Sultanate of the Nicolides

The Sultanate of the Nicolides was a major empire of the early Classic Era, and is generally considered the very first superpower to ever form. It was based in northern Australia. At its peak, it controlled the entirety of Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Polynesia, Micronesia, Melanesia, the Malay Archipelago, and most of Southeast Asia. In addition, it also had colonies in India, various coastal colonies in Africa, the Carolinas and California. As the first superpower, it was one of the most important nations of its time. Over a century later, the Second Sultanate of the Nicolides would be founded by a descendant of the original royal family. To this day, the Nicolideans continue to live in northern Australia, and still follow Islam. 
== Formation of the Sultanate ==
=== Early settlement ===
The Sultanate of the Nicolides had its origins in the Arab settlement of the Cape York region of Australia. The first known person to visit Australia was a merchant named Amar. He crossed the Torres Strait in search of new lands, and landed on the tip of Cape York peninsula. He named the area al'Ard Aldhahabia and the supposed archipelago the Nicolides, but did not establish any type of settlement. Several decades after his discovery was declared, a town was finally established at the exact point he landed on, and also named al'Ard Aldhahabia. 
The settlement of al'Ard Aldhahabia started out quite small, but grew through attracting more merchants, as well as integrating native tribes. Other settlements began to form and repeat the same process, leading to a string of settlements along the coast forming. Mainly consisting of Arab merchants and priests, Muslim Austronesian explorers, and converted Aboriginals, the settlements were quite diverse. The main language spoken throughout the settlements eventually was known as Nicolidean. It was a mixture of the many languages spoken, with it being mainly based on Arabic with some Aboriginal and Malay substratum. 
=== Unification ===
With the settlements growing larger and larger, they began to form fully independent states. One of these controlled the city of al'Ard Aldhahabia, which had experienced a large boom in population. The sultan who would eventually lead the Nicolides was a man simply known as Aalam. Some time after taking control over the city, he had a prophetic dream, in which Allah Himself ordered him to unite the peninsula, and "bring all of the Earth [he] knew under his heel". As a devout and superstitious Muslim, he immediately began achieving this goal.
Through diplomacy and war, he quickly annexed all of the settlements on the Cape York peninsula. With the goal completed, he declared himself Sultan of the Nicolides, and the nation the Sultanate of the Nicolides. He moved his capital to the smaller but more strategically secure city of Kayrinz*. Upon its founding, it only held the coastal regions of the peninsula, but quickly expanded into the interior. Aalam continued to conquer more territory, uniting the vast majority of the Australian coastline, as well as New Guinea, establishing it as a major force in Oceania.
== Expansion and height ==
After his death, his successor (unnamed lmao) conquered the entirety of Australia's coastline, and effectively controlled the whole continent. New Zealand was also conquered, as well as large chunks of Polynesia and the eastern portion of Indonesia, as well as establishing colonies in Malaysia. Eventually, all of Indonesia fell under Nicolidean control, as well as the Philippines, and parts of Indochina and even Kyushu. This made them the de facto strongest nation in the world, as they controlled everything from the coasts of Thailand to western Polynesia.
The nation later conquered further into mainland Asia, into Burma and Hainan, and established a colony on the Ganges Delta. This became the largest Nicolidean colony, eventually stretching from Karnataka to Bengal. During the rule of their last sultan, Amur al'Hazred (an actual name?), the nation began to grow even further outside of Southeast Asia and Oceania. A string of colonies were established along coastal Africa. This included the Bab-El Mandeb, Zanzibar, Mozambique, Gabon, Ghana and Western Sahara. 
They were the first nation to ever be considered a superpower, due to their complete military and economic dominance over the Pacific and Indian oceans. They produced some of the first boats that could sail extremely long distances, and used them to their advantage. Trade was a major part of their economy, as they controlled most sea choke points between Europe and East Asia, which they used to their advantage. Their military was also quite advanced, due to them exploiting many of Australia's resources. Some scientific advancements even originated from them. 
Eastern Polynesia was finally conquered after the African colonies were established, and San Fransisco became the first and most important Nicolidean colony in the new world. South Carolina, the Lesser Antilles, Long Island and Nova Scotia were also colonized. The latter two colonies did cause some issues with the British, mainly due to them being encircled by them. However, they were still feared by both the British and the Byzantines due to their status as a superpower. This was the peak of the Nicolidean sultanate. 
== Collapse ==
However, the Nicolides would not last forever. In 74AD, the sultan, Amur al'Hazred (an actual name?) disappeared mysteriously in the Pacific Ocean while travelling towards San Fransisco. To this day, nobody truly knows what happened to him. The sultanate quickly spiraled into chaos, with the nation falling into a massive civil war. The sultanate officially dissolved a few months afterwards, but fighting continued for years. The splinter sultanates continued to exist until they were mostly destroyed by the Scottish, Libyans and other invading powers. 
A large majority of the known history of the Nicolides comes from a book known as A Chronicle of our Nicolides, which details a large portion of its history. Outside of this source, various other writings exist about the Nicolides from both internal and external sources. The last sultan's cousin declared himself the legitimate sultan after his disapperance, and ruled over the Lesser Antilles for a year, until he was kicked out of the islands. 
=== Legacy ===
The sultanate's legacy on the land that it conquered was mostly religious, with the Malay archipelago becoming almost entirely Islamic due to them and the Libyans. There were also many Nicolidean speakers in the archipelago. They also heavily influenced the Philippines, as well as eastern Oceania. Islam remains a dominant religion in the region, although it has lost ground to Christianity. The Sultanate was briefly revived after the fall of the Terran Confederation, which was ruled by a descendant of the original sultans. The capital of Kayrinz* was renamed to Nikalidian during the Terran Confederation.
Category:NationsCategory:Former Nations