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 and its most-populated city is Tyalu.

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 825ACA, 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 849ACA. 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 855ACA, 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. At this point, Aurlûnor controlled the entirety of Ashura, marking an end to the Hundred Armies Period.

Aurlûnor Province
Between 855ACA and 945ACA, Ashura was a part of the Aurlûnor Velande as the provinces of Erúme and Sharla.

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 881ACA, when Sareariel-Leyla-Earcala first declared the rally, to 891ACA, 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.

Raktroki Kellerists
In 890ACA, 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 Raktrokia.

In early 891ACA, 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 confirm this, though how exactly they sent them is a matter of debate.