Four Corners of the House of Troubles
'Four Corners of the House of Troubles' (Shangean: 烦恼之家的四个角 Fánnǎo zhī jiā de sì gè jiǎo) is a phrase that was used by Shangean historian Guo Fangai in his 1996 book The Coian Century: Crisis and Conquest, specifically regarding four important figures of the seventeenth century: Gurkhan of the Togoti Empire, Intharatcha of the Khaunban Empire, the Tianshun Emperor of the Toki Dynasty, and Zeyar Ko Zeyar of the Zaihar Empire. While Guo used the Zohist expression in a purely contextual manner from the viewpoint of a Red Orchid rebel in the 17th century, it was quickly taken up by Shangean nationalists, politicians, and Tsandau Zohist clergy. It began a debate over the use, promotion, and demonisation of historical figures, and particularly worsened relations between Shangea and Kuthina, the latter seeing it as an attack on a national hero, founding father, and ancestor of their monarchy. It has exacerbated divisions between Northern and Shangean historians, the former who see it as a dangerous reframing of history to fit political narratives, and the latter who decry Northern attempts to frame their history in an imperialist attempt to present Shangea as a weak country. The phrase also found currency with Zorasan's leadership, and has since become a common political phrase. Guo has since distanced himself from the phrase, claiming that it has been used inappropriately, and has promoted the more neutral alternative phrase 'Four Conquerors of the Coian Century', a stance endorsed by historians worldwide, as well as Zohist clergy of the Theuku and Busothaq schools.
Background
Guo Fangai (born 1955) is a Shangean historian and resident professor at the [Shangean university here], notable for his 1996 book 'The Coian Century: Crisis and Conquest'. In The Coian Century he puts forward that the 17th century was the last time Coius, particularly South Coius, was equal and in certain aspects superior to Euclea in population, wealth, technology, trade, and power. Despite this he argues that much of the century's potential was diminished by the mid-century crisis, the epicentre of which he places in Shangea, particularly the decades-long collapse of the Jiao dynasty. This collapse was concurrent with the rise of two empires: the Togoti and Khaunban, and was the cause of the rise of two more: the Toki and Zaihar. He distinguishes between the former two, which were military empires based upon the personal skill and charisma of their founders, and which floundered catastrophically shortly after their deaths, and the latter two, which were ethnic and clan-based polities which successfully established themselves, but soon became decadent, conservative, and unable to adapt to a highly changed and Euclocentric 19th century eventually collapsed.
In the fourth chapter, 'Crisis of Faith: the Red Orchids', Guo establishes the 17th century from the viewpoint of the Red Orchids, and other anti-Jiao (and later anti-Toki) forces operating in Shangea. This is where he uses the phrase 'Four Corners of the House of Troubles', referring to the aforementioned conquerors and their empires. The phrase itself is from the Chingtze, a Zohist text purportedly written by Soucius in the 6th century BCE. In its original meaning it refers to four trickster spirits who cause mayhem and block the way to paradise. The four spirits are never explicitly named, and there has been much debate between the Zohist schools as to their identities. Guo believed the phrase was apt for the Red Orchids, who were heavily influenced by heterdox Zohist movements, some of which were millenialist and believed they had to create a 'Heavenly Empire' centred in Shangea before the universe came to an end. The phrase soon unintentionally became popular with Shangean nationalists, who interpreted the book as a call to restore Shangea to its 'rightful place' in the world. In an interview in 1998 Guo distanced himself from this understanding of the phrase and book, insisting that his book was a historical treatise on one factor why South Coius fell behind Euclea, and that the phrase was itself heavily biased and a more neutral phrase would be 'Four Conquerors of the Coian Century'.
Four Conquerors
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Gurkhan
Gurkhan, also known as Jasur Khan, was a Sakiro-Pardarian monarch who founded the Togoti Empire. A skilled commander and strict potentate, he extended the small Chagirid state into a vast multiethnic empire stretching from Lake Zindarud in the east to the Bay of Bashurat in the west. He was notable for his fast and brutal campaigns, and for his ruthlesness dealing with rivals, enemies, and burying alive poets who insulted him. Despite this he was also noted as a highly intelligent man known for patronising the arts, building temples, and holding grand debates with intellectuals, religious leaders, and scholars. Considered one of the last great nomadic conquerors, the short-lived Togoti Empire represented the swan song of the steppe conquests. After his death in 1662, during his ill-fated attempt to conquer Shangea amidst the collapse of the Jiao dynasty, the steppe would become increasingly marginalised as trade became increasingly sea-oriented. His own empire would collapse shortly after his death, falling into an internal civil war as his grandsons fought for the throne, before disappearing entirely as neighbouring states, such as the nascent Zaihar Empire, conquered the weakened remnants.
