Transoxthraxia

From Ordic Encyclopaedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author.
Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions.
Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page.

The Republican State of Transoxthraxia
Ja Staat-Respubliyk ne Kauriaupalatisa
Flag
Motto: Padayais da las Drosmags
Transoxthraxia in Ordis.
Capital
and largest city
Vounomethea
Official languages Transoxthraxian
Recognised national languages Xaxonite
Zyrvan
Demonym Transoxthraxian
Government Libertarian Transitional Dictatorship
 •  Speaker of the Council Iaason K. Skirivilnas
 •  Leader of the Parties Kato Alzidas
 •  First Minister of the Council Agron P. Gorsas
 •  Upper house The Council of the Ancients
 •  Lower house The Council of Five Hundred
Establishment
 •  The formation of the Transoxthraxian Monarchy 26 July 1642 
 •  Signing of the Vounomethea Concordat 3 December 1945 
 •  Fall of the Old Regime 31 August 2003 
 •  The Constitutional Crisis 12 January 2013 
Population
 •  2014 estimate 46,495,834
GDP (nominal) 2015 estimate
 •  Total 52.223 Trillion USD
 •  Per capita 43,284.88 $
Gini37.2
medium
HDI 0.787
high
Currency Transoxthraxian Skawm ($Skm)
Time zone (UTC)
Date format dd/mm/yyyy
Drives on the right
Calling code +08
Internet TLD .tr

The Republican State of Transoxthraxia (Transoxthraxian: Ja Staat-Respubliyk ne Kauriaupalatisa), commonly called Transoxthraxia, is a Transitional Libertarian "Republic" that is located on the Eastern end of the continent of Escar, bordered by Kolintha and Vioska to the North, Mekir to the West, Slovska to the South-West, and Haeva to the South. Comprised of eight provinces and one Special Administrative Region, Transoxthraxia has a population of around thirty six million, qualifying it as a major power on the continent and a regional power in the world. Transoxthraxia has a rich and varied history, parts of which date back into the Early Iron Age. However, the first stable united Transoxthraxian kingdom formed in 1642 after the Wars of Succession, in which one of the last few Transoxthraxian Noble Families that claimed, and was able to trace, legitimate descent from Anqhirrai defeated a coalition of Great Cities that stood against their bid to unite the Transoxthraxians. They then went on to conquer a great number of states, forming, more or less, the borders of modern Transoxthraxia. Transoxthraxia had until recently been utterly isolationist until the fall of the Old Regime in the early part of the twenty first millennium. After its fall due to economic bankruptcy, political corruption, and technological backwardness, a short-lived democracy was set up that lasted for about a decade, until the Constitutional Crisis ushered in the dictatorial transitional government that now rules over the nation.

The political atmosphere in Transoxthraxia is considered strongly Anti-Left, and ever since their recent admission to GAP, their anti-left tendencies have begun to be promoted outside of the country. Furthermore, Transoxthraxia has been the subject of a number of Humans' Rights accusations of which the government is quick to deny, such as the non-admission of any practicing Muslim into the nation and the ancient practice of Aultikaus, ritual execution. Transoxthraxia has recently qualified as a regional power with significant economic, political, and military influence in the surrounding area.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

The term "Transoxthraxia" is actually an etymological mystery. In native Transoxthraxian, the term for Transoxthraxia is "Kauriaupaulatisa", meaning "The people through the fearsome rivers". In the Xaxonite, or Mountain Clan, dialect, it is "Kurupalutiaz". It is thought that the Xzyqhr people of the two rivers, the Zdaunka and the Askanka, who lived between the two in ancient times lent the term "Transoxthraxia", as it only came into use during the formation of the First Empire of Transoxthraxia in the mid-19th century after the af Violta line ascended to the throne who were, initially at least, a foreign dynasty from the Western Provinces.

However, due to their long and relatively successful dynastic record, the geographic area became termed "Transoxthraxia", due to the extensive use of it by the af Violta house in international diplomacy, up to their deposition. During the Old Regime, they continued the tradition. When it fell, however, the democracy that succeeded it reverted to the term "Kauriaupaulatisa". However, it was hard for the international contacts of the fledgling republic to change their records and domestic terms for them, and with the fall of the republic, the transitional VTVoA reverted back to the use of "Transoxthraxia".

History[edit | edit source]

Transoxthraxian written history dates back to the Early Iron Age, circa 1100 B.C.E. However, from genetic studies, outside sources, and archaeological history, most historians agree that the Transoxthraxians are the oldest documented people that inhabited the Transoxthraxian Heartland, supporting the hypothesis that the Transoxthraxians are the descendants from the original neolithic population that lived in the area, tens of thousands of years ago.

Transoxthraxian history is rich and varied, and can be divided into a number of different sections; Pre-History, Iron-Age Transoxthraxia, the Dynastic Period, the Dark Period, the Early Imperial Period, the Late Imperial Period, and the Modern Period, each one separated from one another by a drastic historical event that resounded in Transoxthraxian history.

Pre-History[edit | edit source]

Most of the knowledge of this period is derived from material culture that has been found during extensive excavations of the Transoxthraxian heartland, that is supported to expanded by outside sources, especially from their unrelated neighbours that occupied the flood plains to their West, who were meticulous in the recordings of their neighbours. Earliest material culture emerges around 5000 B.C.E in what is called the Kaunaus Culture, which is a neolithic culture with a distinctive pottery design and evidence of permanent dwellings within the swamplands in which they call home. Due to the nature of their natural habitat, most communities were hunter-gatherers, who were either semi-sedentary or sedentary only due to the fact that the abundant amount of food all around them allowed them to stay in one place without having to worry that a food supply was to be exhausted. The Kaunaus culture began in the Southern portion of the Heartland, but spread to the North by about 4500 B.C.E.

