which Martodin is told to be preparing an army of three thousand for an upcoming campaign along a "river of enshrining gold and cities of grand riches", interpreted by most historians as either the Parten River or one of it's tributaries, though no one is truly sure. No description of the conflict itself survives to this day, with the only confirmation of it's outcome being a single letter from a unnamed Saakapa - governor, to the emperor, which congralutes him on his supposed victory in the campaign. It appears that, after this campaign, Martodin wouldn't attempt to militarily expand the state's borders any further, though multiple inscribed tablets and slabs, dated to between 400 and 407 CE, were found in multiple major Sumert cities, describing multiple marriages between nobles of Saimarese descent and the nobles of other Sumert states. These marriages could have been used by Martodin as ways of incorporating the other neighboring Sumert cities into his growing kingdom, though we can't be sure of this, as no records implying or denying such exist today.
According to an unearthed text carved into three stone slabs, dated to around 409 CE, in the same year as the writing of the text, Martodin suddenly set out on a journey to the "hightest peaks of Hjangzur" (most commonly believed to be Mt. Kiltimati, the highest peak of the Xenver range that is visible from the ruins of Saimar, though it is impossible to confirm) with three guards and food for three days. Upon reaching the bottom of the peak, he noticed three eagles circling above and, seeing it as a sign of luck, immediately began to climb the mountain, making it up a third of the way by the end, another third the second day and the remaining third the final day. Upon reaching the top, Martodin was struck by a massive beam of light, before once more seeing the three eagles circling above him and the guards. He quickly got down on his feet and began to cry, yelling out that, if it weren't for the spirits of the night, he would have long been dead. The guards, completely shocked by his words, tried to quickly force him down and kill him, but Martodin resisted them and killed all of them with help from the eagles. He thanked the eagles for their service and truly ascended the very peak of the mountain, upon where he laid to rest his soul and entered the realm of the spirits, speaking with the spirits of the night and making it clear how grateful he was for their assistance. The spirits, impressed by his gratefulness, gave him rights to "the lands near and beyond your own, those which to most commoners are merely known as the lands of the Sumert tongue". Martodin initially attempted to reject this bestowment upon him, but finally relented after the spirits continued offering it to him. After returning from the spirit realm, Martodin swiftly descended the mountain back down in three hours, making his way back to Saimar and announcing his claim to the local courtiers gathered, explaining the spirits' insistence and demands upon him, which included the conquest of "the three corners of the world and all that is to lay beyond them". The courtiers, completely shocked by such a statement, all fell to his knees and announced their eternal service to Martodin. While this event is believed to most likely simply be legend and not a true historic event, most historians do argue that, due to the proximity of the slabs to the year during which the event supposedly to place, the legend was most likely at least thought up by Martodin himself, who could have later used it as one of his justifications for the later expansion of the Sumert State.
[The actual expansion of the Sumert State and the death of Martodin :pensive:]
[For the first 20 years of the Sumert state, most information is taken from two Sumert sources written around the 500's CE, "The Tale of Old King Maozdim" and "The Story of the Early Kings". The sources state that around the year of 370 CE, Maozdim, at the time the simple leader of a small army serving an unknown state, declared himself leader of Saimar, a small city of around 10 thousand inhabitants. Over the following years, he would go on to conquer multiple other cities, finally capturing Sordum, the capital of the unknown empire that he was rebelling against, sometime around 380 CE. For the next ten years, Maozdim would crush multiple minor revolts, finally solidifying his reign by 386 CE. Over the next few years, he increased the size of his army and ordered the building of new roads, temples, markets and wooden fortresses. He would suddenly get ill sometime in 393 CE, dying the following year.]
[Following Maozdim's death, his son Martodin was proclaimed the new emperor. Martodin would rule until 398 CE, continuing what his father started. He was also responsible for writting the "Tribute to Maozdim", a poem commemorating his father. After Martodin's sudden death in 398 CE, his brother Barmtot was proclaimed emperor, being challenged by his uncle Marzundid. The civil war ended in 401 CE after the Battle of Sordum, in which Barmtot was killed. Following the battle, the city was looted and burned, being completly abandoned by it's remaining populace. Marzundid became the new emperor, quickly executing, imprisoning or sacrificing to the gods any who was opposed to his rule.] 
In 403 CE, the construction of Baltunk, a new capital for the empire, was complete. Marzundid would invite many merchants and craftsmen to the city, making it into one of the largest and richest Sumert cities. He also ordered the construction of the Maozdim Temple, a large building complex, consisting of four pyramids and two castles, named after the six main gods of Sumert religion, Barsit, god of peace, Mizin, god of war, Baridold, god of wealth, Mainvald, god of poverty, Mardin, god of gods and Suimer, god of people. The complex also included a large new market place with a center temple, made for public, ceremonial sacrifices on specific holidays. The Maozdim Temple has been confirmed to be real, as it and the ruins of Baltunk were found in 2002.
