History of Orioni

Introduction

The history of Orioni dates back ten thousand years to the earliest known evidence of human habitation on the island. The appearance of an agriculture-based civilisation around 5000 BCE indicates the arrival of ancestral Orinese peoples. These can be divided into several groups, each with their own periodisation. A long period of city-states was followed by local states, the most important of which were the Medanese Empire and the Orioni queendom. By the 6th Century BCE, the many kingdoms progressively became united under a centralised government controlled by the Empress. This imperial dynasty continues to rule over Orioni. During the 12th Century, the island saw an influx of Buranian migrants. During the late modern period, the power of the Monarchy gradually shifted to allow more civilian power-sharing. Cultural influences from Oriental Europa, Thalassa and Marenesia, carried by waves of expansion and foreign contact, form the basis of modern Orinese culture.

Prehistoric and ancient Orioni

Neolithic period

Neolithic period

Tribal fishermen.

Prehistoric markings in the form of rock paintings.

Arcana painted pottery, 5000-4500 BCE.

The earliest signs of human habitation in Orioni are wall painting found in southwestern Weriki. These date back 8,000 to 10,000 years and resemble those made by the Marenesian Aborigines. Some wall paintings show one group of people attacking and killing another. The victims are shown as being darker-skinned than the aggressors. Men are depicted wearing loin cloths; women are shown wearing waist cloths and small sleeveless vests, possibly made of palm or banana leaves. Some are depicted with necklaces and flowers in their hair and ears. This early culture is called Arcana, named after the archaeological site of Arcan in the southern Altais Mountains, where thousands of objects were discovered in 1857. Later remains found at Etashorin were found to be distinct from later periods. While most artefacts were found inland, it is now commonly accepted that the Arcana spread along the entire western coastline.

Arcana lived by fishing, hunting mammals and seabirds, and gathering seafood such as molluscs, oysters, and crabs. They fished from primitive bark canoes using baskets, fibre nets submerged in the water as scoops. The Arcana women dived some 7-8 metres (23-27 feet) 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, they emptied it into the boat. They hunted seals on the shores on the shores or on the sea from the canoes. They also hunted from the banks, with the hand, a net or bow and arrows. Furthermore, they also used the bow and arrows for hunting birds, while seals, sea lions and occasionally killed whales using harpoons with bone tips. One mythical folk story tells of the ancient cooperation between people and killer whales. When the natives saw a whale being chased by orcas, one of the old men would pretend to be weak and slow to make the orcas feel bad for him. And then the man would call on the orcas 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 orcas to chase even larger whales ashore. People harvested the prey and shared the feast with neighbouring clans. In return, the orcas received the tongue, their favourite part.

We also know Arcana for their pottery. Islanders started to produce earthenware from 6500 BCE, affected by the continental culture in Tamurin. 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 eastern 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 characterised by fine hatching and contrasting colours are produced by the use of mineral-based paint on a chalky background.

The Arcana religion believed in an almighty supreme god, master 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, both good and evil, which only the shaman could dominate via magic rites. Evil spirits caused diseases and death, but the shaman could cure the ill person by making the harmful spirit leave the body with magic spells performed while reciting chants and by rubbing the diseased body part. If all these actions failed, the shaman blew on the face of the diseased, sucking the painful body-part and finishing by simulating the extraction of the cause of the harm: a small stone, a caterpillar, or something similar. People feared and respected the shamans because besides curing, people also believed they could cause disease.

Amari period

Amari period

Extent of Amari culture and its road system.

Remains of a Great House of the Amari.

Primitive statue of Amma, Mother goddess, Lady of the Sea.

Butterfly-shaped ivory vessel with the pattern of two birds facing the sun.

During the late 5th millennium BCE, the Amari people settled in Orioni. The Amari (reconstructed: “Children of Amma") were not native to the Orioni islands. The origins of Amari are recounted in various legends. According to oral traditions transcribed in later periods, they arrived from the east and spread across the entire island. There are no written records of their Aymari language. Their exact origins are unclear. Their leader Nuhayi was a bearded man who taught the primitive Arcana people ethical and moral norms and gave them a system by which to organise their society, with one spiritual and one secular leader. Nuhayi also taught the people agriculture, metalworking and other crafts before disappearing into Europa in the west. 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. The Amari intermarried with the earlier Arcana settlers and gradually spread into the western areas. Rulers of the later Medanese Empire would claim to be direct Amari descendants.

Archaeological traces show the early Amari residents lived in mud-brick houses and stored their harvest in granaries. Immense complexes known as “great houses" typified their societal hierarchy. Archaeologists have found musical instruments, jewellery, ceramics, and ceremonial items, showing people in these Great Houses belonged to wealthy elite families. They hosted their burials indoors and buried gifts along with the dead, often including food and jewellery. Locations, where remains have been found, include Jok’itani, Abēli, Alimoradi, Uzali, Nahori, Karani, Aripīlēgi and Karimēshi. As centuries passed and architecture evolved, the great houses retained some of their core traits. Most obvious is their sheer size: complexes averaged over 200 rooms each, and some up to 500 rooms. Individual rooms were large, with higher ceilings than buildings of earlier periods. The Amari were excellent planners and erected vast sections or wings in a single stage, rather than in multiple phases.

One of the most notable aspects of Amari infrastructure is 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 over 3,000 km (1,800 miles), and are over 10 m (30 feet) wide. They created these roads by removing vegetation and soil or excavating a level 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 ridge tops 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 East Road, the South Road, the Kojoyi Canyon Road, the Fiti Road, the West Road, and the shorter Tolo Road. We find simple structures like berms and walls, sometimes aligned along with the courses of the roads. Some tracts of the roads lead to natural features such as freshwater springs, lakes, mountain tops, and pinnacles.

Early Iron Age

Early Iron Age

Reconstructed female headgear and necklaces, c. 2600 BCE.

Amari relief of the lady “Ninsun”, c. 2150 BCE.

Pottery on display in the Kourma Museum.

Female statuette, beginning of the 2nd-millennium BCE.

The Early Iron Age society, dated to roughly 1800-980 BCE, was organised into a polycentric political system. Through the process of synoecism, the city-state became the main political unit, with a single city forming a nucleus of control over its surrounding rural territory. These cities were often in fierce competition with one another, and war between them was not uncommon. The early Orinese city-states were located on a long and narrow strip along the Azure Sea, butting up against the mountains. Along the arid Semeni coastal desert, the cities were limited to four river valleys that emerged from the Mendakh mountains, managing limited agriculture through an extensive system of irrigation. Geographically, it is clear why Orioni became the maritime culture it still is today. Geography, timing and other factors all added up to an Orinese culture that was at once a loose group of autonomous city-states while at the same time being a region that adopted similar maritime-merchant practices. Coastal living proved favourable for centuries as civilisations relied on the coastline and waterways for trade, irrigation, and food. Historians have also noted population densities seem to concentrate on coastlines, and those coastal areas enjoyed higher average incomes compared to those in landlocked areas. However, factors including soil fertility, nearby rivers and ecological systems suited for rice or wheat cultivation could give way to denser inland populations. On the other hand, cities without coastlines or navigable waterways were often smaller and had less growth potential due to the slow movement of people, knowledge capital, and technological advances. They also had to rely on slow and expensive over-land trade, which usually resulted in a lack of access to regional and international markets, further hindering growth. Interior cities also had both lower population densities and labour-productivity levels. The mountains compelled the Orinese to live on the water. And so they turned their backs on the mountainous hinterland and faced the sea.

During this period the common concept of a city as we know it in Europa, as the urban concentration centre of politics, administration, religious and economic activities, also began to appear in ancient Orioni. These great cities emerged around sites of communal prayers, market-places, and schools which were often the venue for religious teaching. The religious activity centres, which refer to the location of where the temples stood, didn't mean the administrative or economic centre. Some city-states evolved into modern cities, while others returned to dust. Some major Orinese cities have been around for thousands of years. Initially, there were three power centres among several that were considered being early Orinese. Meda in the east is regarded as one of the oldest continuously occupied cities on Eurth. By the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, Meda was host to a population of at least 10,000 people. Remains of large buildings projects, such as temples, were excavated. Many tablets from that period were discovered. The site of Kourma was also occupied at least as early as the middle of the 3rd millennium BCE, and possibly as far back as the Amari period. Its central location gave the Kourma control over the economically significant trade network. Kourma was located on and around the first cataract, controlling access to 50-kilometers-long valleys of the Mendakh mountains. The city was divided into an upper and lower levels, with the latter showing more populous, smaller dwellings. Further to the west, Ophir also seems to have had prehistoric roots. The city lay in the interconnected Wenizi river delta. Although politically and economically still relatively weak, Hierapolis maintained its cultural independence from nearby Kourma. Most historians agree that the political sphere during the second millennium BCE consisted of loose cooperation between cities; so far, archaeologists found no significant enough city that could mean a capital city. At times, one of the city-states proved to be the strongest and could dominate the others. These city-states and their commercial fortunes rose and fell like tides. Diplomatic arrangements, brotherhoods, and alliances were formed and broken again between the local city-kingdoms. The city-states maintained a strong martial culture, both to settle disputes among themselves and to expand their frontiers against their neighbours. Early warfare was originally small-scale in nature. The aristocratic warrior elites armoured themselves with bronze helmets and cuirasses, and went into battle wielding iron spears, javelins, stabbing swords, and shields. These elites also fought on horseback or a chariot, while the lower classes fought on foot.

A monarch who had to cooperate with strong representatives of merchant families ruled every main city. Over time, these representatives developed into city councils, that in the 1st millennium BCE sometimes could dethrone the monarchs. Examples of this have been found among the royal burials in Kourma, shedding light on the complex social structure present in this Iron Age society. In addition, there appears to have been an independent religious aristocracy, mainly employing female priestesses and servants, but also with a few male priests. Women held an increasing status of women in Orinese society, shown by female statues wearing a wide belt on the dress and patterns that closely resemble those on male statues. 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 of the social hierarchy, there were the slaves. Slaves had some protection under the law and could earn money and even buy their freedom.

Part of the reason Europan academia has lumped together these Orinese city-states is that, for a long time, their place in the Europan view of history came through the later Aroman historians, who were themselves far removed from the relevant time and place. The early city-states never made up one political unity, but we believe that there was a cultural identity between the peoples, mainly because of a common language. The cities were very similar in terms of social, societal and cultural structure. It is safe to say that a group of city-states held together by a common culture, religion and relative location. Beyond those major commonalities, the Orinese didn't view themselves as a cohesive political unit. Note that there was, in fact, a good measure of competition between the various cities. Each Orinese port city saw itself as an autonomous world and operated as a sovereign state. During the Iron Age, the early rulers and their respective ports flourished through the profitable overseas trade with the neighbouring Orient, Meteorolas, and sailing as far away as Memopotamia. During the same period, Europan merchants sailed to Meda, Ophir, and the islands of the Oriental Ocean, establishing small communities along the way.

Medani period

Medanese period

The Gate of the Sun with “the Shadow of the Morning.”

Relief of Mekonen, King of Kings.

Statue of Priestess Usaripan of Usar, c. 1300 BCE.

Terracotta boat in the shape of a bull, and female figurines.

One of the early empires in history, the Medanese reigned for more than 800 years. The earliest and most detailed description of Medani comes from later Orinese records. In 225 BCE, an Orinese official scribe writes that ancient Medani was very rich and had 100 warships to protect its trade. In early times, the natives called the area as the Land of Deli (“beautiful”). The Medanese Empire grew from their Asehayi stronghold in Meda into a vast, centralised state. Its capital was described as being surrounded by walls to form a city with double gates, towers, and temples. Medanese religion and mythology were rich and multi-layered. Prior to 1500 BCE, they worshipped formless Gods, thematically centred around the Mun and the San.

