Ashura

Ashura, officially the Third Dominion of Ashura, is a country in the Nándor Peninsula of Syltör. It is usually considered the third iteration of a unified Ashuran state, a successor to the ancient Ashuran Dominions, and a vassal of the Second Aurlûnoren-Ryzani Empire. It is primarily inhabited by the Ashurans, a combination of various related Dune Elven ethnic groups. Though there are many Ashuran groups, the nation has historically been dominated by the Nabut and the Qanti. The country gives its namesake to the Ashuran Desert, the dinosaur genus Ashuratitan, and much more. Its capital is Qamiya, which houses the famous Obelisk of Qamiya, and its most-populated city is Tyalu.

Ancient Dominions
Ancient Ashura is a general term for the period of Ashuran history between 6,100 BCA and 200 ACA, when the region was dominated by the First and Second Dominions of Ashura.

Early Dominion
Around the year 6,100 BCA, Nashabet I became queen of the Nabut tribe. At the time, it was one of the weakest tribes in the region, controlling only a small plain adjacent to the Nirine river. Through diplomacy and warfare, Nashabet unified many nomadic groups into a single state, called the Nabut Confederation. It is said Nashabet was given the right to rule by the river god Nirine. As a legion of soldiers, commanded by Nashabet, walked near the river, Nashabet saw a sacred red hippopotamus viewing her troops. When she approached it, it began to guide them around the river. After nearly 4 days of walking, they reached the end of the river, where the hippopotamus disappeared. As the sun blinded Nashabet's eyes, a woman made out of pure water appeared. Before disappearing, she gave Nashabet a crook made of water, which solidified into Golden Copper when Nashabet touched it. The local Azeral tribes took this as confirmation of her right to rule, and so they founded the Nabut confederation along the northern Nirine river. In the year 5,500 BCA, Nashabet's descendant, Tahabal, became king of the Nabut confederation. The confederation was still a small state controlling only a few riverine cities. This changed when Tahabal was visited by a winged woman, who in some ways resembled a lioness. She told Tahabal, "You have done well with your people. You shall now complete the destiny that Nashabet aspired to those many years ago. You will travel the vast Ashuran Desert alone. There, you shall touch the gleaming glow of the obelisk with the palm of your hand. With the crook of Nirine, you will grasp, and embrace the stone. Only the purest heart, with a mother's love, shall obtain the flail to truly unify this land." Following her instructions, Tahabal set out north into the desert, finding a great obelisk in the center of it. Upon touching it, as the woman had told him, he felt his ancestor's love and the heart of all the Ashuran tribes beating as one. As the blessed of A'ashia, he declared himself Pharaoh of all Ashurans, marking the beginning of the Dominion of Ashura, and the start of the Tahabalid Dynasty. His influence in the region was still small however, so he began the conquests to unify the tribes. He renamed the temple settlement of Anopis to Menat-Kahun, and it became the capital of his new empire.

Tahabal and his descendants unified the entire Nirine river, and soon began plans to unify Oraman, the peninsula comprising of most of east Sharla. Their method of expansion was comprised primarily of warfare and eviction. A notable conflict was against the Yaza tribe, who controlled the easternmost reaches of Sharla. They became rich through coastal trade with neighboring tribes in Ummarnu and Cuiciloa. In the year 4,446 BCA, the Dominion took over the tribe. Rather than integrating the Yazim, they stripped them of their wealth and put them in brutal slavery. On the Yazim land, they founed A'ashkotis, which later became Qamiya. As the Tahabalids expanded the Dominion of Ashura, they began construction of forts to protect their borders from barbarian nomads. Notable forts were Pi-Medjayim, which served as a base for their northern expansion, and an unnamed fort near Tyalu, which was abandoned shortly after its construction.

Golden Age
In the year 3,500 BCA, Ashura controlled all of the Sharla region, so its Pharaoh Heshar-nefer began looking for other avenues of conquest. She decided to declare war on the warlike northern tribes of the desert. Her justification for this was their constant raider attacks. Upon winning, she began employing their men in her other conquests. One of these men was the commander Matipesh. His excellent ability made him a favorite of Heshar-nefer's, and she tasked him with the conquest of the Belet tribes. Matipesh fulfilled her request, and the speed of his military campaigns brought him only more power. As his power increased, he became ambitious, and soon he claimed the title of Pharaoh for himself. He and his troops marched to Menat-Kahun and overthrew Heshar-nefer. Heshar-never was executed and her body was burned, which insured she could not get to the afterlife.