The dense swamp and marshlands of the interior of the Transoxthraxian Heartland were naturally unfavourable to agricultural techniques, and it would not be well into the Transoxthraxian Bronze Age that agricultural communities formed after swamp-draining techniques were discovered. The Kaunaus culture gave way to more permanent dwellings and larger communities, as shown by the excavated settlement Numaukas, which gave the name to the culture that came after the Kaunaus culture. The Numaukas settlement was in fact at one point a part of the Kaunaus culture; however, after a distinctive steady growth period over a number of settlement layers, starting at Numaukas IV (Settlements I-III were a part of the previous Kaunaus culture), the settlements become much larger, representing either a greater population growth or a greater proportion of settled Transoxthraxians. This population growth, of course, had its consequences. While the Numaukas culture began in the Northern section of the Heartland, it spread only briefly; the population of Numaukas settlements became too large for the ecosystem to handle, and more often than not, as demonstrated by the Numaukas V layer, settlements collapsed. By 3500 B.C.E, the Numaukas culture had disappeared, and the Kaunaus culture was in decline, replaced by a third material culture, the Asuias Culture.

The Asuias Culture first appears in the settlement of the same name, Asuias, at layer III, the prior two layers being of the Kaunaus culture. Asuias Culture is defined by solid, well-built rectangular dwellings and pottery with actual patterns on it. Asuias Culture is highly differentiated from the prior Kaunaus culture in the fact that it began having ornamental or aesthetic decorations that were previously unseen, suggesting skills developing in occupations besides hunting or gathering - the first sign of a civilized, sedentary culture. Asuias overtook Kaunaus Culture and spread throughout the Heartland, reaching its zenith around 2250 B.C.E, when it was first recorded by the Xzyqhr, who referred to the "Swamp-Dwellers" as "Trnsxthrx" in their written language. Asuias began to decline, however, as Xzyqhr trade caravans and colonies made headway into the Transoxthraxian homeland in search of salt mines. The colonies are recorded to have upset the native Transoxthraxians, who "hunted any man who did not bear the skin of another". The practice of wearing the flayed skin of others is not just a myth, however. It is recorded a number of times in much later native documents.

The Asuias Culture began to collapse, however, as the organized and systematic Xzyqhr made the Transoxthraxians economically dependent on their large food productions. In return for grain, meat, and bread from the Xzyqhr, the Transoxthraxians provided salt, exotic animals, and slaves of their own kind. Transoxthraxians gradually adopted Xzyqhr customs, culture, and pottery. A vassal kingdom was even set up by the then-extant First Xzyqhr Empire, by the name of Trnsxthrx ruled by so-called "civilized" Transoxthraxians. It was here that metalworking was first introduced into the Transoxthraxian Heartland. The Bronze Age, which was reaching its apex upon the flood plains, hit the swamps in full-force, and spread like wildfire. By the mid-1000s B.C.E, the Xzyqhr Empire was in major decline, and faced massive revolts throughout its borders. Similarly, its vassal kingdom was plagued with internal tribal issues.

As the decline of the Xzyqhr Empire occurred, the birth of a new type of Transoxthraxian civilization emerged. Spurred on by Xzyqhr methods and tools, Transoxthraxian communities were able to drain portions of the massive swamp in order to create small settlements that had a natural wall, the swamp, all around them. These settlements prospered, as they were able to begin agricultural processes and have self-sustaining food economies, something never before seen in the swampy heartland of Transoxthraxia. Many of the Western portion of these cities, the ones most influenced by Xzyqhr culture, began raiding both the Trnsxthrx vassal kingdom and the Xzyqhr Empire itself, neither being able to properly protect itself. The former collapsed after its capital, originally a Xzyqhr colony, was razed by tribal raiders. A Xzyqhr document from the time, describes Transoxthraxian raids on its Eastern cities: "Men descend as if touched by some fearless force; bringing about their only armour, the skin of their fallen enemies, as well as their terrifying curved swords, forged in the form that we taught them...". One such Xzyqhr city, Iqsh, was the so-called "Gate of the East", and bordered the swamps where the Transoxthraxians made their home. Iqsh was one of the major producers of Bronze for the Empire, and was captured by a Transoxthraxian Tribe in Xzyqhr records called the Gt'sh. The Gt'sh, probably related or identical to the later Gutas Transoxthraxian tribe, maintained the settlement as a producer of Bronze, which they exported to the rest of the Swamp. This was the beginning of the Pre-Dynastic Period, better known as Iron Age Transoxthraxia.

The Pre-Dynastic Period[edit | edit source]

The Pre-Dynastic Period in Transoxthraxia was marked by the capture of the Xzyqhr city of Iqsh by the Gt'sh, otherwise probably known as the Gutas Tribe of Transoxthraxia. Iqsh was one of the key producers and refiners of Bronze in the Xzyqhr Empire, and its loss only destabilized the empire even more. As the central authority of the ancient empire melted away, many different city-states broke off. With the destruction of the Xzyqhr Empire, however, a new age of Transoxthraxian History was beginning. The Gt'sh 'cleansed' the city of Iqsh, killing all men and children non-essential to the production of bronze within the city, before enslaving and selling the women. They transformed and initially depopulated the city in order to create a more culturally Transoxthraxian one - the Gt'sh realized that the city of Iqsh was more wealthy and therefore more powerful than the rest of their territory, and maintaining the old Xzyqhr social and cultural structures meant that they risked rebellion. They transformed Iqsh into Iagyas, a city that is still an important center in Transoxthraxia today. Iagyas would eventually be the rival urban center to the as-of-yet unfounded Vounomethea.

