Mychenar

Empire of Mykalimonia Αυτοκρατορία της Μυκαλιμονίας
Flag Imperial Standard
Motto: Ομορφιά, Κομψότητα, Αιωνιότητα Beauty, Elegance, Eternity
Capital	Alioth (royal, executive) Alysthenes (economic) Hyelaistos (cultural)
Largest	Alysthenes
Official languages	Althaeic Bassiliyan
Recognised national languages	Middle Juliaen
Recognised regional languages	Old Juliaen
Ethnic groups	94% Mykalimonian 5% Ok'lizuzati 0.5% Auraxian 0.5% Other
Religion	Mykalism
Demonym(s)	Mykalimonian
Government	Imperial Diarchy
• Empress	Maia Althaea
• Shadow Emperor	Norau Althaeon
Establishment
• Mykalimonian Schism	531 IE
• Alysthenes founded	614 IE
• House of Althaea established	616 IE
• Ok'lizuzati-Mykalimonian War	916-931 IE
• Second Cycle of Mykalimonia	1386 IE
Area
• Total	775,280 km2 (299,340 sq mi) (9th)
Population
• 1385 estimate	~12.5 million (5th)
• 1380 census	12,471,690
• Density	15.99/km2 (41.4/sq mi) (23rd)
Currency	Astro (✧)

The Empire of Mykalimonia (Althaeic Bassiliyan: Mykalimonías; Middle/Old Juliaen: Imperija na Mikalimonija), also known as Mykalimonia or Mychenar, is a large Empire located in west-central Kalavik. It is the most populous country in Kalavik, with the Ok'lizuza Empire following. Mykalimonia directly borders the Ok'lizuza Empire to the north and indirectly borders Eldiastan to the south. Originally banished from the ancient lands of Krotoi-occupied Juliae, Mykalimonia has since established itself as a sovereign Empire. Mykalimonia covers approximately 775,280 square kilometers (299,337.281 square miles), and is the ninth largest nation in regards to known lands claimed. The Empire of Mychenar has recently begun the transition towards an Empire with matriarchal primogeniture with the recent Statute of Succession written and placed into effect in early-1386. Alioth is the royal and executive capital of Mykalimonia, with Alythenes as the economic capital and Hyelaistos as the cultural capital, respectively.

Following the exile of Mykalimonians from Krotoi-occupied Juliae, the people were led by the divine prophet Mykalis Althaea's descendants across and into what is known today as the continent of Kalavik. The large group of exiles would then travel for around three-quarters of a century until establishing Alysthenes. Since establishing Alysthenes, the small nation grew very rapidly, growing to approximately three-quarters of its current size in 730 IE. An royalty was also established shortly after Alystenes was founded. Royalty would be commonplace, as the nation transitioned from a Principality to an Empire throughout its history.

Mykalimonia stands as a highly-developed nation, and as the fifth most-populous nation in the known world with a population of approximately 12.5 million Mykalimonians. Highly pacifistic and focused on its culture, Mykalimonia claims to be the nation of the highest-class in Kalavik. With its population and economic status, the Empire of Mykalimonia is an influential economic and cultural power on Kalavik.

Name

The name of Mykalimonia is primarily derived from Mykalis Althaea, who was a divine prophet and the main figure in Mykalimonian religion. The name was adopted as a demonym for followers of Mykalis, and the Bassiliyan exiles were had agreed on naming their country and themselves after their late-prophet.

History

Evidence of historical documents support Mykalimonians being descendants from what is today the Holy Empire of Bassiliya. Mykalimonians were forced out of Juliae by Krotoi-occupied Juliae in the early-500s, but documents of history before the Mykalimonian exodus exists in the nation.

