First Noulaenic Empire

The First Noulaenic Empire was a state ruled by the Emperor of Noulian from the foundation of Noulian in 1 NE. The empire initial consisted of several small Bindaelic kingdoms but expanded to control all of Malaena, Casalanoua, Carasala, and the islands of the Pinakloosi Sea by the end of the 5th century NE. The empire collapsed during the crisis of the 8th century NE, although the city itself was never invaded and continued to be ruled by a nominal emperor until the emperor was forced to abdicate in favor of a usurper leading an army from Calbaena.

## History

### Early History

Noulian was founded in the spring of 1 NE by King Dramthios (later known as Daramsis) of Narmein following the Battle of Falinmal Hill, the decisive battle of the Four Kingdom's War. During the battle, Dramthios's forces defeated the combined forces of the Four Kingdom alliance, slaying all four rival kings in battle. Dramthios took this good fortune as a sign of favor from the gods and declared that the site of the battle would be the seat of his new capital. A pike was placed at the site where each rival king fell and these pikes defined the corners of the sacred boundary of the new city.

The city was nearly abandoned on two occasions early in its history. In 5 NE, a large raiding force traveled up the Sarabal from Calbaena. Preparations were made to retreat to the more secure fortifications of Narmein, but a flood in the river valley below diverted the raiders. A second raiding party from Calbaena arrived in 25 NE, this time sacking, looting, and burning the city. Tharmathios, the third emperor, fled to Narmein along with most of the city's nobles before the raiders arrived. Many of the nobles wished to abandon Noulian and remain in Narmein, but Tharmathios was concerned that it would be inauspicious to abandon his father's city, especially considering how much of his legitimacy for rule over Bindaela drew on Dramthios's supposedly miraculous victory there. He returned to rebuild the city, this time constructing higher walls of packed earth and stone fortification. He also ordered construction of defensive walls and fortresses along the eastern frontier of Bindaela, in the hope of deterring further incursions.

Other Bindaelic cities, especially those that had been aligned with the Four Kingdom's Alliance, tried to take advantage of Noulian's temporary weakness to break free from Noulaenic control. This led to a period of war and unrest in the region that lasted for several decades. The emperors of Noulian applied successful divide and conquer tactics to prevent the rebel cities from allying against Noulian and eventually succeeded in defeating the last remnants of resistance in Bindaela in 38 NE.

In the mid second century NE, the Haraklina came into contact with Noulian during their search for an overland trade route across Malaena to facilitate trade with the Kasranou people in the Dafadou Valley to the south. Noulian reached an agreement with the Haraklina to allow their caravans to pass along the Sarabal unmolested. These caravans brought substantial wealth to Noulian. The Haraklina also introduced a number of technological innovations to Noulian, including steel work, precision stone cutting, and alphabetic writing. Emperor Iacothios admired the simplicity of the Haraklina alphabetic script, especially compared to the more complex clerical Calbaenic script the empire used at the time, and ordered his scribes to modify the script for use with the Noulaenic language. This was necessary because the Haraklina script contained no vowel characters, which made it ill suited for Noulaenic. The scribes repurposed several of the simpler glyphs from the Calbaenic script for use as vowels and further simplified the character designs. The resulting Noulaenic alphabet eventually became the most widely used script on Opelyx.

### Conquest of Malaena

Noulian began to expand its territory beyond Bindaela with support for the Haraklina in order to secure the caravan routes. They first drove the Icrenic from the upper Sarabal basin, securing their territory all the way to Nusour Pass in 165 NE.

The greatest threat to the caravans, however, came from raids in Calbaena along the Sarabal delta region. The Calbaenic tribes were nominally allied for defense against external foes but nonetheless frequently fought internally. Tribes that didn't benefit from the Haraklina trade frequently attempted to raid the caravans and the tribes who had agreed to give the caravans passage proved ineffective at deterring the raids. The Haraklina strongly preferred the orderly Noulaenic system of government and provided arms and other aid to assist the Noulaenic empire in invading the delta and securing the region with fortresses, beginning in the 190s. This act led to two decades of war between the empire and the Calbaenic tribes. This invasion was successful and Noulian had defeated the last free Calbaenic tribe in 216 NE under Emperor Aesthios II. This more than doubled Noulaenic territory and substantially increased their agricultural and economic base.