Numerous kingdoms existed on the eastern Deli peninsula. Berhane began conquering this eastern region in the late 13th century BCE. He started raiding merchant vessels on the lucrative trade routes between the Orient and Mesopotamia. With this loot, his successors, aided by foreign mercenaries, came to possess the entire Deli peninsula. Coastal cities were threatened to either pay tribute or be sold into slavery. Around 1299 BCE, Berhane's grandson Mekonen expanded westward into the mountains and declared himself King of Kings. The other Medanese elite had to earn their titles through military conquest. Now an empire, the Medanese Empire continued to grow and expand across the island. Meda was the capital. At its peak, the Medanese Empire reached as far north as Tauri, as far west as Tigraye, and as far south as the Astrinese islands.

The Medanese kings built many ships in the Nada bay of the Azure Sea. They sent forth men for pilots and navigators to bring him gold from Europa. It's not too implausible to think the Medanese held territory in the Meteorolas. The Medanese fleets travelled to every island and harbour of the Meteorolas, and Medanese ware was prized in Qubdi and Hakkad. The Medanese had much to offer in terms of commerce. Their trademark sturdy cedar wood of the mountain lands they controlled, useful for constructing houses and ships. Meda and its neighbours didn't flourish simply as intermediaries between the Orient and Occident, they had something of their own to offer. They also offered their services as skilled navigators, sailors, shipbuilders and merchants.

Medanese traders travelled westward across the Oriental Ocean and beyond. Even though the Strait of Saeida were supposed to be impassable, the little ships were brave enough to go through them and sail into the open Adlantic Ocean. From there, they went to Yuropa to get ivory and gold. Their trade routes might have reached as far as Tagmatium, or perhaps even beyond. The Medanese became the leading commercial power of the Oriental world, and Meda transformed into a luxurious, elegant capital city. However, as time went on, the Medanese fortunes waned and vassal cities slipped from its grasp one by one.

(WIP. Backlog of ideas to be incorporated somehow, somewhere.)

• Can borrow inspiration from Madhya Pradesh.
• Oris serves as a strong buffer state.
• Policy of divide and conquer.
• Political manoeuvring and battles for territory characterise the Orinese fiefdoms, controlled by powerful families.
• Erwanin states realize that together they are stronger.

1. Coastal: Tartessos harbour city
2. Rise of the Medanese Empire
3. 1090 BCE: First conflict between the Ophir and the Medanese Empire. The Medanese Empire in the east is slowly expanding into western territories. Fringe regions crumble. This leads to the Nairi confederation of tribes being formed. Erwanin begins to form.

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shailendra_dynasty#Possible_origins
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medang_Kingdom#History
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunda_Kingdom#History
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitanni

Classical Orioni

TL;DR: from 980-536 BCE, angry confederation begins to fight back against Medanese Empire; ups and downs; goldmines lead to more money; Meda is defeated.

Local life based on the size of city-states persisted until circa 1500 BCE. A real turning point happened when the first states emerged. This period is considered an early Golden Age. It is also 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 broad fertile Zinabi valley of what is now called O'polis, a tribeswoman by the name of Anahita used her position as matriarch to broker a federation between her own tribal city-state and 4 surrounding states. The area comprises roughly the Altais Plateau, the triangle between O'polis, Vega and Hierapolis, in today's central Orioni.

Shiguti League

Shiguti League

Walls of a Shiguti fortress.

Palace near Inu Waar.

Pottery with Shiguti designs.

Most of the western island was divided into city-states, some of them as hereditary monarchies and other more semi-democratic governments. Usually, women played no important role, apart from religion. Originally, according to transcribed oral traditional, there were five tribes living in the O'polis area on the Altais Plateau: the Anidenya, Huletenya, Sositenya, Aratenya and Amisitenya. These five tribes formed an early league, the Shiguti (Anglish: fist). All signatories agreed not to attack one-another. And if one member violated that peace by attacking another member, the rest of the Shiguti would gang up and crush the offending violator. To cement this agreement, the leaders of each tribe met once a year at the sacred grove of Tlitīna, a sanctuary likely near present-day Inu Waar. They discussed trade and also elected the meri, a temporary leader of the league. Their towns were frequently attacked by other tribes from the lower coastal land to the south and from the rulers of Tigraye province to the east. The Tigraye were a vassal and tributary state of the Medanese Empire.

Although not as rich as other, more coastal cities, this inland cluster was connected to the sea by the Wenizi river. The following decades saw even more coastal towns and cities join the Shiguti. 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 specific year might be described as “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 Orinese royal line may lie within the ancient imperial tombs in the Altais mountains. 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 tombs with no restrictions.

Anahita

Lady Anahita

Scene from Nin āna ātīta t’ebībani (1979).

Pottery fragment of Queen Anahita, with early royal symbols.

Erwanin submits Tigraye.

Five thrones of the founders of Erwanin.

Lady Anahita (1004-950 BCE) was born in Menideri. She was born into the Anidenya tribe as the daughter of Adon, the talak’u āmakarī (Anglish: grand councillor) of the Anidenya on the Altais Plateau. Her family were aristocrats. She had two brothers, Arash and Avad, and also had two sisters, Atika Hatami and Hind Mehrian. Their father Adon and uncle Davi were among the principal opponents of Tigraye, a people from the east. Classical Era epigraphers of the Aroman Empire refer to her as Anaïtis. Her later title was also cited as k’ēsi mwaritenya (the prietsess soothsayer). The story of Anahita is told by a variety of cultures, and each story often offers a different, or even contradicting, perspective.

The Huletenya, on the eastern slopes of Altais, faced a direct threat from Tigraye. The neighbouring Anidenya made a natural ally against them. A marriage alliance between the two kingdoms of Anidenya and Huletenya could help better protect the state. Adon arranged the marriage of Anahita to Amir of the Huletenya tribe. In 988 BCE, at the age of sixteen, she was married. In 986 BCE, she gave birth to her daughter Yumi (meaning blessed firstborn). The Huletenya tribe had a Dyarchy: the queen consort served as the religious leader and the king as the military leader. Anahita held this religious position of female shaman, acting as spokespeople for the spirits. Very little is actually known about these dual roles, such as what their exact titles were, and who exactly reigned what and when. In subsequent centuries, joint male-female rulers divided up responsibilities, with the male taking care of administrative duties while the female handled religious matters. However, archaeological excavations of some female rulers have revealed the presence of armour and weapons. So it is possible that as part of their religious role, the women also led troops into battle.

The production of food among the Huletenya was similar to that of many other Orinese societies. Food habits were divided along gender lines, with men and women having specific tasks. Women played an active role in many of the stages of food production, giving them an important socio-political, economic, and spiritual roles in their communities. Huletenya men were mainly responsible for hunting and fishing, while women took care of farming and gathering wild fruits, nuts, berries, and shellfish. Women were responsible for the majority of all food production.

Women's role in childbearing also made them closer to natural processes, becoming a symbol of the natural world. Nature includes not only weather and geography but also the prevalence of diseases, warfare and hunger. Men, in contrast, are more about culture. Cultures treat women differently based on whether nature is viewed as good or bad. In cultures where nature is holy and good, women perform rituals to help shape the powers of nature for the common good. Women also share decision-making power and have good standing in society. Cultures that view nature as evil and dangerous regard women as a threat to men and society. Nature is unpredictable, beyond control. This anxiety is transferred onto women, limiting their rights and responsibilities.

Since Amir was frequently absent on campaign, Anahita took on a greater role in ruling. In his absence she developed irrigation schemes, used ploughs, grew millet, and made iron tools and weapons. A highly organised government was created to overcome the harsh mountain conditions. Terraces were constructed on the mountain sides for cooperative farming and planting. As a result, the system produced plenty of food. Surplus was dried and stored for emergencies. These works required considerable technical skill, planning, resources and labour. Anahita instituted a system of corvée requiring each farmer to serve 1 day per week to complete these public projects. This rule could be relaxed during harvest time or expanded during times of war. Conquerors of new territory received a similar day of labour to develop their domain. Later historians would describe it as a sort of "communal" slavery.

Anahita's husband Amir was killed in the Battle of Inu Waar (984 BCE) against Tigraye. Anahita then remarried (983 BCE) Amir's brother Medir, who was much older than she was, but she accepted him because she wanted her daughter to grow up within her father's family. With Medir she had a son, Mehir. When Medir died in 980 BCE after an illness, this left Anahita in a precarious position. She was regent for five years until her son Mehir also died of illness. The Huletenya decided a succession crisis posed a greater threat to social stability than a female king. This led to the Dyarchy being replaced by the Queen regnant, with Anahita assuming the military role as well. Anahita succeeded Medir as the war leader of the Huletenya tribe. Her task was to keep the land stable until it had a male heir. But Anahita never remarried and never had another son. It has been speculated that ruling successfully as a woman made the Orinese regard her with particular reverence. The achievements of her reign, including stabilising and strengthening her lands during a destructive war, were retold over the generations until she was turned into a mythical figure. Later Aroman myths surrounding Anahita stem from the successful campaigns she waged and the novelty of a woman ruling.

Battle of Kourma

As the undisputed military commander, Anahita continued the war with Tigraye. Her first major confrontation was during the Battle of Kourma. The battle was actually a series of multiple skirmishes that lasted for five days in August 979 BCE near the Kourma River. The Erwanese were greatly outnumbered: over 5,000 enemy cavalry troops led by Yehayimanotu Maregagech ambushed the 2,000 troops led by Anahita. The Tigraniye cavalry were stopped by the Erwanese archers. Maregagech was killed while Anahita was unseated from horseback and was forced to fight on foot with her bow. After a hard fought battle, the Erwanese forces were victorious and sacked the Tigraye camp. She defeated the Tigraye so soundly that they fled Kourma and holed up in Andro. Two of the earliest history books on Orioni pay great tribute to Anahita for her actions in the middle of the fight. These books show how instrumental the women were in the battle. Every time the infantry wavered, the women directed them to continue the fight, reminding them that a loss would mean total enslavement. With help from the women and boys in the baggage train, they finally defeated the Tigraye. After the victory at Kourma, the victorious Erwanese army overran the nearby Tigraye towns. Anahita sent the plunder home to Menideri and made offerings at Hierapolis.

Coronation

This victory over Tigraye caused remarkable notoriety for Anahita. The widows of each tribe determined on uniting the five Altais tribes to defeat their common enemy and preserve peace. The men accepted this decision, leading to the creation of Erwanin, a loose alliance that consisted of the five most powerful city-states. While this enabled them to regulate each other's economic and military interests, each city remained largely independent in practice.

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

A monument was erected to commemorate this event. Anahita was allowed to take the throne. And Anahita's descendants became the main leaders. Standing at the beginning of a long line of powerful women, Anahita set a precedent for women in Oriental monarchies. It became the norm for women to (co-)rule, lead armies, and enter into intense struggles for succession. The Imperial family of Orioni claims its origin directly from the descent Anahita, through the golden lineage. Nin āna ātīta t’ebībani (Anglish: Queen Anahita the Wise, 1984) is an Orinese film based on a novel of the same title by Hind Ingoliyani (1979); both recount her life.

Queendom

Queendom (980-536 BCE)

Artistic depiction of Queen Yumi.

Stele of the Orinese queen $Name, from $Place, c. 809 BCE.

Relief showing the transport of Orinese cedar (8th century BCE).

$queen brings peace by conquering Tigraye province, $XX Century BCE relief.

