Huran

Huran (Standard Huranian: 華州 Huázhōu) is a geographic and cultural region in mainland Isuan. Stretching from the Pathanian steppe in the west to the Sea of Qes, its core encompasses the nations of Shang Fa, Tsungfa and Yol, though other nations such as Palchae have been considered to be at least partially linked to the Huranian cultural sphere. It is marked by a shared linguistic group, the Huranian languages of which the Standardised dialect is considered to be a common prestige dialect, and a degree of cultural commonality which stems from the historical existence of several centralising Huranian dynastic states which have historically united the region. Though a Pan-Huranian idenity has historically existed and been significant politically, the region remains divided into a range of polities.

A central cradle of civilisation in Isuan, Huranian societies were some of the first in the east to adopt sedentary living practices based around paddy agriculture. This crop facilitated the rise of centralised polities, granting the early Huranians an advantage in manpower and food stability over their neighbours. This led to the Huranian expansion, which saw the assimilation and extermination of a large range of people groups and the grwoth of Huranian civilisation. Huran became a centre of learning and technological development, backed by state subsidy under the NAME Dynasty. Huran became a land-based rival to the emerging Alawokambese milieu's sea-based trade confederations, eclipsing them under the Gao Dynasty which is regarded as a peak of mid-Huranian civilisation. After a century of success, the Gao fell into civil war and this allowed the Alawokambese to acheive a hegemony on coastal Huran and spread their religion, Macakkanism. Though direct Alawokamebese control was only fleeting, the influence on culture was significant due to the spread of Macakkanism. Huranian Macakkanism spread across the region, replacing the earlier Tongjiism and Hasranism which was followed in western Huran due to Pathanian influences. The Kuang Dynasty led by Zeng Yijun represented the first Huranian dynasty to unite Huran under a Macakkanist emperor, and would rule from the early twelfth century until the fifteenth. Huran was the nexus of the early Barukung school, with the Four Eternals all hailing from Huran. The Great Tribulation which followed had a marked effect on Huranian society. Succeeding dynasties and interregna would follow in the aftermath of the Great Tribulation, resulting in the Insert Dynasty. It was during this time that the Huranian world began to come into greater contact with Auressia. Over the following centuries, Auressian states would enforce their hegemony over Huran, gaining concessions and dominance. This colonial legacy is often associated with Huran's current divisions, as the Auressian powers imparted their own spheres of influence over the ailing central Huranian state which weakened the idea of Huranian unity.

Etymology

The term Huran, which is the most widely used word to denote the Huranian cultural region in the western world, is an exonym which stems from Ecclesiastic Pathanian, the dominant language in the classical Hasranic world. It is a Rythenism of the Sabarine Huranæ, from the Ecclesiastical Pathanian 𐬵𐬏𐬭𐬁𐬥 Hūrān. The etymology of Hūrān is disputed. In Pathanian the word means "Land of the Sun", which given the perception of Huran as being the furthest eastern state can be interpreted as "Land of the Rising Sun". Another path of etymology revolves around the Huranian endonym for their people, 華人 Huárén, which given its phonetic similarity would also explain the name, with the meaning being added later. Huran has also been written as Hurania in some documents, though this spelling is now regarded as somewhat dated.

There have been several names for Huran which have emerged within the literature and history of the region. Most imperial dynasties referred to themseves as "Great Dynasty", such as with the Gao Dynasty who referred to themselves as 大高 Dà Gāo. Such dynasty-based naming systems therefore make it hard to refer to the whole region as the borders of these states varied wildly. Some of the more common names for the region were 江山 Jiāngshān, meaning "Mountains and Rivers" in reference to the vastness of the land, and 天下 Tiānxià meaning "Under Heaven". In the 1800s, the poetic term 華州 Huázhōu became the most commonly used. Meaning "Land of Flowery Beauty", it evoked a romantic sense of national identity. This term is now the most widely used in Huranian literature and languages, though it is not widely used in western contexts.