In 405 CE, Marzundid would suddenly get deeply ill, seemingly having been poisoned. As his condition got worse, he got more and more paranoid, soon ordering atleast 3 executions every day. Many in his court would begin to get scared for their lives and start to resent him. By early 406 CE, a plot had developed to overthrow Marzundid, lead by his grandson Subtar. Finally, sometime in early February, Subtar would act, gathering a large army and surrounding Baltunk. The gates of the city would be openned during the night by his co-conspirators, allowing him to enter the city. Sometime during the same time, Marzundid was taken outside for a walk by one of his guards, who would stab him in the back and leave him bleeding on the ground. Marzundid's body would be found the next day, with Subtar crowning himself emperor later that same day.
[Paragraph 2?]
===The Era of Eleven Emperors (406-442 CE)===
For the period following the death of Marzundid, we only have a single source that has survived to the modern day, "The Stories of Marzundid's Successors". The events continue with a 20 thousand strong army lead by Subtar sieging Kaivar, a city that rebelled against his rule. The siege takes place a few months after Subtar's crowning, with him still not having support in all of the empire. On one faitful night, the last troops in Kaivar would launch an attack against Subtar's troops, tricking 5 thousand men to follow the rebels into the city. The locals would then sneak out of the city in groups of two and light everything around the city on fire, preventing the 5 thousand men from getting out or being saved by Subtar. Subtar would be forced to order his troops to try and put out the fire, but they would fail, with a thousand more men dying in the process. By the afternoon, the city would finally stop burning, having been turned to ash. As Subtar entered the city, he would find the burned bodies of his troops laying on the ground, along with the rebel troops. Soon after this costly "victory", Subtar fell off his horse while returning to Baltunk and was injured. By the time the army returned to Baltunk, only 3 thousand were left, as soon after the incident, his troops had very suddenly and quickly become ill, dying on mass. A month after Kaivar, Subtar would die in Baltunk from his injuries and the disease, which he had also caught while returning to Baltunk. 
Following Subtar's death, his only son Mailmouk was crowned emperor. Mailmouk would rule until 408 CE, supposedly dying from injuries sustained in a fall, though many speculate he may have actually been assassinated. Following his death, Akbarum, the brother of Subtar, would rule for 2 months before being betrayed and killed by his own troops while on campaign to defeat the remaining rebels. In his place the army would elect a general named Fakmuk, betrayed aswell two weeks later. Fakmuk was replaced by Bordos, another army general. Bordos would lead the army during the Battles of Hurmar and Mirvart. Following the battle of Mirvart, the rebel cause would finally die out, allowing for Bordos to rule for another 3 months in peace, after which he was poisoned by someone in the royal court of Akbarum, as the news of Bordos being emperor had only reached Baltunk two weeks before he arrived. 
In 409 CE, Namruz, the last surviving grandson of Marzundid, was elected as emperor by the grand council of nobles. Namruz would quickly attempt to root out any enemies he had, sacrificing anyone who dared to oppose him to the gods. He consolidated power through an iron fist, ruling with the army and completly ignoring the wishes of his court. In 411 CE, Namruz ordered the construction of the Six Pillars of Sumert, a monument to the main Sumert gods. While two of the pillars have survived till the modern day, the rest have collapsed due to decay and currently cannot be accurately recreated. By 416 CE, Namruz had secured his position and went on campaign against the neighbouring Galgimer tribe, the existance of which has not yet been confirmed by any substantial evidence. Namruz would win this war by 418 CE, making the Galgimers' his vassals. Suddenly in 420 CE, Namruz would fall deeply ill, dying in early 421 CE. 
Afterwards, his son Varnut would rule from 421 to 424 CE. Not much is written about his reign in "The Stories of Marzundid's Successors", so the only thing we can be sure of is that he was overthrown by his brother, also named Varnut. The second Varnut would rule until 431 CE, spending most of his reign crushing revolts. He died in 431 CE of natural causes, being succeeded by his brother Martodin. Martodin's reign would last from 431 to 432 CE, when he has killed by one of his guards in a plot by the royal court to install his son, the 2 year old Baourdin, as the emperor, but instead the guard would proclaim himself emperor and with the help of the other guards put the royal court under house arrest. The guard would change his name to Zazimain, gaining full support of the entire empire just two months after his crowning. 
In 434 CE, Zazimain woud launch a raid into a neighbouring tribe, capturing and executing their leader. After his return to Baltunk, he ordered the building of new defensive walls, far larger and stronger than the first ones. The walls would be finished by 437 CE, named the "Zazimain Walls". Zazimain also began the construction of Sidmurind, a border city to defend against the Harmanguins, a supposed group of tribes that lived south of the Sumert Empire, though only limited evidence of them ever living in that area has been found. The city was raided multiple times during 436 CE while it was under construction. Zazimain would decide to respond with force, marching down to Sidmurind with a 15 thousand strong army. His army repeatedly would raid the Harmanguins until 438 CE, when they sent a 5 thousand strong army north under Aoibener to defeat Zaizmain. Aoibener and his army was ambushed and slaughtered 15 kilometers south of Sidmurind. Following this victory, Zazimain would push deep into Harmanguin territory, by 439 CE forcing the surrender of most of the tribes. Zazimain planned to return to Baltunk by 441 CE, but would only make it to Sidmurind, suddenly dying there during late 440 CE, supposedly from drinking too much wine, though a possible conspiracy or betrayal by the army is suspected by some in the historical community. 
