Earth 35 - Tarnasian History

### History of Tarkland

The region now known as Tarnasia was said to first be united by the First Oger Empire. Stories claim that the Ogers ruled from the Dampland to the Stormhills, though many scholars doubt this claim. It is more likely that the First Oger ruled a much smaller empire but maintained military hegemony and forced the other petty fiefdoms to pay them tribute.

#### T**ime of the Many Princes - First Age of Heroes (after the first Ugerfall)**

After the fall of the first Oger empire the period known as the Time of the Princes began. At this time there was no sense of shared identity between the various peoples of Tarnasia. There existed 5 distinct linguistic groups, the Damplanders, the Dröhnen speaking people of the Stormhills, the Lisan speaking people of Ulke, the Helden speaking people of the Shard Isles, and the Idioma speaking people of the Bravelands and the coast lands. At the end of the First Oger Empire, none of these peoples were united.

Trade brought some wealth, and eventually some stability to Tarnasia. For the most part, trade was on a small scale between neighboring fiefdoms. However, tin in the mountains of the Stormhills was shipped all the way to Khenzanel, Sarukh, and Veiiun. Gold was also mined and shipped from the Shards. Eventually, the rise of Veiiun also led to trade from the Damplands to Veiiunic Flusfeld, through both overland trade routes and through the Bravelands. This income would lead to the Bravelands being united under King Iago Sa-Ramos who founded the Kingdom of Valentia, this was the first united state of Tarnasia.

Increased trade also lead to increased Heldenic raiding at key trade routes. Helden had experienced a population boom when potatoes and barley from the East were introduced to the Islands during trade. As a result, many independent Heldenic Principalities formed on the mainland. Major Heldenic colonies included the Vjons who migrated northward and conquered and Heldenized the Dröhnen speaking people of the northern Baylands. A series of smaller colonies were formed in the coastal Marolands, leading to a culture that mixed Heldenic and Idiomac elements. Another, called the Sae, colonized the borderlands between Ulke and the Stormhills Penninsula. However, when King Tahir Solak the one handed united Ulke, and Duke Hans Friedan conquered the Peninsular lowlands and crowned himself king of the Stormhills, the two kingdoms pushed the Saes out until they conquered the northern Baylands during their migration and founded the Kingdom of Saedvjony.

The Damplands were divided into several noble fiefs.

The third Oger Empire conquered Valentia and the the Damplands and began raiding the surrounding regions. They ruled for 40 years. The Oger Machtarchy was the governing legislature of the third Empire. It consisted of 48 members elected by the citizens of the 24 families, ruled over by the Polemarch. For the first 30 years of Oger control the Machtarchy was actually a reasonable government. They knew they couldn't maintain control if they totally alienated the human nobility so they let the nobility stay but created a human bureaucracy that was meritocratic instead of being based on noble ties and used that to slowly erode the human nobility. This worked for the most part but cleverer noblemen realized what was happening and made sure their children were active in both the military and the bureaucracy so they could maintain power and bide their time.

The time for rebellion came in the 31st year of Ogre Rule when a charismatic but disastrous ruler named Oggha took power. Previously Ogers had been allowed to collect and eat the bodies of rebels and condemned criminals but Oggha changed it so that burial became illegal and all dead humans were eaten by Ogers. This led to the twelve rebellions which were mostly suppressed but capitalized on during the campaigns of Starken.

#### **Rise and Reign of Starken (Second Age of Empires)**

Starken van Abendreich, (born Gunter der Kriegshund van Turmburg) was the third son of King Rudolph Kriegshund van Hochstein. Rudolph had reunited the Stormhills after a civil war. He favored his eldest son and top general Seighard (der Kriegshund van Korntal).

Seighard and Starken both served as officers in the Kriegshund's surprisingly meritocratic military.

##### **Successor Kingdom**

Starken's empire had contracted to a shadow of its former might. It still controlled parts of Ulke and the coast. Despite its limited power, the old empire was rather prosperous, and it experience and intellectual boom with great poets and early engineers. They filled the old Imperial Academy with books imported from Veiiun and Nuzulun.

