Damira Khan
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| Damira Khan Դամիրա Խան | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Artistic depiction of Damira Khan. | |||||
| IlKhan of the Khiyzan Confederation | |||||
| Reign | 1187 – 1223 | ||||
| Successor | Karina Khan | ||||
| Born | 17 September 1164 (Estimate) | ||||
| Died | 12 November 1223 | ||||
| Issue | Karina Khan Yedil Kherlen Saida Kherlen | ||||
| |||||
| House | House Kherlen | ||||
| Father | Erkin Kherlen | ||||
| Mother | Asiya Yaruli | ||||
| Religion | Limanism | ||||
Damira Khan (born Damira Kherlen; 17 September 1164 – 12 November 1223), also known as Damira Stormbringer, was the founder and first IlKhan of the Khiyzan Confederation. She came to power by uniting the various tribes of Khiyzan people when tensions between the nomadic peoples of Shirvaniya began sparking into open conflict. After the formation of the Confederation, the chieftains of the Khiyzan Clans proclaimed her IlKhan and she began a series of successful military campaigns to secure the lands of west-central Shirvaniya for her people.
Damira's tactics were considered unorthodox and innovative of her time. It is believed that she had forces under her command equipped with early forms of handcannons and used horses to quickly maneuver the battlefield, anticipating the dragoon of nearly four hundred years later. She was capable of utilizing the unique abilities of each clan making up the confederation to her advantage. She exploited geographic features in her favor and maintained good discipline in her armies and among her peers. Throughout her military career, Damira is characterized for never having lost a single battle, but the considerably smaller and less maneuverable forces of the Khiyzan meant that the entirety of her lifetime was spent defending the borders of the Confederation from Shirvani incursion. Her early adoption of firearms and military accumen earned her the nickname "Stormbringer" among her Shirvani opponents.
Beyond her military accomplishments, Damira also advocated for a universal Khiyzan script that was believed to have influenced the modern Hayeren peoples of Ruvelka and Syara. She also encouraged religious tolerance among her people, practiced meritocracy, and was known to have been sexually liberal and never married. Aside from her antagonistic relationship with Shirvaniya, she also opened trade with what would become the modern Ruvelkan principalities, although her descendants would eventually come into conflict and later settle in Ruvelka by the late 13th century. Several members of her family would also go on to marry into various Ruvelkan noble families.
Damira died in 1223 after succumbing to her wounds at the Battle of Atyrau. She had been struck in the abdomen and chest by two arrows and, despite the insistence of her subordinates, remained on the battlefield commanding her forces to victory. By her request, her body was cremated on a funeral pyre as honored by Limanist tradition and an unmarked cairn erected in its place. She was succeeded in her position of IlKhan by her eldest daughter Karina.
In the present-day, Damira is still popularly regarded among the remnants of the Khiyzan people and also revered as an incarnation of the Sky Goddess Limani in modern Ruvelkan-Limanist circles.