History of Orioni

"The empire, long united, must divide; long divided, must unite. Thus it has ever been."

• https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=63166#his
• https://www.nationstates.net/page=dispatch/id=750340

Prehistory

Early settlement

Prehistoric markings in the form of rock paintings.

The earliest signs of human habitation are wall painting found in southwestern Orioni. These are dated to 8.000 to 10.000 years ago and resemble those made by the Marenesian Aborigines. Some paintings depict one group of people attacking and killing another. The victims are represented as being darker skinned than the aggressors. The culture is named Arcana after the archaeological site of Arcan on the southern side of the Altais mountains in western Orioni, where thousands of objects were discovered in 1857. Although most of these artefacts were found inland, it is now commonly accepted that the Arcana were spread along the entire western coastlines. Arcana lived by fishing, hunting mammals and seabirds, and gathering seafood (molluscs and crustaceans, like oysters, mussels, sea snails, barnacles, clams, crabs, but also sea urchins).

Fishing was made from primitive bark canoes using baskets, fiber nets submerged in the water as scoops, or from the banks, with the hand, the net or bow and arrows; the bow and arrows were also used for hunting birds, while seals, sea lions and occasionally whales were killed using harpoons with bone tips. Seals could be hunted on the shores or on the sea, from the canoes. The Arcana women dived till 7-8 m (23-27 ft) for clams and sea urchins, keeping with their teeth the handle of a basket, in which they deposed what they were collecting. When the basket filled up, it was deserted into a boat, and the action continued.

A traditional story tells of the cooperation between people and whales. When the natives saw a whale being chased by orkas, one of the old men would pretend to be weak and slow to make the orkas feel bad for him. And then the man would call on the orkas to bring the chased whale ashore. When the injured whale drifted onto the beach, the other men came out of hiding to kill the whale. This ritual encouraged the orkas to chase even larger whales ashore. People harvested the prey and shared the feast with the neighbouring clans. In return, the orkas received the tongue, their favourite part.

Arcana were also known for their pottery. In general, pottery used for cooking or storage in the region was coloured red to brown, either smooth or textured. Pottery used for more formal purposes was often more richly adorned. In the northern portion of the Arcana area, from about 6500 to 5300 BCE, the most common decorated pottery had black-painted designs on white or light grey backgrounds. The decoration is characterized by fine hatching, and contrasting colours are produced by the use of mineral-based paint on a chalky background.

The Arcana religion seems to have been based on the belief in an almighty supreme god, master and owner of all the things; without body and very kind, guarding the moral law that punished the evils and rewarded the good deeds. Between the supreme god and the humans, there are a lot of spirits, good or evil, which can be dominated only by the shaman via magic rites. Evil spirits cause diseases and death, but the shaman can cure the ill person by making the harmful spirit go out of the body; this is made through magic spells performed while reciting psalmodies and finally by rubbing the diseased body part. If all these fail, the shaman blows on the face of the diseased, sucking the pained portion and finishes by simulating the extraction of the cause of the harm: a small stone, a caterpillar or something similar. Shamans were very feared and respected because besides curing, they were believed to also cause disease.

Amari culture

Sometime during the late the 5th millennium BCE, the Amari people settled in Orioni, arriving from the east and spreading across the entire island. The Amari ("pleasing; beautiful; gracious") were not native to the Orioni islands. Their origins are unclear. By the early 4th millennium BCE, their culture had expanded to include much out east and south Orioni. By 4800 BCE, they are believed to have become the politically dominant ethnic group. They intermarried with the earlier Arcana settlers, and gradually spread into the western areas as well.

Remains of a Great House of the Amari.

Immense complexes known as "great houses" embodied their worship. Archaeologists have found musical instruments, jewellery, ceramics, and ceremonial items, indicating people in these Great Houses were elite, wealthier families. They hosted indoor burials, where gifts were interred with the dead, often including bowls of food and turquoise beads. As architectural forms evolved and centuries passed, the houses kept several core traits. Most apparent is their sheer bulk; complexes averaged more than 200 rooms each, and some enclosed up to 700 rooms. Individual rooms were substantial in size, with higher ceilings than works of preceding periods. They were well-planned: vast sections or wings erected were finished in a single stage, rather than in increments.

Amari relief of the lady "Ninsun", 2150 BCE.

One of the most notable aspects of Amari infrastructure is at Tolo Canyon and is the Tolo Road, a system of roads radiating out from many great house sites such as Ketema and Hiyiweti. They led toward small outlier sites and natural features within and beyond the canyon limits. Through satellite images and ground investigations, archaeologists have detected at least eight main roads that together run for more than 300 km (180 miles), and are more than 10 m (30 feet) wide. These were created through the removal of vegetation and soil or excavated into a smooth, levelled surface in the bedrock. The ancestral Amari of Tolo Canyon cut large ramps and stairways into the cliff rock to connect the roadways on the ridgetops of the canyon to the sites on the valley bottoms. The largest roads, constructed at the same time as many of the great house sites (between 3000 and 2525 BCE), are: the Great North Road, the South Road, the Kojoyi Canyon Road, the Fiti Road, the West Road, and the shorter Tolo Road. Simple structures like berms and walls are found sometimes aligned along the courses of the roads. Also, some tracts of the roads lead to natural features such as springs, lakes, mountain tops, and pinnacles.

City-states

(Approximately 1800-980 BCE)

Female statuette, beginning of the 2nd millennium BCE.