The queendom, at its height, at times extended across most of the present-day $regions. The capital city of the empire was Ophir, near the modern-day Vega in southwest Orioni. Other important cities included $city, $city, and $city. By the reign of $queen in the late 4th century BCE, 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 Jaihu, Hakkad, and Aroma

900s BCE

• King-general dies in battle against Tigrayre
• Queen-Priestess continues, establishes a dynasty
• Kourma battle against Medanese Empire
• 950s BCE: Final push to defeat Tigraye. The takeover of Tigraye goldmines led to increased wealth. Creation of Tigranes as honorary title for the military general who conquered Tigraye.
• 950: Anahita was succeeded by her daughter Yumi (950-930 BCE). Classical authors mainly wrote about Yumi in the context of her famous mother rather than as a figure in her own right. In $year, Queen Yumi increased the pressure on the Medani territory by closing the border trade and killing a Medani envoy. To contain Erwa-Nin, the Medanese Empire reoccupied part of the Tigraye area, began constructing the Long Wall, and stationed soldiers there to keep watch on Erwa-Nin. Queen Yumi laid the foundations for a dual system of militaray defence: stationary armies would guard a specific point, while a purposefully created mobile force could move where it was needed.
• 925 BCE: The queendom of Orioni promoted expansionism in order to gain more lands for its people. Also access to the rich coastal port of Ophir. Together with orichalcum these precious metals are an important trade commodity with the Europan nations.
• The alliance was effectively ruled by the Queen in Ophir. It was an indirect empire, meaning: conquered city-states were allowed to remain relatively autonomous as long as they paid tribute to the alliance as well as any military forces required for war efforts. Tribute was a form of taxation in ancient Orioni. When envoys from subject nations visited the queen, they brough her precious items that reflected their own cultures, including jewelry, animals, vessels, and textiles. In return, they received protection and access to a vast economic network.
• The capital itself is more likely to refer to the palace, a walled compound, where the queen and her family reside and rule his court. The palace itself is more of a collection of pavilions surrounded by walls. These pavilions and halls are made from organic wooden and thatched materials, so they had decayed over centuries leaving only stone walls, gates, terraces and bases. The only walled, well-guarded and protected compound was the queen's palace and temple compound. The capital itself was more of a collection of densely populated villages surrounding the queen's palace.
• Ohbulus ($rename) emerged on the east and west banks of the Wenizi river. The first mention of Ohbulus in Europan records dates from 1570 BCE in reference to a command established by the Medani dynasty.
• While Aroma was still a collection of huts, tens of thousands were dying in Orioni as ever-efficient state organizations sent standing armies into battles in attempts to dominate the island.

800s

• 900-800 BCE: Soft tactics such as mutually beneficial commercial deals and royal intermarriages with neighbouring monarchies continued to unite the southern coastlands. In a way, their power rivalled the Medani. Erwanin was sort of an empire as well. The Erwanese had expanded from a small coastal base to dominate the middle third of the Home Island. But a mix of factors made them something else entirely.
• 820 BCE: The Middle queendom period began with the rule of Queen Orei around 820 BCE. Her rule was characterised by an “Orinesation" of the western Alnitak region, and the future queen took the title “Queen of Erwanin and Ierakshini.” While the first of these new queens continued to use the Ierakshin language frequently in their inscriptions, the succeeding queens used early Oharic with increasing regularity. Likewise, early Oharic language grew in importance in the east.
• 810s BCE: By conquering the western coastal city-states on the Tethys Sea, Orioni became a major player along the Pearl Road, the commercial route between the Memopotamia, the Aroman Empire and Far Eastern states such as Jaihu. The queendom also regularly entered the politics of the kingdoms on the nearby Europan mainland, including the Tamarini peninsula.

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

700s

• 800 BCE: Integration of the western region. Historically, the area was under influence of the Chulo Empire. The royal administration supported received revenue from an agrarian economy. The queens granted land as rewards for service. The beneficiaries became landlords to tenants producing agricultural goods and forest products. The higher regions with temperate climate were suitable for raising cattle and the planting of orchards.
• 750 BCE: When Queen $Name died, her sister $Name took over the rulership. She expanded the queendom's territory, and replaced the powerful governorships of different regions and gave them to family members who were loyal to her. This further centralised power.
• The Queen was regarded as the paramount ruler, holding the highest power and authority. She ruled from her palace. Under the queen, there were state officials that served 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, a series of state officials were added to add hierarchy levels.
• At the same time, Erwanese queens tried to curtail male authority, removing previous male leaders from the royal lists and making sure that no man held multiple royal titles. Erwanin was 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)
• 708 BCE: Victory against Meda by conquering Andro.

A silver Orinese coin bearing Queen Anahita and a standing horse with the imperial symbol.

King Milinda of Dion submits to Orioni.

Nāgasena of Oris submits to Orioni.

600s

• 700 BCE: First official contacts with mainland Europa. Importing better weapons and horses for use in army cavalries was a flourishing business on the western seaboard. These coastal regions increased the Empire’s finances through taxes on maritime trade. Trade on the west coast brought many foreigners to Orioni including proto-Chulese, Hakkadians, Memopotamians, Orientals and people from the Tamurin peninsula. Foreign kings wrote to the queen and greeted her as “my sister.”
• 682 BCE: Major victory pushing back Meda with the conquest of Oris. “We never plant wheat and never will so long as there are other harvests to reap with the sword.”
• 670s BCE: Medani survived, but at much-reduced power.
• 650 BCE: Once a stronghold was established, what followed was a serious juggernaut of bloody conquests against the fiefdoms that surrounded it.
• 640s: Medani recovered some of its wealth.
• 610s: The Erwanese began to fear that Medani would challenge the Erwanese for dominance again. To preclude the return of Medani, Erwanin initiated the Third $Name War in 619. The war began with an ultimatum designed to ensure noncompliance. This allowed the Erwanese to claim that they were waging a just war and tried to keep the peace. This resulted in the city $cityName getting razed in 614 BCE.
• 600 BCE: Submitted King Milinda of Dion and his Yonakas warriors. Milinda pleads for assistance from the king of Medani, 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.” But the Medanese could not reach Dion due to an overstretched supply line. Erwanin on the other hand could reach Dion overland with support from ships along the coast.

Fragment of a wall painting showing an Orinese queen, 1st century CE.

(Some other Medanese ruler.)

Debideba, last of the Medani rulers.

500s

• 597 BCE: Victory against Meda by conquering Tarabulus (Tripolis).
• 575 BCE: Conquest of inland goldmines (Mendakh Mountains). Access to these gold mines led to a shift on the balance of power.
• 550 BCE: Submitted Nāgasena of Horis and his Arahant followers. Horisa was considered the domain of the Medani Empire until its conquest. The reason these Horisi resisted this long was their access to inland goldmines and luxury trade from Meda. With this wealth, they hired mercenaries. Switching sides regularly brought them a lot of wealth.
• 541 BCE: Financial support from the House of Egibi banking family.
• 539 BCE: Financial support from the House of Murahus banking family.
• 537-6 BCE:
  • Fight against the declining Medanese Empire continued.
  • Final battle against Medanese Empire. The Erwanese army entered the Deli peninsula from the west while its navy made an experimental amphibious landing in the east. Following the end of major engagements of the war, Meda was the location of the meeting of the two Erwanese forces. General $PersonName's units, advancing from the west, reached the city's environs sometimes in April or May 5XX BCE. The next week, the first marine troops arrived from the east, finally closing the pincers of the two Erwanese invasion forces. The occupation of Meda was more or less a formality, although resistance fighters known as Arbegnoch ("Patriots”) continued to operate. The city was handed over to the Erwanese forces in June. In the following months, the city walls were dismantled, with stones repurposed for road building. The population declined from 40,000 to 20,000. Although its city leadership cooperated, any attempt at sabotage was seen as a form of insurrection or treason, and brutally suppressed by Erwanese troops. A public address system was installed in the central square to declare official proclamations.
  • The Medanese Empire was the victim of many ills including overexpansion, environmental degradation and poor leadership. It was brought to its knees when Meda was sacked by the Orinese in 536 BCE. The last Medani ruler to abdicate was Debideba.

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.

• 536: Final victory against Medani. Queendom becomes Empire.

WIP

• Heresy Wars.
• Hattusa

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, the 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.

—Victory Stele of Nintoku (3.46 meters high and 1.35 meters wide)

• Orinese Empire
  • Crown of Erwanin
    • Queendom of $name
    • Dion kingdom (petty kingdom)
    • Principality of $name
  • Crown of Medani
    • Meda kingdom (petty kingdom)
    • Primarch of Oris
    • Several other territories outside of Orioni, mostly in other parts of the Oriental Ocean.

Emerging matriarchy

If an ancient Aroman happened to visit Orioni, they may have been surprised to find women enjoyed a great deal of freedom and autonomy compared to their Occidental counterparts. Later Aroman authors often condemned them as frivolous, spoiled, and depraved when compared to Occidental women. These Wives and Daughters of Erwanin had the freedom to own, inherit and transfer property as they saw fit. During ceremonial banquets, they feasted alongside men as equals. For them, there was no shame in drinking, in contrast to Greek women, who were generally expected to forego alcohol. Orinese women were also prominent leaders in religious life, serving as Oracles and Priestesses who held direct sway over their people’s political decisions through their powers of divination.

Each Orinese male who reached adulthood received an allotment of public farmland from the city of Ophir and a contingent of slaves to work it. The wealth created by each farm was enough to turn every Orinese citizen into a landed aristocrat. They became rich enough that nobody had to work for a living. 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 Orinese inheritance law was so radical that it terrified everybody else in Europa. It had large consequences because a husband's premature death 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 were referred to as the Orinese Heiresses. The Aroman philosopher Lykeion (384-322 BCE) wrote that in his time, nearly 40% of all lands were owned and administered by a small group of extremely wealthy women. Their combined wealth dwarfed even the monarch by orders of magnitude. They were a political constituency unto themselves because some of the most powerful people in Orioni 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 Europa was horrified that such a small group of women had such a tight grip on Orinese politics. Lykeion complained at length about how wealthy Orinese wives tended to dominate their less wealthy husbands, and, that the entire population of women had been ruined by their “intemperance and luxury.”

Insular Orioni

On its path to defeat and capture of Medani, the Erwanin queendom had effectively captured the entire island that is Orioni. In the period that follow, from 536 BCE to 1023 CE, the once-small queendom came to rule a multi-ethnic Empire that contained many different cultures. The period from 500-200 BCE saw the consolidation of the home island to include a more uniform culture. The Pearl Road was established and the first explorations of the greater Eurth began. Many archaeological finds suggest that maritime trade along the shores of Europa started. Orinese trade with the Golden River Civilization and the cities of Memopotamia can be confirmed from numerous artifacts. This period would lead to Golden Age of great riches, but also abhorrent practices including slavery. Favouritism, corruption and debauchery would ultimately lead to the end of this First Empire.

Nintoku period

Nintoku period (536 BCE-313 CE)

Nintoku the Great, the first empress, c. 500 BCE.

Golden wreath and ring from aristocrat burial, mid-4th century BCE.

Coin of Empress Anki the Giving, c. 360 BCE.

The crowns of Erwanin and Medani were united after the Medanese defeat. They also merged their collective navy. This force was now aimed at the western coastlines. Orioni began annexing eastern states. The expansion took 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 Orinese Empire, unifying the island. In the year 536 BCE, all separate tribes had been united, and the queendom became known as the Orinese Empire. Borders between previous states faded indefinitely into a single powerhouse under one command.

The Nintoku period lasted longer than any other in Orinese history. Monarchs passed the Imperial title down through a matriarchal succession, from mother to daughter. Not once was this royal bloodline 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 Wenizi river upstream, into the denser forest areas to the north and beyond towards the Mendakh mountains. 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 and expansion

• Takeover of former Medani client kingdoms and colonies.
• The old capital of Meda was maintained for ceremonial purposes, but a new palace was constructed palace at Hierapolis.
• The Orinese Empire was proclaimed after the conquest of Meda. Multiple forces were in play: war with other kingdoms, struggles among the Medani elite, new social concepts from Amisti religion, global trade shifts, and erratic monsoons that encouraged the leader to establish a masterful water system to provide a stable rice harvest.
• This monarch was the first to style herself as Defender of the Four Shores.
• It began as a trading empire centred in south Orioni.
• The Orinese 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 Tethys Sea. 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.
• 498 BCE: When in 498 BCE the young and feisty democracy in modern Tamurin decides to send a small fleet to aid their fellow tribesmen in west Orioni to rebel against the Empire they incurred terrible wrath the world had not yet known.
• 323 BCE: “Cynane (Greek: Kυνάνη, Kynane or Κύνα, Kyna; killed 323 BC) was a 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 parcelling 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 Medani army: when Alcetas with a powerful force advanced to give her battle. The Medanese 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.”

Discoveries

Bas relief of a ship, 8th Century BCE.

An Azanised Orinese statue from Ayubi.

