Azdarin

Mark of Aazidaarini
Founder
Mesfin
Scriptures
Book of the Layansaa
Languages
Arabic (liturgical)

Azdarin is a monotheistic religion in Northern Scipia which teaches that there is only one God and Mesfin is his messenger. Azdarin teaches that God’s nature is the primordial water of the earth and is therefore alien to the material experiences of mankind. Through death, however, all men will be cast into the spiritual oceans of God and to survive they must practice the “tashbith”, the clinging on to truth, or else their spirit will be destroyed completely or wash ashore again to be reborn. The scriptures are called the Layansaa, literally “the unforgettable”, because the truths which are taught in Azdarin are the only things which can be carried into the next life to protect man’s fragile souls from the immense depths of God’s existence. Those who cling to the truth, the adherents of Azdarin, call themselves “those who hold to the holy truths”, but are more often called Yen, Azdarists, or derogatorily Djinn.

The Yen believe that Azdarin has been revealed to many people throughout history and has always been available truth to all mankind, though it was only accepted during the reign of Mesfin.

Azdarin was recorded during the reign of Mesfin by his priestess, Amsalech. It was originally a form of ceremonial godship, which developed into a more complex religious complexity as the Mesfid empire rapidly expanded.

The two primary denominations of Azdarin are the Sahb and the ‘Iifae, which fundamentally disagree on the nature of God and, more importantly, water. The Sahb believe that the oceanic presence of God (and therefore the mundane presence of water), pulls spiritual energy into itself. The Sahb, who are also called Zaytiin, therefore use oil instead of water in some rituals, especially those involving the forehead, since using water might suck out the soul and weaken the Yen. Alternatively, the ‘Iifae, who are also called the Manque, believe that water pushes against the soiled spirits of the world and that the objective of Azdarin is to be immersed in God in the afterlife. The ‘Iifae is a much smaller denomination, which mostly lives in small, coastal communities around the world.

Tashbith

The “tashbith” are the fundamental truths, which, when fully accepted and practices, can be carried into the afterlife as a safeguard against the perilous journey into God’s spirit or as a way to be joined with God’s spirit in some sects. The essential tashbith are that there is only one God, that Mesfin was his prophet, and that there are angels, that the Layansaa is infallible, belief in the afterlife described in the Layansaa, and that the dangers of afterlife can be guarded against only through the tashbith.

Acts of worship

Prayer

Communication with God is extremely difficult, but prayer is an important fixture of Azdarin. There are two kinds of prayers, some are made to angelic intermediaries or saints who can communicate with God on the behalf of the petitioner. From most small or personal issues, these prayers, the Earida, are used. The less common, formal prayers are called Yusrikh, are must be made by a large group of Yen since they attempt to draw God’s attention directly. Yusrikh are sometimes made by the whole congregation of a Temple or at some public event, but the more common Yusrikh are the Tasarakh Almatbuea which are standardize, printed booklets of prayers that many people can undertake separately and simultaneously. There are many version of the Tasarakh Almatbuea, but all Yen sects have a set of objectives to achieve through prayer. For example, there is a prayer for good harvests, for just rulers, and a prayer against hurricanes, which people often say to contribute to the general needs of the Yen community.

Libation

The pouring out of water or other liquids is an essential practice of Azdarin since it represents the blessing that God pours out onto the earth. Different liquids are used for different rituals and are thought to have specific results; sects have competing opinions on which liquids should be used. Oil, milk, wine, and honey are often used as offerings, but water is most common. Basins of water are therefore important fixtures in Yen architecture. Fonts or bowls of water are made available to guests at their departure, the guests each dip their fingers or cup their hands into the water and then shake or spill a small amount off onto the ground. Public fountains are sometimes used in the same way or even simply spitting on the ground if a meeting takes place away from a ready source of water. All of these actions bring good luck and small blessings.

Unlike other traditions with similar practices, it is not thought in Azdarin that God consumes or is even aware of the offering. The Yen libation is purely representative of the spiritual world and the Yen believe that imitating the spiritual world in the physical world aligns them and naturally brings about greater movements in both. When a Yen spills out water, the same action occurs in the spiritual world as well, building momentum in a cyclical loop. When something good happens, it is especially important to follow the libation rituals, since even better things will happen. Likewise, however, it can be important to stop a libation ritual when something bad happens. The most poignant example of the latter is the spilling of blood, which begets more spilling of blood. Because of this, there are two weeks every year--one in spring and one in autumn--during which the spilling of blood is prohibited called the “tawaquf”. Prisoners may not be executed, punishments involving the letting of blood are forbidden, and surgeries must not cut anyone open (unless they are already bleeding) during that period. Tawaquf brings peace and an end to violence, it was first practiced by Mesfin to stop violence amongst his own followers.

Bathing

Immersing oneself in water is considered an extremely powerful and dangerous act, which can bring one into close proximity to God. Because of the mixed nature of immersion, the Yen public generally has avoided baths while the priesthood had long constructed and maintained pools for bathing in. When facing an important decision--one important enough to risk great damage to ones soul--Yen will sometimes go to the priestly baths and make their decision after spending some time in the water. Mesfin famously spent an entire week submerged in the Tafet River before launching his holy war of conquest. This week, which is called Almaghmura, is celebrated annually by the Yen and this is the time considered safest to bathe completely. The most cautious Yen will still avoid submersion during Almaghmura and will instead dip their feet in pans of water.