Most historians agree that the political sphere during the second millennium BCE consisted of a loose cooperation between cities; no significant enough city was found that could indicate a capital. These city-states and their commercial fortunes rose and fell like the tides. Alliances were forged and broken again. Some city-states evolved into modern cities, while others turned to dust. It is believed that a great harbour city may still lay hidden in the bay off the southern shores near the Orinoco delta. In recent years some artefacts have been discovered.

Historians have also noted population densities seem to concentrate on coastlines and that states with large coasts benefit from higher average incomes compared to those in landlocked countries. Coastal living has proven advantageous for centuries as civilizations relied on the coastline and waterways for trade, irrigation, and as a food source. Conversely, countries without coastlines or navigable waterways are often less urbanized and have less growth potential due to the slow movement of knowledge capital, technological advances, and people. They also have to rely on costly and time-consuming over-land trade, which usually results in lack of access to regional and international markets, further hindering growth. Additionally, interior locations tend to have both lower population densities and labour-productivity levels. However, factors including fertile soil, nearby rivers, and ecological systems suited for rice or wheat cultivation can give way to dense inland populations.

Early

The early city-states never constituted one political unity, but we believe that there was a cultural identity between the peoples, mainly because of a common language. It appears that at times, one of the city-states proved to be the strongest, and could dominate the others. Every main city was ruled by a monarch, who had to cooperate with strong representatives of merchant families. Over time these representatives developed into councils, that in the 1st millennium BCE sometimes could dethrone the monarchs. In addition, there appears to have been an independent religious aristocracy, mainly employing male priestesses and servants, but also with some few priests. In every city, the wealthy merchant aristocrats had certain rights protecting them from the full strength of the law. The second group, lower than this aristocracy, were the lesser businessmen, craftsmen, dealers, shopkeepers and entrepreneurs. Below this group in social standing were the normal working people. And at the bottom, there were the slaves. These slaves were protected to some extent by the law, and could earn money and even buy their own freedom.

• https://luckyfact.blogspot.be/2012/06/mountain-palace-of-sri-lanka-sigiriya.html
• Tartessos https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartessos

Middle

Statue of Usaripan, 1300 BCE.

• Lady Usaripan (Source). This life-size votive offering of Lady Usaripan was commissioned around 1300 BCE in Asus. It is made of copper using the lost-wax casting method. This statue is different from many other Elamite statues of women because it resembles male statues, in particular, the wide belt on the dress, and the patterns which closely resemble those on male statues. This goes to show the increasing status of women in society. The inscription on the side of the statue contains a curse for anyone, especially men, who attempt to destroy the statue: "I, Usaripan, Lady of Asus. He who would seize my statue, who would smash it, who would destroy its inscription, who would erase my name, may he be smitten by the curse of Usaripan, that his name shall become extinct, that his offspring be barren, that the forces of Amma, the great goddess, shall sweep down on him. This is Usaripan's offering."
• Nuraghe tower-fortresses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuraghe
• Nuragic civilization: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuragic_civilization
• During this period the common concept of city, as it known in Europa, as the urban concentration centre of politics, administration, religious and economic activities, was not quite established yet in ancient Orioni. The religious activity centres, which refer to the location of where the temples stood, did not necessarily signify the administrative or economic centre as well.

Late

• Medani Empire gobling up territory. Fringe regions crumble. Erwanin begins to form.

Queendom

(Approximately 980-536 BCE)

The Erwanin Queendom was a geographically extensive Iron Age historical power which dominated ancient Orioni between 980 BCE and 536 BCE.

Local life based on the size of city-states continued like this for hundreds of years. A real turning point happened when the first states emerged. This period is considered the 'Golden Age' and a time of many legends, clouding the true tale of what happened. It was estimated that around 980 BCE, the roots of the Queendom were put down. Hailing from the fertile valley of what is now called O'polis, a great tribeswoman by the name of Anahita used her position as matriarch to broker a federation between her own city-state and 4 surrounding states, the triangle between O'polis, Vega and Hierapolis (Zuidhaven), in today's central Orioni.

Fragment claims to show Queen Anahita. Notice the imperial symbols in her crown.

Although not as rich as other, more coastal cities, this inland cluster was connected to the sea by the Orinoco river. The following decades saw even more coastal towns and cities join this partnership, creating the first Omnipolis ("city of all"), abbreviated to O'polis. The tribe of Anahita used cunning diplomacy and marriage to forge blood ties between the ruling houses of each city. Within its first century, this strong connection between inland and coastal city-states that created the Queendom of Orioni.

The ‘Royal List’ covers rulers of Orioni from a time “after the flood” up to the rise of the First Empire. For many early city-states, it is the only source of chronological data. Unlike current calendars, most ancient calendars were based on how long the current ruler had been in power. A year might be “the 5th year in the reign of Nintoku”. As part of this, each royal year was given a title, like “the year Vega was defeated”. Most often this reflected a deed of the ruler. The compilation of these years is called the date list. A major problem is that many early rulers are listed with reigns of unnatural duration.

According to Ohin Sokhi, the monarchs have an unbroken female lineage that goes back more than 2,900 years. The key to knowing the origin of the Orioni royal line may lie within the ancient imperial tombs known as Altais. However, since the Owara period (1663-1709), the Imperial Household Agency has refused to open the ancient imperial tombs to the public or to archaeologists, citing their desire not to disturb the spirits of the past Empresses. In December 2006, the Imperial Household Agency reversed its position and decided to allow researchers to enter some of the tombs with no restrictions.

