Vekara

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Despotate of Vekara

811–1348
Flag of Vekara
Flag
Despotate of Vekara (purple) in 1300
Despotate of Vekara (purple) in 1300
CapitalBara ti'Vacara
Common languagesAhéri
GovernmentDespotate
Despot 
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Secession from Hysera
811
• Treaty of Avar
1348
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Hyseran Empire
Nersika
Today part of Trellin

The Despotate of Vekara or Vacara was a Hyseran successor state, founded shortly before the fall of the Hyseran Empire. It existed from 811 to 1348, when it was annexed by Nersika under the terms of the Treaty of Avar. Its capital was at Bara ti'Vacara (modern Bara Vekriz), a powerful citadel which resisted multiple sieges from its neighbours in Arimathea, Lekhmir and Nersika.

History

Bara ti'Vacara was established c. 410 AD as an outpost of the Hyseran Empire, during the reign of Acalaima the Wise, to check the growth of Arimathea to the northwest and restrict its trade across the Vekra Retiqa. Subordinate fortifications established throughout the empire's most remote province would ensure its survival as an Ahéri-speaking island as its neighbours encroached on its territory. The province was officially named Kibliqún Pefo ti'Vacara, the Eastern March of Vekara, and continued under this name until the ninth century.

The Great Bridge of Bara Vekriz

In times of peace, the Vekaran governors would trade with their neighbours, even in Arimathea, and Bara ti'Vacara grew to become a wealthy city in its own right. Representatives of the emperor would visit the province only rarely, as Hysera's influence waned and it became more dangerous to send deputations. By the late sixth century the province was governed as an almost independent fiefdom and was known to declare and wage wars without imperial authority, though always paying lip service to its sovereign. By the time of the fall of the Hyseran Empire, in 811, the province minted its own coins featuring the now-hereditary governor's head and name, with only the letters vta, standing for ventlaan ti'altlaan ('emperor's servant'), as acknowledgement of his liege-lord.