Sygrian Kingdom
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Kingdom of Sygria Sყծછα𐒙 kʚ𐒙ծẟ𐐫რ (Sygrian)
𐍃𐌸𐌲𐍂𐌹𐌰𐌽 𐌺𐌹𐌽𐌲𐌳𐍉𐌼 (Lotharic) | |||||||||
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 Coat of arms
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| Capital | Oenomanion | ||||||||
| Common languages | Sygrian, Phannite | ||||||||
| Religion | Sygrian Polytheism | ||||||||
| Government | Pre-Feudal Tyranny | ||||||||
| Tyrant | |||||||||
| Legislature | Great Council of 50 | ||||||||
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The Sygrian Kingdom, or the Kingdom of Sygria, appear first in history as Tylissian colonists which had traveled north along the eastern coastline of the Cursed Sea, and assimilated with various native tribes of unknown provenance. While initially they considered themselves Tylissians, as time went on the land became known as Sygria, and it’s inhabitants Sygrians, possibly originating from an extinct native language. The Sygrians first constructed the city of Syrarta on the coast, built a number of fishing villages, and gradually assumed control of interior lands further north and established a series of colonies inland towards the Bleak-Wind Mountains. Due to proximity, the Sygrians had been aware of the existence of the Phannite Kingdom for quite some time, but it wasn't until the Sygrian tyrant Oenomaeus II was approached by the legendary Phannite king Murdus that the two powers had begun interacting. As Oenomaeus II had abandoned the unprofitable colonies furthest inland, he had agreed to officially cede the land to Murdus in exchange for trade agreements. Thereafter, Sygria and the Phannites would experience shifting decades of fair and poor relations, going to war several times over the course of their existences.
Sygria grew into creating colonies of its own through the Cursed Sea, and became known in ancient times for its intrepid explorers and dedicated settlers, having sent adventurers north to ancient Avennia and making first contact with the people of Gwion. The Sygrians also made contact with the Irdoxians, living within the Bleak-Wind Mountains. Sygria became an important trading hub of the north Cursed Sea. Sygria regularly remained neutral in the affairs of over nation in the region, mostly due to suffering constant invasions and border incursions from the southern barbarian kings of Gethria and Lotharia. Several decades of raids and pressure from the southern barbarians drained Sygrian resources and manpower, and limited its ability to flex influence on other states. It is left up to speculation how the region would have been shaped had Sygria not been attacked by the barbarian kings for hundreds of years. Over time, Sygria lost much of its far colonies and southern lands. However, the Sygrians held their position as a bulwark of trade, commerce and scholarship well into the late Iron Age.
History
Sygrian City-States
The city-states were the first regional Sygrian polities, situated in the southern parts the Golden Coast. As the area grew in population, they eventually organized into larger cities, built walls, formed armies for protection, created their own governments, and collected taxes. Historically, the city-states are grouped together by Lotharic scholars, on the basis of the cities being mostly homogeneous Sygrian. Cultural exchange between the Sygrians and surrounding societies is seen as a specific regional phenomena, particularly in light of significant linguistic distinctions between Sygrian and surrounding languages in the area, particularly Phannite, which is not mutually intelligible. The Sygrians maintained contact with foreign tribes, bringing in new ideas and technologies.
The Sygrians learned new agricultural techniques from a now-extinct eastern tribe, providing the Sygrians with relaible and abundant food supply. Trade made it possible for the Sygrians to obtain improved tools and better tool making techniques.
The invasions of the Frumarii sea raiders had led to new craft techniques, specifically in maritime transport. The Frumarii had begun raiding the coast of the Golden Peninsula (now colloquially known as Sygria), occupying much of the land and destroying Sygrian sites that they encountered. The event caused numerous city-states to form larger military-associations and a series of leagues (federations of city-states).