Zazimain was succeeded by his son, Kaulmut. Kaulmut's rule was immediately questioned by most, resulting in a rebellion to put Baourdin, son of Martodin, who was now 10 years old, on the throne. The 25 thousand strong rebel army would only be stopped by the genius of Garmidt, who was the main general of the army after Kaulmut himself. The rebels had been moving to take Hurmar, as it openned the way to Baltunk itself, but Garmidt managed to force a battle near the small town of Arhurmar, killing 8 thousand rebels with only a force of 3 thousand, mainly by creating barricades and traps. Garmidt would finally be forced to retreat from Arhurmar after a 3 day battle with only 100 men. But he would even use this to his advantage, trapping 3 thousand more rebel forces in the town and setting it on fire. Garmidt would quickly reach Hurmar, preparing it's defenses for the inevitable attack. He would defend the city for 3 months against the rebel force, managing to exploit gaps in their lines to get supplies into Hurmar, saving the city from starvation. The rebel army was forced to live off the land, burning and raiding anything they could, until finally all food in the area near Hurmar had been eaten. As the rebels began to starve, Garmidt would order a secret night evacuation from Hurmar, making the rebels starve and wait for completly nothing. He would return a month later, attacking a starving and far smaller rebel army during the night, crushing it and killing their leaders, ending the revolt. 
After securing his power, Kaulmut would go on campaign against the same Harmanguins his father had beaten just around a year ago, but this time everything would go differently. Kaulmut would launch minor raids into Harmanguin territory, waiting in Sidmurind for a response. As the waiting continued and no one came, he ordered larger and larger raids, until finally, out of pure desperation, he sent half of the army under Garmidt to conquer and raid as far as they could. Garmidt raided deep into Harmanguin land, but would be suddenly surrounded and lose most of his forces at the Battle of the Wide Forest. Garmidt would die from his wounds in Sidmurind two weeks later, forcing Kaulmut to abandon the campaign. Sensing weakness, Bolgomir, the elder brother of Baourdin, would convince the royal court to join him in a plot to kill Kaulmut. While the plot would fail at killing Kaulmut, it would begin a massive revolt against Kaulmut, who now, without Gardmit, was forced to try and defend Baltunk. The siege would go on for 4 months, slowly starving the city, until it finally just openned the gates to the rebel army and let them in. Hearing of the news, Kaulmut would sacrifice one of his slaves and quickly get as drunk as possible, jumping out of a window and dying on impact with the ground. Soon following this, Bolgomir would be crowned emperor. 
===Bolgomir's Glory and The Height of The Sumert Empire (442-584 CE) ===
Following the ascension of Bolgomir, far more sources, such as "The Account of Bolgomir's Reign", "The Golden Decree of Bolgomir", "Stories From Bolgomir's Time" and many more appear. With many of them possibly being biased in different ways, their amount has been rather helpful in making a more defined and less biased account of Bolgomir and his successors. Bolgomir would begin his reign with a campaign against the Harmanguins to fix the mistakes of Kaulmut. The campaign would be over in just 6 months, with most of the Harmanguin tribes once more swearing fealty to him. Next, Bolgomir built two more southern cities, Marbok and Ragmin, planning to use them as a base for a campaign even more south. The campaign began in 445 CE after much preperation, Bolgomir striking deep into the territory of the Hogmans, which by most modern historians, such as Sir Paul Montgommery, are considered ancestors of the Farnisons, a tribe that inhabited and to some extent still inhabits the center of Malarnas. The campaign ended with another a victory, with the Hogmans being pushed south out of their old lands by 447 CE. The Harmanguins, seeing an opportunity to regain their freedom, would unite under high chief Babsuk, who would gather a 15 thousand strong army and siege Sidmurind, forcing Bolgomir to turn north and break the siege, resecuring Sidmurind by 448 CE. Babsuk and his army would be crushed, with Babsuk being imprisoned, tortured and sacrificed at the Maozdim Temple along with 2 thousand of his troops in the summer of 449 CE.