Under the Matipeshid Dynasty, Ashura experienced a golden age. This period saw the most powerful Pharaohs and the rapid conquest of the Ashuran desert. Though Matipesh was originally not a Nabut, his descendants were quickly assimilated into the Nabut tribe. This period also began conflicts with the neighboring Almador. Though Almador was more technologically advanced, the desert acted as a natural shield, which protected the Ashurans from Almadorian incursions.

Hundred Armies Period
The Hundred Armies Period, named after the many conquests of Ashura during its time, also known as the Foreign Dominance Period, was marked by the conquest of all the former Ashuran land. Historical records of this period are sparse, with only a few outside sources giving us details. This is generally attributed to the lack of record-keeping by Azeral tribes after the Dominion's collapse, as well as the destruction of many texts by floods and storms.

Establishment of Viridian
Shortly after the Dominion's fall, the Order of the Green, a monastic order based primarily on the island of Greenhaven, invaded the Nándorian coast, primarily the region of modern-day Alda and Tyalu. They met little-to-no resistance, and continued their occupation inland. In 825 ACA, radical political shifts inside the order led to the Grandmaster renaming the order to Viridian and reducing their focus on colonial expansion, which ended their conquests for the time being.

Territory of Alum
At an unknown point in time, the Confederation of Ryzan sent troops into the Ashuran Lands. At first, they occupied many ancient cities, including the historic capital of Qamiya, and visited the most powerful tribes in the region, threatening to attack if they did not promise loyalty to Ryzan. When the tribes refused, Ryzan began an all-out war with them, which damaged the Ashuran population significantly and caused the scattering of many tribes. After defeating all resistance in the region, Ryzan founded the territory of Alum, which officially administered the region. It is important to note that, de facto, it only administered Sneedistan and other populous coastal cities, with tribes deep in the desert acting basically independently. Though Ryzan could have enforced their authority in these regions, it would have been too costly and fruitless, as it was hard to build infrastructure, and maritime trade was much more profitable.

Scramble for Ryzan
After the collapse of Ryzan, and the following Scramble for Ryzan, virtually all the Ryzani holdings in Alum were given to foreign powers. Viridian negotiated the annexation of Sharla, which marked their first expansion into Ashura since their initial invasions as the Order of the Green. Huitca annexed the Sneedistan peninsula and a bit of desert west of it. The Takumakken Empire, which had controlled the western edges of Ashura, expanded all the way to the Sawiya Oasis. The destruction caused by the Takumakken expansion convinced many Ashuran tribes to flee to the eastern regions. Following the partition of the Takumakken Empire, Viridian was granted all the Takumakken lands in Ashura. Slowly, tribes returned to the western lands, and Viridian began efforts to improve infrastucture in the region. They attempted to found their own settlement, named Balim, outside the Nabut fortress of Pi-Medjayim, but it was unsuccessful, as the entire population succumbed to disease. Following the failures of their investments in Ashura, Viridian decided to cut its losses. They sold their newly-gained land back to Ryzan for $50,000.

Ryzan remained the dominant power in Ashura until the collapse of the First Aurlûnoren-Ryzani Empire in 849 ACA. It was decided that the union would be split in half, with the west going to Sareariel Lelya-Earcala of the Aurlûnor Velande, and the east going to Ryzan. The western section included the territory of Alum, and once the dissolution occured, Aurlûnor reorganized Alum into the Erúme Province, which means "Desert Province" in Aurlûnoren. Shortly after, in 855 ACA, Viridian voted to abolish its government, and ceded all its territory to Aurlûnor and Huitca. Aurlûnor was given the Ashuran parts, and organized it into the Sharla Province. The origin of the name "Sharla" is disputed, though many say it comes from the word "Azeral", another term for Dune Elves. Sareariel Leyla-Earcala also proclaimed herself pharaoh of Ashura. At this point, Aurlûnor controlled the entirety of Ashura, marking an end to the Hundred Armies Period.

Aurlûnor Province
Between 855 ACA and 945 ACA, Ashura was part of the Aurlûnor Velande as the provinces of Erúme and Sharla. Though officially under Aurlûnoren law, there was minimum enforcement of it in the region. It also had the freeest religion laws, allowing practice of the native Ashuran Pantheon.