Orioni is and was a land of limited resources. Its tropical and mountainous terrain meant that there was precious little farmable land. Many Orinese turned to the seas for fishing and trading. But agriculture was the main source of food production. Aside from pirate raids, Orinese interaction with the mainland was at most episodic. During the Nintoku period, Orioni became not simply a unified nation, but a unified island nation – and islands have navies. At some point between 610 and before 594 BC, Queen Ojin I reputedly commissioned an expedition of Orinese. The sailing of this fleet was the beginning of trouble not only for Meda, but for other peoples and nations throughout the Orient. In three years they sailed from the Azure Sea towards the west around Europa and back to Hierapolis. The belief in the historical account, referenced in the periplus of Pino the Navigator, is primarily because it states with disbelief that the Orinese “as they sailed on a westerly course round 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 the classical age, it was not widely understood that Europa was encircled by an ocean. Colonization was often a venture undertaken by merchants. When a merchant sought to establish a colony, it was customary to seek the blessing of the Empress. Her primary role was to grant royal sanction to the venture and give her approval. As people from across Orioni visited the Empress, her advisors also had some knowledge of which lands were fertile, near important trade routes, or if the indigenous people were welcoming to outsiders. Orientologist A. B. Lloyd disputed in 1977: “that any Orinese Queen would authorise such an expedition, except for the reasons of conquest and trade in the ancient maritime routes.” Variot philosopher Mark Karls (1818-1883) was more positive in his historiography: “East is West, and West is East, and soon the twain shall meet.”

The navigable skills and mobility of the Orinese on their swift Lohitanga red keel 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 on the Europan coast, establishing colonies in Tamarini and especially in Birlini, where specific cultures developed. The first expeditions to establish colonies were all-male, military undertakings. Women would follow later. Some colonists intermarried local women. 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 Mekabiri.

The Orinese colonists planted saplings from the sacred grove in the hearths of their colonies, a practice mentioned in various early sources. The significance of this action is somewhat ambiguous, but one theory suggests that the tree symbolizes life and its transplantation to the colony represents the transfer of a community's life from the old country to the new one. These colonies demonstrate the mother-daughter relationship between Orioni and its colonies, a time when Orioni sent its children to settle faraway lands and Orinese civilization spread throughout the known wurld.

Administration

Centralisation

• During the Nintoku period, centralised power increased.
• The empire took its unified form with a central administration around $City erected by $Name. The empire ended up conquering and enlarging the Medanese 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 major city-states of continental Europa.
• 518-516 BCE. The Orinese 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 world-view, established the greatness of Orioni and, in less than fifty years, raised them from an obscure state to 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.

Communication

• One major advantage of the Orinese Empire was its ability to communicate quickly over large distances. Quick and effective communication in the military allowed the mobilisation of people and resources. This worked also worked for defensive actions against riots and rebellions.
• Communication to citizens was vital to the coordination of economic policy, legal reform, new taxes and propaganda.
• Consider the classical phrase: “All sea routes lead to Hierapolis.”
• However, distant colonies remained relatively decentralised. The local governors had much liberty to make their own decisions as they saw fit, provided they obeyed the imperial law.

Trade

• When they reached the southern coast, foreign ships moored at a port of Hierapolis on the central mouth of the Wenizi river. Merchants conducted most trades further inland, at the royal capital city of O'polis. The periplus tells us that “they take all cargoes up the river to the queen at the metropolis"; this ‘metropolis’ being O'polis.
• As the foreign merchants unloaded their cargo, they experienced a sophisticated and organised process of a bureaucratic organisation. Foreign cargo unloaded at Hierapolis was assessed and catalogued by the customs 'Magistrate of Boundaries'. This person examined the quality of the incoming cargo and verified it by stamping his own personal seal on it. He also collected road and ferry tolls on merchants, kept customs records and maintained a network of spies to watch the incoming cargo and suspicious mercantile activity.
• As the merchants and their cargo arrived at the gates of O'polis, another official known as the ‘Magistrate of Tolls’ operated a customs station. A distinctive banner signified his presence. His servants recorded: “who the merchants are, where they come from, how much merchandise they bring and where they received their first customs seal.”
• Cargo details taken at both Hierapolis and O'polis were compared to make sure taxes weren't being avoided. They subjected goods without a seal mark to double tax rates, while those having counterfeited a seal would have their entire cargo seized. Natives who imported foreign goods were favoured by having their taxes cut.

Taxes

• Periodic plagues floods droughts and famines that afflicted the peasant farming class were dealt with effectively. $Name Dynasty Empresses granted tax amnesty grain relief and the right to fish and hunt on royal lands to peasants during times of crisis. This ultimately prevented Civil War. This wasn't always the case, so when famine struck peasants had their taxes raised land seized and wages cut. Consequently, this led to the mass rebellion of the poor.

Timeline

Coin of Empress Keiko the Bald, c. 100 BCE.

Coin of Empress Seimu The Majestic, c. 59 BCE.

200 BCE-0

• The Empress and the royal family were 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 could be seen in sponsoring temples constructions. The queendom left behind several temples and monuments. The most notable one was the temple of Pantanassa in Hierapolis.

Ohunae shipyard, one of many along the Pearl Road.

Empress $Name sending Oriental envoys, c. 3rd Century CE.

Glass bowl of royal palace with tree symbol on and above the door, c. 3rd Century CE.

Orinese border stone in Birlini marked with Aroman graffiti.

0-400 CE

• Warrior twins (12-43 CE).
• The Pearl Road was established. This maritime trade route connected Orioni to Southeast Europa, Meteorolan archipelago, Oriental subcontinent, Memopotamian peninsula, all the way to Zongla and finally Occidental Aroma. The trade route included crossing several bodies of waters skirting the Oriental Ocean, but not yet into the open ocean. The route overlapped with local Miirosi maritime trade, Paraia Sea trade, Hakenian naval trade network. Evidence of these movements can be seen in shipwrecks recovered in the Rivdon Bay and Rosario Sea. The Pearly gates was an informal name for the strait between Tamarini and Orioni, a term later repurposed by some early Christians.
• 100 CE: Ritual mask. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=463915&partId=1&place=791&plaA=791-3-2&page=1
• 201-300: 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. (~Xanthian Obelisk and Edicts of Ashoka and Orkhon inscriptions)
• The earliest diplomatic relations between Orioni and the Golden River civilisation are recorded in the Dōngfāng dìlǐ (東方地理, Eastern Geography). In 225, a Jaihuian official, Zhukuo Rao, reported that Orioni had 100 warships to protect its trade, and that there was a lot of wealth in the queendom. In the 4th century, Tamarini seems to be subjected to Orioni. The Orinese manuscript Sayinisi Lefiyoni (Eulogy to Fioni), written in 365, mentioned Birlini as the vassal state of Orioni, which had to make an annual tribute of 15 talents of gold.
• Meriya Nin (361-411 CE), the widowed queen of a Birlini Confederation, led a revolt against Aromans in what is now Mekabiri. Using desert guerrilla tactics, she led troops deep into Rennd, outmanoeuvring Aroman legions that eventually accepted her terms.

Hanzei period

Hanzei period (313-758)

“Captive Arogewi at the fountain”, painted in 1888.

Caption.

TL;DR: c. 400-800 CE; Golden era of consolidation and exploitation.

• 301-400: Lady of Elx (4th Century BCE).
• It was a really successful time for Orioni. But how much was Empress $Name really responsible? She just happened to rule in a time full of inventors, academics and good crop harvests.
• 389-754: Effective communication is how quickly information can be shared between the central authority and its provinces. The more quick and detailed this information is, the more power a monarch has to rule. To address this challenge, the monarchy developed an itinerant court that moved throughout the empire. This meant that communication didn't create so much of a barrier for ruling, as the court went wherever they were most needed. During the Hanzei period, the court travelled about the country not only to be more visible to subjects, but to help them exert influence directly over the lower class and the outer regions, empowering themselves and de-powering those two really beneath them. To bring control and communication together, the monarchy dealt with communication issues and maintaining control by promoting people they trusted and demoting people they didn't.
• c. 625-700: Empress $Name political and military leadership led to a major expansion of the Orinese Empire, extending it into Central Europa, and engaging in a series of wars on the Memopotamian peninsula. Colony-fixed legions performed so many civilian administrative functions on top of their army role that their removal would cause serious disruption in the evacuated area.
• 754: As financial centres developed, the monarchy stopped the moving itinerant court and re-created fixed capital at Hierapolis. The court resisted this at first, as it meant recognising the growing power of the merchant class.
• 760-880: During the Mikoto period (c. 760-880), the Orinese Empire reached the height of its power. With trade booming, the dynasty 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 Yomiro II 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 Ahe IV in charge of the empire and dropped her sails. Neither Empress Yomiro II nor any of her ships were ever heard from again. Yet this unfortunate occurrence paved the way for Orioni's golden age.
• 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.
• Bariyan Wars, a series of three slave revolts ("bariyan" is derived from “bariya”, Oharic for “slave”) in the middle First Empire.
• After these wars, there were hundreds of years of peaceful prosperity. Many jealous neighbours whispered about how “in Orioni, precious stones are just pebbles for children to play with.” But it wasn't long before such comforts turned to decadence and decline started to set in.

Mikoto period

Mikoto period (758-884)

Coin of Empress Saimei in 602 CE.

Coin of Empress Tenyi in 629 CE.

Bathing Empress. To her left are contemporary rulers coming to pay tribute.

Caption.

• 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.
• Orinese society was highly stratified. 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 a national administrative institution in their empire. The ancient Orinese recognised four social classes: Arayanii (queens, warlords and nobility), Amistii (priests), Negadii (traders and artisans), and Bariyaii (servants and slaves).
• 601-700: Empress $Name supports and leads an indigenous resistance to the Muslim conquest in Mahdah, the region then known as Memopotamia. Her title was cited by Sahrabic-language sources as al-Kesi (the priestess), a nickname given to her by Salamid opponents because of her alleged ability to foresee the future. In later centuries, al-Kesi's legend is used to bolster the claims of Orinese dynastic rights in Memopotamia.
• 672: years of 3 Empresses
• 700: Foreign kings come to pay tribute to the Empress.
• 731: The first incidence of plague in Orioni in the colonial city of Ishikamo.

Yasu period

Yasu period (884-930)

Caption.

Caption.

During the waning years of monarchial power, all interests were to be made obedient to the monarch as embodiment of the state. The Yasu period monarchs tended to be really petty. Empress $Name taxed her political enemies an extra 10% just to piss them off. The crown also monopolised specific resources as symbols of prestige and power. Monarchs often grant economic boons as part of the system of patronage, often in the form of monopolies. These monopolies were greatly sought after because they almost guaranteed wealth. But this granting of monopolies actually undermined the economy by interfering with supply and demand.

Civil war

Ira period

Ira period (930-1087)

Caption.

Caption.

Abandoned temple, 10th Century.

Even the most seemingly eternal of empires declined through stories of conquest, corruption, incompetence, assassination, bigotry, and environmental crisis.

• 987-988: 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. By the time the ‘Marenesian Plague’ arrived in Orioni, word has already spread of its devastating effects in Europa. Even distant frontiers like Orioni were not spared from its effects, as the disease took only a matter of years to spread across maritime trade routes of the Pearl Road to the opposite end of Europa. The first of such plague reached mainland Orioni via Vega on 13 July 987, carried by twelve foreign galleys, and rapidly spread all over the city. Galleys from Vega reached Perseus and Andro in September 987. But it was the outbreak in Hierapolis a few months later in January 988 that was the entry point to the Orinese heartland. Spreading throughout Orioni, the Black Death is estimated to have killed 30-60% of the total population.

• 990: The plague created a series of religious, social, and economic upheavals, which had profound effects on the course of Orioni history. The poor, finding their status worsened with each year — the government in the hands of their masters, and the corrupt courts deciding every issue against them, began to talk of violent revolt. The rich, angry at the challenge to their property, prepared to defend themselves by force. The serfs in Orioni, led by Lusiyesi Sergius, rebelled against Imperial tyranny over their impoverished lives. Sergius, proposing to abolish all debts, organised a revolutionary army of “starving serfs"; he died in battle against the empire. 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. The upper classes in Orioni cursed, complied, and resumed the concentration of wealth. This response gave rise to even more hatred towards the Crown.

