Zahrian Empire

The **Zahrian Empire** (dv. & mit. *Samravad Zahriadam*) is an imperialist state that rose to prominence in the late Second Era, having reached it's peak during the Great Eastern War, during which Zahria successfully crushed it's Abantine rival. The empire's influence and power slowly declined in the Third Era owing to mismanaged over-extension and countless rebellions. The state eventually collapsed in 437 3E, succeeded by the Zahrian Republic.

## Overview

The realm consisted of three main parts: Nadavashar, the central area between lakes Pachi and Sadesh; Alsadesh, the mountainous northern region and Ilsadesh, the territory south of Lake Sadesh, roughly corresponding to the borders of the historical Kingdom of Ilsadesh.

Despite being full of jungles and tropical forests, the Zahrians managed to establish an efficient network of communication between it's different trade and military hubs by using the Ashtar as the empire's central highway that also connected it with other countries like Elarta and Khayad.

Zahria had strong economic foundations, based mostly on spice, coffee and citrus trade and the mining of copper and diamonds. Countless port cities on the coasts of the Inner Sea and Lake Sadesh kept trade between Zahria and the rest of Thir flowing.

## History

### Origins

Zahrians are thought to have originated from Western Thir, or more specifically the jungles of Central-Western Thir. The cause of their migration from the subcontinent is unknown, although the most popular and widely accepted theory connects their exodus with the arrival of the djinn around the 11th century 1E. Possibly in search of a new home, Zahrians migrated from Western to Eastern Thir, crossing the Yaluvian landbridge into the lands of nowadays Elarta. Unused to the terrains of steppes and deserts they would soon be expelled and forced to lead nomadic lifestyles as thousands of their tribes travelled through Eastern Thir, ravaging and pillaging in order to survive.

First Zahrians are said to have reached Lake Sadesh around the 13th century, but it would take several decades for larger waves to settle the region. From there the Zahrians began their invasions into Nadavashar, the region between lakes Sadesh and Pachi occupied by the Hammuli people. The process involved many small-scale fights and several major wars that ultimately resulted in the full Zahrian occupation of the region in the 14th century.

### Unification (1452 - 1471 2E)

The Zahrians were fairly divided in terms of culture; every realm had it's own art, traditions, values and even language. The hypothetical unification of the Zahrian people, proposed by some over the years, was an arduous task, made even more difficult by the geography of Nadavashar which was full of jungles and rainforests. Many of them weren't even explored and connection between the Zahrian kingdoms was based only on a few, moderately safe roads.

In 1446 2E a young man named Ishkandad ascended the Davalratan throne. Ever since he factually began his reign in 1448, Ishkandad's main political aim was to unite the Zahrian peoples into one gigantic, prosperous and powerful empire.

The Unification of Zahria began in 1452 2E when Davalrata declared war on Diniberya. After fighting Mityalrata and Ilsadesh several times in 1454, 1458 and 1466, the Zahrian Wars ended in 1471 with Ishkandad finally taking control of Ilsadesh and crowning himself the Emperor of Zahria the next month.

### Early First Empire (1471 - 1597 2E)

Ishkandad knew that Nadavashar's geography would be the main obstacle in creating an organised imperial state. In order to counter that, Ishkandad employed mages to relatively quickly cut several jungles and then built roads that connected the capital of Ban Davalrata with major Zahrian cities. Knowing that the roads weren't safe from carnivorous jungle fauna, he also created the Zahrian Road Guard, an organisation dedicated solely to patroling the major roads and protecting travelers from danger.

Instead of dividing the empire into kingdoms that existed before the unification, Ishkandad divided the empire into 20 vishtas with each one led by a Ramvishta. Originally the Ramvishtas enjoyed a fairly big level of autonomy, having the ability to make and execute local laws (though they had to be compatible with the higher Zahrian law) and have their own, unique armies.

When Ishkandad died in 1492 2E, he left a strong, unified empire with a developed network of communication, a codified central law and a balance between the authorities of central and local powers.

Ishkandad's son and grandson were characterized by a common geopolitical and military aim - expansion of territory. In the span of a century, Zahria managed to double it's original size, conquering lands to the west and to the north. Such expansionist policy led to an increased autonomy of the vishtas that now started to make alliances against each other. When the appropriately named I Vishta War erupted in 1545 2E, Emperor Ishkandad II rushed to Zahria from his military campaign into the lands of the Ifarti and, by employing warrior-mages and unifying the vishtas loyal to him, he managed to deescalate the conflict in 1550 2E. In the aftermath, Ishkandad II instantly curtailed the rights of his Ramvishtas, thus strengthening central authority.