Juliaen Period (Ancient-483 IE)

Many historical scribes claim that the early Mykalimonians descend from present-day Bassiliya. The earlies times that most scribes are confident about trace back to the Ancient Tribal Era. In this era, it is noted that four tribes existed: the Juliae, Heptameri, Melatos, and the Zervatos. These four tribes all worshiped a common religion named Skajizam. Skajizam revolved around the existence of spirits and deities in the sky. At one point in the history of the tribes, they entered a period of conflict, coloquially known as the Ancient Conflicts. These conflicts, which lasted for approximately four centuries came to and end as a stalemate. This was primarily caused by diminishing populations on the border as large battles ensued between the Juliae and Zervatos tribes. Peace would reign over these tribes until a century later, in which they would become enemies once again in the Juli-Zervatos War as they fought over the western regions. Two decades afterwars would see the second declaration of peace between the tribes which would end hostilities for the foreseeable future.

During this period of peace, the Juliae and Zervatos grew both in wealth and influence, primarily through trade and commerce. The discovery of metals such as gold and silver led to a economic boom in the Zervatos' mining industries. The Juliae themselves benefitted from this industrial and economic boom by supplying the necessary resources involved in mining. 244 IE saw the beginning of the Second Juli-Zervatos War. This conflict saw the subjugation of the Zervatos under Juliaen rule. After the conflict ended, the next two centuries would see the complete yet peaceful integration of Zervatos culture into Juliaen society.

Circa 460 IE saw the ancient and powerful Empire of Peraro Krotoik looking to expand east while swallowing neighboring tribes to the west of Juliae. Fearing for their destruction by the Krotoi, the Juliae begin a military buildup. Soon afterwards, the Juliae would see themselves trying to manage small border conflicts all along the western borders of the Juliae and Krotoik. To the Juliaen's misfortune, a group of ethnics from the tribe of Zervatos incited a rebellion due to cultural grievances, causing the glaven Lazo Panamito to attempt to put down the rebellion. This attempt to contain the rebellion utterly failed, in-turn allowing the Zervatos to flee west into Krotoik lands. Noticing this, the Krotoika invaded the Juliae in mid-480 IE, beginning what would be called the Krotoik Invasion of Juliae. This invasion saw much of the western regions of the Juliae lost to the Krotoi. Consecutive costly defensive losses for the next year would see the Juliae surrender after the Battle of Predavnik, citing the end of Juliaen hegemony and the beginning of Krotoik occupation.

Krotoik occupation and Mykalimonian expulsion (483-531 IE)

The surrender of the Juliae marked a pivotal change for Juliaen culture. The appointment of the first governor per the generous treaty by the Peraro Krotoik saw Mirko Vasiliadis appointed. Vasiliadis soon referred to himself as Mirko Juliae. Mirko oversaw the absorption of many cultural customs and traditions of the Krotoika as well as ethnicities onto the former Juliaen culture. During this period, an important figure in present-day Mykalimonian society, Mykalis Althaea, was born. Mykalis would form the foundation of the religion that is called Mykalism. Her parents through Mykalist manuscripts, described that they felt Mykalis was no ordinary human, but something higher than that. They then began to explain their feelings to their close neighbors about Mykalis. As Mykalis reached her late 20s, manuscripts describe Mykalis traveling from city to city in Krotoik-occupied Juliae proclaiming her divinity and connections to the cosmos. Many manuscripts also described Mykalis performing miracles and bestowing blessings upon those who had fallen ill or had become disabled; something one could not normally do in the flesh. She also taught many people of the rules that they must follow in order to be a true adherent towards her. This prompted a huge following of people who began to praise and worship her for her deeds. However, these acts did not go unnoticed by the Krotoika. Krotoik authorities began to silence worshippers of Mykalis almost immediately with arrests and floggings, as it was against Otoism to worship a deity supreme to Oto. It rapidly escalated to torture and executions as it was becoming more widely known. In 531 IE, a warrant for Mykalis' arrest would be issued as she began to speak about a desire for a Juliaen rebirth and proceeded to produce a highly-inflammatory sermon. She would be found relatively quickly, arrested and tried quickly for her crimes. It was decided quickly that she would be condemned and put to death via stoning. While imprisoned in Soncetopilay, Mykalis was said to have been beaten consistently each day until her death.