• 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 to do so. The Akrep dynasty was founded by Duke Rajanar I Akrep, who was the son of Rajanak I Akrep, the prince of Meda, the capital city of east Orioni. career of Rajanak I Akrep 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 Rajanak II Akrep 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.

• 999: 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. An Akrep samurai says the prayers he needs to say, he dons whatever fetishes or talismans he needs to wear that day, and thinks no more of 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 Rajanak 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.

• 1010: Royal processions with elephants and gold-draped horses, festivals, fireworks, and Orinese give no impression of decline. But in the first decades of the 1000s, the empire loses vitality. Lavish gifts, princely titles, and palaces were spent on his friends and allies. Four months into the year, Empress Halakowi (986-1011) found she spent over a year's worth of government revenue. In a panic, she spent the rest of his reign trying to address this, increasing taxes and collecting debts. The court pressured Halakowi to recall her exiled older half-sister, Habisha.

• 1011: Habisha (1011-1016) was likely involved in Halakowi's untimely death. As her successor, the now Empress Habisha unleashed a violent purge of his sister's officials and reversed her policies. Such was the ongoing back and forth with each new monarch, with the top layer of government usually suffering a bloody overhaul and reversal of policies with each succession. She also desired restoration to an imagined “good old days”, and sought to enforce separations between Medanese and Orinese which had blurred over previous decades. Medanese were banned from many government offices, forbidden from learning Oharic and other Oriental languages, the civil service examinations cancelled, and the general population disarmed.

• 1015: A possible decade of drought begins, according to modern tree-ring data. A dry spell from the previous years resulted in plagues of locusts that eradicated crops and continued for the rest of the decade. These ecological problems were directly tied to the economic woes. Empress Habisha continued the imperial policy of government-provided disaster relief in the form of cash, grain, rice, animals and other supplies. However, in a decade of unprecedented climatic disasters over a varied geographic area, this was an impossible burden. The densely populated Wenizi River Delta, home to one of the most economically and agriculturally vital areas of the empire, suffered annual flooding, epidemics, starvation, and typhoons which destroyed towns and farmland, causing thousands more to die in the ensuing famines. The remaining Orinese records reveal a dynasty facing yearly crises. There was a major famine somewhere in Orioni almost every other year.

• 1016: Empress Yibawi wanted to make the government more efficient by cutting court expenditures, and reducing stress on the empire’s population by decreasing the high fees on the salt monopoly, encouraging agriculture, and improving and speeding up the government relief system. Yibawi’s centralisation of power, and willingness to respond to rumours of threats with great violence, galvanized resistance against her, including by her own cousin, Yirisamona.

• 1036: Yibawi was exiled by Yirisamona (1036-1045), and died a month later. With her went the last of those who wanted to go back to the “old ways", succeeded by those who recognized, and even celebrated, the Medanisation of the Orinese dynasty. To Empress Yirisamona, the Medanese culture and military strength were to be appreciated. Believing all dynastic problems could be solved with a steady hand and powerful government, Yirisamona sought to centralise and strengthen Orioni through a variety of reforms. Her reign saw the removal of the last of Yibawi’s allies, and increased influence for the Akrep clan. Throughout this political upheaval, the environmental crises only worsened. Intense flooding every year of the 1030s annihilated croplands, inflation continued to rise, and the population grew ever more agitated. During Yirisamona's 9- year reign, more than 20 rebellions broke out. No new revenues could be found to pay for these expenditures while the costs of relief, war, the court, and corruption continued to soar alongside inflation.

• 1045: Empress Bilihi (1045-1068) was quick to blame her predecessor for all that went wrong. But the difficulties continued. In 1047, after 20 days of non-stop rain, the Wenizi broke its banks and flooded numerous districts and cities. The threat to the salt fields was a particular concern, as its trade and taxes provided 10% of the monarch's yearly revenue. Bilihi’s many reconstruction projects were designed to protect the producers and tax income. But this accidentally sparked the ultimate collapse. Even as work continued, a massive revolt erupted in the Wenizi River valley. The large gathering of workers, hungry and weak from years of famine, punished by cruel overseers trying to meet a strict timetable, was fertile soil for rebellion. A number of cities fell in quick succession. Government forces were poorly prepared and beaten back. Bilihi constantly shuffled larger military units, transferring and reappointing commanders around the empire to prevent them from forming alternate power bases.

• 1068: By the end of 1060s, Empress Dinigili (1068-1073) brought the Wenizi River valley back under control. Methodically, she retook cities, and by late 1070 she was about to crush the final major figure of the largely broken rebellion. At the last moment, Dinigili snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. For unclear reasons, Empress Dinigili ordered $AkrepName dismissed at the start of 1071. The short-sighted and inept monarch, perhaps fearful of her general’s growing might, was unable to replace him. $AkrepName ensured that Dinigili’s carefully balanced military machine collapsed instantly, much of the army deserting, and the rebellion re-emerged with new vigour.

• 1073: Empress Atsuno (1073-1087) had little power over her remaining commanders, who fought each other for the right to marry one of the crown princesses. She sat idly by as rebellious warlords fought for control.

Unlike in common depictions, the Ira period monarchs responded actively to a dramatic climatic crisis. But they couldn't overcome such a massive emergency. Few states have survived such a threat, while at the same time go through uncontrolled political and economic problems. These difficulties were continually worsened by the environmental crisis.

Ino period

Ino period (1087-1168)

Wooden soldier figurine, c. 1060s.

Caption.

The Orinese civil war lasted from 1023-1174. Practically all past civilisations have suffered collapse. Collapse can be described as a swift and lasting decline in population, cultural identity and socio-economic complexity. Government administration stops and chaos follows as the state loses its reigns of justice. Some civilisations recovered or reformed, such as the Orinese. Other collapses were more permanent, such as the Aromans.

Orinese civil war
Usurpers break into Hierapolis palace in 1063.
Date 1 February 1023 (1023-02-01) - 29 May 1174 (1174-05-29) (151 years, 3 months and 4 weeks) Location Orioni, Azure Sea, Tamarini Status Loyalist victory Territorial changes Capture of Medanese tributaries; Orinese expansion into Tamurin
Main Belligerents
Monarchy in exile Orinese loyalists Supported by: Buranian mercenaries	Medanese pretenders Supported by: Hakkadian Empire Tamarini
Commanders and leaders
See list Empress Yibawi Empress Yirisamona Empress Bilihi Empress Dinigili † Empress Atsuno Empress Yitino Empress Talaino Empress Nirisino Empress Berewino Empress Gilawino Empress Yiginawino Empress Timamawino Empress Masaino Sri Adhamed Waldemar Tekeles	See list Empress Ushurphir Rajanar I Akrep  † Rajanak I Akrep Rajanam Akrep Rajanar II Akrep Rajanal Akrep Rajanak II Akrep Rajanak III Akrep Rajanal II Akrep   Uthman ibn Naissa
Strength
	($thousands)
Casualties and losses
($thousands)	($thousands)

• 1023: The economic crisis in Orioni worsened, forcing the Empress Yibawi 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 Orinese Empire. From their Capital in Meda, they quickly conquered their own hinterland in the east. They received support from malcontent elites, later called the Black Nobility. Outside actors who considered the Orinese Empire a threat secretly supported further annexation of the southern coast by Akrep. Armies from submitted kingdoms -- Medani to the east, Tamarini (present-day Tamurin) to the west -- continued to gain Orinese land, leaving a much-reduced state.

• 1056: By 1056 the Akrep controlled large parts of eastern, central and western island. Nearly all lands of the Orinese Empire were conquered.

• 1063: In 1063 Akrep, by his own accounts, took control of Hierapolis and installed his royal pretender Empress Ushurphir (meaning: “House of Ushur”) on the throne. She was probably the mother of Rajanak I Akrep. Her exact relationship to Rajanar I Akrep is unclear, but she may have been his sister or cousin. After the Akrep clan assumed control over the capital, the imperial Orioni household was forced to flee. Aside from a few loyalists who held out in the mountain strongholds, Orinese rule largely ended. Only the less accessible northern regions of Semeni and wild Amilaki remained free from Akfrep rule. Rajanar I Akrep ordered the sacred trees of Hierapolis to be felled. When the people heard this they gathered and offered money for its preservation, but without effect. The trees were cut down. The wood was transported to his capital in Meda and used as beams for his new palace. The entire forest was lost and the lumber transported. But one day before the shipment arrived, Rajanar I Akrep was killed by one of his slaves. An omen of things to come.
• 1064: North of the Mendakh mountains, the Orinese loyalists set up a new rump state as the 'North Orinese Empire'. Former elites set up new temporary court in Dion and other towns to the north. The official royal capital was established in Corona Borealis, a peripheral port of limited maritime commerce, with large international populations of Ide Jimans, Kokuans and Miirosi traders. The wealth of the Orinese elite shifted from land-based tax revenues to overseas maritime trading. After some decades of consolidation the loyalists began executing their plans to reconquer all former states of the Empire.
• 1092: In the spring of 1092 Rajanar I Akrep led his armies in a major campaign against the northern rump state. By November, the Loyalists withdrew from the Mendakh Mountains towards Dion, abandoning Cygnus (Hangsa). In December, Rajanar I Akrep took Cygnus and slaughtered its inhabitants. To expand his army with more cavalry, Rajanar I Akrep married his daughter to Uthman ibn Naissa, an Europan warlord. His forces suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Dion where Rajanar I Akrep, temporarily halting their war. A serious weakness amongst the Akrep conquerors was the ethnic tension between Medanese and foreign mercenaries. Although foreigners soldiers made up the bulk of the invading Akrep armies, a sense of discrimination against them was common. This festering internal conflict jeopardised their unity.
• 1100s: After nearly 80 years, the civil war had entered a period of stalemate. The Loyalists sent messengers with requests for aid from north Oriental nations, and even some Buranian states. Aid was received in the form of skilled sailers. These Darini (Old Buranic: “violent people”) 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 Medanese described them as ruthless pirates. One famous privateer was Waldemar Tekeles. He married a royal princess and was permitted to wear the imperial symbol in his hat. After the Civil war, the Darinese were allowed to settle in northeastern Asehayi in Dari (Tauri) province. This feudal power was largely based on land ownership, the system of patronage was significantly tied to giving land to those who supported the monarch or taking it away. Empress $Name rewarded the mercenaries with the loan of important lands, but retained ownership to maintain the power of the crown.

• Important characters during the civil war
• 

  Ushurphir installed as anti-Empress (1063).

• 

  Azanian cavalry of Uthman ibn Naissa.

• 

  Loyalist messenger greets a Buran King to request military assistance.

• 

  Privateer Waldemar Tekeles (1129-1176).

• 

  Plate depicting Sri Seymond Adhamed (1133-1192).

Fort Yahir proved crucial in the Battle of Cygnus.

• 1122: 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 in to 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 the Yahir mountain fortresses, 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.
• $YEAR: The loyalist resistance in the north was aided by several technological innovations, including the introduction of Tagmatine fire. In a situation of constant conflict, warfare and daily life were strongly interlinked during this period. Small, lightly equipped armies reflected how the society had to be on the alert at all times. Forces were capable of moving long distances in short times, allowing a quick return home after sacking a target. In the context of the relative isolation of the Orioni island from the rest of Europa, geographical and cultural differences implied the use of military strategies, tactics and equipment that were markedly different from those found in the rest of Europa during this period. Soldiers typically carried a sword, a lance, and either bow and arrows or a javelin. Armour consisted of a coat of mail over a quilted jacket, extending at least to the knees, a helmet or iron cap, and bracers protecting the arms and thighs, either metal or leather. Shields were round or triangular, made of wood, covered with leather, and protected by an iron band; the shields of knights and nobles would bear the family's coat of arms. Horses were occasionally fitted with a coat of mail as well.
• 1131: Between the death of Rajanak III Akrep ($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. The strife was caused by another possible era of drought. 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 the early 12th Century.
• 1147: (Usurpers lose even more territory. Loyalists reach Perseus and Sirius, crossing into Tamarini, cutting off an important source of Medanese reinforcements.)