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The development of stronger leagues led to the Sygrians adopting more complex governance systems and social structures, as well as adopting more advanced forms of conflict resolution such as courts of law. The leagues of city-states lasted for a period of roughly 200 years, successfully preventing further Frumarii attacks and deterring nearby tribal clans from invading.
War of the Three Leagues
As leaders of individual city-states became more obsessed with power, internal conflict was becoming a chronic issue within many of the city-state leagues, many of which in the west were completely dissolved due to conflict. In the east, a Sygrian commander by the name of Dagobius, who was serving as a frontier military prefect at the time, was proclaimed "tyrant of the Eastern League" by his army. Dagobius initially seized control of 3 major cities, and later carried out a series of attacks which expanded the Eastern League from 3 to 8 major cities, with the help of barbarian auxiliaries from the eastern tribes. His power was later bolstered when the Northern League swore allegiance after a military takeover by commander Qenilocgni. Dagobius then shifted his attention south towards Amarissos, which was considered the largest city at the time, where a group of aristocratic elite had claimed power. Mutinies had affected the military capacity of the Amarissos League, as many commanders, such as Eburo and Cottilus shifted their allegiance to support Dagobius. In a last attempt to maintain power, the leadership of the Amarissos League attempted to negotiate with Dagobius, but all proposals were rejected. Dagobius began the siege of Amarissos, which held out for almost a week before the ruling elite decided to surrender.
Early Sygrian Kingdom
With the Amarissos League conquered by Dagobius and and the might of the eastern and northern leagues behind him, Dagobius was proclaimed "Tyrant of the Sygrians". While on a military campaign to conquer the remaining western Sygrian city-states, Dagobius was killed under circumstances that are still debated and Velugius assumed the title of tyrant shortly after. Velugius was aware that he had to return to Amarissos in order to secure his position, and abandoned the campaign to secure the remaining western border cities near Phannite land, which would fall to ruin decades later. When peace was restored in Sygria, Velugius became concerned with asserting his legitimacy.
Velugius had convinced the priesthood to support him, confirming that his rule was sanctioned by the divine. Velugius had reorganized the governmental structure by giving military provincial prefects civil authority to appease his generals. Velugius was succeeded by Arimanus, another prominent military official. The position of Tyrant of the Sygrians remained with military commanders until the reign of Ochesius, who had successfully managed to pass the title to his son Reginius, and his son thereafter to Atepatus. Ochesius spent years working to pass the title to Reginius, as the effective power of a new tyrant depended on the support of key institutions. The tyrant needed the support of both the civil institutions, the provincial governors, and the clergy, as well as that of the army and its commanders.
Phannite Encounters
Around 1200, the Sygrians and Phannites had been interacting for some time. The first major interaction between Sygria and the young Phannite Kingdom was in 1259, when Tyrant Oenomaeus II of Sygria and King Murdus of the Phannite Kingdom had met in-person. This meeting was organized to discuss the status of the former western Sygrian city-states, since fallen to ruin. Oenomaeus agreed to cede the land to Murdus in exchange for the hand of his daughter Mardina in marriage. Murdus agreed, and the lands fell to the Phannites.
Early Sygrian Colonies
The Sygrians first established colony settlements on the Shores of Plenty to the west around 1130, and what is known today as Dogwood Point to the east around 1350. It is speculated that the Sygrians attempted to establish colonies further east at the mouth of the Thorn River, or even further along the shores of the Soundless Hinterlands. It is believed that far eastern colonies were either destroyed or abandoned due to Frumarii raids or attacks from the Eastern Tribes. Initially, the colonies to the west were a great success, partly due to opening trade routes with Tylissia, while the eastern colonies struggled.