• %ore needs to happen here, currency, development into Europa, events based on royal list
• 2nd Century BCE: "Orioni delenda est"
• 672 CE: years of 3 empresses
• Queen Dido/Elissa of Carthage
• Maiden of blackbird field https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosovo_Maiden_(poem)

Early

Five thrones of the founders of Erwanin.

• Five founders are tribal chief's widows from a war with Meda who band together in an alliance. Monument erected to commemorate this. (~Mount Nemrut)
• Anahita was the daughter of Adon, married to Amir, who died.
• Anahita was born in $city, daughter of one of the most prominent leaders of the $tribe. She had two brothers: $name and $name. She also had two sisters: Atika $lastname and Hind $lastname. Her father and her paternal uncle $name were among the chief adversaries of Tigrai who eventually were killed by $name in the Battle of $place. Her first husband was $name from the $family clan, to whom she bore one daughter, $name. $husband died young after an illness. Anahita then married his brother al-$name, who was much older than she was, but she accepted him because she wanted her daughter to grow up within his father's family.
• The Imperial family of Orioni claims its origin directly from descent Anahita, the first queen of Erwa-Nin.
• The queen developed irrigation schemes, used plows, grew millet, and made iron tools and weapons.
• Ophir. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophir

Middle

Relief of $queen bringing peace (represented by palm leaf) by conquering Tigray province (represented by animal at her feet), dated $number Century BCE.

• In the Battle of Kourma ($year BCE) the Orinese were outnumbered by the Medani, but with the help of the women and boys amongst them, defeated the Medani Empire. The battle consisted of a series of engagements that lasted for six days in August $year, near the Kourma River. Two of the earliest history books on Orioni pay great tribute to $queen for her action in the midst of the battle. They show how the early Orinese women were instrumental in the Battle of Kourma. The Orinese were hugely outnumbered. Every time the men ran away, the women turned them back and fought, fearing that if they lost, the Medani would enslave them.
• The Middle Queendom period began with the rule of Queen Orei around 820 BCE. Her rule was characterized by an "Orionisation" of the western regions, and the future queen took the title "queen of Orioni and Ierakshini". While the first of these new queens continued to use the Ierakshin language frequently in their inscriptions, the succeeding queens used Oharic with increasing regularity. Likewise, Oharic language grew in importance in the east.
• At some point between 610 and before 594 BC, Queen Ojin I reputedly commissioned an expedition of Orinese, who it is said in three years sailed from the Azura Sea towards the west around Europa and back to Hierapolis. The belief in the historical account, handed down by oral tradition, is primarily because it states with disbelief that the Orinese "as they sailed on a westerly course around the southern end of Yulideri (Jilderen), they had the sun on their right", to the north of them, since they had crossed the Equator. In this classical time, it was not generally known that Europa was surrounded by an ocean. Orientologist A. B. Lloyd disputed in 1977 that any Orinese Queen would authorize such an expedition, except for the reasons Asiatic conquest and trade in the ancient maritime routes.

Silver cup with Oharic inscription on it. Early 9th Century BCE.

• Emerging matriarchy. (Source) // When each Orinese male reached adulthood, the city of Orioni awarded him with an allotment of public farmland and a contingent of slaves to work it. The wealth that each farm generated was enough to basically turn every Orinese citizen into a landed aristocrat. In other words, they were so rich that nobody had to work for a living. And yet, even with all of this free public farmland subsidizing the Orinese lifestyle, private property still existed. // Why does this matter? Because Orioni inheritance law was so radical that it terrified everybody else in Europa. When an Orinese man died, his public allotment of farmland went back to the state, but his private property went to his wife. Not his son, but his wife. This may seem like a small difference at first, but consider this: husband's dying young was an extremely common occurrence in such a militarised society. Many of these women who had inherited their husband's wealth would devote the rest of their lives to taking their small fortunes and turning them into large ones. // Eventually, when these wealthy women died, their land would be passed equally to their male and female children. This is the radical bit. Now imagine a rich young woman with inherited wealth marrying an equally rich young man. If that young man died in battle, which happened a lot, his wife would inherit his entire estate and go from rich to ultra-rich. Then she had her whole life ahead of her, to expand her wealth even further, and pass it on to her sons and daughters. // In other words: rich women tended to produce more rich women. These rich women married rich men, and during periods when lots of husbands died young, this created a snowball effect. These ultra rich women are sometimes referred to as the Orinese Heiresses. Aristotle wrote that in his time, nearly 40% of all Orioni territory was owned and administered by a small group of extremely wealthy women. Their wealth dwarfed every other Orinese by orders of magnitude, including the two Orioni kings. they were a political constituency unto themselves. I want to drive this point home: at times, some of the most powerful men in Orioni, even the kings, were completely dependent on loans from the Orinese Heiresses. Their influence was immense. Periodically, politicians in Orioni would start talking about land reform, and every time the Orinese Heiresses would block it by flooding the system with money and buying off politicians. The rest of Greece was horrified that such a small group of women had such a tight grip on Orioni politics. Aristotle complains at length about how wealthy Orioni wives tended to dominate their less wealthy husbands, and, that the entire population of women had been ruined by their "intemperance and luxury". To me, intemperance and luxury just sound like they were having a good time.
• Negatively mentioned by the Hebrew prophet Isaiah (8-7th Century BCE): "As for these people, women rule over them. Orioni people, they which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths." (Isaiah 3:12)

