Mesians

Mesian sculpture of Pedpor, a mythical hero.

The Mesians were a Vacaian civilization and people that inhabited and developed largely in the bounds of modern-day Razaria, south of the Gozar Mountains, being dominant in the area from the 9th century BCE to the 7th century CE by the point of which they had been reduced to a minority by migration of Slavs into the region, although they remained a prominent ethnic group until the 13th-14th centuries. The Mesian culture, one of the most unique Pan-Esquarian ones to have existed in West Borea, has had a crucial role in influencing the history and even customs of Razaria as well as Slavic lands as a whole.

Etymology

The origin of 'Mesia' is unknown, but one widely supported theory is that it derives from the proto-Pan-Esquarian root *ams-, meaning 'blackbird', possibly being a totem and symbol widely used by early Mesians and thus by extension as an identification. Other proposed roots include PPE *mḗh₁n̥s, meaning 'moon', with a similar premise as the former.

History

Early period

The ancestors of the Mesians are believed to have arrived in southeastern Razaria in the 24th century BCE, and they are thought to have developed little civilization and lived in small villages. They were likely subjugated by the Naran empire by the 19th century BCE. A power vacuum was left by the total collapse of Naran civilization in the 13th century BCE as the Naran people returned to nomadic pastoralism in small numbers, taken advantage of by the proto-Mesians whose tribes expanded and spread into northern and eventually western Razaria. By the 9th century BCE Mesian culture had consolidated and developed in southern Razaria in modern Lower Jadar province, large cities, developed arts and even a prototypical logographic script had appeared. The city of Debelton in modern South Frontier province is characteristic of this early Mesian sophisticated civilization.

Mesian cities and kingdoms were established across Razaria in the 9th and 8th centuries BCE. Frequent interactions had also began to be made with Tcheyeni cultures in Slovunia. By 682 BCE, as attested to by the Gazor histories, 9 major Mesian cities were present along with 4 other kingdoms. Conflict had already arose between the coastal city-states and their inland counterparts, who also recruited assistance of tribes descendant of the Naran, by this time.

The kingdom of Donget in northeastern Razaria and southern Ceresnia conquered several cities from 625 to 610 BCE and had been close to unifying the Mesians, but this was prevented by the kingdom's catastrophic defeat by an alliance of the cities of Mospar, Paridar and Asduza, plus some small kingdoms and Naran tribes, at the Battle of Bemza in 609 BCE. Although Donget did not collapse it would be prevented from subjugating the remainder of Mesian states.

It is believed the various Vacaian peoples were openly welcomed to assimilation into Mesian civilization and society and they had became indistinguishable by the 6th century BCE.

Codification of the Mesian religion which took on panentheistic undertones began in the 7th century BCE, and religious power transferred from shamans of local communities to organized, rigid priests that emerged in the cities.

Golden age

Cultural and commercial prosperity as well as technological strides began in the 5th century BCE: this era saw the rise of quality of art and handicrafts, the extensive establishment of sea trade routes, construction of grand cities such as Pordava and Starpar, as well as the emergence of sophisticated literature, alongside introduction of the Mesian syllabary superseding the earlier Mesian logogram script. A new class of aristocrats rose amongst the castes of the traders and also the craftsmen, who alongside the priests would eventually become the most powerful forces in many Mesian societies. This was seen alongside the decline of the authority of the king and the establishment of proto-republics in many cities.

Economically outmatching their rural counterparts, the city-states defeated many of the inland states in wars of the 5th century BCE and had became almost the sole form of political entity in Mesia. Notable cities of this period include Pordava, Starpar, Gazor, Taridava, Saradava, Mespar, and Lotpar. The Mesian Confederacy was officially established in 435 BCE although active cooperation and dialogue between Mesian states had lasted for some time before. This was the closest Mesian civilization was to true political unity; however, even with this, not all states were members and some would regularly withdraw as a result of internal disputes.

Conflicts were frequent with the neighbouring Narans, the Tcheyeni peoples, tribes in modern Ceresnia and eventually, the Argilian Lysandrite Empire.

Lysandrite rule

The Mesian era was abruptly put to an end in 179 BCE when the Lysandrite Empire conquered Mesia after a two-year campaign, annexing large portions, particularly those on the coast, as new provinces for the empire while the inner regions were given to Lysandrite generals or cooperative local leaders as rewards. Lysandrite Razaria was used mainly as an agricultural province thanks to its geographic conditions and later also a mining province, becoming a provider of building stones and metal ores. The Sagati clan became the most powerful and influential tribe in Lysandrite Mesia, holding de facto control over many regions left with their autonomy by the 1st century BCE.

Central control over Mesia declined with both the Sagatis' expanding and permeating influence amongst the rural Mesians, and the emergence of ambitions of local governors and generals, increasingly resistant to central authority. Rebellions occurred in 52, 40, 28 and 12 BCE, successfully weakening and undermining Lysandrite control. In 15 CE, a Mesian rebellion drove Lysandrites out of much of Mesia and re-established the Confederacy. However, it was quashed in 20, although the new local authority gave the Mesians a large amount of autonomy and most low and mid-level officials were Mesian. With internal strife and invasions rocking the empire, in 82 Mesia's independence was restored as a client state under the Nedin clan and after 91 it became free of Argilian influence entirely.

Post-Lysandrite era and decline

Post-Lysandrite Mesia initially resembled more a feudal monarchy than the confederacy of city-states as was its claimed predecessor; nevertheless it was active in reviving Mesian customs and systems and in removing Lysandrite influences, especially under the second king Sartes. The kingdom however achieved only limited political and economic relevance, and remained plagued by regionalism. The Nedinids lost control of the country in a rebellion in 158, after which Mesia fragmented into several petty kingdoms.

Culture

The Mesians spoke the Mesian language, which was initially written in the logographic Early Mesian script before being superseded by the Mesian syllabary presumably because of the latter's lack of complexity. Mesian is established as a Pan-Esquarian language.

Government and politics

A Mesian crown dating to the 2nd century BCE.