#### **Yeşilkaya Kingdom**

Yeşilkaya dynasty conquered the Stormhill peninsula and the west half of Atravedia. Their big innovation was combining the Stormhills bureaucracy with their own large military. They co-opted Donnerisch bureaucrauts. They patronized the old Stormhills imperial academies, and Donnerisch became the langauge of the bureacraucy.

##### **The Grand Canal**

The Yeşilkaya Kingdom's biggest endeavour was creating the grand canal. The process was spearheaded by Nur II, the lion empress. The canal began during the 10th year of her 38 year rule. It was interrupted during her son's less impressive reign, but the reigns of her nephew and grand daughter were enough to finish it.

The canal changed the landscape of Tarnasia significantly. Most of the empires engineers were either from the Stormhills or had been educated in the Stormhills. As a reult, over several generaitons the Canallands was settled by Donnerisch speakers, primarily engineers, architechts, bureaucrauts and skilled workers. The Canallands was at a confluence of many language areas, Donnerishc became the common langauge. Overtime, the local people began speaking Donnerisch as their priamry language.

The canal had was incredible boon to trade and politics across the kingdom. Reasources could be exchanged easily between the two major river systems, which eas especially important for the north river system because the south river system had better ports to access the west sea. Politcally, it let House Yeşilkaya consolidate the kingdom because they could move their military to repress uprisings more easily, and by controlling trade routes they provided economic incentives to loyal followers.

##### **Relationship with Veiiun**

Initially they had an alternatingly hostile and friendly relationship with the late Veiiunic empire. When the empire contracted they took advantage of the power vacuum and took control of south east Atravedia. When the Ogre king rose he fought a bloody war to take it back.

#### **North and South Tarnaisa**

Northern Empires

* In General
	+ Religion: primarily Prawos worshippers.
	+ Ebanti and Lila pantheons
* Kupferbär - (~30 years)
	+ A Donnerisch Duke grew rich through a copper mine. He used the proceeds to fund a larger professional army which he used to consolidate the coast and improve his copper selling trade networks. His son used the riches to conquer the Storm Hill peninsula, and his grandson used the army conquer Ulke.
* Üçnehir - (~130 years)
	+ The land of the three rivers. Üçnehir province unified Ulke and managed to conquer the Storm Hills peninsula and Gharlahar. This was the first time Gharlahar was part of Tarnasia.
* Pawdzhbaad - (~30 years)
	+ This Gharlahar kingdom expanded into the plains of Ulke.
* Vuur (~50 years (before expanding conquest into rest of Tarnasia))
	+ The Saedvjony peninsula grew stronger and began raiding its neighbors. The Vuur family managed to establish a powerful state in North Tarnasia.

Southern Empire

* In General
	+ Politics: More fractured than north. Unified later.
	+ Relgion: Primarily Cehsiln
* Greater Atravedia (90 years)
	+ Drassqr consolidated Ataravedia lake land and used this position to conquer Pelark and control whole river region.
* Shards Coastal Empire (40 years)
	+ Shards invasion force assisted one Kustish king in toppling another, but took control after taking part in the secession crisis. Came to control Kustland and Canallands.
* Cinzahma (50 years)
	+ Expanded into Blackhills, Kustland, and periphery of riverland. Even beseiged Pelark itself. Weakended Drassqr's control of Atravedia.
* Rivirine Empire (20 years)
	+ Pelark took control of Atravedia away from Draaqsr.
	+ Beat back Cinzahma from the south and Shards from the west.
	+ Consolidated control of Atravedia, Canallands, Kustland.
		- Lost north Atravedia to Gharlahar at toward the end of the Southern Tarnasian Empires.

#### **Vuur Dynasty - The Vuur Empire (~100 years)**

The Vuur Dynasty conquered Northern Tarnasia. Vuur generals got rich by capturing slaves from battle, this created an incentive for more conquest. While the conquering generals were effective, House Vuur recognized they were a threat. Over his 30 year reign, Vander, the second ruler, successfully transitioned the military from ambitious warlords to companies of slave soldiers called Geketend.

#### **Kohlid Dynasty - The Tarnasian Empire 517 - 589**

##### **Rise of the Cabbage King, and Fall of Vuur**

For 70 years, the Vuur ruled Tarnasia with the Geketend slave soldiers. They ruled over a religously and linguistically diverse empire, but did not really represent them. There were small rebellions pretty much constantly, but the Vuur emperors managed to keep the empire under control, with their large professional slave armies. The slave soldiers were mostly treated well, but they more closely represented the local population than the Seadvjon elite.

