Thafonic Patriarchy

Thafonic Patriarchy
c. 1400 BCE–c. 540 BCE
ṯafonə in Thafonic script
Status	Treaty-based confederation under a non-hereditary monarchy
Capital	Thafon
Common languages	Thafonic language
History
• Established	c. 1400 BCE
• Disestablished	c. 540 BCE

In Thafonology, the Thafonic Patriarchy refers to the period of Thafon's literary history, which also coincides with its most prosperous era as a city state and alliance of Thafonic-culture states and peoples. The Patriarchy was the first sustained period of civilisation present on the Vostau peninsula, and was a crucial part of the late Bronze Age in the Mediargic bronze trade. Once the Mediargic Bronze Age Collapse occurred, Thafon and its patriarchy suffered a slow and steady decline, until finally being overtaken by the Scylha.

Name

The name 'Thafonic Patriarchy' is a neologism coined by Thafonologist $NAME, which has stuck as the standard name for the Thafonic governance system. It derives from the trend that Thafonic records have of describing treaties and tributes in terms of (solely male) familial relations. In actuality, its use may create further confusion, as the Thafonic system of regal inheritance was generally not traditional patrilineality or any other form of father-to-son inheritance.

The native name for the city of Thafon, as recorded in various documents from the unearthed city's ruins, was recorded as ṯafonə, likely pronounced [t̪afonː] or [tʰafonə] when records were written. The term 'Thafon', due to the fame of the culture's greatest city, appears to have been used even during the time as a unifying cultural identity and term, though into the Late Patriarchy era, its use appeared to wane less as a cultural name and more as a name referring to any members of the Patriarchy. There is, however, no evidence that the Thafonic people ever used a single term to describe the patrimony of all Thafonic states in treaties with one another. The closest that has ever been found is the term ṯafozaḏaʔi, which appears to refer to the Thafonic culture, but only in the Early Patriarchy era are any attestations to this term ever found.

History

Rise of Thafon (to 1400 BCE)

The archaeological cultures preceding the Thafonici appear to have been skilled in all manner of early metalworking, especially as it relates to art, which they produced a great deal of, refining the artistic style of the later Thafonic cultures. As they emerged into the early Bronze Age, the Thafonici were disunited polities linked only by language. Some sparse trade beginning in c. 2450 BCE caused the city of Thafon to grow, alongside the other cities in the area. It is unclear whether the city of Thafon emerged from the nearby Choni or Pedici, but by 1600 BCE, Thafon appears to have had its own identity and customs setting it apart from either. War in the Mediargic brought an increase in trade to the city of Thafon around 1400 BCE, causing the city to quickly outgrow its neighbours economically and, importantly, politically. Thafonologists refer to the period after 1400 BCE as the Early Patriarchy era.

Early Patriarchy (1400-1200 BCE)

With the grand influx of trade, especially in trade, came a great number of neighbouring tribes and cultures who found Thafon either a threat or a useful potential ally. Centred around Thafon, records of alliances, tributes and vassals, kept written in chiselled stone, begin to arise in c. 1350 BCE. Thafon appears to have been the first Thafonic state to record its allies, tributes and vassals in stone, but would set precedent for the future, with all Thafonic cultures recording their own alliances in stone by the High Patriarchy era. Thafon placed a great deal of importance on its treaties and the wording therein, and the changing of a treaty was definitely rare.

The Thafonici were known to have buried their dead, including their dead kings, in mausoleums far from the rivers. Most Thafonici cities were present on the sides of rivers, and Thafonici religion and custom appears to have dictated that death near to any source of fresh water, such as slaughtering meat or funerary rites, would taint the water itself. Mausoleum buildings tend to have residuous salt rings around their bases, indicating that salt, in either rocks or grains, was spread around them.

In early trade, Thafon began to import a number of resources in exchange for the tin that was so abundant in Thafon. The city augmented its own slave populations with foreign slaves, as well as silk, papyrus, livestock, wood, clay pots and many other resources were traded with Thafonic raw resources - tin, copper, silver - and produced resources, such as high-quality bronze weaponry and armour. However, as profitable as trade was, a consistent thorn in the side of Thafonic trade was piracy, mainly in regards to Orestaii pirates.

The state had a defined priestly and secular ruling class, with the Thafonic King, selected via a complex succession system, resulting in what historians term 'rote monarchs' and 'roll monarchs', based on how they were selected. The early period saw mainly rote monarchs, though towards the end of the period and the beginning of Thafon's ascendency towards the High Patriarchy era, roll monarchs, who were often more skilled in their particular areas of expertise, ruled instead, ensuring that Thafon was able to select the rulers best suited to the current climate.

