Ancient Sepcan Empire
Ancient Sepcan Empire Rungpang (Old Sepcan) | |
|---|---|
| 1905 BCE–1269 BCE | |
| Maximal territorial extent of the Empire c. 14th century BCE Maximal territorial extent of the Empire c. 14th century BCE | |
| Capital | Various |
| Common languages | Sepcan |
| Religion | Sepcan religion |
| Demonym(s) | Sepcan |
| Government | Monarchy |
| Sepcan Emperor | |
• 1905-1891 BCE | Uwang I |
• 1519-03 BCE | Khyual II |
• 1276-69 BCE | Sangzag II |
| History | |
• Established | 1905 BCE |
• Disestablished | 1269 BCE |
| Today part of |  Kheratia Luziyca Nunalik Razaria ZesmyniaTemplate:Country data Volomeria |
| |
The Ancient Sepcan Empire was a state in West Borea that existed from the 20th to 13th centuries BCE, created by Sepcans, a Monic people who invaded the area and established an empire with themselves as an elite. It was the largest empire by area of the Bronze Age, one of the first empires in the world to possess a sophisticated administrative system, and a herald of one of the world's earliest writing systems with widespread modern descendants, Sepcan hieroglyphs.
History
The Great Monic Migration, caused by mainly climactic factors, drove Monic peoples inhabiting modern-day Namor to disperse across Borea in search of more hospitable areas to settle. A branch of Monic speakers that were progenitors to the Sepcans migrated northwards and then into West Borea by the 20th century BCE. This branch is not considered to be related to the Monics that settled modern Kheratia and are ancestors to significant portions of modern Kheratian population. Equestrianism not only gave the proto-Sepcans significant mobility but also military advantage over the West Borean natives, mainly technologically primitive Pan-Esquarian-speaking or indigenous farming cultures such as the Zasem valley civilization, who were quickly conquered and subjugated by the Sepcans.
Sepcan clans established centres in plains of western Razaria and central Zesmynia, where the main cities of the mid-late period of their civilization were built. The conquered local tribes were mostly enslaved under a system of proto-serfdom. At around 1905 BCE, nearly all of the Sepcan clans submitted to a powerful chief, Uwang I, who then proclaimed an unified state, marking the beginning of the Sepcan empire only a few decades after the conquest of West Borea.
The empire was initially characteristic of most nomadic empires, being based on absolute authority of the King and mostly sustained by constant invasions and conquests, before moving towards decentralization under a feudal system known as Menew in the 18th century BCE while the main elite nomadic clans settled into nobility based in fortified cities, ruling over domains of native serfs. With the development of Menew, main political roles in the empire transferred to the nobles while the King was relegated to a ceremonial status. Pastoralism eventually became a secondary economic activity only present in the hilly and less fertile regions of the empire, and the backbone of Sepcan economy, as well as activity of the Sepcans, became settled agriculture. Around the 17th century BCE, use of the Sepcan script sophisticated and disseminated in the empire, and led to the rise of scribes and scholars. Primitive crop rotation was developed around the 16th century BCE.
The late 16th century BCE saw a drastic reversal of the decentralization Menew drove, particularly under the rule of Khyual II, who removed many powers from nobles and replaced it with bureaucracy staffed by scribes and appointed officials. The majority of Menew-created fiefdoms were replaced with governorates and noble land holdings were reduced to ancestral pastures. These centralization reforms were accompanied by the development of more convenient transportation and communication infrastructure, particularly roads, and also the exit of large numbers of serfs from their status and into roles such as scribes and traders, as the restrictions on subjugated natives were reduced. However after a series of noble rebellions the powers of the King and the new systems were reduced in favor of more autonomous divisions known as Rukens.