Reconstruction and Industrialization
Some of the biggest impacts Aurlûnor had on Ashura were the various reconstruction projects, which were primarily lead by Azan Shaer. Most cities in Ashura had been virtually in ruin since the fall of the 2nd dominion. The historic city of Qamiya, which was renamed to Ebonimemar, was the center of some of the largest reconstruction efforts. Though the reconstruction was primarily modeled on the original city, there were a number of changes. The size and grandeur of the city's features was exaggerated, including the pyramids and the base of the Qamiya Obelisk. The architecture also resembled a more traditional Nabut style than the original city. On the hill of Hēwēpēt-nātir, Azan Shaer began construction of the Grand Mosque, which in the original city was a simple temple. Though Qamiya reconstruction efforts are still ongoing, Aurlûnoren reconstruction brought life back into the city and restored its place as a center of culture

Fifth Barbarian Rally
The Fifth Barbarian Rally was a series of conflicts between the Aurlûnor Velande and squatter tribes that had settled illegally in their nation. Unlike the other Aurlûnoren Barbarian Rallies, it was not a singular war, but a chain of separate wars and evictions grouped together under one name. It lasted from 881 ACA, when Sareariel-Leyla-Earcala first declared the rally, to 891 ACA, when Aurlûnoren forces took the last squatter fortress. Though it took place all throughout Aurlûnor, the majority of conflicts took place in the Ashuran provinces. They employed a large number of Ashuran soldiers, especially those of the warlike Kidat tribe. The Ashuran populace was extremely supportive of the wars, as they considered the squatter tribes to be disgracing their gods and their desert, though the destruction at some battles significantly slowed down reconstruction efforts.

Betaburg
In 887 ACA, a tribe known as New Betaburg settled on an island in the southern Erúme province. Upon hearing of this, the Listēmirill government organized for a diplomat along with armed guards to discuss with them. Originally planning to negotiate an absorption of the tribe into the nation, diplomacy quickly went downhill. The Betaburgians claimed not to know about the Velande's existence and refused to join them. They made openly hostile remarks and claimed that they could find a better use of the land than Aurlûnor, which seemingly outraged the Aurlûnoren party.

There was seemingly no hope in diplomatically removing or absorbing the tribe, so the group began planning how to forcibly remove them. Due to the ongoing Fifth Barbarian Rally, it was legal and encouraged for government groups to attack anti-Aurlûnor tribes on sight. The guards set up a camp outside the fortified section of the island and constructed platforms that allowed them to scale the walls. They contacted the government and arranged for more soldiers to be sent to the region. The Betaburgians had little resources and the Aurlûnoren guards were fully armed. The Aurlûnoren plan was to kill enough of the Betaburgians that they would have no choice but to leave. In hindsight, it would have been challenging to do this, even if unexpected events didn't occur.

The next morning, the attack began. At first, it went extremely well for the Aurlûnorens. They breached the defenses and began massacring the tribal populace. One of the most deadly fighters was Jun-se Khamen al-Qamiya. Because of how many Jun-se killed, the tribals built a statue of them. It's still unknown why. This slaughter continued for a few more hours, until the Betaburgians sealed themselves in a wall tower, which protected them from harm. At this point, the Aurlûnorens realized they could not force Betaburg to leave yet, but they were too proud to leave the battle without having won. They settled around the tower for a final siege.

That night, while the siege was still continuing, fighting broke out again. At first, they thought the Betaburgians had snuck out of the tower, but they soon saw that it was a group of marauders of Ulfaeng. Ulfaeng had snuck up on them while they were besieging the tower, and began killing them and taking their loot. Aurlûnor was unprepared for more ground combat, as they thought the siege would be won soon. Rather than fight back, their soldiers attempted to escape. Many failed, and were rounded up and killed. It was a humiliating and humbling end to an otherwise successful battle. It was considered so shameful that for many months, informaton about the battle was carefully controlled, so that the public would not find out about this event. After the Aurlûnoren army left, Betaburg seemed to recover. Aurlûnor simply left Betaburg alone, until the tribe died out in 896 ACA, likely due to disease.

Raktroki Kellerists
In 890 ACA, it was discovered that multiple Aurlûnoren forests, including the Ha Anga Forest, had been completely burned down. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that these attacks were perpetrated by a people known as the Kellerists. Kellerist practitioners believed that their god, Keller, wanted them to cause a climate catastrophe by destroying and polluting the land of Rathnir. They would burn large amounts of coal, engage in excessive resource mining, and destroy nature, seemingly to further this goal. Aurlûnor regarded the Kellerists as heretical Wraiths and set up armies outside of forests, whose job it was to protect nature and defeat any Kellerist attack. This caused outrage among the Kellerists, who called the Aurlûnorens oppresive and racist for forcing them to stop their religious practice.