Early scholars of Mykalimonia have few but accurate recordings on Mykalis' imprisonment. During her imprisonment, a large group of followers incited a rebellion against the Krotoika citing discriminatory treatment of Mykalis and the overwhelming desire for a Juliaen rebirth. This rebellion would kick off the Mykalimonian Schism. The rebellion consisted of several thousand Juliaens who ravaged through homes belonging to Krotoik citizens. Violent clashes against the Krotoik authorities also occurred. The rebellion would see its end after a week as Krotok authorities gathered who contributed to the rebellion to watch Mykalis' death by the Krotoi. It is recorded that Mykalis condemned the Empire of Peraro Krotoik and supposedly laid out a curse that the Empire would one day fall. She also proclaimed her divinity and association to the cosmos for the last time before she died.

Following her death, a short and violent uprising began again leading to many deaths for both parties. The remaining population of followers would either be forced into hiding or be rounded up and exiled from the Peraro Krotoik. Grieving their divine deity, they coined themselves in her honor as Mykalimonians, and set off to the outskirts of the Peraro Krotoik.

Mykalimonian Exodus (531-614 IE)

Mykalis left three offspring to inherit her legacy with the exiled Mykalimonians. Shortly after their expulsion, Mykalism was born as a new religion that worshipped the late Mykalis, who was now in her completed form in the cosmos. Coming to terms with what had occurred, they had to start from square one, but they were afraid of settling too close to the Empire of Peraro Krotoik as they would likely be killed and pillaged. They began to travel east. They would soon encounter and cross the strait that separated the continents of Oskiya and Kalavik.

Taking into account if they were fortunate enough to expand past the strait, the Mykalimonians thought that it was not enough space between themselves and the Peraro Krotoik to settle. They slowly continued east during their journey. As the journey progressed slowly, Mykalis' offspring and eventually descendants who led the large population gave the exodus reassurance that their ancestor is leading them in the right direction and would let them know when to settle down peacefully. Eventually they would march into a nation named Auraxia who greeted them warmly and gave them as much time as they needed until they needed to continue their journeys, which would be what the Mykalimonians would do after taking a considerable break from the journey. Mykalis' descendants had an instinct that the desired spot was getting closer. After departing from Auraxia, they continued east until they hit the coast of the Lake of Kalavik, where they would settle down and establish a village. Named after the first daughter and leader of the exodus, Alysthenes would be established in 614 IE. The first chief of the town, Jaxis Althaeon and descendant of Mykalis would take charge and oversee the growth of Alysthenes that would be under the blessing of Mykalis for generations to come.

Principality of Mykalimonia (631-664 IE)

After Alysthenes' establishment in 614 IE, the infant entity of Mykalimonia would prosper under Jaxis Althaeon as the new state underwent rapid expansion. With the future of Mykalimonia at his hands, he established a royalty that consisted of current family members immediate and distant. With his son Andres Althaeon, the widower gave the only child of his rights of succession for when he were to pass. Early expansions of Mykalimonia saw little conflict with native civilizations during Jaxis' latter years. Jaxis would pass away in 622 IE, and Andres would inherit his position. As Alysthenes grew, so did Mykalimonia and the needs to govern different areas. Andres would have various family members govern each city and its' surrounding towns as the state grew, and they reported back to Andres while he kept the idea of royalty that Jaxis created, formally designating Mykalimonia as a Principality with Andres as Prince. Andres would go to marry and become the father of four children. During his tenure, Andres would invent Mykalimonia's currency, the Astro (pl. Astra) as well as developing the first version of the Mykalimonian flag which would be a piece of cloth colored deep blue to resemble Juliaen history and culture.