The Fall of Hierapolis (1174).

• 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 Orinese Empire on 29 May 1174. The Orinese were commanded by 41-year-old Sri 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.
• 1176: After the defeat of the allied Akrep states by the Reconquista in the 12th Century, Rajanal II Akrep was forced to take his own life and to give up Meda to the restored Second Empire of Orioni. After the enforced suicide of Artulo, his widow Jaratab Akrep ($born-$died) 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.

Colonial Orioni

Masaino period

Masaino period (1168-1318)

Allegoric statue of a sitting Orinese empress about to arise again, c. 12th century.

The San Tower is a well-known landmark south of O'polis.

The 12th Century was defined by a long period of political restoration and reconstruction, the publication of new laws, and generously rewarding loyalists for their support.

• 1175 – The Restoration period began. Having repaired the unity of the Empire, and initiating major governmental reforms, Empress Masaino (1168-1180) showed great awareness that Hierapolis was an unsatisfactory capital. However, as the capital city for over a thousand years, it seemed unthinkable to suggest that the seat of government be moved elsewhere. Nonetheless, Masaino decided to move the capital to a more secure and defensible location. To build a better future, Masaino looked to the past. She selected Queen Anahita's homeland as the new location of her new imperial capital. The city would be built on a more secure inland location, further north than the old capital, less vulnerable to sea raiders and better situated for agriculture. The inland also averted any risk of a tsunami, such as the one that ended Tripolis. These lessons were learned from the difficult to defend position of Hierapolis. A better location was found upstream of the Wenizi river, on the Altais plateau. Here a new city was built and expanded over 6 years.
  • WIP. Religious revival. Capital returned to near old Orbil/Arbil/whatever. The national capital also served as religious capital. Propaganda reason for why Hierapolis fell was its desecration by outsiders and straying from the true, original path. Explains why later the Buran mercenaries were allowed into Zuidhaven, but had to stay outside O'polis.
• 1178 – Empress Masaino also recognised the Elitism faith as a national religion, besides the older Amisti. The Elite priesthood in return granted her the title The Immortal Soul. The Reconstruction success deepened Orioni’s cultural integration process, blurring the differences between east and west.
• 1180 – Empress Masaino would rule for only 12 years. To her people, she was the shining example of victory, while her enemies considered her ruthless without exception. And though she died in a tragic accident, her life ushered in a new age for the Orient.
• 1182 – On 11 May 1182, the new capital was consecrated at what is now O'polis. Empress Moriino (1180-1182) 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.
• 1192 — Death of Sri Seymond Adhamed “iron arm”, the conqueror of Hierapolis. To commemorate his victory, the San Tower was built in O'polis.
• 1195 – A new and improved law code was announced to coincide with 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. Ten copies of the $DocumentName were made, recorded on silver tablets. A single copy remains in the San Tower. 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. This belief would later form a legal basis for the first imperial council.

The 13th Century saw increased economic activity after the important reconstruction efforts from previous decades.

• 1221 – Year of 3 empresses. Tokiino died. Her daughter Takahira died while giving birth. And so Tokiino's other daughter, Tameino, was crowned.
• 1224 – Hierapolis had been sacked and destroyed following its fall in the final days of the civil war, in 1174, by the loyalist army of Sri Seymond Adhamed. Empress Tameino (1221-1232) re-founded it as Zuidhaven on the site of the previous city. Zuidhaven would never again be a politically influential city like O'polis. But the city enjoyed relative peace and steady growth as a prosperous trading city, thanks to its remarkable position. The site had easy access to the Wenizi River and had an excellent and spacious harbour. Empress Morari (1232-1242) further stimulated private building by promising householders gifts of land from the imperial estates. For example, on 18 May 1232, she announced that, as in O'polis, free distributions of food would be made to the citizens.
• 1230 – The Orsini family of wealthy bankers, under threat of having their property seized by the Orinese Empire, packed all their worldly belongings and moved to Cristina.

Taneino period

Taneino period (1318-1500)

All territories that were ever part of the Orinese colonial empire, 14th century-20th century.

  Core empire

  Colonial presence

  Temporary presence

  Sea under Orinese influence

  Extent of Orinese naval expeditions

Golden Gift to Buran mercenaries, recovered in Wendland.

An encounter of Ivericans and Orinese.

The 14 and 15th centuries formed a period of reconnection between regions that had previously lost contact. At first, it saw the establishment of an equal partnership with other nations, unlike the First Empire. But later, this reconnection proved to include less peaceful interactions. The first colonies in Europa were set up by the Orinese as bases along the Pearl Road. The Orinese tried hard to establish a monopoly over the entire Pearl Road trade, to earn the most money. It was far more profitable to set up trading posts and control sea lanes rather than taking over entire regions. This was the standard for colonialism at that time. The Orinese did this by founding local trading posts called k’ot’arī (Lysian: comptoir; Stillian: fábrica). This was a place that combined multiple functions. It was a market, logistics depot, military base, and colonial headquarters. Here they collected spices to use for medicine and cooking. One notable example of a k’ot’arī is Piri, nowadays the capital city of Mekabiri. Other places included Arrabar in the Tamurin, Burtemi in Mekabiri, Aiea in Bainbridge Islands, and Sys in eastern Miiros. These all proved to be important stopover points for international trade.

Every k’ot’arī was ruled by a colonial governor called the Danya (Oharic: “judge”), in the name of and as the representative of the Empress. The title was first used in the beginning of 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 Empress appointed numerous Danyas to rule over various parts of their increasingly vast overseas Colonial Empire in Europa, Marenesia, and in the Oriental Ocean. The selected Danyas of these colonial provinces were empowered to act in place of the monarch. They could arrange trade relations, declare limited war, and utilize occupied lands. This was an extraordinary break from the centralised traditions of the First Orinese Empire. The administrative organisation 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 Orinese Empire. A central government and the entire Judiciary were ruled substantially by the Danya.

Subjugating an entire country of island was not always possible. In that case, the Orinese struck deals with local rulers, kings, and sultans. These rulers could keep their throne in exchange for trade exclusivity. The local puppet kings were allowed to keep their titles, but they did not hold possession of the land nor any sovereignty. Successful empires need acceptance and cooperation from the ruled. The key to the Orioni's colonial success involved finding and keeping such collaborators. They did this in the same way all traditional rulers had: by practising indirect rule. First, you find regional leaders who are willing to make a deal. Then, you leave them in control of their fiefdoms, in exchange for a large cut of the revenues. And if your collaborator ever gets out of line, you drop them and find a new local leader interested in the top spot. The Orinese maintained the illusion of being another regional power. Not because of worries about his strength, but to maintain the idea that nothing had changed. They won power through the local political processes. And their rule depended on the yield of taxation from the existing administrative systems. The Orinese succeeded because they didn't act like a foreign conqueror. Local rulers were subdued and brought under the authority of Orioni. This was how the Orinese monopoly expanded. What started with a few outposts, grew into a bigger colonial state.

• 1302 — The Tamurine city of Arrabar was captured by Azāzhi Chīyaro's forces after a three-day siege. A short-lived puppet regime was installed.
• 1320s-1330s – Empress Taneino (1318-1339) sent forth explorers into the east and south of Europa. Their mission was to revisit old colonies and collect any overdue taxes. She completed these voyages, the first example of Orioni going out in the Eurth. At the same time, religious and linguistic influence spread throughout these regions and among its various peoples.
• 1322 — Conquest of Tamarini with help from Buranian mercenaries that previously settled in nearby Nordhaven. By sharing the spoils of war, the Buranians switched their allegiance to the better-paying Orinese in their friendlier climate. The remaining Buranians up north saw this change of loyalties as a betrayal, a wound that never really healed; the old and new Buran would continue to drift apart.
• 1349 — Conquest of Birlini (Mekabiri), aided by the previous capture of nearby Tamarini.

It worked, and the Orinese made a lot of money. But it didn't last. Tastes changed. The Orinese empress needed a new source of income, so the Danya improved their system of exploitation. They started by leasing land to farmers and taxing them. And they cooperated with the local ruler. But that didn't end well. The local rulers exploited their farmers so much that even the Orinese thought it was going too far. So the Orinese ended their power-sharing arrangement, and that upset the local rulers. It was one of the last times that local elites tried to resist Orinese advances. But they were all crushed in the end.

• 1350s – A limited colonisation began towards the north, in the Europan coastal areas in Tamurin and Mekabiri. 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 enemy forces or rebel tribes. As a result, this was also the payment given to the peoples 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 Astrini (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.
• 1367 — Conquest of Tahini (Malindi).
• 1370 — Conquest of Baribeni (Bainbridge Islands).
• 1375 – The Age of Reconnection began thanks to the migration of Europan scholars and texts to Orioni. The reason for this migration was the overthrow of the Sacred Aroman Realm by the combined forces of Elite knights and Buran Horde.

By the 1400s, the Orinese monarchs required even more money to finance their costly expansion. Where should this money come from? Another Danya had a brilliant idea: what if we tax the local population? Those without money could donate 1/5 farm revenue as taxes. And those without a farm could work 1/5 year on a plantation. This became a huge success for the Orinese. Up to half the total revenue for Orioni in the 1850s came from this system. But Orinese and local rulers squeezed the local population and asked too much of the farmers. These farmers couldn't even make enough rice, leading to famines.

• 1410s-1440s – In the early 1400s, Orioni considered itself to have the greatest navy on Eurth. Azāzhi Jovan Tafari (1372-1444) was a prominent admiral of the Taneino court. He was of part-Azanian heritage and a personal favourite in the royal court. Empress Yutaino II ordered Tafari to conduct a series of treasure voyages. This expedition was composed of several sub-fleets. The admiral sailed into the West, through the Azure Sea, past the Meteorolas, into the Adlantic Ocean, all the way to Occidental Europa. The voyages were commercial, going around promoting trade with the restored Orinese Empire. He showed off Taneino dynasty gifts from the Orinese empress, spreading wealth and treasure while flying the flag of Orioni. It’s a fascinating story if only for the audacity of what the Taneino dynasty at the time was pulling off. The voyages were not only for exploration. One of his commissioned tasks was the collection of back taxes from Orinese who had strayed outside the borders and settled on other islands. Tafari was accompanied by a contingent of marines. And when necessary, he would get forceful. Tafari went on five of these voyages during three decades. After those first voyages, the Orinese Empire retained an overwhelming focus on the oceans. It maintained a significant ability to project power in its immediate maritime environment. For the scholars looking at Orinese maritime history, the sailing of Jovan Tafari led to a new Golden age.
  • Tafari, despite his age, was waging a determined campaign against the Memopotamia. A fleet of freebooting pirates, operating out of the Baribeni islands, began preying on merchant shipping in South Europa and the Sea of Konstantinopoli.
  • Even as far away as western Azania, the outreaches and political connections of Tafari were winning bloodless victories for the Orinese Empire, with four ships bearing a tribute in spice from the Sultan of Assurym arriving in the Azure Sea in 1438 before returning to Zakesh the following year loaded with Orinese goods.
• 1450s – In continental Europa the awful practice of witch-hunting began. This brutal repression of xxx lasted for several centuries (1450-1750). It led many knowledgeable women to flee to Orioni, giving a boost to the existing pharmacological knowledge in Meda.

The Orinese needed more and more land to build plantations. They started more wars to claim land and expanded their colonial possession. Between 1460 and 1480, the navy launched some 20 military expeditions. The Orinese had started with only a few outposts but were now growing into a bigger colonial state. Many new islands were conquered during this period. Most notable were the additions in 1472 of the plantations in the spice islands, Chafu in Ayubi, and especially in Damak Var.