Late

• The earliest recorded Orinese ruler is $name. Tradition holds that she ruled from Omnipolis, a centre of early Orinese cultural and political development.
• Political maneuvring and battles for territory characterize the Orinese fiefdoms, controlled by powerful families. Orinese society was highly stratified.
• Heresy Wars: http://homeworld.wikia.com/wiki/Heresy_Wars
• Ohbuli emerged on the east and west banks of the Orinoco River. The first mention of Ohbuli in Europan records dates from 1750 BCE in reference to a commandery established by the Medani dynasty.
• The capital itself is more likely to refer to the palace, a walled compound, where the queen and her family reside and rule his court. The palace itself is more of a collection of pavilions surrounded by walls. These pavilions and halls are made from organic wooden and thatched materials, so they had decayed over centuries leaving only stone walls, gates, terraces and bases. The only walled, well-guarded and protected compound was the queen's palace and temple compound. The capital itself was more of a collection of densely populated villages surrounding the queen's palace.
• The Queen was regarded as the paramount ruler, where the highest power and authority lies. She ruled the kingdom from her palace or walled compound. Under the queen, there were state officials that serve to forward the queen's laws and orders. The officials ruled an administrative unit that formed from the collection of several villages. As the queendom grew larger and complex, series of state officials are added to add hierarchy levels.
• The queen and the royal family are known as the patron of arts and also religious piousness. They had the authority to launch public projects, such as irrigation works or temple construction. The art and religious patronage can be seen in sponsoring temples constructions. The queendom left behind several temples and monuments. The most notable one was ancient Hierapolis.
• The Queendom at its height at times extended across most of present-day $regions. The capital city of the empire was $city, near the modern-day $city in southwestern Orioni. Other important cities included $city, $city, and $city. By the reign of $queen in the late 4th century, it had begun minting its own currency and was named by classical historians as one of the four great powers of its time along with $nation, $nation, and $nation.

Debideba, last of the Medani rulers.

• Fight against the declining Medani empire. Major victory pushing back Meda with the conquest of Andro. Last Medani ruler to abdicate: "I'm the King of Ashes. Nothing from the flame survives. Hands cannot turn the tides. I have been consumed. I used to rule the world. Seas would rise when I gave the word. Now in the morning, I sleep alone. Sweep the streets I used to own." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hattusa
• Victory Stele of Nintoku: 3.46 meters high and 1.35 meters wide.

The root of Debideba I tore up out of Meda and not one in it escaped submission to me.

His queen; his harem; his heir; and the rest of his sons and daughters;

his property and his good; his horses, cattle, and sheep in countless number I carried off.

Over all of the lands, I appointed anew kings, viceroys, governors, commandants, overseers, and scribes.

Offering and fixed dues I established for the great goddess for all time;

my royal tribute and tax, yearly without ceasing, I imposed upon them.

I had a stele made with my name inscribed,

and on it, I had written the might of my conquering hand.

For the gaze of all my foes, to the end of days, I set it up.

Whoever shall destroy that stele from its place or shall blot out my inscribed name, and shall write his name,

or shall cover it with dust, or cast it into the water, or burn it in the fire, or put it in a place where it cannot be seen

-- may Ishtar, lady of combat and battle destroy his manhood (so that he is) like a woman;

may she cause him to sit in bonds under his foes.

First Empire

(Approximately 536 BCE-1023 CE)

Soft tactics such as mutually beneficial commercial deals and royal intermarriages with neighbouring monarchies continued to unite the southern coastlands. Once a stronghold was established, what followed was a serious juggernaut of bloody conquests against the island fiefdoms that surrounded it. The Queendom of Orioni promoted expansionism in order to gain more lands for its people. Also, during this time they merged their collective navy. Orioni began annexing eastern states while fighting along its own coastline in the West. Orioni’s expansion took its troops into different areas of the island, gaining ever more land. Both the eastern and western states were conquered. What remained of the independent northern states soon joined the Orioni Empire, unifying the island. In the year 536 BCE, all separate tribes had been united, and the Queendom became known as the Orioni Empire. Borders between previous states faded indefinitely into a single powerhouse under one command.

The Imperial title was passed down through a matriarchal succession, from mother to daughter. This royal bloodline has not once been broken, although there have been moments of terrible danger and uncertainty. The most imported archaeological finding from this period is the ancient ruins of the first palace on Mount Oromis, situated close to present-day Zuidhaven. Besides being a symbol of the Empire, the ruins also serve an important ideological function. <$rewrite>

Many see this period as the Golden Age of exploration, marked by the first excursions into the interior. From the southern deltas, brave men and women followed the course of the great Orinoco upstream, into the denser forest areas to the north and beyond towards the Oromiyaa massif and plateau. In 79 CE the eastern city of Tripolis was destroyed by a massive landslide. Within greater Europa, the extent of their long distance trade is also shown by the presence of Orinese merchants in the Sun Ocean. With the expansion of trade as far as the Rage Sea they were also able to carry out sea trade. At the end of the 2nd century BCE, Orioni found itself ruling over a vast stretch of islands which, after the civil war a few centuries later, returned to their previous independence.