Mykalimonia continued to expand under Andres' reign and would approach the upper limit of territorial claims as a singular principality. Afraid of jeopardizing the royal family's power and influence over Mykalimonia, Andres opted to create a total of five regions including Alysthenes as its own, and appointed positions to his children to govern those regions as Lords. Andres would unexpectedly pass away in 641 IE at the age of 58 due to heart complications. Isvalan Althaeon succeeded Andres while appointing a family member to his previous position as Lord, and oversaw the continued expansion of Mykalimonia as the Principality entered an economic boom. Eventually, the principality had begun to run into conflict as minor disputes over the four Lord's territories began to evolve into violent conflicts. Isvalan suggested that all of the regions originally created by Andres be united into one entity to prevent a civil war. Eventually, the siblings and cousin of Isvalan agreed to sign the rights of their territories to be governed by Isvalan in 664 IE, thus creating the Empire of Mykalimonia and abolishing the Principality.

Empire of Mykalimonia (First Cycle, 664-1386 IE)

Upon gaining knowledge of the current wellbeings of the previous territories that Isvalan's close family took charge of, he realized that the family members weren't contributing much to their own regions that they governed other than to the expansions of Mykalimonia during the lifetime of Lordship, as they were found to be using the money for their own personal gain. Clearly upset, Isvalan issued arrests for the members of the family, seizing what money that remained in their possession upon their arrest. This caused all but one sibling of Isvalan's to be forced into hiding, where they would not be discovered until after their death in 669 IE. The other members were eventually arrested and tried for corruption and embezzlement, where they would all be guilty of their crimes and half of them imprisoned for life and the other half forced to work as slaves for life. The rest of Isvalan's reign would see a significant spike in the religion of Mykalism, as Isvalan implemented policies that encouraged citizens of Mykalimonia who weren't familiar or had no interest of worshipping Mykalism to become Mykalis' adherents. Isvalan passed away peacefully in 686 IE after a 45-year reign, his son Isvalan II succeeding him.

Isvalan II (686-718 IE)

Isvalan II's reign signified both economic growth and recession as he envisioned Mykalimonia to be a beautiful Empire with architecture that rivals any other nation that he knew existed. Most economic inflow went into improving all areas of Mykalimonia, creating landmarks in various cities such as the statue of Mykalis in Alysthenes. Building architecture became unique, and various areas that were lacking in visual aesthetic were greatly improved upon. Isvalan II was also notable for creating and maintaining the early relationship between Auraxia and Mykalimonia, encouraging trade between the two nations as they both continued to grow in economic wealth in some respects. Isvalan would marry and produce a son and daughter soon after. The economic recession came around in 715, as a relatively larger tribe in the southern parts of Mykalimonia stopped their expansion via war and drove Mykalimonia backwards. Expansion in the northern regions continued as planned, with less conflict than the south had experienced at the time. With this war also came a disease that made several rounds all throughout Mykalimonia, named the "Dying Cough". The Dying Cough was a disease transferred by saliva or air particles and would begin with a normal cough, which evolved to pneumonia and death. The disease would begin to slow down as medicines began to prevent it from infecting people. The Dying Cough is still reported to exist today, though in very small numbers.

Isvalan II would contract the disease, and die of pneumonia in 718 IE. His son Kyrillos succeeded him.

Kyrillos (718-762 IE)

Kyrillos' first half of his reign included the ceasing of Mykalimonian expansion around 733 IE as the north had encountered another civilization, the Empire of Ok'lizuza. The south had defined its borders for the moment due to the tribe that had previously held them back from expanding any further south. Relations between Auraxia and Mykalimonia continued to prosper as they both became tighter allies and in-turn their trade improved in size. [Throughout Kyrillos' reign, no attempt was made at making deliberate contact with the Ok'lizuzati.] Kyrillos would continue Isvalan's take on architectural reform and improvement, while also striving to improve citizen's rights in Mykalimonia. Additionally, Kyrillos also passed the Slave Reform, reforming the laws of slaves and saw debt as a dishonorable and burden to one person. Therefore, he provided a way to escape debt by temporarily becoming a slave while relinquishing the right's of citizens as long as one remained a slave. These rights would then be returned following the status of becoming debt-free. Slavery also became an acceptable and very honorable choice for work if the person pursued it as a job; the slaves voluntarily working would receive money for working unlike slaves that possessed debt. Kyrillos would become highly famous with these various reforms he passed, with citizens enjoying more liberty amongst themselves while also maintaining order and peace within the populations. Kyrillos married during the first half of his reign, and would later become the father of two sons and a daughter.

