Garania (Origo Mundi)

Kingdom of Garania Garania
1097 - ?
Flag
Map of Garania (in blue) during the reign of Jamshid I
Capital	Fotashe
Common languages	Garanian, Azozian, Baenodian, Eskali
Religion	Ulm (Official), Cult of the Angels, Baenodian, Yeronalian, Reckoner Mythology
Government	Absolute Monarchy
King
• 1097	Jamshid I
Historical era	Classical
• Establishment	1097
• Disestablished	?
Currency	Western Shekel
Preceded by Derigi Empire

The Kingdom of Garania was a nation established from the western provinces of the Derigi Empire, which declared independence under the leadership of Jamshid I in the year 1097. The nation would become one of the primary successor states to the Derigi Empire, and become one of the few states to resist annexation to the Syresian Republic, as most of the former empire did.

The region that would later become Garania was initially inhabited by a series of tribes of Baenodian and Yeronalian origin, which were largely isolated from the outside world. In the 410s most of the region was conquered by Ioxemander the Great of Erasidon, which introduced the region to Mesallian and Azozian culture for the first time. Despite this, the region remained largely autonomous and poorly controlled, with only a few key cities and areas of outside settlement being particularly loyal to the government in Azoz over the course of the next few centuries. In 1008 the Mouri Empire launched a major invasion of the west, intending to formally annex the last independent nations of the region. The Mouri invasion of the northwest prompted the nations of the region to band together in a confederacy to resist the attack, forming the Baenodia Confederacy.

List of Rulers:

• Jamshid I (1059–1100)
• Agiris I (1091–1112)
• Jamshid II (1093–1131)
• Sumramid (1115–1189)

History

Fall of the Mouri Empire

Main article: Mouri Empire (Origo Mundi)

By the tenth century the Mouri Empire, centered around Azoz, had begun to fragment. After the weak and ineffective emperor Landrew left no clear heir, succession passed to his sister Arenea, who was also Anka of Edom, in the hopes of bringing Edom within the empire once more. This was controversial, as the empire had never before had a female emperor, leading to the decision polarizing many of the nation's more conservative institutions. Additionally, Arenea was married to Pauodegus, a Yannian ruler of Neum, which led to one of the state's enemies become emperor consort. The western provinces of Azoz, which would later form the core of Garania, became a hub for resistance to this move. Fotashe, Eskaladun, and Outer Valun would be the host of a brief rebellion, which was crushed by Arenea in the first years of her reign.

Before the Anka could arrive in Azoz for her coronation, a conspiracy of nobles proclaimed Elixane the Light as the new emperor, arguably becoming the actual first female Emperor of Azoz. Elixane was the wife of Basajaoun, the Satrap of Eskaladun and First Citizen of the Empire. Her reign only lasted two weeks, however, before she was forcefully deposed by the faction led by Oranomou, son of Nurumun and loyal supporter of the Anka. Elixane would flee from Azoz and move west with her supporters, basing her opposition to Arenea out of Eskaladun. Over the next two years she would instigate rebellion across the nation, in what is often referred to as the Temanite Rebellion, due to the largest battle of the war taking place in Teman.

The Ligerians of Neum at this point had become a potent political force across Tuatha. Although traditionally opposed to Orthodox Ulm, the Ligerians were also largely in support of Arenea's claim as emperor, mainly through her marriage alliance to Liger's son. Basajaoun himself was killed by the Ligerians at the Battle of Teman, and Oranamou was appointed to succeed him as First Citizen. Elixane lived out her life continuing to claim the throne, but after the initial rebellion she no longer had any local support. Pauodegus was officially acknowledged as the consort to the emperor, leading to the political union of Neum and the Mouri Empire once again. However, a council of prominent clerics and the Holy Patra would often petition Arenea to act according to Ulmian norms and against the wishes of the Ligerians.

During the wars with the Zelonuma Emiresq and their allies in Isimandia, which occurred frequently by the end of the tenth century, the western provinces would often be at the forefront of naval warfare around the western sea. A longstanding blockade to Isimandia's trade came into full effect, seeking to embargo the trade of minerals and metals, to seize all banking assets, and to entirely reroute trade in the region away from Isimandia's ports. This would temporarily cause some damage to the banking firms in Gara and Ioxemandaria-Farthest, but far less than the devastation to Isimandia's own economy. Arenea would also restructure the empire and move many offices to Edom. The satraps and administrators who remained more belligerent against the emperor's authority mostly migrated west, setting up a political league centered in the city of Fotashe.