First Conflict With Eastern Tribes
1478 is the first recorded conflict with an eastern tribe. Tyrant Silanus began a series of campaigns to conquer the lands between Sygria and the colonies in Dogwood Point, but experienced heavy resistance from the tribes within and suffered great casualties. The strongest of the tribes in the Dogwood area were the Dalagni (translates roughly to "master of the dogs"), an uncivilized clan of fierce warriors. After failing to make significant progress, Silanus instead turned his attention north, attempting to avoid the Dalagni tribes. In 1480, Silanus launched a new campaign, this time further north where crossing the Wood River was easier. Initial advances were successful, conquering and enslaving several unremarkable tribes until coming into contact with the Audegni. The Dalagni and Audegni came to the conclusion that their survival meant putting aside their differences and working together against the Sygrians. Beginning in 1480 and continuing until 1484, an invasion of Dalagni and Audegni in the Sygrian frontier territories was repulsed. In 1487, another invasion was launched, but was defeated by local Sygrian forces with relative ease, but they marked the beginning of what was to come. While extending Sygrian reach by thousands of furlongs across the Wood River, Silanus was struggling to supply his armies with not only food, but much needed reinforcements. Instead, Silanus initiated negotiations with 8 tribes in the area, including the Dalagni and Audegni. In the event, a truce was agreed upon and the tribes withdrew from the border, but no permanent agreement was reached. The truce lasted until 1490, when frontier attacks from the Dalagni resumed. It was during this time, around 1529 that tyrant Oenomaeus III built the city of Oenomanion and made it the new center of power for Sygria.
Reforms of Velenius the Wise
Velenius I became Tyrant of the Sygrians in 1820 after the death of Boritus III. Velenius was a senior bureaucrat, elevated to tyrant by the Commander of the Palace Guard, Donnius. The reasons for this are unclear, but presumably Donnius knew that the position of tyrant was dangerous and believed that he could control and manipulate Velenius. After being installed as Tyrant, Velenius replaced senior administrators with others loyal to himself, coming from the aristocratic class. Donnius was arrested and replaced with a more loyal individual.
Velenius saw his work as that of a restorer, a figure of authority whose duty it was to return the Sygria to peace, to recreate stability and justice where the eastern tribes had destroyed it. He arrogated, regimented and centralized political authority on a massive scale. Velenius took to wearing a gold crown and jewels, and forbade the use of purple cloth to all but the tyrant. His subjects were required to prostrate themselves in his presence; the most fortunate were allowed the privilege of kissing the hem of his robe. Civic buildings were designed to keep the face of the tyrant perpetually in view, and always in a seat of authority. The tyrant became a figure of transcendent authority, a man beyond the grip of the masses. His every appearance was stage-managed. He destroyed the illusion of government being a cooperative affair among tyrant, army, and administrators. In its place he established an effectively autocratic structure. Within his court Velenius maintained a permanent body of legal advisers, men with significant influence on his re-ordering of juridical affairs. There were also two finance ministers, dealing with the separate bodies of the public treasury and the private domains of the tyrant, and the Commander of the Palace Guard, the most significant person of the whole. Velenius's reduction of the Palace Guards to the level of a simple garrison for Oenomanion lessened the military powers of its commander – but the office retained much civil authority. The commander kept a staff of hundreds and managed affairs in all segments of government: in taxation, administration, jurisprudence, and minor military commands, the Palace Guard Commander was often second only to the tyrant himself.
To avoid the possibility of usurpations, to facilitate a more efficient collection of taxes and supplies, and to ease the enforcement of the law, Velenius doubled the number of provinces. The provinces were grouped into 16 regions, each governed by an appointed official called a Legate. The dissemination of law to the provinces was facilitated by Velenius's reform of the provincial structure, which meant that there were now more governors ruling over smaller regions and smaller populations, making it more difficult for military commanders to usurp power from the tyrant. The reforms made by Velenius prevented generals from being easily proclaimed as tyrant and stabilized the office for almost a century. Velenius was succeeded by his brother Ariugus in 1851, who took the regal name Oenomaeus IV, who was also succeeded by his son Epistor after him.