Noulian continued its invasion of the peninsula without further assistance from the Haraklina. They invaded along the trade route past the Nusour Pass to the Pinakloos coast, securing control of the route from coast to coast. From there they continued their conquest of Siardara while simultaneously invading Sobaena from Calbaena. The remaining states of hill tribes in the interior of the peninsula were induced to surrender with minimal bloodshed, completing the conquest of the peninsula by the end of the 3rd century NE.

### Succession Crisis of 313

In 313 NE the First Empire's longest serving emperor, Aesthios III, died childless at the age of 58 without a clear succession plan. He had seven legitimate children, including three sons, during his long life but all three sons died as children without issue. Three claimants arose to the throne. Two were grandchildren of Aesthios III by his daughters, Daramthios Aesnial Meilfal and Dasthios Tharaennial Cionfal, and the third was his nephew Thoulthios Narnial Besfal. Thoulthios, then Duke of Narmein was favored by the nobles of Noulian, because he descended from Aesthios III's father, Emperor Thoulthios, through a paternal line, and had the traditional clan and family name of the imperial family, Narial Besfal. He was welcomed to the capital and coronated Emperor as Thoulthios II in 313. Daramthios, then Duke of Calbaena, and Dasthios, then Duke of Sarenmen, rejected this and laid claim to the throne themselves. Dasthios rallied other Bindaelic dukes to his claim and marched on the capital in 314 but was defeated by Thoulthios's forces at the Battle of Oursala Hill. He retreated to Sarenmen but was poisoned by assassins in 316 NE. Daramthios, meanwhile, built up his forces in Calbaena while courting the same Bindaelic dukes that had been loyal to his cousin to his cause. The assassination of Dasthios helped win allies to his cause, as Dasthios was still well liked by the other Bindaelic dukes at the time of his death. In 318, Daramthios marched on Bindaela and defeated Thoulthios's forces at the Battle of Saracarias. Daramthios continued his march to the capital. Several of Thoulthios's prefects, fearing the sacking of the city, poisoned Thoulthios and his sons and welcomed Daramthios to the capital. Daramthios was coronated Emperor Daramthios III and declared his reign to have begun in 313 NE, labeling Thoulthios as a usurper and striking his name from the list of official Emperors of Noulian.

### Conquest of the Channel Islands

Noulaenic forces began an invasion of the Islands of Nuscarome Channels with a landing on Ciaraersala in 344 NE during the reign of Besthios II. Noulaenic forces had hugely superior numbers and arms to the island peoples and met with relatively little resistance on land. The Nuscarome kingdoms often had superior navies, however, and were occasionally able to win maritime victories that slowed the Noulaenic advance. The empire nonetheless completed the invasion in 355 NE with the conquest of Soaersala. A further landing onto the peninsula of Konocka across the Socarame channel was attempted but the entire fleet was destroyed on the rocks of the peninsula by powerful winds and this invasion was abandoned.

### Conquest of Carasala

Malaena was heavily Noulaenicized during the 4th century with most other local culture either being abandoned or subsumed into the national culture. All other Malaenic languages and religions were lost during this period. By the end of the century the entire population had been given Noulaenic citizenship and all males were subject to conscription into the Noulaenic army. Using this army, the empire expanded eastward into the territory they referred to as Carasala (lit. eastern lands; prior to this invasion the name Carasala was not in use in the region itself.) The invasion began with the crossing of the Nilfalum River to establish Noulaenic defensive forts on the Faleic side in 410. From there the empire would conquer the rest of Falea and continue to march along the Doucusa Valley and into Lasucsala and Nadaria in the east.

The last substantial source of resistance to the Noulaenic conquest of Carasala were the six great cities of the Haraklina. The Haraklina had attempted to stop the Noulaenic advance when the empire began to expand beyond Malaena, but with little success. The Haraklina were wealthy and had superior arms to the Noulaenic forces but they were incapable of overcoming the overwhelming numerical advantage of the Noulaenics. Despite occasional success on the battlefield, the Haraklina were never able to significantly slow Noulaenic advances and were forced to retreat to their fortress cities.

Noulaenic forces eventually encircled these cities and laid siege to them, an effort that was considerably hampered by the fact that the Haraklina cities, all of which were coastal, maintained naval superiority until the end. Regardless, the cities fell one after another. The largest Haraklina city, Larakali, fell last after 31 years of siege in 512 NE. The Haraklina people on the continent were subsequently wiped out using the Noulaenic practice of tripartition and their cities repopulated with Noulaenic residents from Malaena. Larakali was renamed Carasailiaen and became the capital of the Carasala province.