The location of Iagyas, as compared to the rest of the Transoxthraxian Heartland (Dark Green)


The Gt'sh looked back east, conquering their tribal rivals through the use of their new weapons and armour, but soon the knowledge of bronze mining and refining became known to the rest of the Transoxthraxians as a product of natural knowledge and technological diffusion among the populace. A number of other Transoxthraxian urban centers, armed with bronze tools and the know-how to mine for resources, setting up new operations, and soon the dominance of the Gt'sh began to wane. Their advantage was their technology, and they lacked the numbers to compete with any of the larger tribes, and along with their prize jewel, Iagyas, were soon subsumed as a vassal tribe to the larger Zuabas tribe. Most of the Pre-Dynastic Period is marked by constant in-fighting between tribal rivals, not many records, and the decline in the overall practice of the Transoxthraxian native polytheistic religion.

The most significant event to occur during this time period, however, was the adaptation of a modified version of the Xzyqhr alphabet. Initially, the Gt'sh wanted to maintain records in order to track their new trading dominance in the early parts of their time in the sun. However, they realized that the Xzyqhr Alphabet was insufficient in communicating all of the nuances of the Transoxthraxian language, and thus began to modify the alphabet and mould it into a new one that would be more suited to Transoxthraxian. When the Gt'sh were conquered by the Zuabas, the Zuabas adopted the alphabet, and in turn spread it throughout the rest of Transoxthraxia.

The Pre-Dynastic Period would last for a fairly short time, for only four centuries, until the mid-six hundreds B.C.E, and would be ended by the assumption of control of the small tribe of the Zyrvanites by perhaps one of the most famous and influential Transoxthraxians of all time, Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, in the North-Westernmost part of the Transoxthraxian swamplands. Anqhirrai would bring about a religious revolution, founding the eponymous faith that would dominate Transoxthraxia and many of her neighbours for centuries to come, and would give birth to the First Transoxthraxian Empire, as well as the capital and biggest city of Transoxthraxia that acts as the capital of the nation to this day.

Religious Revitalization[edit | edit source]

There is some debate as to how historical the religious texts are about Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz and his accession to the leadership of the Zyrvanite tribe, and the validity of the historical sources regarding the early reign of Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz. In fact, there are two different accepted versions of the story that place the tribe of the Zyrvanites, previously unmentioned by any sort of record, in two different geographical places. The original histories place the Zyrvanites in Central Transoxthraxia, at that time dominated by a number of feuding tribal states. However, the religious text recording Anqhirrai's ascension states that, The Zyrvanites, the tribe of the most North and most Western corner of the nation, has been conquered by religious zeal under their new leader, Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, who in a fit of zealotry, vanquished his former master, the chief of the Zyrvanites, and instituted his own reign, by the grace of the Gods.

Either way, the Night of the Knife, or the date in which Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, with little claimed assistance, rose to power over the fledgling tribe of the Zyrvanites, can be placed between 648 B.C.E and 646 B.C.E. During the Night of the Knife, Anqhirrai, who was the high priest of the tribe at the time, was revolted by the cynicism that was held by the ruling family of the tribe, who paid only lip service to the Good Gods, and committed acts of decadence and contempt towards the deities, even refusing to sacrifice to them. After the high priest brought the matter up with the chieftain, Anqhirrai was sentenced to death by hanging. Claiming that the chief and his families were proxies of the evil God, Anqhirrai slaughtered the chieftain in personal combat using nothing but his hands, and proceeded to slaughter all but one of the chief's children, a daughter whom he later married.

Soon after this, he ascended to the chieftainship of the tribe, where he proclaimed a demi-theocracy under a reformed Transoxthraxian religion - those who did not adhere were innate enemies of those that do Good in the world, and thus must be vanquished. A number of historical texts, both religious and administrative, cite different reasons for the actions of the next few years. In religious texts, the tribe of the Klyutras attacked the Zyrvanites because of their religion - The Klyutras had been invaded by the spirits of evil, proxies of the evil God who had been sent to stop the religious reformation. Another source, a semi-historical, semi-bureaucratic source from about a decade after Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz died, stated that the Chief of the Zyrvanites had been "a brother" to the Chief of the Klyutras, and the war on Anqhirrai's new state was a war of revenge rather than a crusade. A third, concurrent historical document recently uncovered from a layer of Old Iagyas, one of the few places that still maintained and documented current happenings in Transoxthraxia, stated that Anqhirrai actually instigated the war after continually raiding Klyutras river convoys, even though the Zyrvanites were supposedly a vassal tribe of the Klyutras. Nevertheless, not a year into his reign and Anqhirrai had already begun his crusade against the entirety of Kariaupalatisa with the goal of uniting it; not only in faith, but in political structure as well.

Despite the fact that the Klyutras outnumbered the Zyrvanites, they seem to have made a large number of critical mistakes that led them to an early and shameful defeat. At first, they didn't take Anqhirrai to be a serious threat, and only sent a part of their army to deal with the rebellious Zyrvanites, who had rallied around their new, charismatic ruler. The small army was matched in number by the Zyrvanites, and the war-boss of the Klyutras was an incompetent. He lost his army easily as the Zyrvanites slaughtered or captured them. The Zyrvanites, on the command of their new Chieftain, who claimed that it was a divine order, skinned each and every one of the vanquished members of the Klyutras army that they had defeated, decorated their skins with personal markings, and, like the Japanese Nobori, wore the stretched, treated, and decorated skins of their enemies as banners on their backs as trophies. This army, called the Army of the Five Hundred, began the Transoxthraxian obsession with the number. These were the five hundred that were also considered Anqhirrai's Five Hundred Companions, considered demigods in their own rights, and each of whom began a dynasty that would rule over various parts of Transoxthraxia under the nominal authority of the First Transoxthraxian Empire, some of the dynasties surviving into the Industrial Era.