In the 980s this would lead to an open rebellion in the west. Gudian II, Satrap of Fotashe, seized control of all the imperial assets in the banks of Gara, on the grounds that he felt the office of emperor was now vacant. The imperial government would paint the rebellious governor as simply greedy, claiming that his action of robbing imperial funds had been an excuse to enrich himself. An army would be dispatched west to remove him, with the spoils of war promised to be granted to the soldiers and the citizens of the nation once he was removed. The Battle of Fotashe would see Gudian II decisively defeated by a combined army of Edomites, Azozians, and Neumites. The situation in the empire would continue to deteriorate, beginning the eventual civil war between the Neumite and the Edomite factions in Azoz. THe military commander Prackyob, would led western soldiers in the subjugation of Valun and Eskaladun, would become known as the "Lord of the North", and acted as an important figure in western politics. After Telephama was crowned as the new ruler of the Mouri Empire, the western provinces largely supported her and contributed soldiers to her cause, largely due to the influence and persuasion of Prackyob.

Azozian-Reckoner Wars

Main article: Azozian-Reckoner Wars

The fall of Fashnoq during the initial Reckoner invasion of the Mouri.

In 1042 the Mouri Empire was suddenly attacked by the rising Reckoner Empire, beginning a series of wars that would ultimately be the undoing of the Mouri Empire. The western provinces of the empire, which would later form the nation of Garania, participated heavily in the war against the Reckoner, with Garanian conscripts forming a large portion of the army of Azoz. The forces raised by Prackyob to support Telephama, which were marching on the Neumite-held city of Bangui at the time of the invasion, would form the foundation of the first army sent to challenge the Reckoner. The city would initially fall to the Reckoner, but be reconquered by the Edomites under Ashkenaz the following year, following a costly siege. Prackyob and Telephama would eventually retake the city of Azoz with a primarily western army. The Mouri Empire would soon be reformed as the Derigi Empire, led by Telephama's consort, Treeman.

In 1090 the Second Derigi-Reckoner War would begin with the Azozians invading the Reckoner Empire, hoping to retake lost provinces to the south. This campaign would prove disastrous, and would lead to a major weakening of the entire empire. The campaign began with the Battle of Farrae, in which the Derigi attacked the defenders in the east, near the mountains. The mastermind behind the Derigi defeat in Fashnoq a decade earlier, Radata, wasplaced in command of an army to repulse them. Noting that the invaders placed a high concentration of heavy infantry in the center, with cavalry on the flanks, Radata designed his army to have a purposely weak center, with strong infantry and cavalry on the flanks. When the Derigi engaged, his center was defeated and slowly pulled back, and the Derigi infantry continued to push, however, this caused the defending army to slowly wrap around the attackers as they advance, before completely enveloping them. This led to a costly defeat for the Derigi, with the Derigi suffering over 50,000 casualties, compared to the defenders who lost about 6,000.

The Reckoner would take advantage of this victory to invade and seize the Bangui region, but he would become distracted by happenings in the south of his empire, which weakened his ability to continue invading the Azozians. The western provinces would play a major role in the campaigns of this period, most famously in Darien's Raid, in which the Garan Fleet was tasked with raiding the city of Fashnoq to destroy the Reckoner's naval forces, which resulted in one of the few major Azozian victories of this time period. In 1094 the Reckoner installed a puppet king named Abecus to create the Kingdom of Bangui, and he launched an invasion of the west. Abecus would be stopped near Eskaladun by Prackyob, but in 1096 he failed to stop the Reckoner from seizing the city of Azoz itself. A relative of the Reckoner named Gambli was installed on the Derigi throne, leading to further chaos and confusion across the empire. Gambli would abandon Azoz for the city of Teman, while in the north a supposed descendant of Daran the Northern Emperor declared himself Farrajulen II.

Derigi-Garanian Wars

With the western provinces cut off from the rest of the empire by the Reckoner's domain, and with the empire in Azoz seemingly destroyed, the governor of Fotashe and son-in-law of Farrajulen II, Jamshid, declared the western provinces independent, as the Kingdom of Garania. Jamshid would be crowned in the city of Fotashe, where he gathered any remaining Azozian armies in the west to come to his command, as he now defended against the Reckoner and any Derigi attacks as well. A war known as the Derigi-Garanian War would commence, as the various Derigi claimants continued to claim ownership over the western provinces, and ordered Jamshid to be deposed and replaced. The war would continue largely indecisively, as neither party had the forces required for a prolonged campaign in the other's territory. Jamshid would successfully defend against several smaller attacks from the Azozians. Finally in 1106 Farrajulen II launched a major invasion of Garania, but he would be decisively defeated. The Treaty of Fotashe would be signed later that year, which recognized Garania's independence, while the following year Farrajulen II died of disease while in Medan.