The paranoia the surrounds submersion has also resulted in a cultural phobia of the sea, which is why all of the great Yen states have depended on third parties to conduct their trade by sea. During wartime, sailors would wear special amulets of driftwood inlaid with precious metals to keep their souls from being born out to sea with their bodies. There are many stories of sailors, lost at sea, who are kept afloat entirely by these amulets and are eventually led to shore by them.

Tabanaa

Tabanaa is instance of becoming like God which manifests itself in many ways. A common example of the Tabanaa is the holy war waged by Mesfin and his successors. The holy wars were exceptionally swift, brutal, and chaotic, which Mesfin sanctioned as the literal manifestation of God on their behalf. Tabanaa is also sometimes used in a more personal approach, when one’s life is thrown into chaos, it is the touch of God, especially when that chaos is caused by flooding.

History

Mesfin (951-985)

Hailing from the Gombakori clan of Waletta, in the southern Gombakor Mountains, Mesfin was a pioneering warrior and General who believed himself to be empowered as a manifestation of god. As foretold by the seer-priestess Amsalech, whom Mesfin kept in his council. Mythologically, Amsalech is told to have consecrated Mesfin’s relationship with god, by taking him atop rocky peaks of Nutum Inyaru and talking to god through thunder, where God’s voice is told to have echoed through the valleys for all the petty kingdoms to hear. This is where Mesfin was anointed by Amsalech as the King of Kings upon God’s command, ordering Mesfin to carry out his will.

Those who did not bend to the rule of Mesfin as King of Kings was ultimately conquered. The Warrior-King amassed a large sum of victories against neighboring clans, subjugating their Chieftains and uniting the Gombakori people under one kingdom. Mesfin’s followers believed him to be a messenger and god-king, taking after the local Gombakori god Aazidaarini, from which the word Azdarin derives, the authoritative god of thunder, dance, justice, strength and lightning. This was emblematic of Mesfin’s prowess as a warrior and authoritative virility as a ruler.

In 962CE, Mesfin marched his armies north from the foothills of the Gombakor Mountains, upon the venerable Dakkul Kingdom, a trading empire that contained many ancient riches. In a swift conquest, Mesfin quickly proclaimed an empire Caliphate for himself and with his gained momentum and high moral, continued north up the Tafet River.

Almurid Caliphate (985-1045)

After Mesfin’s death in 985, his empire was swiftly disassembled into competing factions, especially between the ‘Iifae and the Sahb, the former having a strong presence in the wealthiest coastal cities and the latter dominating the inland grasslands. The Sahbs organized more swiftly under the new leadership of several of Mesfin’s favorite military commanders and launched a mission to purge the Manque. After they had occupied the coastal region, they began a short campaign to reconstitute Mesfin’s empire, which was relatively easy since they held the allegiance of many commanders in the smaller successor states.

The Caliphate was declared in 993, after the occupation of Qarst when the novitiate of the Mahlul Malhi ejected their Mufti because he refused to recognize Nāranj as the true successor to Mesfin. Because the Caliphate was declared by the murids, the novices of the priesthood, Nāranj called his dynasty Almurid, the dynasty of the novices.

Nāranj made several important changes to the religious laws of the Caliphate that allowed it to expand much faster than previously. First, Nāranj ended forced conversions in favor of this dhima, the religious tax on infidels. This allowed the to more swiftly occupy territory than Mesfin had, who had primarily gone in search of converts with territory as a secondary objective. Secondly, Nāranj decriminalized the ‘iifae heresy in exchange for their support in naval operations since recruiting sailors had been extremely difficult before. Third, Nāranj universally abolished slavery for all Yen and allowed slaves to be instantly freed if they converted to Azdarin. Able to quickly occupy territory, having opened up sea lanes, and with an army filled with recently emancipated slaves, Nāranj began the second Great Tabanaa.

The Almurid Caliphate exploded across northern Scipia and Nāranj’s children successfully prosecuted campaigns across the Gombakor mountains and into Ezpanna and Al’zir Jafat.

Classical Era (1045-1250)

After the decline of Almurids, the Azdarin community was never again reunified on such a great scale. There were other, later caliphates such as the Caliphate of Alba, which were great empires in their own right, but the status of Caliph gradually declined into a cultural and religious status, rather than a political one. While this greatly impeded the ability of Yen states to prosecute wars of religion, it caused a blooming of the arts and sciences throughout the Yen world.

Modern Era (1800-Present)

Starting in the 19th century, the decline of the Empire of Tarsas and the formation of the Empire of Tulura greatly changed the legitimacy structure of Northern Scipia. The need for a unified Yen front to resist incursions of foreign invaders was greatly diminished while simultaneously, none of the native Scipian powers held the status of caliphate. Because of these factors, and the changes later wrought by the wars between Tulura, the Hellenes, and the Empire of Heaven, the nineteenth century is considered to be the end of the Yen classical period, though historians have variously observed the downfall of the Zema Caliphate or the occupation of Qarst as potential ends to the period.

Population

Distribution of Yen by nation

Short and formal names	Total Population	Yen Population	% of Population
Mundaqar – Confederation of Mundaqar	177,023,672	42,485,681	24%