The Conquest of the Klyutras[edit | edit source]

The first major obstacle in the way of Anqhirrai was the tribe of the Klyutras. He and his five hundred had defeated the small contingent that they had sent to defeat him, and they had deeply underestimated the zeal and tactical skill that Anqhirrai had garnered after a life of advanced education. He knew that if he marched into the city of the Klyutras and killed the members of the Klyutrid ruling class, that he would be considered the sovereign of the Klyutras, just as he was considered the sovereign of the Zyrvanites. According to the histories from a later date, Anqhirrai and ten of his most faithful companions dressed themselves as merchants, and successfully infiltrated the city of the Klyutras. His companions started a fire in the market district of the city, in order to draw the guard away from the palace, where the Klyutrid dynasty slept. Anqhirrai broke into the palace, and sent the Klyutrids the way of the Zyrvanid Chieftain and his family. The day after, the people appealed to the palace of the Klyutrids to help them repair the damages the fire had done to the city, but none emerged the entire morning. As many Klyutras began losing hope that they would be granted an audience from their tribal rulers, the lone Anqhirrai appeared at the front of the hall, bearing in one hand the head of Zskawm Klyutrid, the chief of the Klyutras. He claimed that the fire was a sign from the Gods that their insurrection against the forces of Good were wrong, and that only worse would come. All in the city relented to Anqhirrai.

However, Anqhirrai had missed a single child of Zskawm, Aszskawm Klyutrid, his youngest child, who had been sent on a punitive expedition against the Zyrvanites. Upon hearing of his father's murder, Aszskawm turned his army around, intent on claiming revenge for the dead. As the Klyutrid army beseiged the city, those who pledged their loyalty to Anqhirrai didn't falter, and even women and children helped in the defense of the city. A messenger was covertly sent out during one of the nights of the siege, and summoned the Five Hundred Companions to Klyutras in order to attack the enemy army from behind. A few days later, the Five Hundred Companions set upon the much larger army by surprise, slaughtering them before dawn broke from the direction that they were not expecting. Unlike the city surrendering, Anqhirrai showed no mercy for any survivor. All those who survived the onslaught were rounded up, and outside the gates to Klyutras, nailed to trees, and disemboweled, From the groin to the diaphragm, and they were kept there, still half-alive, until they bled to death or were killed by predators.

With the Klyutras subsumed into his new empire, Anqhirrai moved quickly against his neighbours, subsuming one small tribe after another, many through diplomacy, often surrendering as the Five Hundred Companions showed up at their gates, as they heard what had happened to those that opposed the Zyrvanites.

The Aliszid Coalition and the formation of Kariaupalatisa[edit | edit source]

Despite centuries of blood feuds, territorial disputes, and familial intrigue, many of the larger tribes of the region were able to recognize when an existential threat had arose that questioned their very being; after the subsuming of the Klyutras and a number of smaller tribes into the newly formed Anqhirraic Empire, many tribes of the region banded together in a traditional coalition, in order to defeat the Anqhirraic Empire and put an end to the new empire and her religion. A coalition of the three largest tribes left in the region, the Alisz, the Xargiz, and the Karviz created an alliance with the express purpose of defeating Anqhirrai. However, Transoxthraxian tribalism was inherently chaotic and self-destructive, and soon a dispute between the Xargiz and Karviz occurred, threatening a dissolution of the union. The Alisz mediated, however, and maintained the union against Anqhirrai. The three tribes unified their troops, and produced an army of 3,500. While religious texts cite that Anqhirrai still only levied his 500 companions, modern historians estimate the number of Anqhirraic troops to be around 5,000. The two armies met head-on at the battle of the Hills of Liutatikasa strategic position in the North-West of the Transoxthraxian heartland.

However, it is recorded that the Karviz chieftain ordered the withdrawal of his troops just as the battle was imminent, causing the coalition's forces to be not only outnumbered but flanked by Anqhirrai's forces. As they slaughtered the coalition's army, the Karviz, confident that they had distracted their enemy, fell upon Anqhirrai's companions, but they too were easily defeated. With the destruction of the retinues of the three largest tribes in the region, the Anqhirraic Empire absorbed their surviving people, further bolstering their power and prestige. From then on, Anqhirrai and his followers had little trouble absorbing the rest of Kariaupalatisa. After pacifying the heartland, he founded a new city in the natural harbour of Vounomethea - the city that would be the seat of every single empire of Transoxthraxia succeeding Anqhirrai's - before going on one last conquest. Prior to the Anqhirraic Empire, there were two types of Transoxthraxians; Wetland Transoxthraxians, which were subdivided into Southern and Northern Wetland Transoxthraxians, who were then subdivided into a number of large tribes, and then small tribes, and so on. However, there were also Lowland Transoxthraxians, Transoxthraxians that were linguistically and ethnically similar to Wetland Transoxthraxians, but lived in the hilly plains to the North of the Heartland. As they followed a similar religion to the old form of the Transoxthraxian faith, Anqhirrai believed that they too needed to be brought under his fold.

At an old age, the avatar of the Gods led a massive army into the Lowlands, and after two years of conquest, added the Lowland Tribes into the Anqhirraic Empire, organizing them along the lines of the rest of the tribes that he had pacified. With this task done, he returned to his new capital, Vounomethea, which he named as such after the bay that he founded it in, and began the preparations for his passing. Despite the protests of both his children and his five hundred loyal companions, his age had exceeded most of those who lived during the time. But before he died, however, he set out the rules for succession in his newly created empire. His eldest son, Varioas-Aigudas af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, was to inherit the throne, despite his age and his failure to produce any heir. His youngest son, Xargonaz af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, was to inherit the Anqhirraic Temple and all of its duties, thus splitting the roles and leadership of government and religion in the empire that would succeed him.