### Conquest of Casalanoua

Concurrent with the invasion of Carasala, the empire undertook the invasion of the populous Dafadou river valley region inhabited by the Kasranou people in the beginning in 455 NE. The region had been heavily weakened by a long war between the Lauranainoura Kingdom in the north and the Daucraikasra Kingdom in the south prior to the invasion and the Lauranainoura Kingdom, which was fairing poorly in the war, allied itself with the invaders. The invasion was completed quickly and the region was renamed the province of Casalanoua, which included both the Dadadou Valley kingdoms and the surrounding plains. The former King of Lauranairoura was allowed to become a count over his former kingdom, renamed Lalanailoura County, although he was bound to the authority of the imperial Duke who governed the province. The ancestral Kasraka language of the region was outlawed shortly after but many local cultural and religious practices continued .

### Failed Invasions of Ializa

Beginning in 515 NE, Noulian attempted a number of failed invasions of Ializa territory, all of which ended in failure. The initial motive for these invasions was simply to continue the expansion of Noulaenic territory, but later assaults were primarily motivated by the strategic desire to control more defensible natural borders, as the empire's border with Ializa was not easily fortified and Noulian was concerned about the possibility of an Peburi/Imariani alliance. The first attempt to invade the entire kingdom was repulsed when the main invasion force was defeated at the Battle of Nelouzizoo and subsequently captured and held for ransom. A second assault, this time focused on the port city of Biroreida, was repulsed in 555 NE. A further attempt to invade the entirety of Ializa was made in 591 NE, with one force reaching the walls of Biroreida and another successfully taking the Ializa capital of Brioovushlia (modern Buroovasha). This effort subsequently became bogged down by logistical problems with supply due to persistent guerilla attacks by Peburi militants. An unrelated rebellion in Nadaria in 595 worsened the supply problem and Noulian was forced to recall its forces from Ializa in 596 in order to put the rebellion down. They laid siege to Biroreida again in 620 NE but the siege was broken in 622 NE. The final invasion attempt was a major invasion over land and sea in 698 NE, but a rebellion in Casalanoua and civil war in Malaena during the following two years led the forces to be recalled.

### Faleic Rebellion of 545

The peoples of Falea rebelled against the empire beginning in 545. The unrest began with the recall of a popular Count, Falerthios Tharaenfal Faleanial, who was executed on secret charges in Noulian and replaced with an imperial prince, Count Aesthios, in 542. Aesthios proved unpopular and ineffective and frequently drew the ire of the local populous. The rebellion began when he ordered the execution of the mayors of several Faleic townships who had spoken against him. Faleic rebels organized in these townships and rode to the imperial provincial capital of Laduaen, burning the city and executing the captured Count Aesthios.

The Faleic rebellion spread widely and rapidly after this initial success and the rebels eliminated the remaining imperial presence in 546 and organized under Mayor Thoulthios Tharafal of Cariasaen. They crossed the Nilfalum River into Malaena successfully that year, capturing several key forts along the northern bank of the river. The empire mobilized troops from Calbaena to halt the advance and was caught off-guard by the fact that the rebel force was not traveling down the road into Calbaena but had instead headed over the hills to attack central Bindaela and the capital itself. The main Noulaenic force was thus caught well out of position; they were unable to quickly reclaim the fortresses that defended the route into the Nilfalum River gorge to pursue the Faleic forces but they also realized they would not be able to backtrack and reach Bindaela ahead of the rebels, who were mounted and making good time even through the hills.

The Calbaenic force continued to attack the river forts, hoping to at least cut off the rebels from supply. Meanwhile, Emperor Dasthios III mobilized a force from the capital hoping to halt the rebel advance before they could begin to assault the townships of Bindaela. Dasthios led the force himself along with his eldest son, Faelthios. They met the rebels along the Farounil River near Faroulin. The resulting Battle of Farounil was a disaster for the empire and both Dasthios and Faelthios were killed.

The rebels continued into Bindaela and surrounded Noulian but were unable to breach its walls. They spent the summer monsoon season in camp around the city as they attempted to build siege craft capable of overcoming the city's fortifications. Meanwhile, Duke Lionthios of Narmein, the second and now sole surviving son of Dasthios III, rushed to mobilize forces from Narmein, Sarenmen, and Sarenfalan to relieve the capital. He attacked in the late fall and decisively defeated the attacking rebels outside the city walls. He was greeted by cheering crowds after entering the city, which was nearing a state of famine, and crowned Emperor Lionthios II.