• 1472 – Sri Tegezhi Agari (1432-1490) claimed the south-Europan islands Daini (Damak Var) and Jawini (Ayubi) for Orioni. With fiery rhetoric, the Empress proclaimed that where the flag of the Empire was raised, never would it be lowered. An extensive slave trade began as the Orinese sailed into the Haken Bay. Coastal areas were easy to conquer. The military had experience with previous islands they submitted. This turned out to be much more difficult when marching inland, away from the supplies and reinforcements.
• 1485 — After the Orinese conquest of the Baribeni and the Orinese naval presence to curb piracy, the Memopotamian merchants barred Orinese merchants from trading in the free port cities of the Memopotamian peninsula. This led to the siege and capture of Hakbar by Orioni in 1485. This resulted in the extinction of the Donaldic dynasty, effectively ending the Golden Age in Hakkad.
• 1499 — Conquest of Thubani.

Tamarini

Birlini

Tahini

Baribeni

Daini

Yawini

Thubani

Burkini

Rohini

Astrini

↓Tax collections

↓Admiral Tafari

↓Slave armies

↓Age of Piracy

↓Slavery abolished

↓Age of Revolution

↓Thalassan War

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1450

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1500

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1550

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1600

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1650

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1950

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Timeline of Orinese colonial occupation.

Oino period

Oino period (1500-1663)

Artistic depiction of Empress Soko (1593-1629-1643).

Battle of Dagbad (1603).

The 16-17th centuries were a new Golden Age for Orioni. The country experienced increased interaction and integration with greater Eurth. Under a series of capable and strong leaders, the Orinese people worked as a whole to accomplish the nation’s goals of expanding overseas. It is during this period that the Empire reached its greatest territorial extent. The first multinational alliances were formed.

16th century

• 1517 – slave armies. When the Oino dynasty took 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 Azania to great success, deploying several thousand slave soldiers across the Memopotamian coasts in a fight to take the gold and salt mines. Unlike the earlier tribal armies, a 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 imperial representatives never paid these slaves. Instead, when reaching the age of 40, they were “paid” in the form of receiving their freedom and a small plot of land in the conquered territory.
• 1520s – (Which areas are colonies? Establishment of Viceroyalties. Merchants suffer from piracy threat.)
• 1529 — Conquest of Burkini island. (WIP. The route to SSI might have been known, but not much else. The far east was a mysterious land. Previous failures and myths kept people from looking in that direction. Why bother, with so much wealth to the west. Compare this to RL Ottomans focussing on the Silk Road and ignoring the New World.)
• 1584 – Imakura college is founded by Empress Igado.
• 1593-1606 – Thirteen Years' War was an indecisive land war between the Memopotamian sultanates and Orioni. In Ayubi the Salamid defenders were slaughtered, leaving the island open to the Orinese, and Jawini was occupied. Towns were burnt and many people died. Both Mahdavic and Sahrabic sources attest that prisoners awaited a gruesome faith. Wire was threaded through the palms of the prisoners, who were strung along the prows of the Orinese ships as a necklace. The war ended with the Treaty of Desitenya, and a peace was signed for a period of 20 years.

17th century — Orioni's strategic location enabled it to dominate trade from the Orient. However, this location was only as good as the knowledge of the world. As the Iberics began exploring more of the Eurth in the 16th and 17th centuries, they were able to undermine Orioni's earlier advantage. Orioni had spent centuries concentrating on building slow, low ships that relied on calm seas. These ships were perfect ships for moving large cargo across the tranquil waters of the Azure Sea. But they were pretty terrible for moving quickly across the unpredictable and harsh waters of the open Oriental Ocean. Orioni was unable to adapt and became locked inside the Orient. It missed out on the Europan rush for colonies across other continents. When the Iberics successfully completed their Gran Viatge in 1609, their experience with ocean-worthy ships ended up giving them a competitive edge to dominate the ocean itself. Trade within the Orient shifted towards Iberica and other powers, forever destroying Orioni's monopoly and the source of her vast wealth. Orioni's influence continued to wane across the following centuries.

• 1600s — This Orinese onslaught at the cost of previous rulers created a power vacuum. After the occupation of the largest Meteorolan islands, the former aristocracy and military was forced to choose between serving Orioni or expulsion. Some stayed with the hopes of clinging to power. But others moved further south to Safiloan and Mevraqi islands. These refugees did not always find a warm welcome there. Countless sailors lingered in the western waters, without a means to earn their livelihoods, and uncomfortable with the increasing control of a centralizing Orinese Empire. Unable to blend in with their fellow islanders, these misfits, familiar with the Meteorolan winds and currents, as well as Orinese tactics, would prove themselves quite capable in pirate raids. Their expertise and leadership brought more than tactical pirate raids. As they proved their military acumen, other pirates rallied around their flag.
• 1618 – (WIP. Do something Renaissance-like with this year of the Golden Ratio.)
• 1634 – Following the rumours of Deiargon's success, Empress $Name hired the explorer Captain Ortega. He discovered Rohini on 16 February 1634.
• 1644 – First attempted voyage to the New Wurld. (But did we sail east or west? I don't know. To be decided.)

WIP:

• Fatuma binti Yusuf al-Alawi (c. 1650-1715), queen of Zanzibar.

Owara period

Owara period (1663-1709)

Notorious Argic pirate captain Yakov Moyshchik (1645-1714).

Caption.

The Owara period is a relatively short era but important transitional period. Internally, political power shifted from the monarch to her advisors. Externally, a lot of wealth was lost to the increased pirate activity, locking Orioni out of the Oriental Ocean.

• 1650s — Increased sea trade drew the envy of many people. The pirate menace saw a drastic increase in activity during this Golden Age of Piracy (17-18th Century). Historians encounter piratical activities in any sea where goods changed hands. The pirate milieu was a highly mixed and included people from all corners of Europa and beyond. In 1683, the notorious Argic pirate captain Yakov Moyshchik (1645-1714) managed to defeat a Orinese fleet in the Battle of $PLACENAME, announcing his dominance in the Meteorolas for more than two decades. For the first time in history, the pirate fleets could extend their operations to mainland Europan waters. The Orinese lost much wealth to these pirates. In addition, the Orinese were largely unfamiliar with the Oriental Ocean, having previously only sailed close to shore, and the unpredictable winds caused the ships to make slow progress. Without an effective way to combat these pirates in the open Oriental Ocean, the opportunity to establish a foothold in the New Wurld slipped away.
• 1660s — The Orinese Empire was not always able to locate and punish these pirates. But they could put pressure on political authorities who allowed them to use their facilities, resources, and marketplace. It often happened that pirate captains were punished by local authorities who did not want to antagonize Orioni with which they had a treaty. So pirates had to follow certain rules and couldn't behave as they pleased.
• 1670s — Piracy also disrupted communications between colonies and the imperial government. Local leaders were demanding more autonomy from Empress Owara. In the late 17th century, the old role of Danya was transformed into a more modern Vayiresini, with the goal of better administering the greatly increased colonial area.
• 1680s — To counterbalance this increased local autonomy, the monarch needed another way to bind the larger empire to her person. Finding inspiration in the past, Empress Onara took up the old mantle of religious leader. With the introduction of Euhemerism, the Imperial Household established a form of state religion to worship her as a quasi goddess. Historical accounts were exaggerated in the retelling and ultimately became myths. The deity of Elitism was transformed to an actual person, placing her at a definite point in time, to prove an ancestral bond. This new system combined theocracy with an absolute monarchy.
• 1690s — By the late 17th century, the Orinese found themselves in a long and fierce rivalry with the Sacred Aroman Realm. Naval warfare at that time was a costly business. Governments could not maintain a large fleet for long periods of time. The SAR realised the weakness of its armada. Disrupted by internal strife and economic constraints, the SAR was unable to put together a functioning fleet. What the SAR did to put together a powerful navy was to look for contractors. The Aromans resorted to the expertise of these pirates, who had already proven their worth in the Meteorolas. The alliance between the pirates and the SAR was fruitful for both sides. The former found jobs, lucrative contracts, and access to strategic resources such as cannons and timber. The SAR was able to threaten the link between Orinese colonial possessions, and also to strike a blow to the prestige of the Orinese Empress.
• 1693 — Against overwhelming odds, the Orinese were defeated during the Battle of Alhafa. The loss of Jawini (Ayubi) proved that Orioni could be defeated.
• 1700s — Lysian privateer Jacques Moineau (1680s-1729) forced the last Orinese out of the Adlantic trade network.

Ogimachi period

Ogimachi period (1709-1771)

Orinese vayiresini giving an audience to Argic diplomats.

Caption.

The 18th Century was a time of economic growth and globalization. Orioni had built a long-reach navy that could go almost anywhere in the wurld without encumbrance. The Orinese colonial empire rose to become one of the most powerful, spanning three continents and lasting for over 600 years. The Second Orinese Empire reached its peak in 1754 with the incorporation of Astrini (Niederoestereich). It had been 452 years since the Orinese first arrived in Tamarini (Tamurin), and in less than a century, their influence had spread throughout Europe, Marenesia, and Thalassa at the start of the 15th century.

During this time, a vast amount of knowledge from all over Europa flowed into Orioni. Over the centuries, the belief took hold that the Orinese were responsible for bringing these various island tribes together and uniting them under their rule. However, this idea of unity ultimately backfired, as it sparked the first seeds of independence and eventually led to independence movements, uprisings, and decolonization.

Over time, the Orinese Empire's rule in the Meteorolas became increasingly oppressive. Taxes on the local population were constantly being raised, and the government sought to exert greater control over the region. This led to widespread discontent and eventually, revolt. Despite these efforts, however, Orinese rule in the Meteorolas remained unchallenged until the late 19th century, when the empire began to decline.

• 1710s — In the 1710s, there were clear objections against the supposed divinity of Empress Onara, which is known as demythologization.
• 1720s — This in turn helped to sow the seed of the Enlightenment in the 1720s.
• 1730s – In 1731, there was the abolition of slavery in the Orinese Empire. This was a time of increased conflicts throughout the Empire, and slave owners struggled to keep their slaves under control. In this contentious atmosphere, a movement of enslaved continental Europans organised to throw off that yoke by violence. Their uprising featured a style of fighting increasingly familiar today: scattered militias opposing great powers, with fighters hard to distinguish from non-combatants. This insurgency expanded into an extended borderless conflict that spread from Azania to Amutia and across the Orient. Even after it was put down, the insurgency rumbled throughout the Orinese Empire at a time when slavery seemed the dependable bedrock of its dominion.
• 1740s — In 1740, there was a financial bubble, followed by political revolutions in 1745.
• 1750s — In 1754, Astrini was integrated into the Orinese Empire after the last Buranian dynasty heir died. According to the original agreement, the island became an outpost of the Orinese colonial empire. To help govern both countries, many Buranian nobles came to O'polis, bringing their entourage with them. This allowed them to maintain some political influence. There was competition among nobles from both countries to gain access to the monarch, with the goal of keeping the composite state together. However, this caused disagreement with those who believed that the interests of Orioni should be prioritized.

Modern Orioni

Omei period

Omei period (1771-1867)

Βee goddesses, dated to c. 7th century BCE.

Bees

Beehive tomb or tholos tomb from the First Empire period.

Tholos in modern architecture.

Grand Princess and later Empress Ogako (1843).

Orinese iron steam ship Tekenakanyi destroys Baribenese war junks in Pahu Bay, 1 July 1843.

In the early 19th Century, the Orinese Empire entered a period of decline. For the Orioni, the glory days of Empress Oino I The Elder were well in the past. Gone were the days when the mighty fleets loomed at the gates of Dagbad. This decline was brought on by revolutions, piracy, and continental Europan colonial expansion. The decline accelerated in the late 19th century.

• 1781: Internally, the Orinese realm became divided. After Astrini was integrated in 1754, many Astrinese nobles of Buranian origin moved to the Orient. Many settled vast swaths of land along the Tamurine coast. Most of these lords began to act as independent rulers of their own fiefdom. On top of dealing with the frequent rebellions caused by these so-called vassals, the reign of Empress Omei I also saw a rise of nationalism among the Empire’s subject ethnicities. In 1780, after a string of uprisings, the Tamurine had secured political autonomy for themselves within the Empire. By 1871 the decolonisation of Tamurin began.