Unable to continue their climate-destructive ways due to Aurlûnor troops in the region, the Kellerists banded together to found the fortress of Raktronia, also called Tuscumbia, and erroneously known as Raktrokia, which is were the exonym Raktroki comes from. They stormed the Sawiya Oasis and took it from the local Miandi Dune Elven administration, converting it into their main base. With this new protection, they went back to their destructive ways and threatened to sacrifice the entire land of Aurlûnor to Keller. Seeing this as a declaration of war, Aurlûnor and its Syltör League allies gathered their troops to prepare an attack of Raktronia.

In early 891 ACA, Aurlûnor declared the Raktroki Kellerists as agressors in the Fifth Barbarian Rally, and began the Battle of Sawiyah Oasis. Due to scouting missions conducted by Aelfiel Meng prior to the battle, Aurlûnor knew the layout of the fortress, and used this to their advantage. The Syltör League, split their army into three, with each ally attacking from a different side. Eventually, the Aurlûnoren army breached the walls and flooded into the fort. The last defenses of the Kellerists were a series of traps, which the Aurlûnorens quickly got through. Upon getting past all the defenses, The Raktroki realized the battle was lost and fled into the Nether. Many of them were followed and killed, and most scholars believe the Kellerists were completely wiped out over the following months. The victory was celebrated greatly, and officially marked the end of the Fifth Barbarian Rally

The Raktroki Kellerists and Betaburg squatters became a center of controversy during the The Mithran-Dandelion War. When joining the war, Aurlûnor claimed that Mithra had intentionally sent these groups, and others, into their nation to cause trouble. Multiple investigations confirmed that they sent the Forest Council squatters, though if they sent the Kellerists and Betaburgians is still a matter of debate.

Scarlet Isles
In 910 ACA, an entity named the "Empire of the Scarlet Islands" was founded in the Aurlûnor Velande by RiskyFisk. He claimed the Ashuran region of Carnëdǎo. Before its foundation, RiskyFisk was an outlaw wandering around Rathnir. According to him, he saw a phoenix fly to the top of a great mountain, and he followed it, thinking it was a sign of good luck. He set up a temporary camp there and, the next day, he saw another traveler in the region. Together, they created the village of Scarlet Isle and publicly declared themselves a new empire, as they were unaware of Aurlûnor's claims. They grew quickly by inviting any outlaws or wanderers in the region, and they slowly settled more land on the isle.

Azan Shaer, who at the time was governor of Sharla, heard about this settlement. He sent a messanger to inform them of Aurlûnor's claims and that they needed to denounce their claims of empire and join Aurlûnor. The council of Scarlet Isle accepted these demands and became an official city. However, they refused to integrate into the local Ashuran culture, causing much discontentment among the locals. Some Azeral chieftans even conducted raids on Scarlet Isle, which yielded some people injured. To protect from these attacks, the Scarlet Islanders build walls completely surrounding the mountain, as well as building the "tower of the phoenix", which was planned to protect them in case of an invasion. These structures only caused more unrest among the Ashurans

In 912 ACA, the Imperial Court of Aurlûnor decided that the settlement had caused too much trouble. They sent an ultimatum to the isle, requesting the immediate eviction of all residents. The residents of Scarlet Isle were not happy with this, and they killed the messanger that brought them the ultimatum. Upon hearing of this, Aurlûnor organized an army and marched up to the fortified mountain. Finally comprehending the strength of Aurlûnor, RiskyFisk saw no option other than complying. However, once the eviction had gone through, RiskyFisk still felt anger towards Aurlûnor, and he conducted an attack on the Ha Anga Bayou, destroying many trees. This caused massive outrage and Aurlûnor began plans to imprison him. However, he managed to escape to Sparwood before these plans went through. The final remains of Scarlet Isle were destroyed in 930 ACA, about 18 years after the eviction.

The Poultry War
The Poultry War was a political crisis that occurred in 934 ACA, occurring in the Ashuran territories of Aurlûnor. It began in the southwestern part of Sharla, slightly east from Carnëdǎo, when a group of humans founded an entity roughly translating to "the Duchy". It was a union of multiple human tribes who had recently settled in the area, the most prominent being Chalon, which also founded a village in Huitca. "The Duchy" had been functioning for some weeks when news of their settlement reached the Sharla Province government. They sent diplomats to the region and demanded that the settlement be abandoned. Surprisingly, they accepted this demand, and were overall very kind and friendly. As a kind of compensation for their eviction, the squatters were given a tour of the entire Aurlûnor Velande, and even met with Sareariel-Leyla-Earcala.

