Asmukhar

Location of Asmukhar

### Religion

Predominantly Natrakhsanian, with large Christian minority and small Limkian minority

**Asmukhar**, often Elvicised as **Asmocaria**, is a country in the Nesarian Empire. Its head of state is the Great King, a hereditary position, although real power is deferred to local federal entities which are democratically elected. Its national animal is the Crowned Horse.

Asmukhar is chiefly characterised by its grassy plains. Most of the country can be described as steppeland; what little forested land exists is tightly clustered around rivers and in sheltered valleys. Shrubland and heath appears in the far western reaches of the country, but these biomes are still less prevalent than grassland.

The southern portion of Amukhar is named Raskev, which is geographically, ethnically, culturally and religiously distinct from the rest of Asmukhar; it is often spoken of as a distinct country in its own right, though it is not a separate Imperial Country. Raskev has many marshes, bogs and swamps, and it has a much higher prevalence of woodland and shrubland compared to the rest of Asmukhar.

The Asmukharian steppe contains several ancient relics from the Age of Titans, most famously the colossal barrow of Kuhankhar, the bones of the Flame-Bearer and the Old Tree, the only Titan known to still live.

## Name

Asmukhar has several possible translations; it may mean "realm of horses", "realm of kingly horses" or simply "kingly horse". The *khar* component translates as "horse", and the *mu* component has a double meaning; it can either be read individually, where it means "of", or it can be read with the neighbouring kh to make *mukh*, which means "king". The etymology of the *as* component is harder to place. Many linguists suggest that it is a heavy corruption of the Cisenilan term *este*, which translates as "realm" or "domain", but other scholars suggest a native Asmocarian origin.

In the language of the neighbouring Cisenilans, Asmukhar is known as Kaaril, where *kaar* is a corruption of *khar* ("horse") and *il* means "land".

## Demographics

Even putting aside the highly distinct Rakevites, the Asmukharians are far from a singular people. Asmukhar is split into many tribes - politically organised ethnic groups with their own customs and dialect. There are two levels of tribal identity; a major tribe is a large grouping of similar peoples with common heritage, usually sharing the same phenotype and genetic features, and a minor tribe is a specific community within a major tribe. The six major tribes are Baratsai, Gahaan, Kachak, Kahen and Maikhar; of these, the Kachaks (*Kachakul*) are the most populous, and so it was their dialect of Asmukharian which became the standard form of the language.

Each tribe claims descent from the Kumukh Handughy and his companions, who conquered the entire steppe at an indeterminate time shortly after the Annihilation; these people were steppe nomads in modern Rulkhar, and their modern direct descendants are commonly known as the Steppefolk. However, genetic analysis has shown that only the Kahens have any significant presence of Steppefolk heritage; the genetic legacy of the Kumukh Handughy's invasion is limited amongst other tribes. The vast majority of Asmukhar's population consists of other steppe peoples who were culturally assimilated by the Asmukharian invaders millennia ago, and not direct descendants of the invaders.

## Ancient Populations

Prior to the Asmukharian assimilation, the steppe was one of the most culturally diverse regions of Inecuria. There are no written sources from pre-Asmukharian peoples besides the Raskevites, but there is limited written information *about* them, and their material culture is known through archaeological finds.

The most populous and dominant pre-Asmukharian group were known in Raskevite as the *Kelluvjaszi*, from the nation of *Kelluvas*. The translation of *Kelluvas* is contested; it may mean "wild rider" (from *kerutis*, "wild" or "untamed", and *luvna*, "horse-rider") or it may mean "bearded human of the grasslands" (from *kelke,* "beard"; *luota*, "grass" or "grassland"; and *vas*, "human"). The Asmukharians had no specific name for them, but generally referred to them as "tartan men" or "tartan folk", after the distinctive tartan pattern of many of their fabrics, especially trousers.

The material culture of the *Kelluvjaszi* suggests some relation to contemporary Walmórícingas. The sources indicate that they wore the tartan pattern far more frequently than the Walmórícingas did, but the pattern is nonetheless a key feature the two cultures share, and there are also similarities in their jewellery, weaponry and their practice of making barrows for dead nobles. *Kelluvjaszi* barrows appear far earlier than Asmukharian barrows, implying that the Asmukharians took this practice from the *Kelluvjaszi*.

Exact dates are impossible to ascertain, but it is generally thought by historians that the *Kelluvjaszi* had ceased to exist by either the 4th or 3rd century BC. It is unlikely that pre-Asmukharian peoples persisted past the 1st century BC, as there are no references to them in written records past this point, and carbon dating of archaeological finds has never identified their material culture as being younger than this.

As well as human pre-Asmukharians, there were also non-humans. The Cisens used to inhabit large swathes of Asmukhar, mainly in the south, but they were driven eastwards by general Human expansion and concentrated into what is now Cisenila. There was also a nomadic race of Elfkin known to the Asmukharians as the Wind Elves, which much like the Harpies were highly talented in air magic but were lacking in other types. It is unknown to what extent the Wind Elves were actually a separate race of Elfkin or whether it was merely a separate nation of Elves. The latest mention of the Wind Elves as an extant group dates to the 1st century BC.

## Flag

The flag of Asmocaria is a black horse on a light gold background.

* The horse is the national symbol of Asmukhar, and one of their most revered creatures, believed to be especially imbued with Natrakh (the Great Spirit).
* The stance of the horse, with one front leg and one rear leg raised, implies that it is moving, which symbolises the nomadic nature of the Asmukharian people.
* Black represents war in Asmukharian tradition, and since the horse is this colour, this means the horse is a war-horse.
* Gold is a colour that appears to have been associated with the country even before the migration of the Asmukharians under the Kumukh Handughy. The reason for the association is unknown, but the most popular theories are that it references the sun or the colour of dried steppe-grass in the summer.