Sometime in the spring of the year of 633, Anqhirrai af Ankhirras zo Varoiz died, probably of natural causes, though potentially through the foul play of his discontented second son, Vounometas af Ankhirras zo Varoiz. The throne passed to Varioas-Aigudas I af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, who only ruled for two years, after which he took ill and died, most likely a poisoning by his much more capable brother Vounometas, supported by his youngest brother and the new leader of the religion, Xargonaz. Vounometas af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, or Vounometas I, would take the throne, but unfortunately, failed to consolidate his father's and empire, leading to the Period of the First Transoxthraxian Empire, and its eventual collapse.

His Five Hundred Companions, his closest and most trusted confidants, hardened warriors, and dearest friends were rewarded not only with promises of paradise after death, but also of very generous land grants throughout the new Transoxthraxian empire, ruled by Anqhirrai's descendants. Each of the Five Hundred was to head a dynasty that controlled certain amounts of land; those that were closer to Anqhirrai received more land, or more valuable land, such as the city of Iagyas and such. Many of these dynasties would end up becoming the antagonists in the quest to centralize the Empire after the death of Anqhirrai.

The Legacy of Anqhirrai[edit | edit source]

Anqhirrai is considered not only one of the most important men in the history of Transoxthraxia, but also as a semidivine being who brought enlightenment to a sinful and decadent people. His legacy, that which factors into Transoxthraxian culture even today, primarily had to do with not only his creation of the modern Anqhirraic religion, but also on the prophet's empire-building policies that completely redefined and forever altered, not only Transoxthraxian culture and society, but also the way that Transoxthraxians governed themselves and others.

Anqhirrai founded the eponymous religion, the Anqhirrais Faith, which would remain the dominant religion of the Transoxthraxian people until the modern era, and would end up being proselytized outside of the Transoxthraxian swamps, converting many of the Xaxonites, the mountain men, to the Anqhirrais Faith as well.

He also founded the First Transoxthraxian Empire, also referred to as the Empire of Kariaupalatisa, Kariaupalatisa I, or simply Kariaupalatisa. While the empire itself, in the long run, would prove to be a failed experiment in nation building, it was significant in the fact that it was the first politically united government that the Transoxthraxian people ever had. While it would last only a handful of centuries in a weakened state, its long term significance in regards to its founding and its symbolism were far reaching, and many of the successor empires to Kariaupalatisa I would model their titles and claims after the original emperors of Transoxthraxia

Perhaps the most important political contribution that Anqhirrai had to the Transoxthraxian geopolitical area, aside from unifying it in its entirety for the first time in history, was the destruction of individual tribal identities. When the Anqhirraic Empire conquered a Transoxthraxian tribe, they organized them along Imperial and Provincial administrative lines - not tribal lines. There was only one empire - a Transoxthraxian one - not a Zyrvanite one, not an Alisz one, not a Xargiz one. All Transoxthraxians were stripped of their tribal identities, and organized in an administrative matter by bureaucrats originating from cities that were not their own. Nobles were forced to marry outside of their "large" tribes, and many commoners were forcefully moved around the nation in order to solidify the destruction of tribalism. Within a few generations, many Transoxthraxians even forgot what tribes their grandparents had belonged to.

An inscription from one of Anqhirrai's speech records that was recently uncovered reads; "And there is only one tribe under the Gods - the tribe of the Transoxthraxians. The tribes you have formerly organized yourselves into are false representations of what the Evil has attempted to plan for you. Shake off the old Evil, and embrace the Truth - There is only one tribe, with me at its head, and all of you in its tow, and together, along this Great Journey, we shall take the path not divided and scared, but united, as one." What this effectively did was transition Transoxthraxia from a tribal system to a feudal one, albeit a system slightly more convoluted than a standard feudal administration, complete with feuding marcher lords, a fledgling bureaucracy, and court intrigues.

The Dynastic Period, or the First Transoxthraxian Empire[edit | edit source]

The Dynastic Period of Transoxthraxia, otherwise known as the First Transoxthraxian Empire, or the Empire of Kariaupalatisa, was less of an empire and more of a patchwork of semi-independent states that were nominally subservient to a single figurehead emperor descended from Anqhirrai in the city of Vounomethea. It was founded by Anqhirrai himself, but was more effectively transformed into the empire that it is remembered as under the reign of Anqhirrai's second son, Varioas-Aigudas I af Ankhirras zo Varoiz, who is remembered rather negatively in the annals of Transoxthraxian history. Many of the vassals that had been complicit in Varioas-Aigudas I's plan to murder his brother and assume the throne to himself, and after he had gained power, they threatened to expose the plot of Varioas-Aigudas if he attempted to consolidate his power. Not only would killing his brother make him guilty of fratricide, one of the darkest crimes in Transoxthraxia, but also guilty of regicide and, most importantly, deicide, the killing of a divine being, a descendant of Anqhirrai.

The Collapse[edit | edit source]

The Period of Reclamation [Second Transoxthraxian Empire][edit | edit source]

The Second Collapse[edit | edit source]

The Period of Kings[edit | edit source]

Transoxthraxia in the Industrial Era[edit | edit source]

EW-II[edit | edit source]

The Continuation War[edit | edit source]

The fall of Transoxthraxia during EW-II had seen two separate occupation zones established; In the West, a Nerotysian army had occupied most of the plains and certain portions of the highlands in the northern part of the nation and in the East a Khorneran occupation sphere. In between them lay the short-lived and ill-fated Empire of Transoxthraxia (1947), which was formed after Hon. Maj. Gen. Iaason Madaras proclaimed himself Emperor of Transoxthraxia after the death of Felicia I and the surrender and abdication of her last living son, Alaxndr IV. Madaras controlled the last combat-effective Transoxthraxian unit in the entire nation after the surrender of Army Group East during the Fall of Vounomethea, and used his last given orders, to fight to the last man, as justification for his proclamation of emperordom.

