A Timeline In the Shade of Rash'ani History
The Island Realm of Mis’aru
The Rash’ani (descended from the ancient ones who were original people supposed connected to the Gods) controlled the land thru the
Centennial Wars (
10 Fz to 640 Fz) where power was limited by the City-States... A final reason behind the development of city-states was the Rash’ani and Hamadan aristocracy, who acted to prevent any permanent monarchies from forming. They defended the political independence of their cities vigorously. As a result any individual who did manage to take over a city could only hope to do so for a short time as a '
tyrant' rather than a king.
Over time, the defeated inhabitants of the over-populated Red Hamada found their way to the mainland… and those Hamadans, supported by their victorious cousins, fought millennial wars with the Rash’ani called the
Dominion Wars;
First Dominion War ( 711 Fz to 923 Fz)
Intended to represent the front of ancient Hamadan city-states coupled together by fear, to contrast with the unity of the Rash’ani enabled by bonds of friendship. The Hamadan used diplomacy, deception, and cultural imperialism to achieve their aims before ultimately resorting to coercion. Disturbing reports indicated that what the Hamadan could not attain through trade was forcibly seized; and the Rash’ani responded in kind. Through the years, Rash’ani and Hamadan scholars have discussed the identity of what the true enemy is, what are the limits of duty for all involved, and whether soldiers are responsible for the actions of their leaders. Further investigating the themes of soldier duty and loyalty, and contrasts the opposing rules of discipline.
Second Dominion War ( 1108 Fz to 1944 Fz)
Geography played a critical role in shaping civilizations, and this is particularly true of ancient Sha’Lazar. The First Dominion War and the distinctive land’s geographic features influenced the development of Rash’ani and Hamadan society. While on the Island of
Mis’aru, there was an evolving land, much like the Rash’ani on mainland of Sha’Lazar, but in the midst o9f war and conflict between the Rash’ani and the Hamadan, Mis’aru ensured their inconspicuous presence by safeguarding the seas around the island, let alone anyone leaving their island.
Each city-state developed independently and, often, very differently from one another. Arcadia, Utica, and Adrienne were good examples of city-states that contrasted greatly with each other. But spies kept Mis’aru monarchs apprised and updated on the Rash’ani. Therefore
El Matamir, forged ahead in the same manner as Arcadia and Utica combined.
The city-states of
Arcadia and
Utica considered themselves the birthplace of many significant ideas regarding science, philosophy, and history; and
El Maramir was all too eager to steal those ideas and reform them to fit Mis’aru. And they did the same with Utica, who preferred trade, politics, and statutes over science, philosophy, and history; though Mis’aru formed a
theocratic monarchy as the Sovereign ruled by a mandate from the gods, initially was seen as an intermediary between human beings and the Divine, and was supposed to represent the gods' will through the laws passed and policies approved.
And the Mis’aruan sovereigns did not care what the Hamadans did on their isolated isle of Red Hamada, who had developed a militaristic society ruled by two kings and an oligarchy, or small group that exercised political control.
The differences between Arcadia, Utica, and Adrienne eventually led to war between the three city-states, and all their loyal vassal city-states or colonies. Known as the
Second Dominion War; Arcadia, Utica, and Adrienne gathered allies and fought on and off for centuries because no single city-state was strong enough to conquer the others.
Meanwhile the Amir of Mis’aru remained neutral... and with war came famine, plague, death, and misfortune to the north and east, Mis’aru enjoyed a plentiful life free of such atrocities of war.
But war cannot kill ideas. Despite the eventual military surrender of Utica, and the stalemate between Arcadia and Adienne, Arcadian thought spread throughout the mainland. After temporary setbacks, these notions only became more widely accepted and developed with the passing centuries.
As it was, famine, plague, death, and misfortune that ended the Second Dominion War left both the Rash’ani and the Hamadans weakened, splitting the country in half, and provided the opportunity for other entities to form. Trade became vital to all members of Sha’Lazar.
For the next
700 years, all contact between Imperial Arcadia and the Utican-Hamadan Empire was severed, leading to speculation of civil unrest in many city-states. And over those years of disarray, Hamada-sympathetic Uticans continually routed the Imperial forces of the Arcadia-Battai alliances. Supporters of a free Canas proclaimed a union, and the Kingdoms of Canas were reborn. Utica, Mu’ud, Mara, and Zagora from southwest, and Si’don, Shez’ra, and hidden support from Battai, from the northeast, would secure Sha’Lazar’s central third of the land called the Canas.
