Muzdash Empire

A historic map of Jigoku

## Heraldry

Emblem of Mazadas, depicting the skull of a bull and the beard of a man

**The Muzdash Empire**, also called **Muzdas**, was a major kingdom and empire that encompassed Jigoku, a continent far off to the east. It existed as a state before the First Era until its collapse in the onset of the First Era, spanning the Early to Middle Bronze Era until the dawn of the Era of Iron. From then on, it was spiritually succeeded by the Perthic Caliphate.

Allegedly centered on the River Sago, the Muzdash came to rule a powerful empire. The Muzdash empire was at the height of technological, scientific and cultural achievements for its time.

Muzdash is named after its original capital, the ancient city of Mazadas, which has lied abandoned since the First Era. The capital Mazadas is the second oldest known city in the world after Espios. Early Muzdash rulers were likely pastoral leaders, until the Muzdash became subject to Nebonyses the Great, who united all the peoples of Jigoku under the Muzdash Empire as king, which lasted until its eventual collapse around 450 NCE.

## History

In times Preliturgy, the region that was to become known as the Muzdash Empire was home to human farmers that struggled against demons to their east. Though the lands were scarce and contained few precious metals, they were fertile enough to sustain large populations. These lands formed mostly independent, agrarian city-states that became known as *muhaphos*, roughly translated as "provinces."

#### Explanation of the Exodus

Modern academics agree the migration west was due to religious differences that came to the surface. The religions of the *muhaphos* were extremely different than the cults that arose in the Old World recorded at the dawn of the Age of Iron. It is likely many of the people who migrated from Jigoku did so because of conflict between the cults.

The mystery cults of the *muhaphos* were diverse and can only be broadly categorized as being centered around the ancient god Moloch. Their practices often included human sacrifice, especially of children, as well as their secondary worship of fire and the harvest.

Though there is a phonetic similarity of Melakesh and Moloch, two cults that were both exiled from Jigoku, the entities being worshiped have little in common. Melakesh is a figure often interpreted to be a powerful angelic entity from the Otherworld, and is worshiped for the purpose of wisdom and the spread of truth. Conversely, Moloch is seen as a deliverer of fortune, favor, and virtue. These opposing ends suggest different origins for Melakesh and Moloch, and it is perhaps simply a language similarity.

#### Age of Young Fire

The states that comprised Jigoku had conflicts with one another over the areas under their domain in a period known as the Age of Young Fire. Clay pottery and statues depict scenes of battle between states and various mysteries from their culture.

A very intimate cultural symbiosis between the states occurred, which included widespread parallel growths of their language. The cities of Mazadas, Nassur, Goza, and Obela, together with a number of other towns and cities emerged as dominant powers during the Age of Young Fire.

Classical writers such as Oepitorus and Qemuel believe the founding of Muzdash occurred about 1,000 years before the Era of Iron, which marked the beginning of their downfall. This is dated as the beginning of the conquests of Nebonyses the Great.

### Nebonyses the Great

Nebonyses the Great was the only king of Muzdas. His mother was a violent queen who usurped the position, having no children and the previous judge of Mazadas, her husband, dying in circumstances of conflicting accounts. Her magi are alleged to have had contracted her womb to Moloch, whose son Nebonyses was born to the nameless queen. After she made an attempt to kill her son, legends state Nebonyses fled and raised himself in the wild plains of Jigoku, killing wild animals with his bare hands to survive. He returned at age thirteen to Mazadas, and strangled his mother to death before ascending to the throne himself. The magi believed it was the will of Moloch that had brought his son to return to Mazadas, and his reign was not contested for many years.

At age fifteen, Nebonyses began to conquer neighboring *muhaphos* starting with Nassur. As he grew older, Nebonyses grew to be of massive stature, towering at fifteen feet tall and being of impossible musculature. He also had a strong resemblance to common depictions of Moloch, with twisted horns, deep scarlet skin, and a long pointed tail.
Nebonyses would conquer the city-states of Nassur, Goza, and Obela in a few short years, before reaching the age of twenty. The agriculture-based *muhaphos* were not difficult for the new king to take, considering Mazadas advancements in metallurgy and opening trade with the peoples of Neuphany. The bronze weapons and armor that outfitted the Muzdash were leagues above the simple copper spears and jerkins that other cities utilized.

