Zaxar

Empire of Greater Zaxar Zaxar
Flag Coat of arms
Capital	Sandrica
Government	Absolute monarchy
• Emperor	William Zaxar

(1st paragraph. Name. Location. Borders. Approx population and size. Capital city.)

(2nd paragraph. Political system. Short history in 1 sentence. Link with present in 1 sentence. Head of state.)

(3rd paragraph. Economy in 2 sentences. International relations in 1 sentence.)

Etymology

(Where does your nation's name come from? Most RL national names come from a small variety of choice. Some examples: land of a tribe (ex.France, Persia, Mongolia, Russia), characteristic geography (ex. Netherlands, India, Morocco), an old ruler or religious figure (ex. Philippines, San Marino, Europa, Saudi Arabia), the Latin description of a place (ex. Australia, Argentina, Liberia). How is the name pronounced? How is it translated into other languages?)

Geography

(Landscape. Climate. Where exactly is your nation compared to others on the global map? Describe the landscape, plants and animals. Which mountains and rivers are important to include? Describe are the climate and seasons? How does geography determine where people live? Are there areas separated from one another? How about cities? This will greatly help you with the next part of history.)

History

Before the idea of the nation of Zaxar had even been conceived, the vast lands which the nation encompasses today were in chaos. Politically fragmented for much of its history, the land was ruled by hostile native clans and kingdoms who constantly sought to undermine and destroy each other through bloody warfare, genocide, and backstabbing. Little, in detail, is known about this period before 200 CE due to the frequent book burnings brought about through the warfare and much of what we do know comes from myths and legends passed down through stories and songs and the accuracy of these oral “histories” is largely considered unreliable by scholars. The holy grail of Zaxar’s more modern history is La Histori Norte which is a well sourced and thorough history of the Kingdom of Zaxar from 1536-1841 written by the famed Zaxar historian Codin Maxillo and published in 1843. This is where most of our knowledge of Zaxar’s founding and early history comes from.

First Nations (100 BCE - 1000 CE)

The land which is today known as Zaxar is somewhat isolated, with it being the southernmost country in the Wurld and having a long history without European involvement. The first known countries to be established in Zaxar were the Latazeca and Opatomal Clans located along the eastern bank of the Sarthus River (known as the Sagraphas in Kirvana). These clans would go on to expand to eventually settle most of the river basin before a series of earthquakes, floods, and fires caused the clans to dissolve into hundreds of smaller clans. The most notable of these clans were the Varus, the Guine, the Tolchar, and the Mahran. Around this time is also when the most important of the clans formed just south of the Sarthus River in the Glenne River Basin, the Wampanoag. After about 100 years, these 5 clans had managed to unite and consolidate most of the smaller clans which led to the division of land shown below.

It was also at about this time that a four way conflict started between the Sarthus River Clans, presumably over the division of Guine lands as they were the weakest of the four. As the Guine War dragged on, it opened up an opportunity for the Wampanoag Clan to invade their normally stronger western neighbors. And invade they did, after just two years the elite Wampanoag Leopard Warriors had crushed the forces of the other clans and expelled their peoples from the Sarthus Basin entirely. This utter victory left the Wampanoag as the sole superpower of the Greater Zaxar region and inspired their leaders to continue the conquest for generations to come.

The First Empire (1000 CE - 1523 CE)

Throughout the eleventh century, Wampanoag continued to expand across the region. Most of their expansion and annexation was done entirely without violence as their Leopard Warriors were so feared by their much smaller neighbors who had hear rumors of a brutal genocide commited by Wampanoag against the Mahran peoples. While these rumors are very likely untrue as there is no historical evidence of it, it is thought that the rumors were propagated by Wampanoag itself in order to intimidate its enemies.

By the year 1100 CE, the Empire had reached its greatest extent in territory, with it stretching nearly to Zaxar’s modern borders controlling nearly all of the major population centres in Zaxar of the time. The culture and traditions of Wampanoag also largely developed during this time with famous cultural sites such as the Sandrica Bridge and Bostar Lighthouse being built. Facing no real external threats, Wampanoag had time to develop its economy as well, with the first fisheries and oyster farms being developed. Many of which are still in use today as the aquaculture practices of these early farmers have been ingrained into the greater Wampanoag culture. This time period is often considered by historians to be the first Zaxar Empire despite the people of this time having never even met a European yet. However, that was all about to change and bring with it devastating consequences for the Wampanoag people.