In the West, Nerotysia had set up a provisional Socialist Government under the leadership of the Communist Militias that had been opposing Transoxthraxian monarchic rule in the area since the year prior; this Revolutionary Socialist Republic was backed primarily by the Nerotysian forces and a fledgling group of unorganized communist militias. In the East, Alaxndr IV and the remaining members of the Iron Ring signed the Vounomethea Concordat on July 26th, 1947, ending Transoxthraxia's official role in the Second Endwar. Alaxndr IV maintained his position as monarch, but with the remaining members of the Iron Ring being tried and killed for war crimes. Days after the Concordat, however, Alaxndr IV abdicated in favour of a group of bureaucratic administrators hand-picked by the King himself, later evolving into the Old Regime.

For a period of a few months, all three governments, the Empire of Transoxthraxia, the Revolutionary Socialist Republic of Transoxthraxia, and the State of Transoxthraxia claimed to be the legitimate successor to the Kingdom of Transoxthraxia. On October 19th, however, Iaason Madaras was assassinated by members of his own high command, ending the Empire of Transoxthraxia. The acting Commander of the now-unaffiliated Army Group North, which was both the best equipped and most veteran Transoxthraxian army unit remaining, turned control of Army Group North over to the State of Transoxthraxia. By this time, the Socialist Republic had centered its powerbase in the city of Tautaki, prewar the biggest city outside of the Transoxthraxian Heartland, and the State of Transoxthraxia had kept the national capital at Vounomethea.

Eager to end the "socialist insurrection", the State of Transoxthraxia began a massive offensive (Codename: Containment) using elements of Army Group North and East to make a dash to Tautaki, supported by Khorneran forces who wished to establish their newly-installed regime across the entire nation. The depleted manpower and supplies of Army Group North and the inexperience and poor equipment of Army Group East severely hampered the offensive efforts, however, and after a tense argument between the newly appointed regime and the high command of the military, the offensive was called off, all units withdrawing from socialist-controlled territory, surprised at the presence and tenacity of the Nerotysian army.

On December 25th, a peace was ceasefire was signed between the two Transoxthraxian states, and while their overlords would continue to fight one another, the Transoxthraxian border remained silent, save for the occasional border flare-up between overly-eager soldiers on either side. However, this would not always be the case.

The Vounomethea Concordat and the Old Regime[edit | edit source]

The Vounomethea Concordat was a document that was signed on July 26th, 1947 and later ratified on January 1st, 1948. The Vounomethea Concordat was the formal and unconditional surrender of the Empire of Transoxthraxia to the Thalassic Allies, specifically Khornera, after their complete capture of the Transoxthraxian capital a week prior to the document's signing and the death of the majority of the Transoxthraxian ruling dynasty, the af Violta house.

There was much controversy over the document: Khornera wanted to reinstate a monarchy under the direct descendant Alaxndr IV, and failing that, his paternal uncle Aigudas, who would have reigned as Aigudas III. However, Alaxndr IV had willingly abdicated and had gone into temporary hiding. At this time, a bunch of leading Transoxthraxian politicians and aristocrats attempted to reign in the chaos and anarchy that came with the interregnum, and attempted to convince the Khorneran leadership that the collapse of Transoxthraxia in EW-II was the last straw in a string of setbacks and failures; the general populace saw the monarchy as corrupt and backwards. A ground of eleven affluent members of Transoxthraxia's elite drafted a proposal to leave the country in their hands, at least until the nation was ready to reinstate the Empire. The Khorneran delegation, however, was not willing to concede to the fact and called for the capture and instatement of Aigudas III.

Aigudas was found and captured in the South of the Heartland; he was later assassinated on his way to the capital. Many today speculate that the group of politicians were behind the assassination, but it was never explicitly proven. With Aigudas dead and Alaxndr missing there was no immediate family to inherit the throne, and the Khornerans had to go about searching for the most legitimate claimant; given the complex nature of Transoxthraxian blood lines, that was no easy task. Meanwhile, protests began erupting throughout the capital, as well as throughout the detention camps for Army Group East as they feared that an irresponsible or uninterested monarch would once again steer their country towards humiliation.

The Conquest of Amazigh[edit | edit source]

Following the establishment of the Unified Transoxthraxian State after the collapse of West Transoxthraxia, a crisis occurred in the Amazigh Kingdom, at that time ruled by the Qhartid Dynasty, starting in 1981. The war, mostly between the old Caste-Strict generations and the younger, Pro-Republican generations eventually turned extremely bloody as the Pro-Casters slaughtered civilians, which brought upon equally terrible repercussions upon innocent Caste supporters by the Republicans. As the war dragged on, the capital of the Kingdom, the city of Sanhajda, fell to the Republicans in 1984 and with it, the Transoxthraxian embassy. While the two nations hadn't been very close, a large portion of the Pro-Caste leadership of the city sought refuge within the embassy, and were granted it.

However, the Pro-Republicans, thirsty for Caste blood and confident that murdering their leadership would mean the end of Caste resistance, stormed the Embassy, murdering Caste Supporters and Transoxthraxian civilians alike in what would later become known as the Sanhajda Incident. In retaliation, the Transoxthraxian National Navy, newly reformed and refurbished, began to bombard the city, but after it became public knowledge that the Republicans were holding surviving Transoxthraxian embassy personnel somewhere in the capital, the bombardments were called off and crisis negotiators were sent in. After hours of deliberation, it was revealed that the Republicans had "no real intent to release the prisoners" and "were planning to shoot them in some ditch somewhere", according to the negotiators. Media at the time received these reports with skepticism, and criticized the negotiators for being imperialistic nationalists, with the interest of the state above the interest of the people within it.