Upon returning to Chalon, they found that their farm had been destroyed, and that their chickens had been killed. This sparked immediate outrage amongst the squatters, who suspected that the Aurlûnoren guard Mikeytaco had secretly killed the chickens while they were gone, right before their eviction went fully through. They first requested compensation, which Aurlûnor denied because of a lack of evidence. They then requested a trial, which was also denied, because the constitution of Aurlûnor stated only citizens could have trials. This outraged the Chalon community even more, and they began making public appeals to other nations, asking them to force Aurlûnor to give them a trial. Homociderjoe, a member of Chalon, wrote a propaganda book titled "The Chicken Aut", which was distributed widely among foreign nations and mercenary groups. It made false claims about the chickens and requested support for their trial, though it seems it was not very effective.

Due to the mounting public pressure, Aurlûnor finally conceded, and accepted their request for a trial. Fearing it would be a kangaroo court, Chalon suggested that a neutral lawyer from Uldarash should oversee the trial. At this point, Travatar, a prominent member of Chalon, made a speech denouncing the Velande, saying that it had killed their chickens and oppressed their people. He claimed that he was the rightful king of Aurlûnor, and demanded that they surrender all their territory to him. This was regarded as ridiculous, as Travatar had no ties to the Velande, he was not powerful, and there was no position of "king of Aurlûnor". Nevertheless, he bribed many strong mercenaries, promising them land and positions in his new Aurlûnor government. He also planned to completely destroy Aurlûnoren and Ashuran culture. Even though they claimed in their propaganda that this conflict was still about the chickens that were killed, this was evidently not the case. They were attempting the total conquest of Aurlûnor. Sareariel-Leyla-Earcala herself offered to pay compensation, but Travatar refused. In a public discussion with diplomats, he said "I was constantly disrespected, and that's why I'm saying that I deserve the throne, because I have been staking that land, and you have murdered my chickens."

Despite his dubious nature of his claims to kingship, Travatar amassed a huge army, comprised primarily of the mercenaries he bribed. His plans were to first attack and conquer the fortress of Pi-Medjayim, from which he would conduct the conquests of Ebonimemar, Listëmirill, and El Sawiya. Travatar's citizens built a castle, which they named Lavar. They also changed the state's official name from "the Duchy" to Lavar. Aurlûnoren and Sharla citizens began to build proper defenses around Pi-Medjayim, including spike traps, berry bush walls, and a dry moat. Supplies were imported from Aurlûnor's many allies. On the day the war was planned to begin, many crises struck Travatar. First, an in-depth investigation concluded that Mikeytaco had not killed the chickens. It was a party from a different country. This was a huge blow to Travatar's war support, with many of his closest allies taking back their support. Notably, Homociderjoe retracted his claims from "the Chicken Aut" and apologized to the Velande and the Ashuran people. Attempting to salvage his reputation, Travatar backed down his claim to kingship. Instead, he said the war was just for the Independence of the people of Chalon and Lavar, though he still said he would conquer Ashura. However, this seemed to have the opposite effect, as many of his mercenaries now doubted his strength and thought he could not fulfill his promises. They all abandoned him, leaving Travatar and a few of his citizens the last defenders of Lavar. Only 5 hours before the war was planned to start, Travatar fully surrendered. This was not a surprise, as he had little chance of winning with all his allies gone. Over the next year, he and his people destroyed Lavar castle and all remains of Chalon. They then moved out of the region. Even though no fighting took place, this crisis was a great exercise for Aurlûnor on how to prepare for a war. It also affected the Ashuran population greatly. Having an enemy claim their land only made them more unified as a culture, and it is sometimes suggested that this contributed to their eventual revolt and independence.

Upper Ashura
Upper Ashura is a province of Ashura. It is comprised of the majority of the Ashuran Desert. It contains the cities of Tyalu, Listëmirill, El Sawiya, Mina' Al'Amal, Magrivune, Kahulwahah, Djinn's Bottle, the fort of Aza Lomunara, and the temples of Rhajat and Aarnab. It also contains the Belet river, the Nandan river, the Kadut oasis, the Sawiya oasis, the Ereket oasis, and the El Beniwara oasis. Though it is the largest of the 2 provinces land-wise, it is smaller population-wise. It is primarily inhabited by Dune Elves, though there are some human settlements too.