Suielman Empire

Capital was in Pyralis but later moved to Elvquelin.
Borders at Greatest extent: South to the Seas of Pyralis and Yajiit; north to Caralore; east to the Desert of Dreaming (in the south) and Bozojo (in the north); west to the Great Western Sea.
Government: Empire (monopoly with mixed monarchical and republican elements; peripheries governed by Imperial appointees)
Period of activity: -875 to +150
The real world equivalent: Roman Empire.

Basic information:
The Suielman Empire was a large government that ruled Western Galendor from around -875CR (or earlier) to 150CR, when it collapsed under a combination of internal strife and massive, repeated invasions from the Giantdowns.

At its height the empire was strong and expansionist, conquering all the western lands with a well-trained and highly disciplined army. Ruthless and efficient, those who opposed them were killed or enslaved. But many cultures were given considerable leeway as long as they remained loyal to the empire.

Also a very cultured society in some ways. Their laws and system of government are the basis of many later day ones. Also it was the empires penchant for writing down everything that helped the survival of knowledge. Most surviving books were either written by Suielman or are Suielman copies of older texts. Many ancient writers are known solely from Suielman copies as their original texts are long gone.

With the empire now long gone many people see it as a long lost Golden Age where everything was better, bigger, larger and more happy. Seeing the political/diplomatic chaos that is the Midlands today this is all too true in most cases. Without the political unity of the empire the massive projects the Suielman are famous for (like their extensive road system) are simply impossible at the current (Cr708) time.

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"There once was a dream that was the Suielman Empire, will we ever see its like again?"
Abandoned piece of parchment found in the Metamor Library during archiving. No author known dated at ca 200 CR on a Thursday

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History:

-875 Empire founded with the creation of the first unified government in Pyralis.

-567 CR: Fall of Metamor Keep. Traitors within open the gates to the Suielman. Most inhabitants killed, many more are enslaved and sent south.

-560: Construction of the Wall now known as Giants dike begins.

The Human-Elf War, -559 CR to -549 CR One of the most traumatic events in the empires early history. The empire survived the war (barely) but was devastated. The emperor (Aelius Vibius Verus) involved was assassinated and his replacement (his son Treminius) devoted his entire reign to rebuilding. It did have a long term effect of stopping all further expansion of the empire. It also sparked a deep interest in ways to stop the elves in case another war occurred. Thankfully another such war did not happen but there are countless tales and legends of the strange, nasty and powerful things the empire mages developed.

? to ? The Cenetli Conquest: Of all the people who fought the empire none fought harder or longer the the Cenetli. It took over a century of long, hard fighting for the empire to finally conquer the Cenetli. Even so they were never fully assimilated the Midlander Cenetli. No longer a political power, they survived as a society. They become imperial citizens and soldiers, and several emperors were of Cenetli decent.

+30CR Division of the empire: Emperor Flavonius moves the capital from Pyralis to Elvquelin permanently This effectively split the empire into 2 separate political areas. The emperor made the move to placing himself solidly in the midst of his firmest supporters and hoping to stabilize control of the northern half of the Empire.

+30 to 150CR Slow decay and separation: The division worked for a time, but the Emperor's separation from the wealthy southern provinces didn't win him any friends there, and his support continued to erode. Corruption crept in among the governors and military commanders of the southern provinces, and after a few generations the Emperor was effectively ruler there in name only — he could no longer exert force against rebellious rulers in the south, because his own soldiers were more loyal to those local rulers than to their far-removed Emperor.

+75 to +153 The Lutin invasions:
It was the invasions from the north that eventually put the nails in the coffin of the Suielman Empire. The first horde of humanoids swept through the Giantdowns in 75 CR, destroying the Suielman outposts in that region and even taking Metamor Valley itself. The Imperials rallied against the onslaught and drove the armies of lutins and giants back into the Giantdowns, but this came at great cost to the Empire both in funds and personnel. More invasions followed, some more destructive than others, and the Empire's ability to contain the hordes eroded. Finally, in 150 CR, the humanoids broke through the Valley and flooded into the Midlands, as a good portion of the Imperial army scattered and fled before them. Those who maintained their discipline in retreat fell back to the Sathmoran provinces, helping to evacuate as many humans as possible along the way. The emperor at the time: Thorius Falernus proven to be worse then useless and his bad handling made things worse. His assassination in 151 came as a surprise to no one. A person claiming to be his son (Gessius Pertilius) took power in Elvquelin and proved to be the right leader for the task. He is credited with rallying what remained of the military in Sathmore that was able to hold off the invaders but at great cost in lives.

In Pyralis Laetonius Pertilius (the younger brother of Gessius) finalized the split of the two halves of the empire by declaring himself High Lord of Pyralis. Busy trying to stop the invasion Gessius was in no position to argue the point. The two now separate empires had all they could to simply survive. When the invasion was finally beaten off both countries were exhausted and worn out and the entire Midlands was in ruins. Neither was in any shape to rebuild the empire.