Formation & expansion

• The empire rose in the 6th century BCE from an array of fiefdoms. Multiple forces were in play: war with other kingdoms, struggles among the Medani elite, new social concepts from Amisti, global trade shifts, and erratic monsoons that encouraged the leader to establish a masterful water system to provide a stable rice harvest.
• It began as a trading empire centred in southern Orioni.
• The Orioni empire was uniquely situated for success. Indeed, the borders of the empire expanded further than the queendom ever had. And unlike the queendom, which had been merely situated between the trade zones of east and west, the empire's newly annexed territories now contained three immense goldmines within its own borders. Seeing this potential, the monarchy reinvigorated the trade in slaves and golds, taxing every merchant that passed through the lands. The combination of a decentralised stable government and steady tax revenue allowed the Empress to organise and outfit a sizeable fulltime military to guard the maritime routes, ensuring that trade continued to flow.
• "Cynane (Greek: Kυνάνη, Kynane or Κύνα, Kyna; killed 323 BC) was half-sister to Alexander the Great, and daughter of Philip II by Audata, an Illyrian princess. Cynane, the daughter of Philip was famous for her military knowledge: she conducted armies, and in the field charged at the head of them. Polyaenus writes, "Cynane, the daughter of Philip was famous for her military knowledge: she conducted armies, and in the field charged at the head of them. In an engagement with the Illyrians, she with her own hand slew Caeria their queen; and with great slaughter defeated the Illyrian army." She married Amyntas, son of Perdiccas; and, soon after losing him, never would take a second husband. Cynane continued unmarried, and employed herself in the education of her daughter, Adea or to whom she gave a military education, after the manner of her own education, in martial exercises and the science of war. Upon Alexander’s death, in exclusion of the royal family, his generals parceling out his dominions among themselves, she crossed the Strymon; forcing her way in the face of Antipater, who disputed her passage over it. She then passed the Hellespont, to meet the Macedonian army: when Alcetas with a powerful force advanced to give her battle. The Macedonians at first paused at the sight of Philip’s daughter, and the sister of Alexander: while after reproaching Alcetas with ingratitude, undaunted at the number of his forces, and his formidable preparations for battle, she bravely engaged him; resolved upon a glorious death, rather than, stripped of her dominions, accept a private life, unworthy of the daughter of Philip."
• Submitted King Milinda of Dion and his Yonakas warriors. Milinda pleads for assistance from the king of Meani, highlighting the desperate situation Dion faced: "My Lord, behold, the enemy's ships came; my cities were burned, and they did evil things in my country. Does not my father know that all my troops and chariots are in the Land of Oris, and all my ships are in the Land of Meda? ... Thus, the country is abandoned to itself. May my Lord know it: the seven ships of the enemy that came here inflicted much damage upon us."

Nāgasena submitting to Orioni.

• Submitted Nāgasena of Oris and his Arahant followers
• The sailing of this fleet was the beginning of trouble not only for Meda, but for other peoples.
• The navigable skills and mobility of the Orinese on their swift ships allowed them to be present, very early, not only along the Orioni coast, but they reached also the opposite, western, Europan coast. This process started in the latter half of the Classical Age, from the 4th to 3rd centuries BCE. The Orinese were already in the Europan coast, establishing colonies in Tamurin and especially in Pirilao, where specific cultures developed. In later centuries this created a common cultural unity along the Tethys and Azure Seas, with a distinctive Orinese mark, whose naval supremacy meant both political and economic authority through several centuries. Some similar toponyms also attest to speculated migrations to the further west, towards Miiros and even Emakera.
• The empire took its unified form with a central administration around O'polis erected by $Name. The empire ended up conquering and enlarging the Medani Empire to include many more territories, for example in Europa. During the reigns of $Name and her daughter $Name it engaged in military conflict with some of the major city-states of continental Europa.
• The Orionids thereafter consolidated areas firmly under their control. It was $Name and $Name who, by sound and farsighted administrative planning, brilliant military manoeuvring, and a humanistic worldview, established the greatness of Orioni and, in less than fifty years, raised them from an obscure state to a world power. It was during the reign of $Name that Hierapolis was expanded (518–516 BCE) and which would serve as capital for several generations.
• Picture of one of these first empresses. (circa 500 BCE) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Iranian_queen.jpg

Middle

Image of a 3rd-century (CE) glass bowl which the royal palace. Tree on and above the door.

• During the Mikoto period (c. 760 – 880), the Orioni empire reached the height of its power.
• When in 498 BCE the young and feisty democracy in modern Tamurin decides to send a small fleet to aid their fellow tribesmen in western Orioni to rebel against the Empire they incurred a terrible wrath the world had not yet known.
• Orioni absorbed or conquered other Medani chiefdoms and, at its peak in the 4th century, controlled most of the western part of the home island.
• Consolidation
• Exploitation
• With trade booming, they financed an exploratory expedition into the Oriental Ocean, which returned with reports of a great current flowing through the ocean. Seeing an opportunity for wealth and adventure, the Empress $name, raised a fleet of 1.000 ships and prepared to find and settle whatever new land this current might sweep her to. She left her sister $name in charge of the empire and dropped her sails. Neither the Empress nor any of her ships were ever heard from again. Yet this unfortunate occurrence paved the way for Orioni's golden age.
• Golden era
• Inscribed pillars spread throughout the empire. Inscribed with imperial edicts during the 3rd century CE. The inscriptions are currently believed to be trilingual. Fifty pillars still survive to this day. (~LinkXanthian Obelisk and LinkEdicts of Ashoka and LinkOrkhon inscriptions)
• Lady of Elx (4th Century BCE). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_of_Elche
• Ritual mask (100 CE). https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=463915&partId=1&place=791&plaA=791-3-2&page=1

"Captive Arogewi at the fountain", painted in 1888.