In 452 CE, Bolgomir would order the construction of Bolgomran, a new capital named after himself. The city was finished by 456 CE, including four marketplaces, the Bolgomir Temple, a larger version of the Maozdim Temple, and a large system of fortifications, based on three walls, two inner walls and one outer wall, split by a moat inbetween, with multiple fortresses next to the outer wall, ending off with another moat. Only the inner walls and a few of the fortresses have survived till the modern day, leading many to assume the outer wall didn't exist or wasn't as large as described. Immediately following, Bolgomir ordered the construction of the Long Road, a large road leading from Marbok to Sidmurind to Bolgomran to Baltunk, it's main purpose being to facilitate trade. He would also order many other smaller projects, at the same time constantly leading raids and campaigns against the neighbouring tribes, highly increasing the Sumert Empire in size and wealth.
In 459 CE, one of Bolgomir's son, Kartomour, would gather a army of 20 thousand and demand for his father to step down, which Bolgomir would refuse to do. Thus Kartomour would march to Sidmurind and then Baltunk, taking both cities by 460 CE. It almost seemed as if Kartomour, who had the favour of much of the empire, mostly due to the nobles fearing the strength of Bolgomir and wanting a weaker king, would win the war, but Bolgomir had quickly managed to recruit a 15 thousand strong army, marching to Ragmin, defeating Kartomour and forcing him to retreat back to Sidmuring and settle down. While Kartomour settled down and prepared for the next campaign, Bolgomir used this time to recruit 25 thousand more troops, his army, known as the Grand Army of Bolgomir, now numbering total at around 40 thousand men. Around early 461 CE, Kartomour set out again, retaking Ragmin and setting fire to Marbok, nearing the gates of Bolgomran itself. Bolgomir would decide to leave the city, marching towards Kartomour's army with the Grand Army and attacking Kartomour's army from all sides, slaughtering it. Kartomour would die in the battle, with his main general Marborut and 2 thousand men escaping back to Sidmurind, where they would be forced to disarm and were imprisoned by the noble governor, who had switched sides to Bolgomir after hearing of the Battle of Bolgomran. The Grand Army also sustained many losses, as after the few moments of suprise, Kartomour's army regained it's strength and fought bravely, with the army being reduced to 21 thousand. With this victory in the civil war, Bolgomir had secured his rule and wouldn't be challenged by anyone else for the title of emperor.
For the next two decades, the Sumert Empire would be at peace, expierencing a period of economic and culture growth it had never seen before. In 470 CE, Bolgomir would begin planning for the largest festival yet in Sumert History. The festival would include the sacrificing of 300 captured slaves at Maozdim's Temple in Baltunk, followed by the sacrifice of a further 650 slaves at the Bolgomir Temple in Bolgomran, then followed by the rest of the slaves being sacrificed at other temples. Following this festival, human sacrifice would be banned all over the empire. Bolgomir would soon go on campaign against the Harmanguins, as over the decades they had become more independent and also had a large enough population to capture for festival. Following the success of the campaign, preperation for the festival would begin in early 471 CE, with it officially beginning on the second week of April and ending with the final sacrifices around the second weak of May. The festival would become known as Bolgomir's Sacrifice and would go on to become one of the main festivals of the empire every 5 years, though human sacrifices were replaced with animals or vegetables and wheat. 
Following the festival, Bolgomir would immediately return to the Harmanguin lands to crush and bring back into submission the remaining tribes. The Harmanguins would unite under high chief Vabsur, who multiple times managed to even defeat Bolgomir in battle, but was finally defeated and killed at the Battle of the Red Plain, named so due to the high losses of men on both, with the casulties being 13 thousand for the Harmanguins and 19 thousand for the Sumerts. Soon after the battle, any remaining Harmanguin armies were crushed and Bolgomir formally incorporated the Harmanguin lands into the Sumert Empire, declaring his eldest son Girbomok as governor of Harmanginia. In 477 CE, Girbomok would oversee the construction of Sumertia, the capital city of the new province, named so as a show of force to the remaining Harmanguin population. Bolgomir would meanwhile continue the campaign south, only returning to Bolgomran in 478 CE.
In 483 CE, after four decades of rule, Bolgomir would die of old age, leaving the empire to Girbomok. Girbomok, already being governor of Harmanginia and not wanting to become too powerful, would instead offer the throne to one of his brother, with Mantimarn in the end being the one to accept and become emperor. Mantimarn's reign would mostly be a continuation of Bolgomir's policies, with a continuously growing economy, peace, many festivals and building projects. He died in 488 CE, being succeeded by his son Bartaman, who would rule until 491 CE, mostly being influenced by Girbomok. Bartaman was overthrown in 491 CE in a coup by Arkbuk, the youngest son of Bolgomir, who was supported by his brother Girbomok. Arkbuk soon after was crowned emperor, with Girbomok being promoted to the newly created position of Grand Governor, comparable to a prime minister or vice president. 