The rebels retreated through the hills on the same route but were hindered by the muddy fall conditions and soon were stopped by the Calbaenic force that had been following their route and been forced to spend the summer in the hills by the monsoons. The Faleic forces were surrounded by Lionthios's forces from the north and the Calbaenic force to the south and were forced to surrender after failing twice to break through the Noulaenic lines. The rebellion's leaders were executed and the soldiers were enslaved. The main rebel general, Thourthios Tharafal was hung from his ankles for a week and his corpse was paraded throughout Falea the following year after the Noulaenic army had regained control of the region. Cariasaen, which was viewed as the origin of the rebellion, was depopulated through tripartition and razed.

### Conquest of Pinakloos

Following the conquest of Carasala, the empire significantly improved its naval capabilities, partially with the help of captured Haraklina slaves. The original goal of the naval build-up was the invasion of the Haraklina colony of Karichaka on the island of Anatha, however this invasion never came to fruition. The navy was instead used to conquer the many islands of the Pinakloosi Sea, forming a new province called Binacalousa during the middle of the 6th century NE. The capital of the province was the captured city of Kaith (renamed Caithiaen). The peoples of Binacalousa were not subjected to tripartition but there were efforts to forcibly Noulaenicize the populous, including the outlawing of the native languages and in some cases the outlawing of local religious practices.

### Crisis of the 8th Century

The empire enjoyed a period of relative prosperity and stability during the following sixth and seventh centuries. There were a number of succession crises that led to internal fighting as well as occasional rebellions and wars with Ializa, but generally the empire maintained order throughout its territory. This changed when the empire faced a number of crises simultaneously during the middle of the 8th century. Pirates with apparent inside knowledge attacked Carasilaen and several other coastal cities, causing significant damage and loss. Incidents of anti-Noulaenic violence also began to rise within the Carasala province, inhibiting trade and governance.

In 760 NE, the people of Caithiaen rebelled under the leadership of a pair of twins named Dounthios and Dounthias. The rebels burned the Noulaenic quarter of the city and seized control of the fleet. They then assisted several other large islands in driving the empire out as well, effectively ending Noulaenic control of the region. The main Noulaenic fleet, which had been deployed to drive away pirate in Carasala, was unable to return quickly so a smaller fleet of newer ships with green soldiers was sent to reclaim Binacalousa instead. This fleet was destroyed by the Caithiaen fleet at the Battle of Thanasiaen under the command of Dounthias.

Unrest in Carasala continued and grew into open rebellion in several areas in the province. Noulaenic efforts to respond continued to be hampered by poor fortune and seemingly confused decision making. Several large Noulaenic forces sent to quell rebellions were crushed by smaller rebel forces, leaving Carasala poorly defended. This included the loss of two full legions, totalling 20,000 men, to Falean rebels at the Battle of Sedacarias in 764 NE, a result often considered the greatest military disaster in Noulaenic history. An outbreak of plague among the the main Malaenic force in Calbaena prevented rapid reinforcement as many of the soldiers were too sick to move and a significant number died. The emperor, Saenthios III, died of the plague as well in 765 NE while visiting the army in an attempt to raise morale among the diseased legions.

Adding to the chaos, several raiding fleets from Imaria landed at the important but poorly defended Noulaenic port cities of Carafalis in Malaena and Doucusamael in Carasala in 766 NE, taking the cities with relative ease and using them to launch further raids. The raiders from Carafalos were able to quickly gain control of the Sarabal delta, cutting off several key travel routes to and from the capital. The loss of Doucusamael, meanwhile, cost the empire control of the main transportation artery in Carasala. The situation worsened when pirate from Pinakloos burned the harbor facilities in Darafalis in 767.

A rebellion began in Casalanoua as well in 767 as word spread that the empire was on the verge of collapse. The Noulaenic forces in the region, cut off from supplies and reinforcement, fared poorly in initial confrontations. The imperial duke and both counts fled the province in 768 and the remaining imperial forces were captured, deserted, or defected to the rebels by the end of 769.