Intharatcha
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Intharatcha, born Supsampantuwongse Chaowas Nai-Thim, and also known as Intharatcha the Great, was a Kasi monarch and was the founder of the Khaunban Empire, which lasted from 1647 to 1673. He was a highly intelligent, ruthless, and militaristic monarch whose 26-year reign saw the rapid creation of one of the largest empires in Coius. At his empire's height in 1665, his rule stretched from Rongzhuo in the west to Sungai Baru in the east, and he received tribute from over 20 nations. Intharatcha spent most of his ruling years on an unprecedented military campaign throughout Southeast Coius, and by the age of 35 he had subjugated most of it. Until his expedition into Shangea he remained undefeated in battle, and continued to win the vast majority of his battles. He is regarded as one of the most successful military commanders in history, known for his innovative strategies and Grand Army. While known less for it than his military achievements, his political, cultural, and religious legacy has made him one of the most celebrated monarchs of Kuthina, though he remains controversial in Shangea and elsewhere in Southeast Coius, as historians estimate his conquests may have led to the deaths of up to 20 million people, or 5% of the world's population at the time.
Born a prince of Khaunban, a modest city-state under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Sippom, he came to the throne in 1647 after his father, Mahathammarachathirat, was murdered by Kraisingha of Sippom. In response he led a successful revolt against Sippomese rule which placed him in control of the Lueng river valley. He undertook the creation of his Grand Army and used it to great effect over the next 11 years conquering and subjugating much of Southeast Coius, including the Kingdoms of Chensae, Lanhok, Myiang, and Nainan. Their integration into his empire remained loose, and he would spend much of his reign dealing with revolts and internal strife. The collapse of the Jiao dynasty in 1659 presented an opportunity to Intharatcha, and in 1660 he invaded Shangea and captured Rongzhuo. The Jiao princes vacillated between opposing him and requesting his aid, which, along with rebellions back home, greatly hampered his ability to commit to the Shangea campaign. In 1667 Rongzhuo was taken during his absence, and in 1668 his reputation suffered greatly after a devastating loss at the Battle of Yuan'an. He spent the remainder of his reign dealing with revolts in his unstable empire, which would continue to plague his successor and help cause the rapid decline of his short-lived empire.
Intharatcha built an empire on a scale not seen in Southeast Coius before, one which in his mind rivalled and outshone that of the Svai Empire, and the concurrent Shangean and Senrian empires, both of which he sought to subjugate. Like previous Kasi monarchs he was a zealous Zohist and he built, converted, and patronised over a hundred temples. While his empire did not last, his unification of the Kasi Kingdoms of the Upper and Lower Lueng endured, as did the Kasi suzerainty of the Svai and Nyaram kingdoms. He remodelled the concept of Kasi kingship from that of a paternal father and personal ruler, to that of a divine autocratic monarch, a system which would endure until the Khanompang Revolution and institution of constitutional monarchy in 1961.
Tianshun Emperor
The Tianshun Emperor, also known as Toki Sinzou, was a Senrian monarch, daimyou, and Tankenhei notable for founding the Toki dynasty of Shangea. Characterised by both Senria and Shangea as an opportunistic, craven, and traitorous figure, his legacy has proven divisive and contested in these countries. Most historians differ from this interpretation, arguing that he was an astute, if disloyal, politician who successfully navigated a difficult path for his clan which allowed it to rise from exiled mercenaries to emperors of the richest and most populous state of the 17th century. His conquest brought stability to Shangea, which had seen decades of instability, and a decade of civil war, and allowed it to recover. While the Toki downplayed the Shangean nature of their empire, and persecuted those deemed 'nationalist', their rule saw the solidification of a Shangean national identity, and until a downturn in the late 18th century, a time of economic and societal prosperity.
In 1651, during the Soukou War, Toki Sinzou broke his oaths to the Minamoto clan and openly sided with invading Jiao dynasty forces at the Battle of Tousokabe; in exchange, the Jiao dynasty promised to restore Ongokudou to the Toki clan should they win the war. Jiao forces pulled out suddenly in 1655, however, to quell domestic unrest, and Toki Sinzou- sought by Minamoto Yosiharu as a traitor- fled the country, arriving in Shangea the same year. In exile after the Soukou war, he was hired by the Jiao, along with other Senrian exiles and tankenhei such as Nagao Yosioki, to hold frontier regions against the growing Red Orchid Rebellion, such as Shenkong which he made his base.