• Slavery. Slavery was widespread in Orioni. More powerful groups could consign to slavery weaker members of other communities or even individuals from their own tribe. The medieval empire seized slaves during expeditions in Christian outposts. Many of the slaves were assimilated, others exported or gifted to local rulers in exchange for military support. The Orinese, as the ruling people, enslaved other ethnic groups. The Orinese were also occasionally enslaved by foreigners, and sometimes Orinese boys and girls were kidnapped by slave raiders from northern Europa and then sold.

Late

Coin of Empress Saimei in 602 CE

• Vasari (Prime-minister) takes over more power
• Weakening of central authority
• Possibility of usurpation
• The Idamak inscription ($year), mentioned Miirosi and Jilders as foreigners from mainland Europa that frequently came to Orioni to trade. The inscription suggests a maritime trade network has been established between kingdoms in mainland Southwest Europa and Orioni.
• A complex and stratified society of ancient Orinese people and their social order can be seen through studies on the rich portrayal in bas-reliefs from this period, as well as inscription studies. The Empire had developed a complex society; which characterised by heterogeneity of their society, inequality of social stratification, and the formation of national administrative institution in their empire. The ancient Orinese recognised four social classes; Amistii (priests), Auwrayunii (kings, warlords and nobles), Negadii (traders and artisans), and Bariyaii (servants and slaves).
• Reizende hofhouding: https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palts_(verblijfplaats)

Crisis

There appear to have been several introductions of the plague or 'Black Death' into Europa. The Black Death is thought to have originated in the arid plains of southern Europa, where it then travelled along the Silk Road. From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant ships. The first of such plague reached Vega in October 987, carried by twelve foreign galleys, and rapidly spread all over the city. Galleys from Vega reached Perseus and Andro in January 988, but it was the outbreak in Hierapolis a few weeks later that was the entry point to the Orioni heartland. Spreading throughout Orioni, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30–60% of the total population.

The plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of Orioni history. The serfs in Orioni rebelled against Imperial tyranny over their impoverished lives. When the revolt was swiftly crushed, the government punished them with the Draconian Acts; laws that punished the peasant farmers, such as forced conscription for 15 years. This response gave rise to even more hatred towards the crown.

In 995 the Akrep clan put forward a royal pretender of their own, claiming their right to the throne. Akrep was a clan of spies, manipulators, and assassins who valued loyalty and duty and for whom the ends justify the means. The samurai of the Akrep clan understood that by dirtying their hands, they ensured that no others need do so. The Akrep dynasty was founded by Ajonar Akrep, who was the son of Ajonak Akrep, the prince of Meda, the capital city of eastern Orioni. Ajonak’s career saw the strengthening of the regional military. He was in charge of the inland conquests in the east and established his stronghold at Meda. His successor Ajonar morphed Meda into a major oriental power in the last decade of the 10th Century. As such, the Akrep clan held sway over many of the eastern coastal cities.

The growing strength of Akrep led them to attempt an assassination against the Empress in the symbolic year of 999. For a clan that prides itself on logic, the Akrep are highly superstitious. A Akrep samurai says the prayers he needs to say, dons whatever fetishes or talismans he needs to wear that day, and thinks no more on the matter. Many of these superstitions are considered strange among other clans, for example, sprinkling salt on a new garment or never stepping backwards through a threshold. Even though the assassination during this 'Day of Thunder' failed, the Akrep gained their reputation for ruthlessness in battle. It was Ajonak who said that, "On the battlefield, all actions are honourable." For the Akrep, truer words were never spoken. If this means poisoning the enemy's supplies, hiring a ninja to assassinate the opposing general, or paying the enemy's soldiers to double-cross them, then that is acceptable.

• $year. Royal processions with elephants and gold-draped horses, festivals, fireworks, and Orinese give no impression of decline. But in the first decards of the 1000s, the empire loses vitality.
• $year. A possible era of drought, according to modern tree-ring data.

Civil war

(Approximately 1023-1174)

The economic crisis in Orioni worsened, forcing the ruling government to amend an imperial law review in 1023. This law review allowed parts of the country to secede as independent states. The Akrep clan took advantage of this opportunity and proclaimed its independence from the Orioni Empire. From their Capital in Meda, they quickly conquered their own hinterland in the east. Outside nations who considered the Orioni Empire a threat secretly supported annexation of the southern coast by Akrep. By 1056 they controlled large parts of eastern, central and western Orioni. In 1063 they installed their royal pretender on the throne in O'polis.

After their conquest of nearly all of the Orioni Empire in 1056, and the establishment of their usurper Empress Osirsep (meaning: "Osiri is pleased") in O'polis, the Akrep clan suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Dion ($year) and was halted on its way north. In an attempt to secure his southern borders in order to fend off attacks from the north, Ajonar ScorAkreppio married his daughter to Uthman ibn Naissa, a Europan warlord. However, a second expedition led by Ajonar Akrep was defeated and Ajonar was killed. A serious weakness amongst the Akrep conquerors was the ethnic tension between easterners and foreigners. The foreigners had provided most of the soldiers of the invading Akrep armies but sensed discrimination against them. This latent internal conflict jeopardised their unity.