The early Thafonic military was comprised of levied troops, brought from local urban and tribal populations, and while considered capable, there is little evidence that the Thafonic peoples had any major victories to speak of while using levies for their military forces. This would change, however, by 1230 BCE. Trade with the nearby Auosi, a Vestu tribal confederation, yielded information regarding their military capabilities. King Pekt-Tkeson underwent a trek up the river Vizon towards the Auosi highlands, bringing tribute in the form of gold and horses, and offering the Auosi a treasured place at the side of Thafon in the years to come. The Auosi were split on the decision, though in the end, after a great deal of discussion, only the Soli tribe chose to remain free of Thafonic patrimony, voluntarily moving away from the Patriarchy to the north.

High Patriarchy (1200-1000 BCE)

There is no set date for when the Early Patriarchy era changes to the Late Patriarchy era, but the various social changes, including the use of a semi-mercenary force of Vestu, and the introduction of more and more roll monarchs than rote monarchs, caused the 12th Century (and subsequent 11th Century) BCE to be of great advancement. Thafon now was not merely a trading force, but also a military force not to be reckoned with. Most notably, those tribes of the nearby Choni or Pedici that did not yet bow to Thafonic patrimony fell very quickly, and subsequent to that, an agreement with the remaining tribes of Manii, an Elmoric people group, was struck, in part due to those tribes' fears of expansion by the Gauli. Agreements with the various Lamaii tribes amounted to their subsequent joining of the Patriarchy. With that expansion, the Thafonic military was able to turn its sights to the Orestaii pirates that had long threatened their trade. After a protracted conflict, by 1170 BCE, the Orestaii had either been subsumed by the Patriarchy or wiped out entirely. By the height of the Patriarchy in 1020 BCE, most of the southwestern Vostau peninsula lay under Thafonic control, and the Thafonici had even begun to subsume some of the nearby Gauli tribes, most notably the Galdi, who would later go on to diversify and become a leading people group of Scylha.

The changes made after the driving back of Thafon's two main enemies, the Gauli and the Orestaii, were of a largely peaceful nature, and Thafon's High Patriarchy is believed to have been a high point in culture, art, architecture and literacy. In fact, during the High Patriarchy era, education began to spread not only around the Thafonici, but also the Vestu people groups, allowing for the development of their own distinct yet related literary tradition. Thafon grew to a far greater size than it had previously, possibly containing up to 40,000 people within its walled settlement. This was also an era of religious enlightenment, with the previously unwritten Thafonic religion gaining written records for the first time.

The Tomb of Kesolon, a massive tomb complex and for years one of the only above-ground indicators of the Thafonic civilisation, was built in around 1123 BCE, far away from both the coast and the river. The tomb was built atop a mountain of salt, and was the location of burial for a great many subsequent Thafonic Kings.

The decline of the bronze age trade in the Mediargic led to a loss of trade income with Thafon. Thafon itself suffered economically as a result, but remained politically powerful throughout the latter portion of the Patriarchy. By 1000 BCE, Thafon began a very slow decline.

Late Patriarchy (1000-540 BCE)

With the loss of economic income, the loyalty of the various satellite states of Thafon wavered. Thafon began to fight some of the prior vassals of their Patriarchy, many of whom the Auosi military simply wiped out. The late period also saw the rise of the Gauli, specifically the Scylha, as opponents to the Patriarchy.

Language and writing

Main article: Thafonic script

Politics

Main article: List of monarchs of Thafon

Society

Religion

What data exists of the Thafonic religion supports the idea of it having been polytheistic, with a pantheon of deities who manifested themselves in forms the Thafonic people attributed to natural events. Of particular note were the father and mother deities, Tekes, the father deity, associated with the moon, and Bokessa, the mother deity, associated with the sun, and two other deities, Vis, associated with life and rivers, and Ges, associated with death and drought. Despite the Thafonic religion’s association of the sun with femininity, Thafonic culture and customs were highly patriarchal. The sole exception to all of this was for a brief period in the 8th Century BCE when the Cult of Bokessa took over the temples of Thafon and made strides towards greater equality of the sexes.

Thafonic people associated the gods of life and death with certain superstitions. For example, they held a belief that death must be dealt with away from a river, else bad fortune would befall those who drank from its waters. This results in mausoleums, sick-houses and slaughterhouses being far away from rivers. Thafonic people involved themselves in ritual cleanliness, with public baths and heavily trafficked rivers, and especially tended to wash themselves after attending funerals or eating meat.