Nebonyses the Great's ambitions extended into establishing a massive empire all across Jigoku. He would also attempt to besiege Senprad and Espios. There are no records indicating the nature of this siege or how long it lasted, but it is noted in a relief in the palace of Mazadas and in the palace of Perepolis that Nebonyses flayed the nobility of Espios alive, saving the queen and daughters as consorts that he brought to Mazadas. This was the beginning of the Muzdash civilization.

### The thousand year empire

Much of the history of the Muzdash empire is only known through their interactions with other empires and through their reliefs and statues. Most of the reliefs depict a towering, devilish figure performing vile and torturous acts upon conquered or traitorous kings, and the defilement of their wives or daughters. In one such relief preserved in the Western Wing of the Palace of Perepolis, Nebonyses the Great is shown swallowing the children of a rebellious king of Nassur while he burns the nobles alive, and then forces their wives to stomp on their bones days later and spit in their ashes.
The people of the Muzdash empire formed a very reverent heroic mystery surrounding Nebonyses the Great which continued into the Perthic era in a lesser form. Offerings were made to the Muzdash king on a monthly basis, and tribute was expected from kings of cities regularly.

While Nebonyses had thousands of consorts, his most noted consort, whom Nebonyses referred to as his "queen," was Zadeh I. She was described as being fearsome, as violent and bloodthirsty as her King, and constantly being pregnant during her long life, perhaps extended by the long-lived Nebonyses. She developed a minor circle of worship as well during this time, as it was also believed she was another consort to Moloch.

Nebonyses the Great never succeeded in moving beyond Espios and Jigoku, as his duties in ruling the kingdom and extinguishing rebellion occupied him to the point where his expansion was halted during this time. His generals, mainly children of Zadeh I, would make many attempts to take Senpradic and Tyrrhosi territory, but their powerful armies were not able to defeat the two states, who had been hardened by centuries of war with the Ionians, resulting in the most powerful navy of the world Preliturgy.

### The Fall of the Muzdash empire

#### The Thousand Schisms

Nebonyses ruled the empire for one thousand years and, in that time, campaigned successfully and ruled efficiently, but the empire had grown too large, and the regions were overtaxed. Also, the vastness of Muzdash land made it difficult to defend the borders. As great in number as the army remained, there were not enough men to keep garrisoned at every significant fort or outpost.

In the latter century of Nebonyses's rule, it was becoming clear that the blood of the god-king had changed the population into a mostly cambinoid race. They began to seek new gods to worship, diverging and dividing the populace.

In an event known as the Thousand Schisms, several minor deities attacked the palace of Espios while Nebonyses the Great was present. This revolts, beginning around 450 NCE, were fueled by the desire to install a new god-king into the throne, for reasons that varied between each entity. For example, a winged devilish caliph named Mephistopheles wished to give more power and autonomy to the magi, which Nebonyses had failed to do effectively. Eventually, the thousands kings collectively invaded and razed the capitol, and killed the weakened god-king Nebonyses the Great in the process.

#### Civil war and the emergence of Perth

Upon the death of Nebonyses sometime around the year 450 NCE, the empire began to disintegrate rapidly after a series of bitter civil wars broke out involving a number of claimants to the throne. Unfortunately, many of these kings and wars have been lost, and little is understood about this period as the world progressed into the Era of Iron. By the end, however, many of these claimants would disappear, go into hiding, or be killed outright.

Of the remaining heirs to the Muzdash empire, after being embroiled in civil war for decades, Queen Zadeh's regained control over Perepolis and the surrounding areas. Zadeh I had her magi perform what came to be the first Diet of Dakar, the Yagnothane Diet. This practice of divination informed her decisions regarding the unification of these new territories. Zadeh I was able to unite cambinoid territories in Cascadia under a single racial identity and promote a focus on commerce as opposed to rulership and subjugation. Zadeh's reforms and reorganization of the cambinoid mystery cults effectively metamorphosed historically Muzdash provinces into Perthic colonies, and began the Perthic Caliphate.

Most Muzdash cities are long abandoned, particularly Mazadas which has been picked clean by fortune-seekers over the thousands of years it has lied abandoned. The only cities in the Muzdash empire that remained after this civil war were Perepolis, Espios, Urjin, Gozadak, Naraq-sin, and Tivilus. These would form the foundation of the caliphate, with the exception of Espios.