Nevertheless, the State of Transoxthraxia geared up for war. The newly-unified and reformed state was still working off of extensive Old Regime materiel, and in some instances units were equipped with old West Transoxthraxian equipment, much of it derived from Nerotysian arms. Four months after the Sanhajda Incident, at the beginning of August 1984, Transoxthraxian troops and weapons landed at the city of Zennanta, the second major port city after Sanhajda, and the provisional capital of the Pro-Caste faction, who had welcomed Transoxthraxian support. Along with three mechanized infantry divisions which would later form the Transoxthraxian Expeditionary Force, multiple specialists from the TSB, the Transoxthraxian Special Branch, landed in the provisional capital, which at the time was being besieged by Republican forces.

Over the next few weeks, the Mechanized Divisions began to push the Republican forces back and at the same time, the TSB conducted brutal vetting passes and purges of the administrative members of the Pro-Caste Faction, outwardly claiming to be eliminating dissenters, but secretly operating on orders to eliminate anyone that could be perceived as too large a threat for a potential occupation. By the spring of 1985, the Transoxthraxian Army had pushed the Republican Forces out of the major coastal cities and for the most part back into the desert, excepting the inland stronghold of Masduma. By 1986, the only fighting was sporadic and in the interior desert portions of the nation. While many of the surviving embassy staff had been located and freed in the Second Fall of Sanhajda in early 1985, Transoxthraxia claimed that their intervention in Amazigh was not over; the "genocidal" Republican Faction had been driven from the cities, but the TSB claimed that they still remained at large in the Southern portions of the nation, where rolling deserts and sparse settlement dominated the landscape, and the lack of clear or enforced borders between Amazigh and its neighbours meant that the Republican Remnant could be hiding in neighbouring nations.

"For matters of national and international protection" was the reason cited for the Transoxthraxian refusal to withdraw from the Kingdom. Soon after, the King at the time, Ameqran VI, claimed that he had been coerced into signing the Treaty of Sanhajda, which allowed the stationing of Transoxthraxian troops, TSB, and national "advisers" in the nation. After an assassination attempt on his family that maimed him, killed his wife, two daughters, and one of his three sons, staged to look like it was by the hand of the Republicans, Ameqran VI stepped down for his physically disabled son, Ameqran VII. It was later exposed by a Transoxthraxian journalist that the attempt had been made by the TSB, but the event was covered up.


The Transoxthraxian Civil War[edit | edit source]

Geography[edit | edit source]

Politics[edit | edit source]

Demographics[edit | edit source]

Military[edit | edit source]

Economy[edit | edit source]

The Transoxthraxian economy is largely a capitalist, mixed-market economy with minimal forms of government involvement, with the exception of schooling and health, as well as the military and minimal police funding. Transoxthraxia is a highly industrialized nation that has a number of native companies that rank among the biggest in the world. Prior to the August Revolution in 2013, much of the nation's industry was owned and operated either directly through the government or through government-run companies.

Financial services and the banking sector is a large part in Transoxthraxia, and the Transoxthraxian Stock Index (TSI) has been in operation since the middle of the nineteenth century, and the Transoxthraxian bank Vounomethea Investment Bank (VIB), is one of the largest banks in Europe, and the second biggest Transoxthraxian bank, Iagyas Financial, operates internationally and both are ranked as part of the top ten biggest banks in the world. The majority of Transoxthraxian industry is what is known within Transoxthraxia as "The Triumvirate", and includes Automobile Manufacturing, Arms and Armour Manufacturing, and Heavy Industrial Manufacturing, the latter of which is mostly focused on large agricultural machines as well as larger transport methods such as subways.

The most well known Transoxthraxian company is Egitietas, which has a finger in all three Triumvirate Industries, as well as being the prime producer of naval craft in the nation, and is famous for its production of the majority of the armoured vehicles that are in the service of the Transoxthraxian Military. Since their inception in January, 2014 after a merger between four formerly government-controlled firms, Egitietas has received international complaint and mild condemnation in regards to their utter disregard for the environment. A picture of their Shipyards in Vounomethea caused a mild public uproar throughout Europe after it was leaked by a Transoxthraxian media outlet that has alleged ties to the terrorist organization, PeaceGreen.

The infamous photo of the Egitietas Shipyards

Another one of the larger Transoxthraxian Companies is the Karayal Kinitias Zanitas, which was formerly known as the Transoxthraxian Royal Armouries, but was rebranded when it was privatized following the August Revolution. KKZ is famous for being the main producer of all Transoxthraxian Armoured Fighting Vehicles since the beginning of World War Two, with a brief suspension from 1946 until 1964.

Tax rates in Transoxthraxia are a progressive 2/4/6% depending on a wealth bracket, which allows enough money to flow into the public, non-unionized school system, as well as the partial-public, partial-private health system.

Economic policy is effectively dictated by the Ministry of Economic Well-Being, being led by Kato Kristiasid, a devoted member of the ruling party and self-titled Libertarian. He is also one of the most prominent economists in Transoxthraxia, writing and publishing a number of articles per year. Upon his appointment in early 2014, he proposed a bill to eliminate the minimum wage that had been imposed by the Old Regime, which was passed in March of the same year. Since the abolition, the Average Wage of a worker is 9.50$ USD, a whole three dollars less than it was before, but employment has increased by 18% since the end of the Transoxthraxian Civil War (August 2013 - February 2014).

Society[edit | edit source]

Culture[edit | edit source]

Language[edit | edit source]

The Transoxthraxic Languages are a pair of languages that are considered lingual isolates, meaning that they have no discernible relatives outside of their small group anywhere in the world. It is hypothesized that Xaxonite and Zyrvanite are the evolution of the very original language spoken by the neolithic settlers in the area that first arrived some tens of thousands of years ago.