Conquering Atravedia exposed more subjects of the empire to Cehsilinism, which especially appealed to slaves with its anti-slavery message. As Cehsilinism grew in power, several Cardinals, Shepardsn, and Dervishes led rebellions against House Vuur. Emperor Gerd ordered his Geketend to massacre a rebels on the \_\_\_ brige which successfully indimidated other rebels.

After Gerd died, his successor Moze was much less effective. After Moze burned a church but then lost a battle with reblels, many nobles and Cehsilin slave-bureaucrauts deserted him. He was assassinated as part of a conspiracy led by one of the seargents of his personal Geketend, Hans Kohlid.

Hans was a third generation Donnerisch slave. He was born as a cabbage farming in the Stormhills Peninsula. He and several friends and siblings were drafted to a Geketend during an early rebellion. He converted to Cehsilinism around this time. He was a good soldier for 15 years, but after Moze's disaster, he joined a conspiracy with other Geketend seargents, captains, and even one commander. The conspiracy killed all the enemy officers and Hans himself killed the emperor and captured his brother. Hans gave the captive to the leader of the conspiracy, who used him as a bargaining chip to get the other Geketend on his side.

Mahni, the Atravedian leader of the conspiracy, took over the remnants of the Vuur's empire and gave pieces to his loyal followers. After several more years of fighting, he gave Hans the fief of the upper stormhills, and the nickname Cabbage King.

##### **Civil War (10 years)**

Mahni was assasinated by his Cehsilin second in command, for continuously delaying the abolition of slavery. He was replaced by the paranoid Tolga, who fought many of the tributary kingdoms given out by Mahni. Many rebellions emerged, primarily with Cehsilin and Jinsil leaders. Tolga was able to put down most rebelions because he controlled the bulk of the ex-Geketend.

Tolga's main focus was the Cehsliln kings of North Atravedia and the Bayland, and the Jinsilin king of Pelark, but he also sent an army to invade Hans' kingdom. Has was forced to retreat to the mountains, but he fought successfully and eventually defeated the invaders.

Around this time Tolga managed to kill the Lords of North Atravedia and Bayland. He still had to deal with the king of Pelark and a new ULKEPAGAN rebel king in Ulke.

Hans was left as the largest Cehsilin lord in a chaoitic empire with a Cehsilin plurality. While previously he had no interest in ruling beyond the Stormhills, Tolga's incasion convinced him that he needed to rule. His innovation was casting himself as a holy Cehsilin King, ruling on behalf of God. This let him convince the numerous small rebellions and renegade Geketends around the crumbling empire to join him. After three more years of fighting, he defeated Tolga's army in a decisive battle at \_\_\_ river. In this battle Tolga was killed by a stray arrow when fleeing, and Hans captured Tolga's most powerful followers. Immediately afterward most of the remaining Geketend companies swore allegiance to Hans.

##### **Cabbage King's Imperial Consolidation 517-522**

Hans won the support of both Eriditas Pontiffs and several Wayseeker bishops and schools. He used this as propoganda to prevent rebellion, and in turn patronized Cehsilinism of both forms in the empire. Hans was converted by Eriditas preacher, and most historians agree that his views were more in line with Eriditas theology, but at the time the sectarian distinction was less important, so he tolerated and patronized both sects. Eventually the Pontif of the Occident crowned him the Holy Emperor of the western lands. His Cehsilin legitimacy was increased when he outlawed slavery throughout the empire. The sudden nature of the change cause some short term economic problems, but it did finally end slavery in the Tarnasian empire.

Holy Emperor Hans Kohlid shifted the empires military away from the Geketend and more toward temporary large low class armies mobolized by religion. Non-Cehsilin Geketend companies were demobolized, though rewarded genouroulsy with agricultural estates and dominions in the case of the most powerful Geketend generals who became dominion princes. This reduced the size of the Geketend, so rebel Geketends could be dealt with more easily. When serious rebelions were threatened, Emperor Hans would use his religous legitimacy to raise large, mostly untrained armies to overwhelm the small professional-army rebels.