Auraxian and Mykalimonian relations in the latter half of Kyrillos' reign became more stale as Auraxian laws were passed that limited the role of women excessively while praising men's rights, which upset Kyrillos. Kyrillos believed that a woman should be equal if not higher than a man at the very least. A strong pacifist, Kyrillos attempted to suggest that they revert their laws to give Auraxian women more liberties. The Auraxian leaders disagreed with Kyrillos and suggested that they change their laws to fit Auraxian expectations or leave the matter alone. Avoiding escalation and possible war, Kyrillos had left the matter alone to the Auraxians. Knowing that the Auraxians were hosts to the traveling Mykalimonians while searching for a land to settle down with, Kyrillos couldn not commit to destroying that history even if there's an entirely new government ruling over the state. At one point before his death to spite the Auraxians, he thought of choosing his youngest daughter Nysa to inherit the throne, but he knew it would begin war against the Auraxians. He passed away peacefully in 762 IE. His eldest son Scylax inherited the throne, and the Empire mourned his passing for the next week.

Scylax (762-809 IE)

Scylax, though highly militaristic, chose not to exasperate the situation with the Auraxians as his father wished, but dedicated his time to improving the Mykalimonian militaries. He founded the royal guard of the Empire, nicknamed the Illustrious, which worked as both a serious division within the Mykalimonian military and the most prestigious. The Illustrious was a division of Mykalimonians that aimed to display and represent the nature of the Imperial Family through professionalism, elegance, and efficiency. The main task of the Illustrious was to protect the Imperial Family, and secondly to represent themselves in ceremonious events. With the creation of the Illustrious, Scylax sought to improve weaponry and the structure of the military. At the turn of the 9th century IE, he began to position his newly improved military at the borders of Auraxia, further decreasing relations with Mykalimonia and Auraxia and moving the chances of war to a very high level due to Scylax's aggressiveness. However, Scylax did not marry, and he died of cardiac arrest in 809 IE.

Myles I-II (809-847 IE)

The second eldest of Kyrillos' children, Myles I succeeded Scylax for a very short time before he passed away, leaving his son Myles II to succeed Myles I. For Myles I's short reign, he withdrew all forces from Auraxian borders, greatly easing tensions between the two, and committed himself to getting his son ready to inherit the throne. While he was doing so, he was trying to raise the relations back up to what they once were with Auraxia, but they insisted that they adopt their laws that Kyrillos originally opposed, to which Myles I declined. Myles I died in 812 IE.

Myles II's reign saw the temporary introduction of the Imperial Council, a legislative body that aimed to focus on laws that suited the Empire's ambitions. It was quickly abolished by Myles II after the passing of a law that satisfied the Auraxian's previous demands, causing Myles II quickly revoked it, and to arrest and try the members of the council for corruption and citizen right's violations. They were all found guilty and subsequently forced into slave labor for the rest of their lives. Myles II saw the return of Mykalimonian ambassadors from Auraxia, however kept the long-standing trade routes running. Ethnic Auraxians in Mykalimonia would soon find themselves being discriminated for their Auraxian descent, causing the problem of racism to spike in the western parts of Mykalimonia.

A written speech by Myles II was stored in historical locations that most documents are kept, and it highlighted the importance of being accepting of peoples that had fled their host countries. The following excerpt describes the most important part of the speech.

...Those who have fled from their original country have their reasons to seek shelter in our hospitable Empire. We must not give into hate and arrogance for these people. These people come from oppressive regimes and deserve to be somewhere where they feel safe and welcome. We must represent ourselves.

