Tašaviyat Empire

The Tašaviyat Empire, officially the Ašueunkime (Evening or Sunset Kingdom) was the first unified Hamaltui state and the second empire formed in Abamhe. It was a multi-cultural empire that spanned from Abanass to Sarsua at its height.

It was founded by Sunkik Pašanetes 'Vazraka' (the Great) of the Tašaviyat dynasty. The Tašaviyuik were a prominent family from the city of Eršsa in the Hukkulan region of lower Hamaltar. The Tašaviyuik claim descendance from Eršedes, the mythical progenitor of all Hamaltuik, as do most of the Hamaltuip nobility.

## Etymology

The name Ašueunkime is derived from a poem supposedly written by Sunkik Pašanetes during his return from --, his final conquest before declaring the empire at Eršsa in 181 Mu Neha. The poem, Ašueunkime, goes as follows:

*Old Hamaltui*

*English*

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Good Dabikam's head ran from wine into water,

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The grand Saahkada's body floats from indigo into blood,

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The Ešzula's bold arms reach up into the vast Dabantinap,

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Azure days carry their lapis nights in bloody hands,

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Ice spears on ice legs descend our copper slopes,

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Passionate eršebaad appear ruby but think teal.

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Our serene Ašueunkime wakes to our ruby sun and meets it with a kiss.

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Our mighty Ašueunkime guards for our blood-red moon and meets it with a smile.

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Our vast Ašueunkime touches the East, West, South, North and both Heavens,

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And until our Daráie turns blue and the Dabantinap glows red, we will stand by.

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## History

### Prelude

From its foundation until the ascension of Pašanetes the Great, kings of Eršsa were elected from amongst the four royal families of the city; the: Bašesa, Izzayat, Tašaviyat and Yexetr. This was a common practice in Hamaltuik cities with cities commonly having 4 ruling houses with some having as many as 9.

#### Dugisu II Yexetr

Pašanetes was preceded by Dugisu II Yexetr as Sunkik of Eršsa. Most historians share consensus that it was Dugisu II who established the groundwork for Pašanetes' Hamaltui unification and later conquest.

Dugisu was the second son of Ušit Yexetr, who did not rule himself. He was born in 248 MN, and was barely 15 years older than Pašanetes.

##### Pre-ascension life

Dugisu was known to be an intelligent and of decent martial skill as a youth. As the second son, he was not expected to rule, let alone succeed his father as family head. As a result of this, he was given much more freedom to read and adventure than his brother. Although he didn't participate, he was present at the Siege of Sunkisa in 233MN, where his older brother, Angaša, was fatally wounded. In the aftermath he would become grief stricken and desert home. Dugisu would travel along the Hamaltar valley until entering the Kingdom of Mereh sometime in 232 MN. In Babaxan, the Meres capital, Dugisu roamed the streets challenging passers-by to the board game, Giroš, at which he was already informally known for his skills in Eršsui circles. He soon gained a reputation for his gaming ability in the city and was invited by High King Maxares into his court. Dugisu played Maxares many times, defeating him over and over, aside from one single game. The king, marvelling at his skills, studied from Dugisu and the pair formed a friendship. High King Maxares invited Digisu to stay at his court, however, Dugisu at this point announced his noble origin to Maxares, and, reinvigorated, asked for guarded passage back to Eršsa which Maxares accepted. Maxares personally met Ušit and Dugisu was forgiven by his family. On his father's request, Dugisu was less adventurous throughout his 20s.

In 220 MN at only 27 years old, Digisu was elected Sunkik by the four families of the Eršsui Council after the death of Sunkik Tevi Bašesa. While someone so young being elected is not unprecedented, it is likely Dugisu came only to power as the result of a pact between the Tašaviyat and Yexetr families. Notably this would also be the pact that would bring Pašanetes to power.

