Fall of the Symmerian Empire

The Fall of the Symmerian Empire refers to the steady decline and eventual dissolution of the Symmerian Empire. While historians generally agree on the causes of the Empire's decline, debate over the nature of the decline, the exact dates, and the dissolution itself, continues to this day.

The Symmerian Empire at its greatest extent.

The Empire is considered to have reached its greatest territorial extent around 692 CE, just after the conclusion of the final war with the Sabrian Empire. At that point, the Empire extended from Syara, Mansuriyyah, and Mubata in the west and to Knichus in the east. Symmeria's domain was around 10 million square kilometers and its population was between 175 to 250 million. Not long after its apex however the Empire began to recede; in 726 CE the Symmerians were defeated by the Zama Empire at the Battle of Fimbala. The concurrent rise of Islam in Mansuriyyah, and the al-Bashiri Caliphate, further weakened Symmerian rule in south-western Siduri, although the exact date when Symmerian rule ended is difficult to determine. The Empire was further crippled by the outbreak of the Burning Plague in 825 CE, which is estimated to have eliminated 25% of the Empire's population, with Syara the most impacted. The loss of tax revenue and manpower likely contributed to or accelerated the rebellion of the Tieu Sisters in 850-851. The Âu Lạc Rebellion from 1080-1090 effectively ended Symmerian rule in Quenmin, causing the Empire to lose its grip on Eastern Siduri. Shirvaniya was lost within the next century with the rise of the Adamdar Empire, and Symmerian holdings in Eracura were largely eliminated by the 12th century. By the 14th century Symmerian rule no longer extended beyond the Kurilla Mountains in Ruvelka, and the subsequent defeat of the Empire at the Battle of Nemaro against the Shirvani in 1305 is often cited as the end of the Empire. However 1305 is not universally accepted, with many scholars noting that the Zelusian Dynasty continued to hold the Symmerian throne after the Shirvani conquest. Symmeria was entrusted with its own army to keep the rest of Syara in line and minted its own coinage, with Symmeria serving as a tributary state to the Adamdar Empire.

Complicating matters is the opaque nature of Symmerian rule. The Symmerians made little effort to incorporate the people they conquered into their Empire, resulting in varied experiences depending on the people and location in question. The Empire did not employ any legal distinction towards the concept of citizenry; all non-slave inhabitants of the Empire were considered subjects and liable to taxation. In some provinces this resulted in significant levels of autonomy, with some scholars going as far as to say that Symmeria was not a "true Empire", but rather a confederation of tributary states kept in line by an autocratic military-political elite. The continued habitation of the Symmerian throne by the Zelusian Dynasty absent any major civil wars or dynastic disputes until the end of the Refusal War in 1987 CE is cited by some historians as evident that 1305 is inadequate for describing the end of the Empire.

Increasingly common among modern historians is the questioning of the term "Empire" and "Fall" as adequate to describe the nature of Symmeria's rule and decline, arguing instead Symmerian control of Siduri "dissolved", its ownership and power replaced by local powers and rulers, while its cultural and social aspects never took hold in the first place to a credible extent, with a few exceptions.