Many Transoxthraxian nationalistic scholars would argue that the language family has resisted outside influences for the entirety of its existence, but it is generally accepted that Transoxthraxia has been influenced to some extend by both their Northern neighbours, the Kolish, with whom they've shared cordial relations for a long time, along with the mysterious Xzyqhr people, who once culturally dominated the flood plains in the western portion of the nation.

Transoxthraxian[edit | edit source]

Otherwise known as "Cosmopolitan Transoxthraxian", is the designated dialect that is used by the government, and is most commonly spoken in the nation's capital, Vounomethea. It is also taught in all the schools, as well as the language that is used in the government, business, and other miscellaneous administrative sectors. It is also considered the least complex and easiest to learn of all the dialects.

This form of Transoxthraxian was created soon after the country gained its independence as an artificial, "simplified" version of the language that included certain "regular" verbs and nouns, in order to make the language easier for foreigners and children to learn. This was also the first rendition of the language to be written in a Latin Script. Unlike most of the other Transoxthraxian languages or dialects, there are only three genders: Male, Female, and Respected. Each proper noun, regular noun, verb, adverb, or adjective has its own grammatical conjugation, and there are only a few exceptions. Proper nouns have different conjugations depending on if it is a given name, personal name or a place name. The three genders represent the speaker's views on each word. For instance, proper speakers of Transoxthraxian use the male conjugation of a word to represent a neutral feeling towards the word. A female conjugation infers a negative feeling, be it contempt or fear, towards a word or what it means. A respected conjugation infers just that: respect and admiration.

For example, the verb "to run" in Transoxthraxian is "Keureuas". If someone doesn't care about running, they'd say "Keureuas". If they didn't like running, it'd be "Kaurauas", and if they liked running, it'd be "Kiuriuas". Many Transoxthraxians on a day-to-day basis, however, refuse to conjugate words in any other sense than the Male-Neutral conjugation unless they really like or really hate something.

Conjugations are as follows in an M/F/R format: Proper Nouns (Place Names):

  • -au-/-a-/-iu-
  • Place names must always end in -a, with a few exceptions.

Proper Nouns (Personal Names):

  • -au-/-a-/-i-
  • Personal names must always end in -as unless you are a female, in which they end in -a.

Proper Nouns (Given Names):

  • -aa-/-a-/-au-

Verbs:

  • -eu-/-au-/-iu-

Adjectives:

  • -aa-/-ee-/-uu-

Adverbs:

  • -aa-/-ee-/-ii-

Xaxonite[edit | edit source]

Xaxonite, while a part of the Transoxthraxic Language Group, is a language separate from the Zyrvanite, and by extension, the larger of the two languages in the group. Xaxonite is spoken by the Mountain Clans of the Milzas Mountain Range, as well as a number of dialects that are spoken in the Western Provinces, mainly around the Zdanka and Askanka rivers. Compared to Cosmopolitan Transoxthraxian or the Zyrvanite Languages, it is considerably simpler and rougher sounding. However, speakers of Xaxonite are often marginalized in the more developed parts of the country, as many in the nation view the language to be rough-sounding and over-simplified.

Surprisingly, unlike its cousin, Zyrvanite, Xaxonite has changed a lot since it was first recorded. It has four main stages, Proto-Xaxonite, which is simply a theoretical stage that may or may not encompass more than one actual development stage of the language. This represents Xaxonite before there were any written records. It ends approximately in 1100 B.C.E when a large portion of the Xaxonites migrated Southwards into the flood plains between the two rivers and adopted the alphabet of the people that lived there. The first recorded Xaxonite language is called "Confluence Xaxonite", and lasts up until about 50 C.E. The term for it originates from the fact that the language was probably influenced to some extent by the people that the migrating Xaxonites overtook, called "The Confluence Event" in Transoxthraxian history. Following a second migration from the Milzas Mountains, however, it evolved into "Old Xaxonite", which most Transoxthraxian linguists agree is probably much closer to Proto-Xaxonite.

Old Xaxonite lasted until the formation of the Xaxonite Empire in 892 C.E, when "Renaissance Xaxonite" takes its place. It is referred to as the Renaissance Xaxonite because the formation of the Xaxonite Empire also heralded the formation of a new, purely Xaxonite alphabet, with administrative documents departing from the old foreign alphabet. With it, Xaxonite grammatical structure and word structure became more complex. With the conquest of the Xaxonite Statelets in the late 17th century by the First Transoxthraxian Kingdom, Renaissance Xaxonite is brought to an end, and is gradually replaced by the more primitive "Modern Xaxonite", which is based off of a Transoxthraxian script instead of a Xaxonite one, with simpler grammatical and spelling structures.

Zyrvanite[edit | edit source]

Considered one of the most difficult dialects for a foreigner to learn, Zyrvanite is what Transoxthraxian linguists consider to be the language closest to "Proto-Transoxthraxian" that there is. Only spoken on the Eastern parts of the Pyrenees and named after one of the larger clans of the area, the Zyrvan Clan (now extinct, ca. 1400s) for a short time, dominated a small piece of territory that was nominally under Spanish control.

Zyrvanite is one of the hardest dialects to learn due to its large difference from other Transoxthraxian dialects and the fact that it had survived without interference or influence from other Latin languages such as Spanish or French. Until the 19th century, there was no alphabet for the language, but after Transoxthraxia gained its independence, the language adopted the Transoxthraxian alphabet. Due to this, the language has come to represent Transoxthraxian nationalism and the nation's difference from the others around it.

Due to its rise in popularity, especially leading up to World War Two and the August Coup, Zyrvanite has become the third largest Transoxthraxian dialect after Cosmopolitan and Xaxonite.