After the Akrep clan assumed control over the capital in 1063, the imperial Orioni household was forced to flee. Loyalist states north of the Oromiyaa mountains united as the rump state of the North Orioni Empire. A new imperial capital was established in Corona Borealis. The loyalists then began their plans to reconquer all states of the former Empire. The first victory in resistance to Akrep rule occurred during the Battle of Cygnus in 1122. A drastic increase of taxes by the Akrep clan provoked several rebellions in central Orioni, which a series of succeeding warlords were unable to suppress. Around 1122, a military expedition was sent into the north in late summer to suppress the rebellion. The Akrep forces overran much of Cygnus territory, forcing a few hundred rebels to retreat deep into the mountains. From there, rebel forces routed the Akrep army, inspiring local villagers to take up arms. Despite further attempts, the Akrep army was unable to conquer the mountain stronghold. Returning in shame, the generals were forced to commit suicide. This rebel victory at Cygnus was hailed as the beginning of the Reconquista.

The loyalist resistance in the north was aided by several technological innovations, including the introduction of 'Tagmatine fire'. In a situation of constant conflict, warfare and daily life were strongly interlinked during this period. Small, lightly equipped armies reflected how the society had to be on the alert at all times. Forces were capable of moving long distances in short times, allowing a quick return home after sacking a target. In the context of the relative isolation of the Orioni island from the rest of Europa, geographical and cultural differences implied the use of military strategies, tactics and equipment that were markedly different from those found in the rest of Europa during this period. Soldiers typically carried a sword, a lance, and either bow and arrows or a javelin. Armour consisted of a coat of mail over a quilted jacket, extending at least to the knees, a helmet or iron cap, and bracers protecting the arms and thighs, either metal or leather. Shields were round or triangular, made of wood, covered with leather, and protected by an iron band; the shields of knights and nobles would bear the family's coat of arms. Horses were occasionally fitted with a coat of mail as well.

Between the death of Ajonak II ($year) and 1131, the Akrep-controlled area suffered from internal strife. Small kingdoms, led by the local city governors established their long wished-for independence. ($why?) The result was many small city-states each centred around their capital. The local city governors, not subscribing to any larger-scale vision of the Akrep clan, had no qualms about attacking their neighbouring kingdoms whenever they could gain an advantage by doing so. Vikings from northern Europa used this internal division to their advantage, raiding the northwestern coastline and founding the city of Nordhaven in early 12th Century.

The Fall of Hierapolis (1174).

The loyalist Reconquista ended with the Fall of Hierapolis in 1174. The Fall of Hierapolis was the capture of the main harbour of the allied Akrep states by a loyalist army of the North Orioni Empire on 29 May 1174. The Orinese were commanded by 41-year-old Sir Seymond Adhamed (1133-1192), husband of Empress Masaino's second sister, who defeated an army commanded by Akrep-patriarch Artulo. The conquest of Hierapolis followed a 53-day siege that had begun on 6 April 1174. Several rich families fled the city before and after the siege, with the majority of them migrating to Meda.

After the defeat of the allied Akrep states by the Reconquista in the 12th Century, Artulo Akrep was forced to take his own life and to give up Meda to the restored Second Orioni Empire. After the enforced suicide of Artulo, his widow Jaratab Akrep maintained the position of the clan by adopting a child from close lineage named Ariya. The adopted child Ariya Akrep took over the charge of the clan; the Akrep clan still exists today.

Valdemar Tekeles (1129-1176).

• Aid was requested and received from the northern nations of Nan Gorgwaith and Karthenia. These skilled sailers proved decisive in undermining the transport of foreign mercenaries from mainland Europa across the sea to Orioni. The loyalists welcomed these privateers as allies, while the Medanii described them as ruthless pirates. One famous privateer was Valdemar Tekeles. He married a royal princess and was permitted to wear the imperial symbol in his hat.
• $year. Armies from submitted kingdoms -- Medani to the east, Tamrini (present-day Tamurin) to the west -- continue to win Orinese land, leaving a much-reduced state.
• $year. Another possible era of drought.
• $year. $name, by its own accounts, takes control of Hierapolis and installs a ruler. Orinese elite set up new courts in Dion and other towns to the north.
• $year. The official court of the Orinese elite moves to Corona Borealis, a peripheral port of limited international maritime commerce, with large populations of Ide Jimans, Kokuans and Miirosi traders.
• $year. The wealth of the Orinese elite has shifted from race-based tax revenues to overseas maritime trading.
• Black Nobility: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Nobility

Second Empire

(Approximately 1175-present)

Restoration

• 1175: Restoration started. Ruling coalition officially announce plans to move the imperial capital back to O’polis. Imperial capital reestablished in O'polis. Construction of imperial palace heavily influenced by architecture from Tagmatica, the capital of Tagmatium + why?
• Empress Masaino, having restored the unity of the Empire and establishing major governmental reforms, was well aware that O'polis was an unsatisfactory capital. Yet it had been the capital for over a thousand years, and it seemed unthinkable to suggest that the seat of government be moved to a different location. O'polis was expanded over 6 years, and consecrated on 11 May 1182. Empress Moriino divided the expanded city into 5 regions and ornamented it with public works worthy of an imperial metropolis. The court was supplied from the rich gardens and sophisticated workshops of oriental Europa, with treasuries filled by the wealthiest provinces of the Empire.
• The Empress Masaino also reinstituted the Elitism faith as the state religion. The priesthood in return granted her the title ‘The Immortal Soul’.
• 1195: New laws to celebrate 20 years of restoration. <$DocumentName> originated as a successful result to maintain peace between royalist and separatist factions in 1215, as part of the events leading to the outbreak of the Civil War. Many contemporary writers believed that monarchs should rule in accordance with the custom and the law, with the counsel of the leading members of the realm. -> °imperial council
• 1221: year of 3 empresses. $why?
• 1224: Hierapolis sacked following its fall in 1174, refounded as Zuidhaven by Empress Tameino (1221-1232) on the site of the previous city, Hierapolis, which was destroyed in the final days of the civil war, in 1174, by loyalist army of Sir Adhamed (1143-1192). Zuidhaven was never a politically influential city like O'polis, but the city enjoyed relative peace and steady growth as a prosperous trading city lent by its remarkable position. The site had easy access to the Orinoco river and had an excellent and spacious harbour. The empress further stimulated private building by promising householders gifts of land from the imperial estates and on 18 May 1232 she announced that, as in O'polis, free distributions of food would be made to the citizens.
• 1294-1304: Further maritime exploration: Tagmatium's Eclipse Of An Empire, 1294-1304
• The Empress begins sending forth explorers ($why?) to eastern and southern Europa. Religious and linguistic influence spreads in these various regions and among the peoples.
• Early modern: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_modern_Europe
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urbino
• She selected her hometown of O'polis as the new capital of her empire. A centre which was further north than the old capital, less vulnerable to sea raiders and better situated for agriculture. She would rule for $number years. And though she would die in a tragic accident, her life ushered in a new age for the Orient.