##### Dugisu's Reforms

In his time Dugisu spearheaded military reforms using connections to eastern peoples, in particular due to his personal ties to High King Maxares of Mereh. He also integrated Meres horse archers into his grand army and introduced stirrups which allowed for both better manoeuvrability and accuracy when aiming. Lastly he formed the elite Lanšitui Guard, a force of elite infantry known for mobility thanks to their ability to quickly mount and dismount from horseback. During his rule, the Eršsui military doubled in size as well as its discipline improving.

Although less talked about, Dugisu's economic action was arguably of equal importance to his military reform in terms of establishing the conditions for Pašanetes' conquest. Dugisu built the first of the Empire's well known Lilaksa stone highways, linking Kika to Sunkisa via Eršsa. This route would prove vital for the opening of Sasusan trade not to just Hamaltar, but into Mereh and even Sarsua. Notably, Dugisu also established one of the first examples of insurance. This was as a partial guarantee on goods carried by ship to and from Kika. This was to make Kika, and by extension, Hamaltar, appear a more lucrative trade destination. This benefitted the port of Kika immensely and as a result, the city fell under Eršsa economic domination and later de-facto rule. This also resulted in the reduction in the price of goods and increase in food availability which in turn allowed for the farming of cash crops such as Coffee and Indigo which would later become typical to the Hamaltar.

While Dugisu reformed the military, it is arguable that his diplomatic 'conquests' were more substantial than those of his military and due to the trauma of losing his brother, Dugisu was often wary of military actions. Dugisu would form diplomatic, economic and political pacts throughout his reign, the most substantial being those with the Meres. Dugisu took, Ariu, one of Maxares' daughters as his primary wife. Dugisu also peacefully entered Kika, a primarily Sasusan settlement into the Sunkime of Eršsa. At this point Eršsa had become the primary Hamaltui power.

##### Abdication

While Dugisu was a capable ruler, he was rather reserved and struggled with his emotions. In 201 MN, his father-in-law and, at that point 30 year friend, Maxares passed away. After this he retreated to his bed quarters for long periods of time, speaking only to his wives. However, only a few months later his primary wife, Ariu, would pass away due to complications during birth as did her child. This broke Dugisu who was no longer able to rule. This apparent weakness irritated the other noble houses and through political manoeuvring, particularly by the Tašaviyuik family, Dugisu would abdicate in 201 MN, leaving his kingdom to the Eršsui Council. Before the council met for the election, it was already effectively decided that Pašanetes Tašaviyuik would succeed Dugisu.

#### Pašanetes Tašaviyuik

Born in 234 MN, Pašanetes was the first son of Isitru Tašaviyuik. In 201 MN, Pašanetes would be declared Sunkik of Eršsa after the abdication of Dugisu II.

The first test for the young Pašanetes would be to deal with the Third Eršsa-Sunkisa War. Almost immediately after the abdication of Dugisu, the noble families of Sunkisa rose in revolt to try and proclaim a new independent city state. While the city had been under Eršsa domination for a few decades and their rule had arguably been prosperous, the local nobility were humiliated by their subservient status. While Pašanetes was initially advised to take a peaceful, diplomatic stance, he ignored his advisers and immediately gathered 2,000 men and a contingent of Meres horse archers. Through quick action by his elite horsemen, Pašanetes was able to cut off Sunkisa from the surrounding towns where they were gathering men, effectively ending the war before it began as Sunkisa was unable to muster even 60% of its expected army. Instead these men were persuaded into Pašanetes' army and marched on Sunkisa as a collective force. He began a feigned siege to the defendants of Sunkisa and on the second night had a small group of men climb over the city wall. Once inside, the southern gate of the city was opened and his forces stormed through, capturing the city. In the aftermath of the war, all the nobility of Sunkisa, even those who were neutral during the war, were stripped of power and the city was granted solely to the Tašaviyat family.

At this point despite winning the war, Pašanetes instead turned his forces to the Saanda river valley in the east.