The 15-14th centuries BCE saw the peak of the empire's extent as it conquered swaths of western Kheratia, reached as far as Topesia, and also subjugated more native tribes into vassaldom or tributary status. The power of the empire was mainly sustained by the efficient governance Rukens offered. In the late 14th century BCE however Rukens became more and more rebellious, plunging the empire into a series of civil wars until its total collapse in the 13th century BCE, fragmenting into small kingdoms based on former Rukens until they were eventually taken over by Mesians. The Sepcan people themselves retreated to ancestral pastoralism as former subjects seized their place.
Government
The Sepcans were generally an absolute monarchy as most early political entities were. The monarchy was elective; the heads of major clans met to elect new kings by a majority vote from a former king's progeny upon death or abdication. Kings were inaugurated in an elaborate ceremony that morphed throughout the history of the civilization, but revolved around the slaughter and consumption of a holy pig or other domesticated animal to bestow divinity upon the king.
A bureaucracy containing numerous departments such as a treasury, land surveying, and a judiciary were present by the 18th century BCE but were significantly expanded by Khyual II's reforms alongside a bureaucrat-staffed provincial system spanning the empire. Administration of much of the empire, under the system of Menew, was done by nobles over their domains, possessing near-absolute power by the system's maturity. The provincial system established by Khyual II allowed central control to extend to the empire via closely surveilled governors, but it was soon replaced with the Ruken system with all-powerful governors appointed typically for life.
Hierarchy was consolidated and played a major part in Sepcan society. Monic Sepcans (i.e. original conquerors) are believed to have never made up more than 15% of the population of the empire, and only portion of those belonged to the highest noble houses. They ruled as an elite over the majority population of native West Boreans, mainly Pan-Esquarian speaking cultures. Sepcan records made no distinction between the main groups of subjects and uniformly referred to them as Kuleti or 'mud-heads'. Most of the Kuleti were in a state of serfdom, serving as farmers, although a number of 'lesser houses' descended from cooperative or prominent locals during the Monic conquest were exempt and even possessed their own domains. Specialized labor was restricted to craftsmen slaves whp were highly prized among nobles.
The harshness of Kuleti serfdom lessened as the empire developed and was eventually given broad freedoms comparable to freemen in other ancient societies, permitted to freely leave their owners if they considered it too harsh. However, lack of ownership came to be looked down upon until the dismantling of Menew. Large numbers of Kuleti exited serfdom beginning in Khyual II's reign becoming formally freemen and mainly found jobs as administrators, merchants and craftsmen. By the late 14th century about 50% of society were still serfs however.
The Sepcan elite were always treated superior to the Kuleti. The rulers in particular were deified. Accepting the superiority of the Monic conquerors and submission to the order they instituted was a basic social principle in Sepcan society. Different laws were used for noble and Kuleti disputes, the former based on ancestral codes and the latter based on a mixture of traditional local law and newly introduced restrictions, until around the 15th century BCE when the ancestral Monic codes were modified to serve as the only legal standard in the empire. Initially only Sepcans served as judges but with the appearance of free natives and particularly scribes these positions too were being filled by Kuleti.
Legacy
As the first significant and well-established empire in West Borea, the Sepcans had significant influence and legacy that was felt far beyond their civilization's demise. Echoing the strength and dominance of the empire at its height, kingdoms that rose in wake of its collapse made references, comparisons and even connections to the Sepcans. They appeared in very significant roles and positions in the epic histories of various West Borean peoples, even referenced in scriptures of Lecian Rodnéwiary. It is also held in various historical accounts, if dramatized, that Lysander the Great was inspired by Sepcan formidability in his conquests which established the Lysandrene Empire, and many institutions of later empires in West Borea can trace root to Sepcan developments.
While they turned back to pastoralism after their fall from power, the Sepcans were still numerous and made regular contact with the local peoples as well as later migrants. Many Sepcan customs have been somewhat transmitted to Vitrian culture. In fact the greater absorption and affinity for Sepcan-derived customs was important in the formation of early identity of Razarians and their separation from other Vitrians.
The awe of the ancient empire continued to inspire many millennia later. In the 17th century the movement of Divleny emerged, romanticizing, glorifying and replicating an idealized Sepcan and Monic culture.