Continued Conflict with the Eastern Tribes
The summer of 1926 marked the beginning of a massive offensive by the eastern tribesmen, mostly united under King Loyvukir. The Sygrian army of four legions was soundly defeated, and Sygrian tyrants Ocytius and his son Marsyas were both killed in battle. It was one of the worst defeats suffered by the Sygrian Kingdom against the eastern tribes. The defeat was a disaster for Sygria. The tyrants' deaths led to more political instability at home; and the loss of the four legions allowed repeated incursions, pushing the Sygrian frontier back to the Wood River. Tyrant Talotius, the first military commander to be appointed as tyrant since Velenius, was able to defend the river crossings to prevent the eastern tribesmen from invading Sygria proper. By this point, Sygria had lost all of its colonial territories and eastward expansions.
Decline
1926 marked the beginning for the decline for the Sygrian Kingdom. The defeat at the hands of the eastern tribes had left the Sygrian armies in ruin and struggling to defend their borders. After Talotius, Sygria suffered from a series of ineffective and uncapable tyrants which waged expensive wars in an attempt to push back the eastern tribes. The heavy cost of this warfare slowly drained Sygria's treasury and contributed to the gradual decline. Manpower to replenish the army was at an all time low. Weapon production struggled. Food shortages were common. Nepotism, no control over administration and army, and infighting among generals led to a lack of cohesion which eventually affected the efficiency of the military. In 1956, a heavy tax burden put upon the state by tyrant Rextugeos eventually led to further economic decline. Sygria was increasingly beset by droughts, famine, civil unrest, and corruption of officials. The power of Sygria grew so weak that eastern tribes were advancing well into Sygrian territory without resistance, and tyrants couldn't assemble an army effective enough to make a significant impact and turn the tide of the wars. The culmination of these events and a series of ineffective tyrants had stripped the effective power of Sygria by 2500.
Collapse
After 2500 until its collapse in 2756, Sygria had 23 tyrants. The position of Sygria remained increasingly difficult, as its aggressive neighbours – the eastern tribes advancing westward and the the growing power of Lotharic Kingdom to the north caused Sygria to suffer several devastating attacks from 2530 to 2552. In 2585, the Lotharic Kingdom invaded northern Sygria and in just two years the Lotharic king Hereweald II defeated the Sygrian army and captured Rurias, the major center of power in nothern Sygria. In this desperate situation the Sygrian tyrant Byzomenus abdicated in 2587 in favor of his Commander of the Palace Guard, Rerikon, who would rule for three years before being killed by his own troops and replaced with another general Ignumus. The tyrants who followed by Ignumus (Jarian VI, Rogacator, Bassodius and Gaideratus II) were all killed by their own troops. Gaideratus II became known for situating all remaining Sygrian armies around the capital city of Oenomanion, effectively giving the now undefended lands to the Lotharians and eastern tribesmen without resistance. When the armies could not be payed or fed, Gaideratus II was killed by his own troops, and replaced with Eurystheus in 2750. Eurystheus was the last tyrant of the Sygrians. He ruled for three months before fleeing to the Tylissia upon the beginning of the siege of Oenomanion by eastern tribesmen. The Sygrians began a mass exodus across the Bay of Tears to the Phannite Kingdom for safety. By 2756, the Sygrian Kingdom was dead, and all of its former lands were occupied by the Lotharic Kingdom and various eastern tribes and fledgling barbarian kingdoms.
Aftermath
The fall of Oenomanion to the eastern tribes marked the end of the Sygrian Kingdom. Its last tyrant Eurystheus had fled to Tylissia with a small retinue of loyal men and what money they could take from the treasury. The Lotharic Kingdom had taken all nothern regions of Sygria and began a period of Lotharicization. Sygrian temples were destroyed or converted to Lotharic citadels. Civil officials were replaced by Lotharic nomarchs and vast swathes of land were granted to a new Lotharic landed-elite. While Sygrian culture and language remained for some time, Lotharic kings eventually ended up persecuting the Sygrians.