During the following decade, Arkbuk would launch multiple raids against surrounding tribes, including the Morostians. After another raid against them in 497 CE, the Morostians would unite under King Faminius, raising an army of 20 thousand and facing off against a 5 thousand force of profesional Sumert fighters in the Battle of Fashaz Forest. The Sumert force would be defeated and killed, but 10 thousand Morostians would also die. Seeing that simply attacking wouldn't go well, Faminius changed his strategy, attacking Sumertian resupply missions and ambushing smaller armies. Arkbuk would decide to tric Faminius into a large battle, sending out a smaller army which Faminius would attack and then moving in to crush him. The plan would succeed, resulting in the Battle of Asmard, in which the entire Morostian army would be killed and Faminius was captured, forcing him to become a vassal of Arkbuk. Soon following, the Morostians would crown Hagmius as their new king, raising a new 15 thousand army and attacking the Sumert army currently stationed at Asmard, the de-facto capital of the Morostian Kingdom. The Sumert army would be beaten back, but wouldn't take long to retake Asmard, with Hagmius being captured and executed. His son Magnius would declare himself king aswell, but in just 6 days his body would be found decapitated outside of Asmard. The First Morostian War was over. 
At the same time, Girbomok had been making moves to empower the governors in an attempt to weaken the royal court, as in the past they had been a major source of plots against emperors. This would result in the creation of the Harmandin, "Court of Governors", in 495 CE, which would have legislative and judicial authority over the entire empire, even the royal court. After an assasination attempt against Girbomok in 497 CE, the Harmandin would be reformed into the Sahandin, "Court of the People", a council of 120 members chosen from all over the empire's major cities, effectivly making it the proto-parliament of the Sumert Empire. The Sahandin would quickly give more power to the governors and mayors of the empire, officially removing any influence the royal court had in the running of the country in 499 CE. The royal court, angry at it's loss of power, would attempt a second coup, resulting in a short civil war, ending in the defeat and execution of much of the royal court. Girbomok would also decide to formalise the collection of taxes, making it so that everyone had either give 15% of their harvest or 20% of their gold to the state. With this, power was firmly secured in the hands of the Emperor, the Grand Governor and the Sahadin, leading to a contiued era of peace and stability lasting roughly a decade. 
In 508 CE, King Faminius of Morostia would be assasinated and replaced by King Aborolus in a coup, beginning the Second Morostian War. Arkbuk quickly raised a 12 thousand strong army, marching down south and quickly defeating the main rebel army, but the rebels would continue fighting and adopt guerilla tactics, forcing Arkbuk to campaign in Morostia for 6 years. After finally defeating all Morostian forces and capturing King Aborolus, Arkbuk would order the execution of all Morostian nobles and Aborolus, replacing him with King Bishmak. Arkbuk was already on his way to Sumertia, the city, in early 515 CE, when he was informed King Bishmak had been killed and a new rebellion by Agrupius had started against Sumertian domination. He quickly turned his army back, facing off against Agrupius at the Battle of Nopovke, which ended in the murder of Agrupius and capture of the entire rebel army. Arkbuk, at this point annoyed at the Morostians for rebelling so many times, would grant Girbomok the title of King of Morostia, with Morostia being incorporated into the empire and becoming the province of Morostina in 519 CE. Just a year later, Arkbuk would die, giving the throne to Girbomok, who died in 523 CE. 
After Girbomok died, Arkbuk's son, Giholmor became the new emperor as planned, while the Sahadin would elect his brother Vigbor as the new Grand Governor. The Morostians would immediately rebel, but were quickly defeated by Vigbor at the Battle of Zumart. Following that, the empire would be at peace for a whole two decades. In 534 CE, a statue of Bolgomir made out of rock would be put up in Bolgomran, lasting up to 1988, when it collapsed, but was rebuilt using previously taken photos of it. In 546 CE, Vigbor would die, being suceeded as Grand Governor by his son Bagdus, who would also become emperor in 551 CE after Giholmor died. The Sahadin would try to make Bagdus give up the title of Grand Governor, but Bagdus instead imprisoned every single member of the Sahadin and replaced them with people directly loyal to him, making him the strongest emperor yet, only comparable to Bolgomir. 
In 552 CE, Bagdus would march his army north, capturing land in modern day Cornia and Bardalia, before marching west and reaching the ocean, founding Bagdia. He would return to Bolgomran by 559 CE, marching south and marching as far south as Amater, burning down anything in his path. After multiple other campaigns and crushing another Morostian revolt, he finally decided to rest, holding a two year long festival from 564 CE to 566 CE, building two statues and a the Ocean Temple in his honour. Many began to think he was bragging and lying about much of what he did, leading to a revolt in 567 CE. The revolt declared Bagdus's son Bagdus as the new emperor, Bagdus II, but after being defeated at the Battle of Sidmurind, Bagdus II would abdicate, siding with his father. The revolt was completely crushed by 568 CE, leading to a purge of the priests, who were the main force behind the revolt, and Bagdus declaring himself High Priest, granting him even more power. Bagdus would continue ruling until 575 CE, when he died, leaving the throne to his youngest son Amargod, who died in 584 CE. 