• 1790s-1800s: Political revolutions continued in mainland Europa. To the Empress’s credit, significant attempts at social reform were attempted to reinvigorate the troubled Empire. Empress Omei I adapted a selection of these revolutionary principles to save Orioni's form of imperial rule. To do this, Omei I translated the desires for public order, unity, and national glory into what's today called Neoroyalism. She decrees the harmony of social equality and hierarchic order, while at the same time opposing political changes that would shift society to the left or the right. For Neoroyalists, the essential lessons of these revolutions was that unity of government and the governed was paramount. In contemporary times, the term Neoroyalism is used to describe highly centralised autocratic regimes dominated by the military. The honey bee became a popular political symbol for the Neoroyalist ideals of committed service, self-sacrifice and civil loyalty. The honey bee suggests immortality and resurrection, and was part of some dynastic emblems during the First Empire.

• 1817: In the last months of Omei I’s life in 1817, she initiated the modernising reforms. These removed many of the oppressive prohibitions historically enforced on the Empire’s non-Orinese ethnicities. These included guaranteeing equality of all Orinese citizens, regardless of faith, and allowing Christians to serve in the military. Unfortunately, the reforms were ultimately a failure. Throughout the rest of the 19th century, more and more colonies would declare independence.

• 1820s: In the early modern period, the empires of the Oriental world had been as rich as their continental Europan counterparts, making use of their position along some of the wurld's great trade routes to fill the imperial coffers. At the turn of the 19th Century, the industrial revolution spread across the Europan mainland. The Orinese Empire, at the crossroads of Europa and Thalassa, was still a respectable regional power. But it was losing its influence to Amutian and Occidental powers.

• 1822: In the early 19th century, Mekabiri was ruled by the Mahanan Sanjay Sherchan. Nominally, he was still an Orinese vassal. But in reality he acted as a sovereign in his own right. Sherchan dictated his own foreign policy and only listened to the Empress when he felt like it. After a brutal, decade-long war which involved foreign support and intervention, the Mekabirians freed themselves.

• 1830s: This geopolitically tumultuous situation is the cause of later revolts. Throughout the 19th century, a concept called 'nationalism' was on the rise as a form of political organization. Nationalism was born in Argis, but would eventually spread as an idea among the Intelligentsia of various countries around the wurld. In the Orinese Empire, this occurred within various religious and ethnic groups, as well as the ruling class. Throughout the 1830s, the Orinese Elites of the Orinese Empire shifted away from seeing the Orinese vast multi-religious and multicultural demography as a virtue, and began to embrace pan-Orientalism.

• 1843: Decolonisation of the Baribeni islands. The independence movement received secret support from the ruling strongman in Hakenium. This third decolonisation action went on to inspire similar campaigns in remaining colonies.

• 1847: Decolonisation of Tahini.

• 1848: Europa experienced a wave of revolutions and rising nationalism. New machinery replaced manual labour. Farmers moved into cities, suffering from economic displacement. Feudal systems of government had functioned for agrarian, subsistence economies. But they were proving ineffective for this more international Eurth. The problem worsened because of one-crop agriculture, raising the chances for disaster. Failed harvests resulted in either mass starvation or emigration.

• 1850s: During the latter half of the 19th Century, the modern capitalism and new technologies of “continental” modernity spread beyond the western wurld. Oriental states found themselves falling behind. Knowing that technological inferiority could lead to military defeat, the government of Orioni set out programmes to industrialise.

• 1860s: Industrialisation in Continental Europa led to a rapid expansion of resource-rich countries, while internal Orinese production remained a predominantly focused on the agrarian society. The rapid change brought about by industrialisation meant that by the 1860s, Orioni was in need of economic reforms that proved difficult to undertake. For example, most of the industrial and services sectors were still owned by rich matrons and the business conglomerates. These monopolised important markets, systematically strangling minor enterprises and using their influence to alter laws and keep worker’s rights to a minimum. Changes to the economic system would only come in the 20th century after the Thalassan War.

• 1967: Late Imperial Orioni was an autocracy, ruled by an Empress with no checks upon her power. There was no political opposition, no constitution, and no freedom of speech or right to trial. About 80% of Orinese people were peasants with no rights, freedom, or chance for improvement in their social status, which was passed down to their children. As officers in the continental armies saw more of the wurld, they realized the inefficiency and injustice of this system. Many of these officers dreamed of similar reforms in Orioni, but they had little faith that Empress Ogako would be a champion of their cause. On the night of 11 March 1867, a group of disaffected army officers strangled Empress Ogako to death.

Nabérrie period

Nabérrie period (1867-present)

Empress Jomi Nabérrie, photo taken in 1908, colourised.

Prince consort Giuseppe Korvini.

Tanks outside the Sibiseba building, 1928.

Imperial Orinese Army soldiers awaiting orders to depart Rohini.

EOS is headquartered on Deseti island in northwest Orioni.

The Nabérrie dynasty came to power in 1867 when Empress Jomi Nabérrie succeeded her second cousin, who was strangled by revolutionary aristocratic officers. This period is defined by decolonisation and globalisation.

> WIP. Internal Orinese politics of the 19th and 20th centuries were marked by rising tensions between regions of the empire. From the 1950s onward, these tensions cooled through increased marriage ties among leading families and clans. This resulted in better cooperation between the leading clans.

In 1867 Empress Jomi Nabérrie was crowned. She inherited the throne at the young age of 23. She was horrified by the ineffectiveness and chaos of her second cousin's rule. In a 1863 letter to her tutor, she wrote: "To be frank, the well-being of the state is not a consideration in the administration of affairs; there is only absolute power, which does everything wrong and at cross purposes. Officials are chosen solely on the basis of favouritism, without regard for merit. Farmers suffer, commerce is hindered, and personal liberty and well-being are crushed. That is the state of Orioni. You can imagine how my heart aches." Her marriage to the foreign Prince consort Giuseppe Korvini from Cristina caused quite a scandal among the nobility. However, the young Empress Jomi also showed great enthusiasm for reform, a hopeful sign for Orinese aristocrats who wanted to see the Orioni Empire become more modern. Jomi wanted to be a modern monarch and the early years of her reign started quite positive. In $year, Jomi passed a decree granting land-owners the right to free their serfs. The following year, the highly intelligent and liberal-minded $AdvisorName became Jomi's chief advisor. $AdvisorName established a new 'Council of State' to advise the Empress and even started drafting the Declaration of Citizen Rights (1874). However, she could not achieve a positive shift and is mostly remembered for the far-reaching economic crises in 1979 and 1894. The decolonisation of Astrini in 1901 was another blow for the Orinese prestige. This culminated in the deep economic crisis of 1910. Her government was hesitant to resort to extreme measures of intervention. But they also wanted to avoid an utterly hands-off approach. Jomi had a synergistic vision of labour and business working side by side, with government acting as a neutral mediator that ensured fair play. That vision, however, restrained her government from approaching the crisis with extreme effectiveness of one kind or another. The government was interfering with private business' ability to resolve the problems, and vice versa. Business was interfering with the government's ability to do the same. To keep the peace, Empress Jomi had to make several concessions, including more expanded voting rights and more regular elections.

In 1912 Jomi was succeeded by her daughter Empress Oshita Nabérrie. Oshita's reign was also defined by civil unrest. A revolt on Rohini island in 1921 required decisive suppression to be contained. To calm the situation, Oshita granted numerous concessions. These included the establishment of Rohinese schools, the end of conscription, and the suspension of taxes for five years. In 1926, she stepped down due to poor health.

In 1926 Empress Owa Nabérrie succeeded her mother. Her reign lasted 64 years and was one of the longest in modern history. In the aftermath of the Oshita's death in 1926, a tricky road lay ahead for Orioni. It had to manage its transition to a multi-party political system, whilst at the same time dealing with the fact that the military would get involved in politics if they saw fit. On top of all this, Orioni had to grapple with social instability caused by socio-political violence between left-wing and right-wing groups. The country was confronted by another economic crisis in 1927, followed by a state of agitation and unrest. The faltering economy and an increasingly autocratic government towards the end of the 1920s saw the military engineer a coup d'état. In light of the instability in Orinese Society and the government's failure to resolve the issues, the Army felt compelled to intervene. In 1928 a group of Plebist-leaning military officers, led by Colonel Nawa Molo, attempted a coup d'état which ultimately failed. Orioni saw a prolonged impact of the Long War (1932-1956) and the Thalassan War (1941-1947). The 1940s downward spiral began with an economic crisis (1943) and ended with the decolonisation of Rohini island in 1949. This led to an economic recession, social unrest in the form of labour strikes, and street demonstrations. Violence between left-wing and right-wing groups also became much more common. This low point was followed by a decade of reform. The growing socio-economic tensions didn't go unnoticed. Empress Owa approved a new civil code that introduced gender equality in 1952. The extended matriarchal family, the traditional core of Orinese society that had stood for millennia, would forever be changed by these reforms. A year later, in 1953, she also approved the adoption of the Eurthican Convention on Human Rights. International cooperation blossomed, culminating in the establishment of the Europan Commercial Alliance on 14 October 1954. The last remnant of imperialism was lost with the decolonisation of Burkini island in 1955. Another minor economic crisis occurred in 1958, testing the recent reforms. Quick recovery was followed by a peaceful decade of healthy growth and consolidation. In the 1967 general election, the ruling Constitutional Party lost to the Workers Party of Orioni. This marked the first time another political party would lead the country. Under the leadership of Chairlady Yekirigizi Sinetsihufi, the Orinese economy initially experienced rapid growth. Unfortunately, the impact of the Second Argic War (1968-1974) and the Great Alharun War (1972-1975) interrupted the modernisation. This unavoidably led to another deep economic crisis in 1974. During the 1960-70s, the Empress evoked controversy abroad by visiting the Ide Jima and Mekabiri. These trips prompted some journalists to label her the 'Red Lady.' Through all these ups and downs, the experienced Empress Owa could rely on a series of reliable politicians including Chairladies Beza Menkir Alem (1979-1983), Eleni Arame (1983-1987), and the first male Chairman Hano Ketenya (1987-1991).

When Empress Owa died in 1989, her testament stipulated the crown should pass to her granddaughter Hensei Nabérrie. Owa expected a younger Empress to be better positioned for the modern world. Named after the Hanzei dynasty, Empress Hensei also strove to emulate her illustrious predecessors. Regrettably, she was almost immediately confronted with another economic crisis in 1991. She was served by the Chairladies Eleni Arame (1991-1995) and Salayish Ciris (1995-2003). Empress Hensei's reign was cut short by her sudden death on 1 March 2003.

In 2003 the Empress Joni Nabérrie was crowned. The Orinese people and their economy benefited from multiple cabinets having prioritised economic development. During her second term, Chairlady Salayish Ciris had focussed on infrastructure projects Under her successor, Chairlady Chandra Pristo (2003-2007) oversaw the establishment of the Entente of Oriental States in 2006. The minor economic crisis of 2007 brought a new governing coalition to power, the first without any traditional political party in government. Chairman Ionas Strupar (2007-2015) oversaw the economic revival through various national recovery programs. He also initiated various military projects. Strupar's political support imploded when various financial scandals came to light. The 2015-election returned Pristo to power for her second term. She continued the financial recovery, hosted the 2018 UENA World Cup, initiated a Green Shift; promoted STEM grants, and expanded the strategic petroleum reserves Decades without military conflict came to an end when Pristo decided to intervene in Bainbridge Islands. The conflict dragged on without results, weakening her political support. After the 2019 elections, the SPO remained in power but with significantly fewer seats in the Sibiseba, hampering the abilities of Chairlady Awidefale Rezovi (2019-present).

Future

The timeline of these future events have yet to take place.

• 2021: Celebration of the Trillennium, or 3,000 years of Monarchy in Orioni.
• 2022: Economic crisis.
• 202X: Oil Wars.
• 202X: Imperial marriage.
• 202X: Crown-princess is born.
• 2063: Surprise nuclear attack on O'polis.
• 2073: Destruction of the SS Prophet, an interplanetary exploration ship of the GEOS Space Navy.