The employment of mages in the war also wasn't without consequence; in order to get wizards and sorcerers on his side, Iskandar II granted them many rights and even built an academy for them in Ban Thavalar. In effect, mages gained substantial power in the empire, becoming the third estate alongside the Ramvishtas and the Emperor himself. The nobles themselves were displeased with such state of affairs, especially since they themselves had their rights taken away from them by Ishkandad II.

Tensions between the Ramvishtas and the mages continued to rise for the next few decades until the climax of 1597 2E, during which the Emperor's Chancellor and Court Mage, Anu 'the Trickster', was found dead in his chambers on 20th January. Zahrian mages immediately took to accusing the Ramvishtas and, despite the lack of concrete proof, they were most likely right. The imperial wizards created the Sorcerer Conclave, an organisation meant to protect the interests of the mages. Not long after that, a member of the Conclave became young Kahli I's regent on 18th of August. That caused Ramvishta Farrokh IV of Mityalrata to declare rebellion, starting the Conclave War that lasted for 10 years.

### Late First Empire (1607 2E - 52 3E)

The Sorcerer Conclave won the war and immediately took control over the empire, using Kahli I's trust as legitimisation of the Conclave's rule. Zahria became a magocratic government, with the Sorcerer Conclave taking over as Head of Government and it's legislative branch. The emperor, now serving solely as the Head of State, became an office elected by members of the Conclave and the Ramvishtas. The mages went on to become the dominant social class in the Zahrian Empire, priviliged beyond measure and holding real power.

The Ramvishtas themselves had their rights curtailed and their authority was limited to only electing the Emperor (even still their votes weren't as important as votes from the Conclave) and voting on particular internal matters that were linked directly to the vishtas, like tax or levy laws.

Despite the Ramvishtas' displeasement with the new government, few could deny the fact that the magocracy was effective and led to times of internal peace and scientific growth. Zahria continued to hold the title of "sahemic heaven" with the university in Ban Thavalar leading the whole of Thir in terms of magical achievement and progress.

While internally Zahria experienced growth and developed, externally it was threatened by a relatively new realm to the north, the Abantine Empire. Border disputes, trade embargoes and proxy wars were only a prelude to a massive, devastating conflict that finally erupted in year 1690 2E. The Great Eastern War lasted for 22 years, causing incomparable destruction, dealing gigantic blows to both empires and ushering in the Third Era.

Zahria emerged victorious from the war in 22 3E. Despite taking large amounts of Abantine territory, however, Zahria itself was damaged and crippled; people of Alsadesh were emotionally scarred, still scared of hostile raids and their farms and villages were razed to the ground with dead cadavers swapping places with fallen buildings and withering crops; streets of many Zahrian cities became filled with soldiers-turned-beggars who, despite sacrificing themselves for the nation, did not receive any help from the ruling classes after coming back.

Economically stunted, Zahria fell into decline, eventually completely collapsing when the II Vishta War erupted in 58 3E.

### Transitional period (58 3E - 152 3E)

The II Vishta War officialy fragmented the empire; most vishtas broke away with only two remaining loyal to the Emperor. The war never really ended and wasn't a continuous conflict, but rather a series of conflicts with similar characteristics.

Foreign powers, obviously, made use of the occasion to invade small and vulnerable vishtas, unable to protect themselves; in 70 3E Shejarda attacked Upper Mathrava, taking control of the small state without much trouble; most vishtas created from territory taken from Abantia consolidated into a few strong kingdoms with the rest joining the Abantine Empire. The vishtas in Nadavashar, on the other hand, stayed fragmented because of their constant conflict with the vishta of Davalrata, former seat of the Emperor and home to the Zahrian religion's leaders.

Despite internal divisions, Nadavashar faired well in terms of trade and economy; massive decentralization helped in managing problems like razed farms and shortages of food. Many cities were developed beyond recognition or built anew.

### Second Empire (152 3E - 437 3E)

Reunification of the Empire came in 152 3E when the vishtas banded together, again threatened by the Abantine Empire and the prospect of being invaded. Originally, however, the Pact of Ban Farbod detailed the creation of a Zahrian Union, meant by definiton to be a league of allied states, not a centralized empire. It was only 20 years later, in 172 3E, that the Ramvishta of Mityalrata, Vandad I, managed to gain the acceptance of other Ramvishtas and declared himself Emperor of Zahria, bringing back the magocracy. Most vishtas joined the new state, with only a small number staying independent.