While the Jiao warred amongst themselves, Sinzou and Yosioki undertook ambitious campaigns against the Zhao and Wei dynasties respectively. The Zhao and Wei had become exhausted due to incessant warfare between themselves and the invading Togoti Khagante. By 1664 Chaozhou and Baiqiao, capitals of the Zhao and Wei, had been recaptured. The Shanju Meeting saw the tankenhei back Toki Sinzou as he declared himself emperor of a new Toki dynasty. Sinzou first consolidated his position by continuing his advances against the Zhao and Wei, while increasing his forces via Jiao and Red orchid defectors. In 1667 he moved against the Northern Jiao while Intharatcha was sorting out revolts in the east, and captured Rongzhuo, forcing the Taizong Emperor to abdicate in his favour. He fought in the Battle of Yuan'an in 1668 which crippled the Khaunban army and secured the Toki's conquest of the Northern Jiao. The Eastern Jiao would hold out until 1675, when Liu Yuanjun, the Prince of Wu and self-proclaimed Taian Emperor, was captured after the siege of Yinbao and executed.
The Toki dynasty had control over most of present-day Shangea by 1680, having defeated the Zhao and Wei remnants, and destroyed the last Eastern Jiao armies. They would be plagued by rebellions, particularly in the west, until the start of the 18th century. A punitive expedition against the Khaunban empire in 1682 was successful, killing king Borommarachathirat and burning the capital of Khaunban to the ground. The Tianshun Emperor would die in 1684, while the Toki's conquest of Shangea was completed a decade later in 1694, under Sinzou's successor Toki Banrei, when the last Jiao remnant in Gaoming was captured, and Liu Wenyan, Prince of Cao, and self-proclaimed Taiwu Emperor, fled to Senria, where he would die in 1701.
Zeyar Ko Zeyar
Zeyar Ko Zeyar, also known as Zeyaraj, and also as Zeyar the Great, was a Chanwan monarch, conqueror, and founder of the Zaihar Empire. His empire was the last pan-Satrian empire before the gradual colonisation of the region by Euclean powers, particularly Etruria and Estmere. While it did not control the entire region, its influence, both cultural and religious, was strongly felt, and it acted as a political hegemon for most of its existence, interfering in the internal affairs of many Satrian states. He instituted the Canavāraj, or Chanwan rule, although unlike the neighbouring Toki dynasty, which relied extensively on a noble caste of Senrian origin, the Zaihar operated more or less under a meritocratic system, open to near any ethnic or religious background. Despite this he has been criticised for his persecution of the Badi faith, something he associated with Togoti rule, as well as erroneously the rival Toki.
He came to prominence in 1652, as the leader of a small state in modern-day Duran. His people, the Yarzar clan, had been exiled from the Chanwan area a century prior, and had been located on the frontier by the Jiao, to whom they were loyal. He remained loyal during the collapse of the Jiao dynasty, assisting the Prince of Ji and Prince of Cao against the Red Orchid rebels. Due to the Khaunban and Togoti invasions, and Toki betrayal, his efforts were ultimately in vain, and by 1666 his lands were conquered by the Toki. He moved northwards, into the collapsing Togoti empire, and conquered the lands of Zubad from the Gurkhan's grandson Ajahad. From this base he conquered large portions of eastern Satria, and subjugated much of central Satria. He sent several failed expeditions south to aid the ailing Jiao dynasty, and recognised and sent tribute to the self-declared Taiwu Emperor, formerly the Prince of Cao.
Upon his death in 1692 he left behind a strong state, which would for the next century move from strength to strength. Satria flourished under his Sakri dynasty, doubling in population and becoming the second largest economy in the world, with a highly urban and early modern industrialised economy. His successors would utilise the institutions and policies he established until its collapse in 1841. While initially marginalised by the growing Satrian intelligentsia in the 19th and early 20th centuries, his image has undergone a revitalisation in recent decades, being re-examined as a successful and tolerant monarch who provided peace and prosperity to Satria for near a century. Conversely his image in Shangea had decline significantly, from a heroic figure to nationalists in the Toki era, to a mixed legacy due to his support for the decadent Jiao over the Red Orchids, who he is criticised for weakening and ultimately allowing the Toki conquest of Shangea.
Politicisation
Shangea
Three Worthies
- Red Orchid guy
- Jiao prince who gets a good rep
- gentry-scholar who led a failed rebellion against Toki