Colonization and Conquest (1523 CE - 1800 CE)

The Wampanoag rulers had long known about the European colonists of neighboring Kirvana and had often traded with them through third party clans and tribes, unknowingly building up the natural immunity of the nation against European diseases. There was still, however, a large outbreak of smallpox when the first European ships arrived on Wampanoag shores. These six ships carried about 3,000 Lysian slave soldiers from Europe where they had mutinied against their owners and took control of the fleet that was meant to bring them to war. Their aim had been to find a new land where they could start an independent colony and the land of Zaxar had the perfect climate for European settlement. After making landfall, these soldiers immediately began to conquer the natives with their superior firearms and armor. Before long they had carved out a small kingdom for themselves along the coast and settled in, marrying the local Wampanoag peoples and adopting much of their culture. This swift and humiliating defeat immediately caused the near total collapse of the Wampanoag Empire, with it fragmenting into many small states. It only took about ten years after that for three powers to come out as dominant in the region: New Lysia ruled by the Drogts, Bolhetar in the west, and the Therno Hoard in the south. New Lysia was, at first, the most populated of the new states and was the richest through trade with countries across the ocean. Bolhetar was an agricultural society and pioneered the use of irrigation in the Sarthus River Basin as well as opening up trade with nations in the west by shipping their excess grain down the Sarthus River; this trade with nations such as Rhodellia and Kirvina gave Bolhetar access to forign investment and aid that would become crucial to its future. The Therno Hoard was a pastoral society where life revolved entirely around the raising of sheep, goats, and horses. This turned Therno into the most feared of the three nations as their cavalry was thought to be the best in Aurelia.

Direct wars between the three powers were infrequent and mostly limited to proxy wars and local militias along border regions. This balance of power would not last forever though, and would soon lead to the war that would shape Zaxar for generations to come.

The Birth of a Kingdom (1800 CE - 1926 CE)

In new Lysia, contrary to one would expect, there was very little ethnic and racial tension due in part to the accepting and friendly nature of the Wampanoag people although mostly because when the Lysian slave fleet arrived in Zaxar there were no women on board. This forced the Lysians to marry into the natives which fast tracked their assimilation as children born with one Wampanoag parent and one Lysian parent were treated as equals to both the Europeans and the natives. This mixing of cultures and ethnicities led to the creation of the unique Zaxar culture and race which will be discussed in detail in a different section.

This lack of ethnic tension is not to say that there was no tension in New Lysia. The king of New Lysia, a former slave soldier commander named only Drogt, had imposed harsh taxation and restrictions on the natives and children without a direct Lysian parent despite popular support for equality on both sides. This ultimately led to the Zaxar Rising of 1800 where a young mixed man led thousands of Wampanoags and Lysians in a march on the Pawtucket palace where the royal family was residing. The revolutionaries and loyalists fought in the streets of Pawtucket for over two years while fighting spread across New Lysia as loyalist forces attempted to wipe out the revolutionaries and those who had allied with them. Finally in early 1803 Drogt was killed and thus the war ended. According to legend, he was thrown from his horse and set upon by a pack of Wampanoag Shepards who tore his head from his body. However, most historians agree that he was drowned trying to flee across the Sandrica River after his palace fell to the revolutionaries.

During the final surrender of the loyalists after Drogt’s death, the people of New Lysia came together to vote on their new king. And with over ninety percent of the vote, a young half Lysian revolutionary leader took the throne, King Robbert Zaxar ‘The Chosen’. And the Kingdom of Zaxar was born.

Robbert’s reign was focused mainly around social reform and improving the lives of the people, both the natives and the Lysians. Throughout his reign, roads were built connecting the kingdom, the land of former Drogt nobles was divided up among the pheasants, and currency reform was enacted to curb inflation. Robbert’s reign lasted from 1803 until his retirement in 1843 at the age of 65. The next Zaxar monarch to ascend to the throne was Hectal Zaxar who came to power at age 30 after his father’s retirement in 1843. He was selected by his father for his strong financial skills and his charismatic nature which had originally made him a competent diplomat. Hectal’s reign was one of great prosperity for Zaxar with it being known as the “Great Peace” by historians. This peace was brought about due to the alliances and trade deals created by Hectal which brought great profit to the Kingdom and was the only true period of peace the kingdom had between 1523 and 2000. Hectal retired in 1890 at the age of 77 and is known as Hectal the Diplomat.

After his retirement, Hectal’s daughter Olivia Zaxar was his choice to become the first queen of Zaxar. Olivia’s main concern when coming to the throne was the establishment of an army which could cement Zaxar as the dominant power in the region. She used the vast amounts of wealth left over from her father’s reign to create Zaxar’s first standing professional army as well as expanding and modernizing Zaxar’s merchant navy. To test this new army, Olivia launched several invasions into neighboring kingdoms which were met with large amounts of success, allowing the establishment of several Zaxar vassal states and the annexation of large amounts of territory. Olivia “the Conqueror reigned from 1890 until her death in 1926 at the age of 56.

The Flaxzar War (1926 CE - 2000 CE)

After his mother’s death, young Prince Kenneth Zaxar took the throne and immediately was attacked by his two largest neighbors and rivals, the Kingdom of Bolhetar and the Therno Hoard. All of Kenneth’s rein was spent fighting this war which is now known as the Great Flaxzar War due to the initial invasion by the Therno Hoard being launched across the Flaxzar River in 1926. The first true battle of the war took place on May 12, 1926 when a Zaxar force of 12,000 men attempted to halt the Therno Hoard at the Battle of Malinsk. The Therno cavalry charged and, with the Therno forces numbering nearly 100,000, Zaxar forces dug in. The Zaxars inflicted heavy casualties on Therno but were overrun in a matter of hours. Malinsk had fallen and Therno continued their advance, taking Beliere and Bostar by 1927.