Various rebel forces soon seized control of the whole of Carasala and began to march toward Malaena from the east, and Casalanouic forces also marched toward Malaena from the south. The largest remaining Noulaenic force, still recovering from plague, was caught on poor ground attempting to retreat and destroyed at the Battle of Falum River. The rebels and Imarian raiders were then able to move through Malaena unopposed as the remaining Noulaenic forces retreated within city walls. Emperor Falinthios attempted to drive back the Carasalic invaders in 771, leading a force himself, but was captured. He died in captivity the following year before his release could be negotiated. Several important Noulaenic cites, including Narmein, were destroyed in the early 770s NE. The rebels created their own kingdoms in the former imperial territories and a period of intense warfare ensued throughout the region.

Noulian itself was never taken and never formally surrendered. Its survival can be credited, somewhat ironically, to the fact that three independent invading factions entered Bindaela essentially simultaneously and warred with one another, making it challenging for any force to undertake a lengthy siege on open ground. It remained a nominally independent city, although its population significantly reduced and it was dependent on relations with neighboring states for defense. The continued independence of the city relied heavily on the emperor's endorsement of the legitimacy of some of the stronger invader-led kingdoms. On several occasions, the emperor was forced to abdicate in favor of or endorse the succession of non-Malaenic kings to the throne, beginning with the half-Casalanouic Emperor Consis VII in 790, which led many in Malaena to question the legitimacy of the remaining emperors. The emperor continued to retain his title and ruled over the city but little else. The last emperor (Falersis III) was captured and forced to abdicate in favor of King Sarsis of Calbaena, who falsely claimed imperial heritage, in 1006 NE. This is formally considered the end of the first empire by Noulaenic historians.

## Government

The First Noulaenic Empire was an absolute monarchy in which the emperor officially ruled over all facets of life. The empire was divided into 11 provinces, each of which was ruled by a duke. Several provinces were further divided into counties, ruled by a count. Succession rules varied by office with some offices being hereditary and others being appointed by the emperor. The emperor frequently revoked hereditary rights when recalling dukes and counts.

A second tier of nobles, deemed prefects and vice-prefects, had direct administrative powers over various aspects of the government. There were imperial prefects serving the emperor directly and provincial prefects serving dukes and counts. These positions were not formally inherited but a noblemen class of former lords and officials and their children developed early in the empire and prefects were rarely drawn from outside of this noble class.

There was a large variation in the size of provinces with the smaller provinces in Bindaela being substantially smaller than the counties in the larger provinces. For this reason certain count offices were more heavily sought after than certain dukedoms.

The provinces of the empire and their counties are listed below.

* Narmen
	+ Icarena
	+ Carasaca
* Sarenmen
* Sarenfalan
* Faroulina
* Faranbaena
* Calbaena
	+ Celfalera
	+ Sianbaena
	+ Falumuca
* Sobaena
	+ Sarenbala
	+ Condara
* Siardara
* Nuscarome
	+ Ciaraersala
	+ Soaersala
	+ Siaraersala
* Carasala
	+ Dersialdara
	+ Falea
	+ Doucusada
	+ Nadaria
	+ Lasucsala
* Casalanoua
	+ Lalanailoura
	+ Doucaracasa
* Binacalousa

## Economy

The early Noulaenic economy was heavily dependent on agriculture and trade between the Haraklina peoples in Dersialdara and the Kasranou peoples in Casalanoua. As the empire expanded trade within the empire continued to play a key role in the economy. Regional economies became specialized with Casalanoua becoming and agricultural exporter, the Doucusa River valley producing furs and textiles and Dersialdara producing manufactured goods.

The imperial treasury was primarily filled with the spoils of conquest during the expansion period but the empire later turned to imperial monopolies of goods such as gold, salt, and slaves to provide income. Extensive black markets in these goods thrived throughout the period but the monopolies were a steady source of income nonetheless.

## Engineering Projects

Noulaenic engineers undertook a number of substantial engineering projects during the First Noulaenic Empire, most of which focused on transport, irrigation, and land reclamation. The first such project was a land reclamation and flood control project which diverted the course of the Sarabal river in the capital itself, which was started in 352 NE. Further projects were undertaken in Bindaela in the following decades to drain marshes, control floods, and bring fresh water into the cities.

The largest project undertaken by Noulaenic engineers during the first empire was the Faermac Canal in Calbaena which ran from the the Celfaler River to Nilfalam Bay. This canal was used to transport goods to and from Carafalis, main Noulaenic port city. The canal was begun in 399 NE and completed in 411 NE. Concurrent with this project, substantial improvements were made to the Fulsurec Road which ran from Carafalis, through Noulian, to Darafalis on the west coast.