Hans managed to form a strong empire, but he had to deal with constant small rebellions. He became very sick after an infection from a wound on campaign and retired for a year before dying.

Hans was succeeded by his son Wendel who ruled for 8 years and finished the refroms that Hans started.

When Wendel died he was replaced by his brother, Gerhard, who only lived for 2 years before being replaced by his daughter Liesel. Liesel ruled for 6 years before she died and was replaced by, Elmar the short, the grandson of Hans. Elmar married Anna, the daughter of a Donnerisch bureaucrat.

By the reign of Elmar, the imeprial administration had been divided into dominions, ruled by enfeoffed allies who enforced their own law but collected some taxes for the throne, and commandaries ruled by commanders loyal to the Imperial throne. The commandaries were organized into lose units called Tributarchies for tax purposes.

##### **Empress Anna I - Anna the Canny 538-560**

Anna Kohlid was the first Holy Sovereign who was not a direct descendant of Hans Kohlid.

She ruled well for 18 years. She managed to reorganize imperial enfeoffment reducing corruption and distributing power away from autonmous or disloyal warlords. Her first step was reorganizing the Tributarchies into provinces led by civilian administrators instead of generals. After a two year difficult transition the new system proved more efficent and increased the throne's revenue considerably.

Anna invested the new revenue into a far bigger project, restructuring the autonmous dominions. The first step (1) was to use the new tax funds from the province system to build a small but efficent professional army that had duties beyond garissoning the throne's holdings. (2) Anna knew about one autonomous dominion ruled by a new young lord who was threatening rebellion; she waited until the young lord officially rebeled, and used her new professional expeditionary force to invade the young lord's territory. After initial military victories the imperial army faced defeat at a series of seiges. Anna found that her expeditionary force was better in combat than her enemies, but too small to completely beat them. Anna offered control (3) over part of the rebel's territory to a neighboring warlord. After the conflicy Anna mader good on her promise, but first (4) divided the territory into commandaries, which the lord ruled but in a more decentralized manner. Anna developed these actions into a methodical approach which she repated for other autonomous domains. She simultaneously rewarded loyal dominion princes with new territory, and made the surviving dominions less centralized. dominion princes were forbidden from changing the borders of theWhen the empeonew commandaries without permisison from the throne. Some commanders were gived the title of "g*raf"* as a reward from the throne; dominion princes were theoretically in charge of *graf* commanders, but could only remove them with the permisison of the throne. These changes gave more power to the imperial throne. By the end of the Kohlid dynasty, the dominion princes ruled decentralized territory with considerable influnce from hans II.

##### **Emperor Elmar II - Elmar the Great 560-573**

Made empire more cosmopolitan. Conquered Cinzahma.

Elmar's daughter, Lilli, died without an heir six years into her reign. Her sister, Klara, ruled for a year before abdicating for her son Hrodolf I.

Hrodolf I ruled for nine years. While he was well regarded as a leader, his personal life led to an unfourtunate secession crisis. He had four children with three wives. When he remarried he sent his eldest son, Elmar the tall, out of the capital to work in the Imperial military. He choose, Hrodolf the short, his second son (who he had with his second and favorite wife) as his heir. He had a third child, his daughter Klara II, a fourth child, his son Gerd, and a fifth, Hans the Young, who was only three years old when Hrodolf I died.

When the emperor died Elmar the tall rebelled against Hrodolf the Short. Hrodolf became paranoid and had Gerd and Hans the Young killed. Their fighting was intense and brutal. Cinzahma, and smaller fringe territories escaped the empire. The Pontiff of the West angrily revoked both their rights' to the crown. In response, a prominant provincial leader from Ulke, Erhan Demiraç, raised his own army and managed to defeat Elmar after Elmar killed Hrodolf the short.

#### **Demiraç Dynasty - The Tarnasian Empire 594 -**

##### **Emperor Erhan 594 - 608**

After winning the civil war, Erhan married Klara II, and convinced the pontiff to make him the new emperor.

Defended against attack from Saedvjony. Stalemate in conflict with the Shards.

Moved capital to the coastal city of Akhisar which was the location of the Pontiff of the west.

Erhan gave his viziers new powers over provincial leaders in order to collect taxes for Erhan's naval war with the Shards.

