Ixama Dynasty

The **Ixama Dynasty** (Rysian: Iс́ama, IPA: [iɕɑma]), or **Great Ry,** was the ruling dynasty of Imperial Rysia, a large nation in the continent of Iorai. Named after Ixam, the first ruler of the Ixama Dynasty, it was founded in 231 SE. The Ixama sought to centralise the Rysian state into a unified power, expanding beyond their traditional frontiers in the West against Tvul.

## **History**

### Origins

In the late 1st century before the Standard Era, the nomadic Kela Tribes invaded, sacked, and razed much of Eastern Iorai, including the Rysian predecessor state, the Taex Empire. Deeply weakened due to previous internal conflicts, the tribal invasion caused Taexia to collapse entirely. Over the course of the next century, many major cities of Taexia, including their capital, Ii, were destroyed completely, causing famine, disease, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people. A group of migrants out of the old city of Ii founded the city of Rii in the East, in a former backwater at the delta of the Eyaa river that had been spared destruction from the Kela Tribes. In the next 200 years, Rii would morph into the modern city of Ry, as it attracted many people seeking stability from the shattered Taexi state, forming a stable polity: Ry itself had a population of 95,000, by far the largest city in former Taexia and one of the largest in the continent. The Rysian lands in total numbered around 235,000, a very high number in proportion to their small size.

### Early History (213 SE - 294 SE)

During the year 213 SE, Prince Ixam rose to the throne of the city-state after the death of his father, Prince Evn, at the age of 14. Evn was renowned as an administrator, and established several new laws and policies that would become crucial to the future expansion of the Rysian state; foremost among these were the creation of a standard Rysian currency and set of measures, along with replacing aristocratic rule with a merit-based bureaucratic rule. Evn expanded trade routes with Eissine and Ttaldos, two major powers across the Gulf of Uaal, mainly trading in spices, gold, wine, and the important staple crop of millet. These accomplishments led to Ixam inheriting a powerful state primed to expand further, able to mobilise far more men than expected from its size and with a rich militaristic culture apt for creating skilled generals.

By the time of Ixam's ascension to the throne, the largest power in the region, Ezin, was in a great decline. In the Ezish east, The Six, a very loose confederation of six mercantile states on the coast, had declared independence, and Ezish taxation systems were collapsing under a overwhelmingly corrupt noble system. Several different factions had made moves to gain influence, and all-out civil war was prevented only by their king, Dai'n, and his status as war hero.

#### Conquest of Ezin (219 SE - 221 SE)

The Conquest of Ezin, also known as the War of the Tendrils, began in the 7th month of the year 219 SE when Ixam led an army numbering 17,000 into Ezish lands. This was by far the largest army assembled in the region since the start of the Ezish decline. Rysian forces were harassed by expert Ezish horse archers for several months during the beginning phase of the war, which, combined with a dedicated scorched earth policy, cut Ixam's forces to 11,500 by the end of the year when he arrived near the Ezish capital of Enera Azim. Ixam would then recuperate his army, sacking the countryside and maintaining supply lines back to Ry proper, for much of the year 220. Several small battles were fought during this time, mostly resulting in Ezi losses, although a skirmish in Nez Anha, a village known for producing large amounts of millet grain, led to a Rysian retreat and Lix being injured.

In the 13th month, 220, Lix and his forces fought a significant Ezi contingent in the Battle of Enera Azim. The Battle of Enera Azim is often considered to be one of the most beautiful tactical performances of all time, where Ixam led his veteran troops into a victory against a far numerically superior opponent; this battle was documented in various military treatises as a key example of a surprise attack and ambush. The death of King Dai'n of Ezi in Enera Azim would result in a near total collapse of the Ezi state into warring polities in the following years.

The Rysian victory in Enera Azim would lead to the city's scorching and razing by Rysian troops, and peace would come soon after, conquering a vast swathe of lands up to the Ai Mountains in the west and the large fort city of Leniea in the south.