The son of Farrajulen II, Iskandar "the Young", would be proclaimed one possible Derigi Emperor, while Abecus of Bangui married his sister, Lucretia, and also claimed the throne for himself. In late 1107 the pair would ally and attempt to conquer the Uriel Islands, but their navy would be defeated by the famed Azozian admiral Darien. With the islands having been abandoned by Azoz, the Uriel Republic would be created, with Darien being elected its first consul. Garania would ally with Uriel, and continued a war against Bangui. In 1112 the Derigi-Garania War would resume, as one of Treeman's adopted sons and heirs, Zadashim, who had been a successful commander in the campaigns against the Khin, launched an invasion of Eskaladun. This led to Bangui and the Derigi fighting on the same side, as they both attempted to defeat Garania.

Jamshid would lead a Garanian army into Eskaladun, managing to achieve a decisive victory at the Battle of Oculun Bridge. This would ultimately force the Azozian invasion back, however, he was unable to retake the north of the former province. Instead he signed a treaty with Zadashim that gave the majority of Eskaladun to Garania, creating a new defensible border at a river and along the Occidental Mountains. Elsewhere, he would also defeat Bangui, creating a desirable border in in the south.

Reign of Jamshid I

In addition to waging several successful war of defense or expansion, Jamshid I is also remembered for helping to lay the foundation for Garanian society and culture. When his reign first began the nation saw a large influx of settlers and refugees from around the western world, as with the crumbling of Azoz, Garania was seen as one of the few stable Azozian states remaining that was safe to flee to. Thousands of people are estimated to have fled to Garania from the south, fleeing the Reckoner's advance, or west to escape the Azozian civil wars. Additionally many Azozian armies that remained by the start of the twelfth century were garrisoned in or near Garania at the time, and Jamshid managed to assume control over most of them, promising any former Azozian soldier land for him and his family if he joined the Garanian army.

The early Garanian military was largely a continuation of the Azozian military, with most of its army made up of entire Azozian detachments that had switched loyalties. The Garan Navy, which had been a major force of the former Mouri Empire, also fell under the control of the Garanians, and would play a major role in protecting the borders of the nation during its early years. The navy would often be used to patrol the southern coast and do battle with Reckoner forces. The strong navy of Garania also allowed it to trade with the Uriel Republic and any other towns of the south that remained. To further grow the nation's economy Jamshid would lift any existing embargoes that existed against the cities of Isimandia, opening major trade with the north once more. He was neutral to the Zelonuma Emiresq and the Darnan cities, who largely ignored Garania in favor of attacking Azoz.

Jamshid I used the large influx of settlers to populate the sparsely Azozian interior of the nation, ordering the construction or rebuilding of dozens of towns and cities to facilitate this migration. The empire would be divided into several more manageable satrapies, known as Nizems, led by loyal administrators during the wars against the east. He would launch campaigns to pacify the Baenodian and Yeronalian populations of the interior, but allowed them to retain their languages and many of their customs. The city of Yimaxsota would be founded as an administrative center, located halfway between Fotashe and Eskaladun. In the east the cities of Tarajan and Vendidan would be founded, while in the western interior the city of Jamara became the most important.

Religiously Jamshid I and his aristocracy were followers of the Ulm religion, but the chaos in Azoz and the influx of new settlers also led to the introduction of many other faiths to the region. Additionally, the traditional Baenodian and Yeronalian faiths continued in small numbers during this time. The fall of Azoz and the destruction of the Great Basilica led to a fracturing of the Ulmian church, as multiple Holy Patras were elected independent of each other. The most prominent early division would be with the election of Holy Patra Dara in 1096, who ruled from the fortified Castilean Wall north of Azoz. In 1109 Jamshid sponsored a more complete break from the Azozian church, which supported the invaders of his territory, and the Western Patracy was created with the election of Holy Patra Ishabakin IV, selected solely by Garanian church leaders. One of Jamshid's own sons would succeed Iskabakin IV in 1112, as Holy Patra Vedun VII.