### The Bronze Bookend

The emergence of writing, the use of smelted iron, and the destruction of nearly every large city outside of the Old World occurred within a century. This era is referred to as the Bronze Bookend, when most recorded history begins. The reasons for all of these things happening simultaneously is unknown.

Strangely, the only two types of cities that were not destroyed during this period were in the Old World, which positioned the Old World as the greatest power in the known world. The successor state to the empire was taken by the mantle of Zadeh I and her kin in Perepolis, in Cascadia.

Edica has suggested that there was actually an unrecorded Diet of Dakar that benefited some city, possibly Urjin, to develop writing as well as better iron smelting. Edica also goes as far to say that Urjin, which houses some of the only Muzdash reliefs with writing, would have been easily able to blockade Mazadas and cut off their ability to produce bronze weapons and armor.

## Culture

### Marriage Rituals

Muzdash rituals consist of many different types of elements that
have shaped the tiefling race as well as many rituals that carry over to human weddings today. A Muzdash
 wedding traditionally lasted a week and consisted of different rituals
for each day. During the wedding reception, most women would dance while wearing a *yakitar*, a colorful torque decorated with bells, beads, and long brightly colored linens, designed to distract and befuddle evil spirits.

#### The Ritual of the Ten Brides

A
 week before the marriage, all the married women in her city or township would go to house of the bride and escort her to the highest administrative office, such as the palace, and spend two days and two nights there, enjoying food and drink in a large banquet of only women. It is here that if Neboyneses the Great is present, which he often was not, he would summon the ten youngest married women, or the nine youngest and the bride, and choose one to spend the night with in his quarters. It is suggested Nebonyses would choose the new bride on both nights if he was indeed there.

#### The Washing of the Groom

A week before the wedding, all of the men who are
related to the groom
would go to his house to cut his hair and shave his face. The groom's
male relatives then scrub him with oleander and mare's milk, to prepare him for taking his bride. He is also bathed in fire the day before the wedding.

#### Bridewealth

The traditional dowry would involve the bridegroom's family paying to the
father of the bride. The amount of money of the dowry is reached at by negotiation between groups of people from both families. The social state
 of the groom's family influences the amount of the bridewealth that's
ought to be paid. When the matter is settled to the contentment of both
menages, the groom's father may kiss the hand of the bride's father to
express his chivalrous regard and gratitude, understanding the father could rebuke him and incinerate him at any moment.

#### Tidings of Moloch

The
wedding tradition where the bride and groom are blessed by a priest of Moloch in a
 temple. The Tidings traditionally lasted about four hours. Candles are lit while two children are immolated in a bronze bull at the altar of a shrine to Moloch. Incense and food is prepared to distract the smell and coins are thrown at the bride and groom if the person mentions the sacrifice. If all goes without incident and the children perish, it is considered good fortune for a fruitful marriage.

#### Henna

Henna
 is mud-like material that is prepared on the day before the wedding. On
 night for the wedding, all the women attending the wedding would gather at
the house of the bride. A bowl is filled with henna. In some areas, whoever holds the bowl with the henna will dance with it
around the others. The women draw intricate designs with needles and ply and set the henna into the bride's skin, which will leave a somewhat noticeable but slight discoloration for several years. The henna designs are thought to ward off evil spirits and increase fertility.

### Burial Rituals

Those who have the blood of Nebonyses were given special burial rites in order to preserve the sanctity of their blood for Moloch. A magus would spend several days embalming the body and performing a series of rituals including the removal of major organs, replacing them with herbs and minerals, and carefully wrapping the person in bandages inscribed with magical incantations. Thought the process and exact magic are long lost to history, and necromancy would not be seen in this capacity again in the western lands, the process of this ritual burial would result in a curse being laid on the flesh of the body.

Today, Muzdash crypts are filled with the bodies of these buried, mummified individuals who rise again and rot those they touch if their burials are disturbed. For this reason, it is considered unwise to tread on Muzdash ruins, lest a mummy's curse be laid upon the trespasser.

