Duncan Kingdom

Duncan Kingdom at its height in 510 CE

The **Duncan Kingdom** was a short-lived kingdom officially known as the **First Kingdom of Auvocan**, which existed in the region from 469 to 542 CE. The Kingdom was under the rule of the Tenlamic Duncans.

In Auvocania, the Duncans led by Roduulf the Brave killed and replaced Estmorr, a Tenlamic soldier, who was the de facto leader of the region, who had deposed the last emperor of the Western Ropan Empire, Octavianus and his son Maximus, in 462. Under Roduulf, the Duncan Kingdom reached its height, stretching from eastern Beledge, southern Tenlamich and Unor-Vanor, the northern coast of the Caseti Sea, and to the Tolsmaka River and modern Honher to the east. Roduulf called himself *Duncorum Ropanorum rex* ("King of the Duncans and Ropans"), showing his desire to lead both peoples.

In 521, the Yithuzine Empire invaded Auvocan under Florian I. The Duncan ruler at the time, Cyrila, was unable to successfully repel the Yithuzine attacks and eventually was captured after the Yithuzines took control of the capital of Messisa in 522. The Duncans then rallied against a new ruler, Ervig, who managed to stall the conquest, but were eventually defeated in 542 under the rule of the last ruler, Queen Emalia.

## History

The Duncan people originated somewhere within the Naporo Basin around the 4th century BCE, but moved westwards towards the Yabune River where they settled just north of the Eastern Ropan Empire. Between 450-461 CE, Duncans under the command of Estmorr invaded the Auvocania province of the Western Ropan Empire, pillaging and raising towns and cities.

### Estmorr's Kingdom (461-469)

In 461, during the fall of the Western Ropan Empire, Estmorr and his soldiers sieged out the city of Messina, where he crowned himself as the ruler of the region. Outraged by the betrayal, the ruler of the Eastern Ropan Empire at the time, Opiter Vipstanus contacted Roduulf, another more loyal Duncan soldier whom he wanted to go against Estmorr. Opiter promised that if Roduulf was successful in killing Estmorr, he would appoint him as king of Auvocania. Although initially unsuccessful, Roduulf and his army made it to Messina where they sieged out the city. In 469, Roduulf killed Estmorr and became known as Roduulf the Brave, and the King of the Duncan Kingdom.

### Reign of Roduulf the Brave (469-493)

Unlike Estmorr who opposed the Ropans and believed them inferior to the Duncans, Roduulf saw that both Ropan and Duncan people alike were his citizens and believed both were equal. Roduulf's top priority was to maintain peace within his realm, and often managed to reach peaceful agreements between other Tenlamic peoples. However, several times throughout his reign, he had to defend himself against the Onsammians, Bemenians, and Blakes.

Roduulf's relationship with the Eastern Ropan Empire was also constantly changing. Although Opiter Vipstanus appointed him as the king of Auvocania, Opiter still wanted the region to be under Ropan control. As such, the emperor of the eastern Ropans saw Roduulf as a viceroy and his kingdom a puppet or buffer state between their own kingdom and the Tenlamic peoples.

### Yithuzine-Tenlamic Wars (522-719)

In 521, the newly appointed Emperor of the Yithuzine Empire (Eastern Ropan Empire), Florian I, decided to invade the Duncan Kingdom. This was not sudden or unexpected, as after the death of Roduulf in 493, his successors saw several conflicts between the kingdom and the empire. The Yithuzines were extremely successful early on and managed to capture the capital of the Duncan Kingdom, Messisa and captured the King, Cyril in 522.

After the capture and assumed death of Cyril, the Duncan people rallied against a new king, known as Ervig, who was a skilled tactician and military man. Ervig moved the capital to Gira and managed to repel and stall the Yithuzine advancement briefly. For the next several years, the war was relatively a stand-still until the death of Ervig in 538. Ervig's only child and daughter, Emalia became the Queen of the Duncan Kingdom, but without a skilled tactician, the military was weakened, and the Kingdom was eventually defeated as the Yithuzines sieged Gira in 542, thus ending the reign of the Duncans.

Despite its success, the Yithuzines saw the region fall into several rebellions and by 600, much of the Auvocania region was not under control of the Yithuzine Empire, but smaller counties and duchies. One such duchy, the Duchy of Hotina was established in 589, and although not proven, its king, King Aspar, was rumored to be a descendant of Queen Emalia.

## List of rulers

* King Roduulf the Brave (*Rodulf*) 469-493
* King Theoderic 493-499
* Queen Rasha 499-510
* King Cyril 510-522
* King Ervig the Wise (*Hervig*) 522-538
* Queen Emalia 538-542