##### **Emperor Taylan the Great 609 - 633**

Erhan and Klara's son.

Taylan reorganized the empire's adminstration into a form which would continue (with minor changes) to the present day.

Under the new system, commandaries were broken up into protectorates each led by a captain responsible for the protectorate's defense and rule of law. The protectorates were reorganized into civilian led prefectures which replaced the commandary system. This new model required the Throne to micromanage assigning protectorates within old commandaries. It necessittated another explosion in the Bureaucraucy, again recruiting primarily from Donnerisch acadamies.

Taylan gave estates to prestigous retiring adminstrators. Adminstrators who did an especially good job were allwoed to

Two Imperial censuses were conducted under Taylan's rule. Another was conducted by his daughter Hande, but after her another emire wide census didn;t occur for another century.

##### **Emperor Yusuf 641 - 646**

After Hande's death, a major naval battle loss allowed raiders from the Shards to resume raiding. Empress Hande imported thousands of mercenaries to defend the coast.

##### **Empress Ipek 646-655**

After Shard reavers burned down Akhishar, the Imperial throne moved temporarily to the largest regional capital of Taruburesk, and the seat of the Pontificate moved to Draiphafen where the Cardinal of the Kustlandshad been.

##### **Emperor Ilkin 656 - 664**

First empeor to grant the title of "Grand Vizier." He granted the title to Luc Hild. Luc was a half-Kustish half-Donnerisch Wizard who had studied at Stormlamp. Luc had been an advisor to several Prefcts and Landhalters, eventually leading his own prefecture and becoming Vizier of Commerce in north Kustland and than Vizier of Commerce in the empire as a whole.

As Grand Vizier Luc had greater power than anyone except the Emperor. He immediately began reforming the local militaries. He borrowed a system that he had found out about from the mercenaries Ipek hired. The problem was that the Empire only had small standing armies on the Protectorate level. To solve this Luc empowered Mandate Commissioners and Captains to grant Estates to successful military officers in exchange for miltiary service as knights. This created the knightly class.

During this time

##### **Emperor Yusuf III 672-692**

Ilkin's Son, tutored by Luc from an early age. His reign is often seen as the Dynasty's golden age.

#### **Zahir Rule - Zahir Dynasty - The Tarnasian Empire**

Moved capital to Pelark.

Made major cities their own prefectures to balance out power after moving capital.

Aquired Gharlahar through a diplomatic marriage alliance.

#### **Echthied Tutelage - Zahir Dynasty** **- The Tarnasian Empire**

Ectheid Tutors: Saedvjon heretics

Parts of the empire start to devolve and break away. Ulke becomes de facto independant. Kustland, Cinzahma, and Shards rebel.

##### **Rise of Kuvvetli**

The most powerful pronvincial leader in Ulke marries one of the other four leaders and starts an alliance with a third before conqering the foruth. Together the provincial leaders declare a new royal dynasty in Ulke, the Kuvvetli lineage.

##### **Death of Royal Family**

A sample of the Holy Emperor's blood is acquired by a failed assassin. The assassin gives the blood to a Wizard in the court of Kustland. The wizard uses the blood to kill the Emperor and his family.

The Rudzahir (river Zahir) branch of the royal family starts an independant court in the Atravedian Basin.

#### **Onweer Reganate - Rudzahir Dynasty** **- The Tarnasian Empire**

##### **Rise of Rudzahir**

A northern warlord named Bente Onweer allies with the Rudzahir court in the south to defeat Ulke and the remaining Echtheids.

Controlled Atravedia, Cinzahma, and most of Ulke, but Kustland, the Shards,the Canallands, the southern Stormhills and western Ulke are controlled by the Kustish Sonnelicht dynasty which also claimed descent from a more distant branch of the old Zahir Dynasty.

#### **Lowe Reganate - Rudzahir-Sonnelicht Dynasty** **- The Tarnasian Empire**

Otto Lowe conquered Saedvjony and beseiged the capital of Gharlahar before negotiating for an alliance. He used these

Otto Lowe overthrew the Onweer and became the new Regants on behalf the the Rudzahir family.

Otto's son reunited the Western and Eastern Courts of the empire by securing a marriage alliance between the Rudzahir and Sonnelicht Dynasties.