### Architecture

Muzdash architecture was influenced by unknown styles, becoming its own distinctive style. Palaces sported colourful wall decorations, and seal-cutting developed apace. Schools for translators taught hundreds of dialects, and the only literary works were often copied with the matter-of-fact, first-person Muzdash flavor, which can be noted in this example carved sometime around the First Era:

> When I [Nebonyses the Great] stepped onto their dry lands, the cities of Nassur, their wives I took as consorts, their sons and daughters as wards, their city as a trophy. In their religion, I was heralded, their god, I became. The men I fought were flayed alive, their skins I wore and their hearts I consumed. I brought each head to their sons, whose hands struck them with force as to crush the skulls that once breathed them their lives. In the Tivilus tongue, I commanded their armies and brought no peace to them. Their farms, I fertilized with their men's bodies, and their king I sacrificed to the flames of Moloch.
>
>

In Muzdash architecture, picture tales appeared as a new art form: a continuous series of images carved on square stone steles. Somewhat reminiscent of a modern-day children's picture book, these show

events such as warfare or hunting, placed in order from the upper left
to the lower right corner of the stele, with captions written underneath
them at a much later date. These and the excellent cut seals show that Muzdash art was
beginning to surpass that of states like Espios. Architecture saw the introduction
of a new style of ziggurat, with two towers and colorful enameled tiles.

### Arts and Science

Muzdash art preserved to the present day predominantly comes from the reign of Nebonyses the Great. Art depicting battle scenes, and occasionally the impaling of whole villages in gory detail, was intended to show the power of the god-emperor, and was generally made for propaganda purposes. These stone reliefs lined the walls in the royal palaces where foreigners were received by the king. Other stone reliefs depict the king with different deities and conducting religious ceremonies. Many stone reliefs were still displayed prominantly in the royal palaces in Perepolis and Naraq-sin well into the Seventh Era.

Muzdash sculpture reached a high level of refinement in the last century before the Thousand Schisms. One prominent example is the winged bull, a symbol of Moloch called *lamas*, that guards the entrances to the kings' court. These were *apotropaic*, meaning they were intended to ward off evil. The *lamas* were typically sculpted with five legs so that four legs were always visible, whether the image were viewed frontally or in profile.

#### Notable inventions and works

Although most works of precious gems and metals did not survive the ravages of time, some fine pieces of Muzdash jewelry were found in royal tombs underneath Perepolis.
A powerful telescope unearthed by Dinamid legionnaires in Mazadas, the red lens, appears to be able to predict major cosmological events with clairvoyant accuracy.

The Muzdash were also innovative in military technology, with the use of heavy cavalry, sappers, siege engines, and combined arms.

### Clothing and Appearance

From the reliefs and sculptures of the Muzdash, it would appear that men would either shave their beards or were unable to grow them, mimicking Nebonyses and his clean-shaven appearance. Men would usually wear head coverings made of cloth, as well as a cloth scarf called a *gasar* which could be used to cover the mouth during sandstorms or in battle. Men would wear long linens that dragged behind them, with longer linens usually a symbol of nobility, as such silks were rare in this part of the world. Exposed legs were usually portrayed as the signs of a defeated enemy or the destitute.

Women would wear elaborate garments and would constantly keep their hair covered, only letting it down in times of intimacy (in reliefs, almost exclusively with Nebonyses the Great). They would also wear silken garments, and more noble and wealthy women covering more of their bodies in addition to having their robes made to be more form-fitting.

### Religion

The religious beliefs that brought the original settlers of western Fyruse manifested into a broad worship of the god Moloch. Though specific religious practices vary, most of the mystery cults held Nebonyses the Great in high esteem, some even associating Nebonyses with Moloch itself.

Much of the Muzdash empire mystery cults engaged in human sacrifice, with an emphasis on the sacrifice of children. The practice usually involved burning the subject alive, especially in the coals held in the hands of a massive statue of Moloch, or in a bronze statue of a bull where the subject is effectively boiled within its compartments.

The mystery cults of Moloch would meet multiple times throughout the year to summon visages and clairvoyant visions of their god through the use of bonfires and careful rituals, including the reading of entrails and throwing flammables into the fire with a bid for fortune.

### Trade and Resources

The Muzdash empire was poor in terms of mineral rights at the time, relying on extracting resources from the trade of Espios with eastern trade partners. Though it is rich in iron, the copper and tin from trading partners like Neuphany superseded its existing ore deposits.

The Muzdash empire was able to sell large amounts of grains, cereals, fruits, and more importantly, wines to the Sasceri Preliturgy. The Muzdash empire was able to acquire its expansive network of trade across the Tomyrian Sea with its production of wines and rare dyes, which were derived from mollusks in the southern Arpasian Sea. Muzdas was at least partially responsible for the global exchange between the different continents, and the navies of its shores became exceptionally skilled and robust leading into the First Era.