## First Eršsui Conquest of Saanda

### Date

201 MN - 199 MN de-facto, 201 MN - 187 MN de-jure

### Result

Strategic Stalemate, Tactical Saandui Victory, Eršsui Civil War, Saanda Remains Independent

## Participants

### Defender(s)

Saanda Sunkime, First Coalition

Almost immediately after becoming king, Pašanetes would travel east along the Saahkada river, reaching the walled city of Saanda. He demanded the city submit but they refused. He attempted a siege, but being unable to reach the northern coast of the Saahkada, couldn't starve out the city. He retreated after burning everything south of the Saahkada and city walls. The city leveraged the aggressive attitude of the young king to form a coalition with many other cities who all marched against Eršsa. The war was decided after a decisive victory against Pašanetes by the Saanda alliance at the Manšadis plains. The plains consisted of a flat area of land bounded on one side by the Saahkada river and on the other by a steep cliff, Pašanetes, despite being warned by people around him, including Zakase Bašesa, a general and son of Sunkik Tevi Bašesa, fell into a trap that had been set for him. His forces were harassed by javelin throwers above them on the cliff and were quickly routed. Pašanetes would retreat back into Eršsa territory after which the war would consist of little more than light raiding despite no official treaty being signed.

Upon his return to Eršsa, Pašanetes was greeted by a new political crisis. The young Sunkik was seen as both brutal and tyrannical for his action at Sunkisa and his unjust war against Saanda, but also as weak and pathetic for not being able to follow through with his arrogant war. The organisation of the Eršsui military at the time meant that regiments were not loyal to the king, but instead to their leaders.

Rivalry with Zakase

##### Eršsui Civil War

198-196. People support Zakase. Zakase vs Pašanetes. Pašanetes wins. Bašesa family stripped of titles. Succession reformed and Eršsu turned into hereditary kingdom. As a result, Pašanetes would implement increasingly autocratic reforms, with new military units swearing loyalty to him instead of God and their general and the Tašaviyuik family being granted important governmental roles, creating a power imbalance in the government.

##### Personal growth

After the bloody events marking the beginning of his rule, most believe that Pašanetes had a change of heart, possibly related to his interactions with Dugisu. It is said that he restricted himself to his quarters where he read poetry and studied philosophical texts. It is unknown how much of this is true or if these facts are embellished by followers of Lanšitar.

Pašanetes would embark on peaceful actions for the next few years to consolidate his new position as head of his autocratic kingdom. In 196 MN, he would commission the -- Wall to be built in the -- region between Kika and Duruki, marking the boundaries between Hamaltui and Sasusan territories. He would also send the old king Dugisu to Mereh as a diplomat to try to restore the straining relations. As did Dugisu before him, Pašanetes would also take a Meres wife.

### Second attempt at Hamaltar Unification

In 193 Mu Neha, Pašanetes would try again to conquer Saanda. Pašanetes began the new conquest by sending a decoy army from the north-west of the city to draw away the defenders attention. Equipped with the proper resources for a bridge crossing, the real force would be able to attack from the south-west once the Saandui army had begun taking its battle formation This would ensure few Saandui soldiers would return to the city which would prevent a prolonged siege. This attempt was a success and Pašanetes' army of 16,000 Eršsui soldiers slaughtered the 10,000 men Saandui army. The city was left with a garrison of barely 600 and it is said that some Eršsui soldiers had scaled the city walls so quickly, they forgot to notice the Saandui had left the city gates open. Saanda fell to Pašanetes in a single day, marking the beginning of the Hamaltui unification.

Pašanetes works his way down Saanda valley, marches into Mereh, where he forms an unbalanced alliance and Mereh effectively becomes a protectorate. Pašanetes conquers Mapurih and founds a fort on the border with Sarsua. He turns back towards Hamaltar and eventually conquers the final city in the region. He returns north to Eršsa where he declares the Ašueunkime.