=== The Empire In Decline(584-760's CE)===
Following the death of Amargod, the Sahadin would declares Bagdus II as the new emperor, but Amargod's son Burgtu challenge this, marching with an army on Bolgomran, but being defeated. Bagdus II ruled until 587 CE, when he was betrayed by Sidokus, a brother of Burgtu, and killed. Sidokus would be immediately challenged by Bagdus's II two sons, Kakrion and Vuignod, defeating Sidokus at the Battle of Sidmurind in 588 CE. During this, the Morostians had rebelled once more, forcing Kakrion to put them down. Kakrion and Vuignod would agree to rule as co-emperors, this decision being approved by the Sahadin in 590 CE. This agreement would fall apart in 593 CE, when Kakrion was fooled by Gardog, an army general, into thinking that Vuignod was planning to kill him. Kakrion would gather 15 thousand men, sieging Baltunk, where Vuignod was currently residing. After a 4 month long siege, Vuignod managed to escape the city, raising his own army and attacking Kakrion outside Baltunk, defeating and capturing him. After much consideration, Vuignod pardoned his brother and restored the co-emperorship. In 597 CE, Vuignod would die while on campaign in the west to protect Bagdia from attacks by neighbouring tribes. Kakrion would at this point become sole emperor, ruling until 601 CE, when he also died. Following this, a grandson of Amargod named Buvkort would take over.
Buvkort I would firstly once more secure Bagdia from attacks, raiding much of the land around it. After returning to Bolgomran, he continued to rule until 608 CE, giving most responsibility to the governors and the Sahadin. After his death, he left the empire to his youngest son Abasondu, due to most of his other sons constantly fighting with eachother. Abasondu was found dead in his bed just a week after his coronation, beginning the Buvkort War. By this point, the only three sources for this period are the "History of the Buvkort Wars", "Stories of Buvkort's Successors" and the "History of the Late Sumert State". After the most likely assasination of Abasondu, Buvkort II, Gardmond, Zakmitor, Badirilan and Kamit would split the empire between themselves. Gardmond would receive Sidmurind, which both Buvkort II and Kamit wanted, making an allience in 609 CE and raising a 35 thousand strong army. They would siege Sidmurind for 2 months, before Gardmond was killed by his own troops, who replaced him with a general called Okburt. After 1 more week, Sidmurind would be taken, Okburt executed and Gardmond's lands split between Buvkort II and Kamit.
In 612 CE, Buvkort II would suddenly break the allience with Kamit, attacking him. The other two brothers, not wanting Buvkort II to grow too powerful, would decide to support Kamit, defeating Buvkort's army and capturing him. After negotiations broke down, Kamit and Zakmitor, also releasing Buvkort II to help them, would attack Badirilan's army, defeating it and killing Badirilan. His land would be given to his 5 year old son, Nomorvot, while Buvkort II would be forced to pay war reperations to Kamit. Just 3 months later, Nomorvot would be killed by one of his guards, named Hagdorm. Buvkort II quickly invaded Hagdorm's land and defeated him, forcing Hagdorm to hand it over to Buvkort. Zakmitor and Kamit would ask Buvkort to instead split the lands between the three of them, but he would refuse, forcing them to invade Buvkort's realm. By 615 CE, Buvkort II would finally plan to surrender, but be killed by one of his guards, the army soon after proclaiming Hagdorm the new emperor. Hagdorm continued to fight, but was killed at the Battle of Sumertia. Zakmitor and Kamit would agree to split the empire between themselves, promising to not attack eachother. But by just 617 CE, Zakmitor was marching on Sidmurind with 17 thousand troops, preparing to siege it. Kamit would march out to meet him and ask him to turn back, but Zakmitor would refuse. As the siege began, Zakmitor suddenly fell ill, dying just 2 weeks after the siege began. With Zakmitor dead, the army would proclaim Vagdomir, the main general as emperor. Soon after, Vagdomir would begin negotiations with Kamit, in the end agreeing that Kamit would become the sole emperor, with Vagdomir being granted the title of Grand Governor. With this, the Buvkort War had ended.
For the following decade, Kamit would continuosly put down revolts, before dying in 629 CE. He was succeeded by his son Afdorgom, who was betrayed by his own troops in 632 CE while resting in Bagdia. The troops would declare a general named Civigodu as the new emperor, while the Sahadin, learning of Afdorgom's death, declared his brother Bahdom as emperor. Civigodu would march to Bolgomran, sieging the city. As the siege went on, his troops got more and more unhappy, as they were expecting payment for killing Afdorgom. Civigodu thus would think of a new plan, ordering his troops to cut down multiple trees, split them into small bits, set the wood on fire and throw it over the walls. Half of Bolgomran burned down, including the royal palace, with most of the royal family, including Bahdom, dying. Civigodu seized the gold in the treasury, giving most of it to his troops. Bolgomran was mostly abandoned, with Baltunk once more becoming the capital of the empire. Civigodu would die in 634 CE from liver failure related to drinking, being succeeded by Abdigor, who was also chosen by the army. After the Sahadin tried to challenge this, all of it's members would be arrested or killed, and it would be disbanded, giving the army total control.