The death of Thorius Falernus and the rise of Gessius & Laetonius Pertilius is universally considered to mark the end of the Suielman empire. The Sathmore empire rulers continued to call themselves Suielman emperor for a long time afterward (and some still do) but the empire was truly dead.

Geography

Places of Note:

The Southlands: The empires exact extent in the Southlands is not known for certain. Many of the exact details were lost when it collapsed but some generalities can be assumed. It is known that much (but not all) of the southern continents northern coast was either controlled or openly conquered by the empire at one time or another. But the empire never pushed very far inland. Probably never more then a weeks ride from the coast. Some people insist that the city of Sekio was founded by the Suielman but that is considered to be just a myth.

It is a fact that empire explorers mapped the entire coastline of the Southlands all the way around in a series of government sponsored expeditions. A stela commemorating such an expedition by Emperor Theadocius (Reigned -202 to -167) will be discovered on an island in the Cape of Lavelock in the year 1417. Beyond mapping the coast little else is done on the southern coast but it will fuel countless stories of 'Lost expeditions and hidden treasures'.

Giantdowns: The northern most border of the empire is considered to be the northern end of the Metamor valley. But there are records of at least one settlement beyond the valley. This settlement was named Calicdunium (a rough translation is Hill of swords). Its location and how long it survived is unknown at this time (CR707). A later (CR909) lutin scholar will correctly identify the lutin town of Calik as being built on it's ruins. It was a fortified Outpost/trading post with a few hundred people (mostly soldiers) at most. The existence of more such settlements is suspected but the wild and dangerous nature of the Giantdowns in CR707 prevent any detailed exploration. In later years lutin folklore and knowledge will reveal the existence of at least 10 more towns and at least 1 city. All in the southern Giantdowns and near the Metamor Valley. All had long been lost to the Empire before the year CR-12. There is a lutin story called 'The fall of Leenstown' that is believed to detail the taking of one such settlement by lutins.

Provinces: the provinces of the empire varied greatly in size and shape. The tendency in later days was to create smaller provinces. This limited the power of individual provincial governors and kept them from becoming too powerful. Only a small handful of the older names are still around making tracing the locations of the provinces difficult.

Alquariua: Now the island of Whales.

Belgunia:

Daramantia: Believed to be what is now the southern part of the Giantdowns.

Maractania: Encompassed Metamor Valley and the Northern Midlands. A discussion on the Suielman empire in Metamor Valley has it's own page: metamor-valley-suielman

Pintia: A small province encompassed what is today marigund and parts of cuirlann. The only major city was Marigundium. Now the city and country of marigund. Was first taken and settled -601 by driving out the elves. One of the causes of the Human-Elf war. Later the province was called Pintia but the city kept the name.

Pyralia: Now the area around the city of Pyralis. Roughly everything with 500 miles of the city. Once the heart of the empire.

Raetea:

Sekioa: The exact limits of this province are unknown but it was centered on the city Sekio on the Southern continent.

Vaetania:

People of Note:
Antonius Margentus: A general and later emperor he is most well known for leading the armies that conquered Metamor Keep in -567 CR.

Audric Galerus Priscus: Emperor: Most well known for defeating the Lutin invasion in +75 CR. Unlike Thorius who 75 years later ignored the warnings. Audric listened to the warnings coming from the garrison in the Metamor valley. He marched 3 legions halfway across the Midlands arriving just as the lutins were swarming though the valley. After successfully pushing the lutins back he refortified the valley. He then went north into the Giantdowns and laid waste to everything within reach. He is remembered by the lutins as 'Grunik nul Antul' - the Last Strong Emperor'. A very apt description. The Lutins have honored him in an unusual way - the name Audric Galerius has entered the Lutin language and more then one Lutin child has been named Audric in hopes of him growing up to be a great conqueror.

Theadocius Curtilus: An emperor who reigned -202 to -167 CR. An avid explorer and known to have sent expeditions all over the place.

Thorius Falernus: Emperor - most well known as the last emperor. Made a long string of poor political and economic decisions that made things infinity worse in the empire. He is most well known as the man who lost the Empire and caused the crash of civilization. He ignored the threat of the lutins massing in the north and worried about his own political troubles. He was assassinated in 151 CR while attempting to flee to the Southlands. In some places people will still spit on the ground and curse his name over a millenia later. The lutins remember him as 'Shultuk - Fool'. Which describes the man very well.

Tigallinus Cavarilli: Emporer. Born -604 Died -569. Most well known for conquering what's now the Northern Midlands in -570. Most people now remember him for the massive 4 arched victory monument that now sits in the center of the city of Laselle.

Military: Suielman Military

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