The Pact of Ban Farbod was a big influence in creating and sculpting the Second Zahrian Empire; Ramvishtas expected a big degree of autonomy, taking the decentralized power for granted. Certain lords also gained political influence that they then used to sway the Emperor and control both internal and external politics to a certain degree.

In turn, however, the Emperor could expect loyalty and actual servitude from the Ramvishtas, who knew that it was better to be *in* the Empire rather than *outside* it. That allowed later Emperors to pursue the goals of military expansion, aiming to reachieve the glory of old Zahria; in 183 3E Emperor Ishkandad V led a successful campaign into the lands of Alsadesh, conquering the regional capital of Yeshna's Blessing. The year 190 3E saw his large-scale invasion into the already crumbling Abantian Empire. In a matter of just 5 years, Ishkandad managed to take all of Olansa. Knowing that the only thing standing between him and the unification of Eastern Thir was the Atamid states in the west, Ishkandad declared war on 205 3E, but for some reason he didn't conquer them. Instead, he subjugated them, forcing them to pay tribute and follow his religion.

By the time Ishkandad V died in 217 3E, the Zahrian Empire stretched from South Olansa in the north to the Breathing Canyons in the west. Besides establishing these borders, Ishkandad also managed to subjugate various Atamid kingdoms in the west, forcing them to pay tribute and enforcing the Boradist religion upon them.

Ishkandad's grandson, Vandad II, abandoned his predecessor's expansionist policy in favour of preserving the status quo, instead focusing on improving infrastracture and administration; the Zahrian Road Guard was revived in 221 3E and the Zahrian Trading Company was created in 225 3E. The latter was especially important as it went on to become a thriving international company that provided the empire with massive amounts of wealth.
Despite these improvements, Vandad's reign was marked by internal tensions as he constantly quarrelled with the Sorcerer Conclave, going so far as to name his elephant a Conclave member just to spite the mages. Unsurprisingly, Vandad died "under mysterious circumstances" (most probably killed by members of the Conclave) in 226 3E and left the government with a grand dilemma - who was to be the next emperor?

Ishkandad, Vandad II's son, tried to force his claim to the throne very quickly after his father's death. The Sorcerer Conclave decided to support one of their own in the election, Mardonius of Ban Davalrata. The rivalry between the two candidates got more complicated, however, when the Ramvishtas of the Imperial Assembly supported the claim of Dastan, a descendant of the old Maravastran emperors. The following civil war resulted in severe territorial loss, especially in the Olansan plains, and the victory of Dastan IV. His ascension to the throne marked a shift in the Zahrian political landscape - the Ramvishtas gained sever advantage over the Sorcerer Conclave, which was quickly removed from power by the Dastanian Reforms of 236 3E.

The next two centuries, known as the Shahsan Period, were marked by greater-than-ever decentralisation and the persecution of Zahrian mages. While sorcery wasn't outright banned and outlawed, imperial sorcerers had to face many more difficulties than before. Many organisations and magical brotherhoods were banned under the pretexts of "treachery" and "anti-Zahrian activity". The government stopped subsidizing magical universities, many of which had to shut down. As such, mages were pushed out of cities and urban settlements into the countryside and the jungles, which were already thought of as places where magic ruled over the word of men; the hidden city of Ban Sayish, located somewhere in the Sayish Jungle, was a popular refuge for sorcerers and magic-users that wanted to use their skills and conduct their research without the seemingly omnipresent watch of the new government.

The Shahsan Period came to an end in the 5th century 3E, when various groups of people rose up, fed up with the government's failings. The lower classes and slaves, led by Marzabad Varen, rebelled in 432 3E. The mages followed suit two years later and so did the various ethnicities conquered by the Zahrians. Emperor Roshan II was forced to abdicate the throne in 437 3E. Meanwhile, the three rebelling factions met in Ban Davalrata later that year in order to discuss forming a new government; the Marzabadian Concordat officialy abolished the Zahrian Empire and detailed the creation of a new Zahrian Republic.

## Symbols

The main symbol of the Zahrian Empire is a yellow crowned tiger, an animal associated with dominance, strength and authority. The emblem as a whole is symbolic to the Emperor's authority and reign and as such, appears on the Zahrian coat of arms, flag and war banners. Other symbols that appear on coins and some official heraldry include an orchid (Zahria's national flower) and Ishkandad I's Sword, a specific type of blade that is sometimes simplified into a cross.