Garanian Golden Age

Jamshid and his successors would begin a major cultural shift during their lifetime, and their policies helped to usher in a period of cultural, economic, and scientific flourishing in contrast to the chaotic end of the Derigi Empire to its east. Although of Azozian descendant himself, Jamshid would later promote the study and integration of the native cultures of Garania, which had a large impact on the society of the nation. As the power of the old Ulmian authorities diminished, especially following the sacking of Azoz and the schism of the Ulmian Holy Patras, the Garanian monarchs gained a great deal of influence over local religion, and shaped it to achieve their agenda. Jamshid sought to attract scholars, architects, and scientists from the east, and emphasized education and the arts.

To this end the House of Wisdom in Jamara would eventually be commissioned, which functioned as a major public academy and intellectual center. The complex would house a private library, with scribes tasked with copying as many works from the east as possible. It would also house schools and places of debate and discussion, creating a forum for new inventions, ideologies, and works of art. The histories and religious myths of the local peoples would be studied and recorded for the first time, as were texts from Azozian, Mesallian, Eskaladunian, Reckoner, and other sources, creating a unique library of cultural artifacts. Some of the few surviving copies of the works of Palto and Dionide would be preserved in Garania. Many accounts from the fall of Azoz, including contemporary sources from various walks of life during the Reckoner invasion, existed only within Jamara.

During this time the Garanian language began to be developed and standardized, based on the western Azozian dialect and native languages of the region. Important literary works, such as the One Thousand Worlds collection of stories, were developed in the Garanian language, which also highlighted the many cultural aspects of the nation. Jamshid's oldest son, Agiris I, would continue his father's legacy in the arts, spending much of his life as an accomplished writer and scientist, more so than as a king.

After Agiris I's relatively short reign, his more militaristic brother Jamshid II succeeded him. Jamshid II would take greater interest in the wars going on to the east in the Derigi Empire, often supporting certain sides in the hopes of weakening the nation's eastern counterpart. He continued the reformations brought on by his father, which had introduced a rational system of taxation based upon a survey of landed possessions, but funneled tax surplus into military expansion more so than his predecessors. While previously feudal lords within the empire had fielded their own military equipment, followers, and retainers, Jamshid II sought to create a dedicated force of elite soldiers, paid and equipped by the central government. A standard would be created for land forces that each province would have to follow to some percentage, which dictated how many infantry each region had to produce, and dictated that each infantryman be equipped with a shield and spear of the same size and shape. He would also support the creation of elite cavalry, based on older Azozian and Yannian-style cavalry, with riders being selected and trained from a young age. Despite this gradual increase in strength, Garania continued to be largely defensive, and Jamshid II also promoted the creation of new fortresses around the border region, outposts in mountain passes, and new colonies to defend against the east.

Conquest of Baenodia

The conquest of Baenodia would be drawn out process that began concurrently to Jamshid I's attempts to assimilate the population of Garania, which had previously consisted of numerous tribes and highly autonomous groups. As the central government increased its authority, numerous rebels would break out over the coming decades, which often drew the support of the Baenodian Confederacy, which was the sole completely independent nation left to resist Garanian expansion. War eventually broke out between Garania and Baenodia explicitly, which would eventually led to the unification of the Garanian peninsula.

Rebellion against Jamshid II

In 1125 Jamshid II would depart on a military campaign in the northwest, when several central tribes rebelled against his rule, with support from the Baenodian Confederacy. A series of loyal towns and tribes in the region were attacked, with envoys being dispatched to the crown to ask for aid. Jamshid II marched with 6,000 men from the central government in order to respond quickly, and raised another 15,000 men as he marched. Along the way in September he managed to defeat an army of approximately 20,000 tribesmen, with the enemy losing approximately 12,000 men, according to Garanian sources. Jamshid II captured several rebellious towns during his march, where he killed or sold into slavery the adult male population. As Jamshid II marched toward the northern border his scouts came across the rebel army's main camp, and he set out again around midnight to catch the enemy by surprise. He managed to move around the enemy's camp to their rear, lined up his men at dawn and sent three contingents to the camp's rampart. The sudden appearance of the Garanians behind their lines caught the rebels off guard, and they scrambled to defend themselves. In this chaos, Jamshid II ordered a gradual withdraw of his forces, which drew the enemy out of their defenses in order to give chase. As his main army pulled back he succeeded in drawing most of the enemy army out of their camp, and he then ordered cavalry to swing around the flanks and assault the rebel army from all sides as they ran out in a disorganized fashion.

