Battle of Shamach

The Battle of Shamach was a huge and decisive confrontation between the armies of the Aotujan and Phyridian Empires which occurred on the north-central Cesynian plain in early autumn 945 CV. It takes its name from a series of spring-fed pools called the Well of Shamach near the battlefield. A contingent of Phyridian cavalry were watering their horses there when the advance scouts of the Aotujan force came upon them, which was the first contact between the two armies and drew both sides into general battle over the next two days. 
The battle involved several hundred thousand combatants and ended in a crushing defeat for the Aotujan Suagirs. A strong contingent of imperial battle-mages accompanied the Phyridian force, and as had been the case against Torkai's own army some three decades earlier, their magic overpowered that of the Suagir priests and inflicted horrific losses on the steppe warriors. 
Aotujai Ul-Tash was personally leading his empire's army, and although he survived, he could not recover from the blow to his reputation. The defeat at Shamach proved fatal not just to his ambitions of new conquest, but to his own rule as well. Over the next decade, his authority collapsed and the Aotujan Empire disintegrated. This indirectly led to the downfall of the Tovaanid Empire far to the west as well, since the dramatic demonstration of Suagir vulnerability helped trigger the Woodcutter's Rebellion in Kelimaria.