Abdigor would die 637 CE, being succeeded by Harbingor. From this point onwards, the emperors mostly became figureheads, as the army simply ran around and raided any settlement they could find. In 640 CE, Bagdia would be sieged and captured by raiding tribesmen, resulting in the city being burnt down and abandoned. Sidmurind would barely fend off a tribal attack on it's own in 642 CE, being badly devestated. The army in response killed the governor of the province Sidmurind was in, taking all his gold and replacing him with a puppet. As the decades went on, the prosperity of the 450's to 600's would go away completly, making many once great cities deserted and rotting. In 669 CE, emperor Gagdurbut was killed and replaced with Cavgordin. He would move to Baltunk, restoring it as a serious capital, and also leaving the army, meaning he was not under it's complete control anymore. Cavgordin then raised a new army of 20 thousand, ordering the other army to step down, which they would refuse. The two armies would meet a bit outside of Baltunk, with Cavgordin in the end winning and establishing his authority over the empire. Over the next five years, he would campaign all around the empire, restoring full order to it. After this, he launched multiple campaigns against neighbouring tribes, allowing the empire to slightly recover from the decades of disaster it had faced.
In 672 CE, Cavgordin would launch a massive campaign to retake the west, fighting the Abgidirons and Zamdirs to include a few, reaching the ruins of Bagdia by 675 CE. He would order the city, it's monuments and temples to be rebuilt and it to be repopulated. Following this, he campaigned both north and south of the city to secure it from future attacks, ending these campaigns by 678 CE. Following this, Cavgordin began a major restructuring of the empire, splitting all provinces in half and splitting civilian and military structures, aswell as restoring the Sahadin. After finishing all of this, he would leave for Baltunk in 681 CE. After arriving in Baltunk, Cavgordin suddenly fell badly ill and would die in 683 CE, most likely being poisoned by one of his guards or generals. Following this, his generals would fight over who would get to succeed him, in the end resulting with Gamfordok becoming the new emperor. With this, the era of prosperity would slowly come to an end, as the army once more became corrupt and began infighting, leading to Bagdia being once more abandoned in 696 CE. By 700 CE, even Sidmurind had been raided multiple times, meaning that by now the entire empire was under threat from raids. Thus began the late empire.
In 706 CE, the Morostians and Harmanguins revolted against the empire, managing to defeat multiple Sumert armies and sieging Baltunk. in the end, the emperor was forced to give the Morostians and Harmanguins more rights and half of his treasury. In 708 CE, a Morostian army would raid Sidmurind and many other major cities, defeating an army sent to stop them. As the empire constantly faced raids, a skilled general by the name of Kambig would overthrow the emperor, declaring himself emperor and marching south to defeat both the Morostians and Haramnguins, which he would succeed at, forcing them back into the empire with no rights. But just as it seemed the empire had a chance to be saved, Kambig was betrayed and killed by his own troops in 713 CE, throwing the empire into a civil war between multiple generals. During the civil war, the just conquered tribes immediately rebelled, undoing all that Kambig had done. The civil war would continue until 716 CE, being won by Nambidor. After multiple raids, Sidmurind would be abandoned in 721 CE, followed by other cities being abandoned aswell. By the 730's, raiding became a constant problem, while the army fought over the next powerless emperor. In 744 CE, Gamdrian became emperor and would try to consolidate his control, once more raising a new army and defeating the old army. After that, he would go on to even reconquer Sidmurind for a short while in 746 CE, but was forced to abandon it after tribes from the north started the raiding the empire. He would plan a campaign to reconquer the Harmanguins and Morosotia, but was killed before he could begin it. Around the late 750's CE, almost all written texts completly disappear, leading most to believe the empire fell sometime in the late 760's CE.
== Cities==
===Saimar===
Saimar was the first capital of the empire and one of the largest cities, housing from roughly 90 to 185 thousand people at it's height.
=== Sordum===
Sordum was the second capital of the Sumert Empire. It most likely had a population of around 135 thousand at it's peak.
===Baltunk===
Baltunk was the third capital of the Sumert state. It is believed to have had a population of 150 thousand at it's peak.
===Humar===
===Mirvart===
=== Sidmurind===
===Bolgomran===
Bolgomran was the largest and longest serving capital of the Sumert empire, being a major showcase of Bolgomir's achievements, containing many major and large monuments and being a major source of documents thanks to it's large library complex, allowing historians to learn far more about the empire than they could have otherwise. The city reached a population of 245 thousand at it's height, probably being abandoned in the 800's following the collapse of the empire.