Middle

• 1318-1500: Taneino period
  • 14-15th Century: Equal partnership with other nations, unlike First Empire, an influx of knowledge from all over Europa
  • 1375: Renaissance thanks to the migration of Europan scholars and texts to Orioni. In mainland Europa, the Eastern Aroman Empire is defeated by the combined forces of Elite knights (pseudo-Islam) and Borean Horde (pseudo-Mongols).
  • Witch-hunt in Europa (1450-1750) leads many knowledgeable women to flee to Orioni, boosting pharmacological knowledge.
  • The colonisation of Europan coastal areas (15th Century). Local rulers subdued and brought under the authority of the empire. These colonies were ruled by colonial governours called the Danya (Judge). A Danya is a regal official who runs a colony in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The title as first use in the beginning in the 14th century, when it referred to the local rulers of some smaller islands off the coast of the home islands. After the colonial expansion, at the start of the 15th century, the monarch of Orioni came to appoint numerous Danyas to rule over various parts of their increasingly vast Empire in Europa, Marenesia, and overseas elsewhere. The chosen Danyas of these colonial provinces were empowered to act in place of the monarch. This was an extraordinary break from the centralized traditions of the First Orioni Empire. The administrative organization of the Danyas differed significantly from the feudal forms existing in the rest of post-medieval Europa as their institutions were closer to those of the territories of the Orioni Empire. A central government and the entire Judiciary were ruled substantially by the Danya. The local puppet kings were allowed to keep their titles, but they did not hold possession of the land or sovereignty.
• With fiery rhetoric, the Empress proclaimed that where the flag of the Empire was raised, never would it be lowered.
  • From the 14th to 15th century, Orioni paid its armies in promises of land and wealth. It was very common in campaigns to confiscate the lands and wealth of rebel tribes or enemy forces. As a result, this was also the payment given to the clans that agreed to provide soldiers to the Empress in her conflicts. For example, a 14th Century Orinese source described the acquisition of several towns during the conquests in Niederoestereich. The Empress wouldn’t keep the wealth from this land. They followed a rule: the Empress received a 1/5 share, while the remaining 80% were distributed among the soldiers. They used large tracts of land as a source of wealth, bringing in peasants to farm it, or by having their entire tribe move there. If an area could not be conquered, it was often plundered.

• 1500-1663: Oino period
  • 1618 (Golden Ratio): do something Renaissancy-with this.
  • 15-17th Century: Interaction and integration with greater Europa;
  • which alliances/colonies
  • Orsini family in Tagmatium
  • When the Oino dynasty took the power in the 16th Century, they adopted the practice of Slave Armies. Using their share of the spoils from previous conquests, they purchased large numbers of Europan youths. These slave soldiers spent years transforming into the perfect soldiers. Orioni used their slave army in West-Europa to great success, deploying several thousand slave soldiers across the Memopotamian coasts in a fight against to take the gold and salt mines. Unlike the earlier tribal armies, the Slave army wouldn’t plunder the mines. Instead, they sent all captured treasure back to the Empress. This made her rich and perpetuated the slave soldier system. The main appeal of the Slave army was its staunch loyalty and low cost. The Empress never paid the Slaves. Instead, when reaching the age of 40, they were “paid” in freedom and received a small plot of land in conquered territory.

• 1663-1709: Owara period
  • Vayiresini = viceroyalty
  • Pirate menace (17-18th Century) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Piracy
  • Euhemerism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euhemerism

• 1709-1771: Ogimachi period
  • 17-18th Century: Economic expansion and internationalisation
  • Enlightenment
  • Abolition of slavery (18th Century) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abolitionism
  • Slavery abolished: who, why, when, where, how
  • Political Revolutions

Modernisation

Grand Princess and future Empress Ogako in 1843.

• 1771-1867: Omei period
  • 19th Century: Industrialisation leads to rapid expansion of resource-rich north, previously a predominantly agrarian society
  • Where did this originate from? Perseus = steam engines for the fabric industry. Steamships for coastal shipping (no high waves). Steam pumps for the mining industry.

• 1867-present: Nabérrie period
  • 19-20th Century: At first rising tension between regions, then better cooperation through marriage ties among leading families/clans
  • 20th Century: Decolonisation
  • Internationalisation via the Entente of Oriental States
  • 2021: 3000 years of Orioni monarchy