Meanwhile, the Bolhetar forces crushed down from the north and were stopped only just short of reaching Sandrica at the Battle of Black Ridge which is immortalized in the poem The Green Wall by Varska Leon. These rapid successes by the Bolhetar and Therno forces shocked the people of Zaxar who had previously thought Zaxar to be the sole power of the region. King Kenneth at this time ordered the first conscription laws in Zaxar’s history which required any man between 18 and 40 to serve a four year term in the military. This was possible in Zaxar because women were able to fill most of the workforce as, unlike most other cultures of the time, women were viewed as equals to men in all jobs but fighting in Wampanoag culture.

As Zaxar’s strength grew, the enemy advance slowed and, around 1929, settled into trench warfare. As casualty numbers grew, the combatants began to feel the economic pressure of having so many people out of the workforce. To combat this, Zaxar increased trade across the Adisi Ocean, using its powerful navy to stop Therno from doing so as well. Bolhetar however, was able to continue trade as normal, trading grain with Kirvana and Rhodellia in exchange for modern weapons and equipment. This allowed Bolhetar to launch a surprise offensive in the spring of 1931 which caught the underequipped Zaxar troops off guard. Sandrica was encircled and besieged while the Zaxar forces were forced to retreat all the way to Pawtucket.

The war was not looking good for Zaxar, at this rate they would be forced to surrender in a matter of months. The Zaxar high command knew something had to be done so they planned for a last ditch attempt to defeat the Therno Hoard. The Therno forces had achieved great success at the beginning of the war but now they were short on manpower, guns, and food as they struggled under the Zaxar blockade. Their army of mostly cavalry was not well suited for trench warfare and high command was used to swift victories. So when Kenneth ordered the Bostar Offensive it smashed the Therno forces, killing several high Therno commanders and sending the Hoard into a full scale retreat. The Zaxars pursued the Therno army all the way back to the Flaxzar River where they surrendered to Kenneth on the 5 of July, 1936.

This victory brought morale back to the public and gave Zaxar new guns with which to sustain the brutal trench warfare of the Bolhetar front. The slow trench warfare continued in full swing for the next 20 years with very few gains and very high casualties on both sides. Sandrica would continue to hold out against the Bolhetar siege and managed to never fall into enemy hands for the duration of the war. From 1956 to 1983 there was a period of relative quiet and peace along the front as both sides lacked the manpower and will to launch any new offensives. This period is known as the Eye of the Storm by historians and marked the turning point in the war as Zaxar scientists and engineers used this time to leap ahead of Bolhetar in military technology.

In 1983, Zaxar high command finally was ready for the final push to end the war. A massive Zaxar force of around 700,000 men along with new tanks and planes developed during The Eye was prepared along the Bolhetar front. On October 1, 1983 the invasion commenced. Bolhetar held firm, but the Zaxar advance was brutal and unrelenting. A string of victories at the battles of Grend Springs (1983), Lankato (1984), and Opatoma (1984) pushed the Bolhetar forces back to the Sarthus River by 1985. The next 15 years were spent fighting a guerilla campaign against the remaining Bolhetar forces who were supported by Rhodellia through munitions and intel. Bolhetar finally surrendered on December 31, 1999 and the Flaxzar War officially ended the next day on January 1, 2000 with the Peace of Sandrica. Casualties are estimated to have been between 40 and 60 million deaths over the course of the war.

Unification and Recovery (2000 CE - 2021 CE)

The Treaty of Sandrica was signed by Zaxar, Bolhetar, and Therno on January 1, 2000. This treaty unified the three nations under the banner of Zaxar which was changed to Greater Zaxar to acknowledge the equality of Bolhetars, Zaxars, and Thernos under the new rule as well as declaring Zaxar to now be The Empire of Greater Zaxar rather than a mere kingdom. Immediately after the treaty had been signed, Kenneth “the Great retired at age 83 being the longest reigning monarch in Zaxar’s history, ruling an impressive 73 years. This left his son, Emperor William Zaxar, to become the first Emperor of Greater Zaxar.

William has spent the first 21 years of his reign rapidly modernizing Zaxar as well as forging a new national identity which all Zaxar citizens can unify behind. This brings us to Zaxar today which has fallen behind its neighbors in technology, has population shortages, lacks infrastructure, and whose economy is in shambles due to 73 years of total war. However, the light is visible at the end of the tunnel for Zaxar as through William’s strong leadership and the unified power of the people, Zaxar is set on a path to flourish.

Politics

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Economy

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Demographics

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Culture

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