However much the speech by the Emperor helped, it did not solve the problem fully, and so Mykalimonian authorities were sent out to crack down on the prejudice towards Mykalimonian citizens that descended from Auraxia. This effectively caused Auraxian prejudice to be smothered in the face of authority, but the ideals that some radical ethnics possessed remained. Myles I throughout the rest of his reign would become a popular Emperor among the population. He married and produced 2 daughters and 1 son, and passed away peacefully in 847 IE. His only son Xandros inherited the throne.

Xandros I-II (847-947 IE)

The Xandros name is historically one of the most unpopular sets of rulers in Mykalimonian history. Highly militaristic, Xandros aimed to war with those who had previously obstructed Mykalimonia's expansions in the south, and that's what he did. The War against the tribes was a war waged against a moderately sized chiefdom that lasted from 853-861, and saw the complete destruction of the chiefdom and its lands annexed to Mykalimonia. Any remaining people who were a part of the chiefdom were sold into forced slavery, which angered the general Mykalimonians population as they advocated for them to peacefully be integrated into society. Xandros I thought otherwise, and did not heed to the public's request. He would oversee the eventual expansion to modern-day Mykalimonian territorial limits during his reign, producing a son without marrying. He died peacefully in 882 IE)

Xandros II is slated as an unpopular, but also the longest-lived ruler of Mykalimonia during its history. Living until he was 85, he ruled Mykalimonia in his father's footsteps. Unlike his father, he married and produced 2 sons and 3 daughters. Xandros II, also militaristic, was naturally aggressive diplomatically and threatened Mykalimonia's neighbors, completely cutting off Auraxian relations which included the long-lived trade routes. He was particularly spiteful of the Ok'lizuza Empire, driving both empires into the Ok'lizuzati-Mykalimonian War which lasted from 916-931 IE and ended with defined borders between the two and a loss on the resume of Xandros II. Particularly on a bad note with his father, Alioth assassinated his father in 947 IE, and succeeded him.

Alioth (947-957 IE)

Alioth throughout his ten-year reign would change as much as he could to revert what his recent lineage had done to Mykalimonia, as the economy was at its lowest point ever and the citizens expecting many rollbacks to occur. He advocated and pushed out a name change for the Imperial Family, with himself and future members to bear the name Alsephine as he proclaimed himself as a pivotal point in the Empire's history. He also renamed the city of Isvalan, formally named after the Emperor to Alioth as well as designating it as a royal and executive capital, which was not a popular change to the citizens of Mykalimonia. Alysthenes would then be regarded as the economic capital, and most members of the family were to move to Alioth to reside there. He married and had two sons. Alioth passed away in 957 at the age of 63, and his son Marne I inherited the throne.

Marne I (957-996 IE)

Marne I as Emperor saw the growth of Alioth as one of the two capital cities in Mychenar, ordering the construction of the Imperial Palace that exists today in Alioth. He also saw the continued growth of Mykalimonia's economy that had began to grow again with Alioth's tenure as sovereign. He tried and was successful at regaining relations with Auraxia, re-establishing trade routes that had once gone extinct under Xandros II with a more benevolent ruler in Auraxia, though the laws restricting women's freedoms were still in-place and would be to the modern-day. He married, though produced no children before passing away in 996 at the age of 61.

Voranau (996-1007 IE)

Succeeding Marne I, Voranau was a popular figure in the history of Emperors. A traditionalist by heart, Voranau sought the ideals of eloquence, elegance, and being congenial towards one another despite social status. Voranau is described as a man of integrity, in which he led a huge push towards the elimination of corruption in all facets of Mykalimonian society from the local to Imperial Family level, including himself. In order to make this push successful, he passed many laws, more commonly known as the Corruption Reforms that highlighted severe consequences for those who were caught violating them. However Voranau's reign was particularly short, as he passed away peacefully in 1007 IE at the age of 66, in which his son Rigel I inherited the throne.