The defenders managed to hold out on the right flank and repulse the cavalry charge of the Garanians, and Jamshid II ordered his elite infantry to form up behind the cavalry and take their place there. A fierce battle took place on three sides, and the Garanians spread their lines thin to hopefully envelope the larger enemy army. Eventually the defenders retreated to their fortifications and the Garanians pursued, but they were unable to follow fully due to a constant barrage of rocks and javelins thrown against them. As the main Garanian army distracted the defenders, Jamshid II personally led a detachment to attack the camp from the flank, and he managed to breach the enemy's defenses. The defenders would be defeated and killed in large numbers, and the Garanians proceeded to loot the camp and several surrounding towns, causing much of the rest to issue surrenders in the coming days. As the Garanian army rested there, rumors reached Jamshid II that another rebel army had compelled numerous forts in the mountains to rebel, and had dispatched another tribal army westward to raid the major cities in the west and southwest. Jamshid II marched south with the riverside on his right flank, while the Nizem of Ioxemandaria, Xeracles, was tasked with raising a western army. Xeracles would raise a Garanian army and also contract an additional 10,000 tribal mercenaries, before marching northeast to meet the advancing army.

Xeracles eventually engaged with the enemy army and managed to push them eastward toward the river. There the enemy army constructed a camp with the river guarding their flank, and they deployed their army in the west to counter Xeracles' force. Instead of engaging he ordered his men to hold back and wait defensively, and for several days neither force engaged. Xeracles managed to get into contact with Jamshid II, who was marched along the river and was within range of the enemy encampment. Finally, Xeracles ordered his army to assault the camp in the middle of the night, which the enemy army began to counter. Xeracles was unable to make much progress, and his army began to lose ground, but his distraction allowed Jamshid II to sneak across the river largely undetected, and he assaulted the camp from the rear without hesitation. The result was the complete destruction of the rebel army, largely ending the rebellion of the central tribes. Jamshid II would spend the rest of the year and much of the next campaigning across the region and subduing any last form of resistance, and he would also settle Garanian veterans across the region.

In the summer of 1126 Jamshid II would march into the border region, where numerous towns had helped supply and support the rebellion, and he began pillaging the region. Numerous smaller garrisons would be defeated, before the Baenodians marched south with a large army to contest him. In an initial engagement the Garanians would be ambushed and forced to withdraw after suffering a large number of casualties, although Jamshid II would regroup his forces and attack the larger army a second time. Although the Baenodian army was not completely defeated, the Garanians achieved a strategic victory, and rather than continue fighting the Baenodians sent envoys promising to end support for rebels and to pay tribute. This ended Jamshid II's expedition, and over the next few years he attempted to divide the confederacy by supporting a series of client kings within it, arranging for private arrangements with tribes closer to the border, and using intrigue to convince several leaders that the tribute payments were being paid unequally. Although he would not invade the Baenodians again, Jamshid II claimed hegemony over much of the region until his death, after which the arrangements between the two nations began to deteriorate.

Family Tree

• Jamshid I (1059–1120) - King of Garania (1097–1120)
  –Jacara, daughter of Farrajulen II, Derigi Emperor
  • Vedun VII (1090–1124) - Holy Patra [of the Western Patracy] (Elec. 1112)
    –Sarai, daughter of Zavares of Uriel
    • Agiris (1118–) - Nizem of Baradura (1137–)
  • Agiris I (1091–1122) - King of Garania (1120–1122)
  • Jamshid II (1093–1131) - King of Garania (1122–1131)
    • Suhramid (1115–1159)
      –Awan, daughter of Isimurs (1065–1129) - Consul of Uriel (Elec. 1110)
    • Gudian (1119–1197) - Nizem of Agripala (1150)
    • Tahmurs (1120–1180) - Jenizem of Arcurijen (1150)
  • Jacara (1094–1150)
    –Maijasam (1089–1160) - Nizem of Garan
    • Zavara (1114–1190)
      –Pescalus "the Gambler" of Fashnoq (1014-1200) - Ista (1131)
      • Jeton (1130–1212) - Jenizem of Enavopud (1159), Rasdar of Ilsmud (1150), Ista (1148)
        –Dara (1133–1201), daughter of Yictarun, Governor of Inner Valun
      • Abecus "the Scourged" (1131–1160) - Ista (1150)
      • Cardina (1133–1178)
      • Logarias (1135–1220) - Rasdar of Andursbad (1150), Head of the Royal Guard (1163–1190)
      • Rouletus (1138–1209) - Arch-Croupier of Fotashe (1180)
      • Vingtenun (1140–1230)
  • Izada (1096–1161)
    –Tahmurs (1187–1143) - Nizem of Tarajan (1108)
  • Sauhnemun (1099–1129)