History

Gao Dynasty (651 – 789)

Often considered the golden age of medieval Huran, the Gao Dynasty (高朝; Yuán Cháo) was the last Hua state to have united the entirety of Huran. The Gao are also famed in historical records as the main early land rivals to the Alawokambese Milieu. There were five undisputed Gao "Hegemon-Kings" (高霸王) until the succession crisis of 755 turned into a 25 years long civil war which saw the intervention of many foreign elements, including the Tabgachs and the Alawese people. The Hegemony of the Gao was so thoroughly weakened by the war that despite being reunited under a single monarch in 780, the Dynasty would collapse and see most of Huran fall under the authority of the Alawokambese city-states after the latter launched the Last War of Gao in 784.

The Queen River' valley and the Great Plain, the original homeland of the Hua people, would remain outside of the Alawokambese' sphere of influence as it had already fallen to the Tabgachs of the Zhao Dynasty in 771.

The concept of Hegemony in Hua culture, often considered to be a form of feudalism, was revisited and popularized by the Gao. Through series of visits, meetings, and conferences, the Hegemon-Kings maintained their network of vassals and tributaries and collected taxes, tributes, and gifts. Vassals were allowed to raise armies and could be called to arm by their Hegemon, but until the Gao Civil War, the Hegemon-King was the sole leader of a standardized, professional army. Afterward, the Gao had to rely on foreign mercenaries and the private armies of their vassals as they could not afford to pay troops year-round. This explain the failure of the Gao to both retake the Great Plain from the Tabgachs, themselves ancient mercenaries of the Dynasty, and to push back the Alawokambeses.

Alawokambese hegemony

Main article: Alawokambese Thalassocratic Period

Kuang Dynasty (1170 – 1369)

The Kuang Dynasty was formed in 1170 after the conquest of the Zhao Dynasty by the Order of the Supreme Peace (太平會; Tàipíng huì), one of the Huaren militant orders who rose up in Huran in the wake of the repression of New Law Macakkanism by both the Tabgachs and the Alawokambeses. The Order became a Collegium and then a Grand Collegium through the prestige acquired by its military successes.

Separation between the State and religion was non-existent under the Kuang. Their monarchs were known as "Hegemon-Abbots" and ruled through a network of direct vassals (the sub-collegia within the Supreme Peace movement) and tributaries (the Free Collegia who still maintained their own fiefdoms). Monasteries thus became the basis of the administrative structure under the Kuang, and becoming a monk was needed for a successful civil career.

In 1192, the Kuang successfully conquered the last Alawokambeses settlements in Huran, although they would never manage to challenge their naval power. Ultimately, tensions between the two powers dwindled, a trend that reached its conclusion in the form of the Compromise at Anshan which recognised the validity of both the Lankung and Barukung methodologies, laid the framework for the establishment of the two Grand Collegia which regulate the Collegia of their respective schools.

Through political manoeuvering, the Anman clan, which has roots in both the Hua people and the Mu tribe, secured the position of "Hegemon-Abbots" for themselves. In 1230, they added the title of Heavenly King to their names, starting the process of secularizing the administration of the Dynasty. This led to the First Kuang Civil War, won by the "Anmanites", which officially divorced the Collegia from the government of the kingdom. However, this reinforced central administration and destabilized religion placed into question the legitimacy of the Dynasty. Secret societies meant to restore the "Religious-Hegemony" appeared, and played a key role in a second (1266 - 1273) and third (1294 - 1299) civil wars. While rebels all failed in their objectives, they did weaken the effective powers of the central authorities, allowing for the return of a landlord-based aristocracy.

As the Dynasty dwindled, aristocrats were allowed more and more freedom in their own lands, including the right to raise militia and to mete out justice. Private wars between clans became common, and its to intevene in one of these as mercenaries that the Khitans first appeared in northern Huran. In 1364 they established their own country : Khitay in the Great Plain and the failure of the Kuang to repell these new invaders led to their downfall, starting the period known as the Great Tribulation.

Huranian Colour Revolution

Yolan forces under the Deng clique marching through Hojin.

• NAME Dynasty seen to be extremely weak, different areas of the empire under the control of Auressians for trade etc. This leads to dissent, with different areas instead focusing on romanticised ideals of their own national independence or new ideologies. Revolts occur, in theory under the aegis of a united Huranian Republican force similar to the GMD/KMT but which rapidly devolves into warlordism. The dynasty lose all land apart from Posh's alt, and the republicans eventually stop being part of the same org.