===Ragmin===
===Morbok===
===Sumertia===
===Asmard===
===Zumart===
===Bagdia===
===Asmagard===
===Zakminain===
===Varbdiga===
===Bomonan===
===Ragutor===
===Gamidia===
===Bogmilia===
===Ragdigurot===
===Bagdogod===
==List of Sumert Emperors==
Order 	Name 	Reign 	Notes
1. 	Maozdim 	370-394 AD 	
2. 	Martodin I 	394-398 AD 	
3. 	Barmtot 	398-401 AD 	(disputed)
4. 	Marzundid 	398-406 AD 	
5. 	Subtar 	406 AD 	
6. 	Mailmouk 	406-408 AD 	
7. 	Akbarum 	408 AD 	
8. 	Farkmuk 	408 AD 	
9. 	Bordos 	408 AD 	
10. 	Namruz 	409-421 AD 	
11. 	Varnut I 	421-424 AD 	
12. 	Varnut II 	424-431 AD 	
13. 	Martodin II 	431-432 AD 	
14. 	Zazimain 	432-440 AD 	
15. 	Kaulmut 	440-442 AD 	
16. 	Bolgomir 	442-483 AD 	
17. 	Kartomour 	459-461 AD 	(disputed)
18. 	Mantimarn 	483-488 AD 	
19. 	Bartaman 	488-491 AD 	
20. 	Arkbuk 	491-520 AD 	
21. 	Girbomok 	520-523 AD 	
22. 	Giholmor 	532-551 AD 	
23. 	Bagdus I 	551-575 AD 	
24. 	Bagdus II 	567 AD584-587 AD 	(disputed(567 AD))
25. 	Amargod 	575-584 AD 	
26. 	Burgtu 	584 AD 	(disputed)
27. 	Sidokus 	587-588 AD 	(disputed)
28. & 29.	Kakrion & Vuignod 	590-593 AD593-597 AD	co-emperors
28. 	Kakrion 	593 AD597-601 AD 	(disputed(593 AD))
29. 	Vuignod 	593 AD 	
30. 	Buvkort I 	601-608 AD 	
31. 	Abasondu 	608 AD 	
32. 	Buvkort II & Gardmond & Zakmitor & Badirilan & Kamit &Okburt & Momorvot & Hagdorm & Vagdomir(Civil War)	608-618 AD 	(put together for simplicity)
33. 	Kamit 	618-629 AD 	
34. 	Afdorgom 	629-632 AD 	
35. 	Civigodu 	632-634 AD 	
36. 	Bahdom 	632-633 AD 	
37. 	Abdigor 	634-637 AD 	
38. 	Harbingor 	637-642 AD 	
39. 	Monsgord 	642-644 AD 	
40. 	Nagtuvin 	644 AD 	
41. 	Ligbomor 	644-649 AD 	
42. 	Maghimord 	649-650 AD 	
43. 	Zagmitor 	650-651 AD 	
44. 	Badurgamn 	651-655 AD 	
45. 	Magzarmint 	655-658 AD 	
46. 	Nagdirbom 	658-659 AD 	(disputed)
47. 	Livaturv 	658-660 AD 	
48. 	Gagvitrom 	660-662 AD 	
49. 	Babdigon 	662-667 AD 	
50. 	Gagdurbut 	667-669 AD 	
51. 	Cavgordin 	669-683 AD 	
52. 	Gamfordok 	683-686 AD 	
53. 	Nubmit 	686-688 AD 	
 	Unknown 	688-692 AD 	
54. 	Bagdumor 	692-693 AD 	
55. 	Vagdifor I 	693-695 AD 	
56. 	Vagdifor II 	695-697 AD 	
57. 	Hamurd 	695-696 AD 	(disputed)
58. 	Babdir 	697-698 AD 	
59. 	Kamdivor 	698 AD 	
60. 	Sudnomort 	698-701 AD 	
61. 	Fabgidor 	701-704 AD 	
62. 	Magdurn 	704-705 AD 	
63. 	Bogdomr 	705-707 AD 	
64. 	Cidvog 	707-709 AD 	
65. 	Kambig 	709-713 AD 	
66. 	Hagvitor 	713-716 AD 	(disputed)
67. 	Nambidor 	713-718 AD 	
68. 	Varmad 	713-716 AD 	(disputed)
69. 	Begrot 	713-716 AD 	(disputed)
70. 	Vagad 	718 AD 	
71. 	Mabdiv 	718-721 AD 	
72. 	Nambzid 	721-724 AD 	
73. 	Cemdod 	724-725 AD 	
74. 	Bailnom 	725-726 AD 	
 	Unknown 	726-733 AD 	
75. 	Kamuntid 	733-737 AD 	
76. 	Zigmudorn 	737-740 AD 	
 	Unknown 	740-741 AD 	
77. 	Maldog 	741-742 AD 	
78. 	Vifdor 	742-744 AD 	
79. 	Ozidig 	744 AD 	
80. 	Gamdrian 	744-751 AD 	
81. 	Lombod 	751-752 AD 	
 	Unknown 	752-754 AD 	
82. 	Gagzimor 	754-755 AD 	Last known emperor.
Category:World of Werbia