Socotca

**Socotca** is a nation of nomadic herders originating in Šalmaram the northern side of the Zabirath Mountains. At historic times, they resided in the southeastern semi-arid regions on the endless open savannas. Most of their livelyhood was drawn from huge herds of cattle and horse with goats and sheep being more common in the rocky, arid foothills of the Zabirath. Some groups also practiced agriculture in the relative fertile riverbeds but toiling the land was seen as a humilating labour thus relegated to women and slaves.

Socotca society is centered around patriarchal structures. The oldest capable man of a dencendancy is the family head, while the most prestigious family father is the clan leader and so on. Clans are endogamous groups clustered into tribes latter serving as the main point of self-identification for Socotca. According to oral tradition there were 133 before they crossed the Zabiraths and traditional structures started to break up. For at least six generations before the long trek over the mountains the family Sârkanu has ruled over the Socotca with Iftin, the conqueror of Ahargan being the most prominent.

High-ranking Socotca males practiced polygamy while the average ones were monogamous. Wives from inside the clan were considered superior to those taken from other clans, with foreign-born women or enslaved concubines occupying the bottom rungs of the ladder. Instead of primogeniture Socotca practiced seniority in matters of royal inheritance passing the power along the oldest capable male member of a dynasty. If the ruler was deemed incompetent or he have broken the traditional code of conduct prescribed by long-standing traditions a general assembly of all clan elders was called together to dethrone the dynasty and appoint a new one. Sârkanus have gotten their title in the manner during the last such gathering.

Socotca nation was by no means a small one. Although not as numerous as the populace of the Subcontinent, they could supply an army of no less than two hundred thousands mounted warriors. Majority of them were mounted archers wearing light cloth or leather armour alongside a saber or short lance with recurving composite bow and arrows as main weapons. Heavy cavalry was armoured from tip to the toe in chain and plate, even the horses received considerable protection. In the open plains most encounters were fought between the fast, agile archer bands striking there before retreating while large pitched battles or fight against infantry was uncommon. Incipient changes were already known before Iftin Sârkanu was enthroned somewhere around 770 but he was the one who moved the army away from the levy system and turned the Socotca into a professional military worthy of the best Hadašhim traditions.

After Ahargan fell in mere two years of 777-778 sweeping changes took place among the Socotca. Iftin has had the power to reorganise the military from a tribal to a professional one which gave him independence from the clan elders. The old bureucracy, left in place by the conquerors strenghtened his position even further. With the teachings of the Aminad dominant amongst the populace (that demanded absolute obedience to the ruler up to the case of apostasy) it wasn't a hard task to turn the deliberative polity into a more autocratic one. Settlement also impacted the social standing of females among the Socotca. Herding became less important as there was few place for it. Livestock was held in stalls to spare the valuable land for farming. Many lower-class males became farmers an unimaginable disgrace only a generation before, while the upper classes were turned into landlords, administrators, full-time warriors assisting the dynasty. Before the great migration female herders weren't unknown, with many girls and women enjoying considerable freedom in personal matters. This largely evaporated, women were not allowed to divorce anymore in concord with the spirit of Aminad, married spouses weren't considered equal as wives owed obedience to their husbands. It was a serious departure from the prior legal standing when marriage was a more business-like arrangement.

Significant amount of northern immigrants arrived to Ahargan after the Kingdom was established. Among them were marchants, scholars, scientists, philosophers but also mercenaries, criminals, other soldiers of fortune. With the overwhelming majority of the rural population either enslaved or otherwise bonded during the conquest, the Aminad quickly spread as this offered the only chance of manumission to be a free person. Cities were spared as Iftin recognised their inherent value. Most of them was given three days to surrender or to get ransacked. Urban areas weren't fortified in this period, not in the interior of the Empire as there was no need for it. Only the capital and some other major centres had all-encompassing defences, making the pillage ven easier.

Socotca remained for a long time a privileged class in Ahargan. Only the tribesmen were permitted to enroll into the military or to hold an office in the administration. When the restrictions were lifted in 937, the once humble herders were at the helm of a mighty empire most powerful among their corelligionists, even stronger than the Hadašhims, namesakes to the region. Around three-quarter of the population in their home region followed their imperial creed, while there was a serious number of converts in the Freelands and other outer areas too.

1058 finds the Socotca in a weakened position. Twentyone years before they almost conquered Hadašham when they stood below the walls of Tir-Našadar. Victory was snatched from their hands by the then-sixteen years old crown prince, Nimir who led his mustered forces over the Birith Mountains into the Freelands detaching them from the home front. Six years of war commenced with brutal exchange of blows until Ahargan must sue for peace due to another staggering defeat of their main army.