Within that 700 to 800 years, Hamadan and Rash’ani people merged, technology changed, weapons became different, tactics changed; and through it all, an entire culture was being born. From the city-state alliances, Family names would emerge as leaders, giving birth to the idea that Houses would best be served by reigning supreme…
As trade restrictions eased, so did tensions between the Imperial Alliance of Acacus and the Kingdoms of Canas. Initially seeking only to add the Hanasim to its trade territory, the Kingdoms of Canas soon realized that Imperial Arcadia was much weaker than they initially assumed and advanced deeper into the Hanasim.
Being completed isolated by the government in Arcadia and its trade severely reduced by Canasite pirates, the Hanasim city-states capitulated one after another under Canasite pressures.
Fearing the loss of the Hanasim, the Imperial Alliance of Acacus waged war on the Kingdoms of Canas… This violent conflict, called the
Third Dominion War (( 1944 Fz to 4744 Fz)) last nearly 2,000 years, with losses well into numbers totaling more than the first two Dominion Wars. The losses in human life and in the accumulated wealth of generations which the War involved was frightful to think on.
And in the peace talks that ended the
Third Dominion War, the
Rash’ani-Utican Accords of 4744 Fz, Statesmen, aristocrats, scholars… all began to consider what war was and why people tended to obliterate themselves with it. War was mass murder, and yet, in perhaps the greatest paradox in history, war has nevertheless been the undertaker’s worst enemy with famine, plague, death, and misfortune.
Contrary to what people say, war had been good for something… over the millennia, it had made humanity safer and richer. The only way to make these larger societies work was for their rulers to develop paths to suppress violence within the society. The men who ran these governments hardly ever pursued policies of peacemaking purely out of the goodness of their hearts. They cracked down on killing because well-behaved subjects were easier to govern and tax than angry, murderous ones.
For millennia, war has created peace, and destruction has created wealth, but in their own age humanity has gotten so good at fighting with weapons so effective, tactics and strategies so efficient; that war is beginning to make further war of this kind impossible. As the returns to violence have declined, man has found ways to solve problems without bringing on Armageddon.
❖ -- Many believed a rebirth unto the Gods was well over-due… Temples were erected, cities were rebuilt, fair trade was re-established… but in the finale, agreed upon in the accords of peace, the lands were divided.
❖ -- Descendants of the Rash’ani settled in the Acacus… proudly titled Rash’ani;
❖ -- Descendants, a mixed breed of Arcadian, Utican, and Hamadan settled the central and southern portions. The Central was to be called the Kingdoms of Canas and the people Canasites, and the southern to be called Hanasim, and the people, Hanasimites.
❖ -- The original Hamadans could keep the isle of Red Mountains to themselves…
❖ -- A central monetary system was instituted and the first coins of a unified Sha’Lazar were minted with the likeness of Melqart, the patron god of financial gain, commerce, eloquence (and thus poetry), messages/communication, including divination, travelers, boundaries, luck, trickery and thieves; he is also the guide of souls to the underworld. Major centers of Commerce in Sha’Lazar are befitting places to worship a swift god of trade and travel such as Melqart. This was changed so the coins could be used everywhere without offense. They were minted with a block 'V' with a hollow circle set above it.
And the resulting peace brought about the realms of the
Arcadia, Tamazgha, Malli’ayad, and Red Hamada Empires. All different, yet all having similarities they could not renounce.
But what of Mis’aru?
Well, the Sovereigns built a lasting system, based upon the Gods... no, not the Gods of the Rash’ani, but the ones of the Islands ancestors. Where war raged and history lost, the Mis’aruan, remaining neutral to live their own lives, had a plethora of literature, and their culture flourished. The major difference in all of the history is how the realm is run...
by women of power.
Over a thousand years, Mis’aru transformed, and had become a
Matriarchy, with shades of matrilineal. A society governed by a woman, or group of women. A social system in which the mother or a female elder has absolute authority over the family group; by extension, one or more women (as in a council) exert a similar level of authority over the land as a whole.
Over four million people participate in this culture where women are respected and even favored. The family name is inherited through the women, and properties are passed from mothers to daughters.
Grooms move into the bride’s house upon marriage. Additionally, the groom will take the bride’s surname. When children arrive, the youngest female will receive the largest inheritance and family home, but this inheritance comes with the responsibility of taking care of their aging parents. Men receive a small inheritance, but if he has any sisters, the women will get the larger share.
And despite sounding like women control everything, men and women actually contribute equally in Mis’aruan society. At age 10, boys leave their mother’s home to stay in men’s quarters to learn practical skills, weaponry, and religious teachings. Men hold religious and political offices with the permission of women.
Only women can inherit the land, making growing and harvesting their own food more sustainable and achievable. Also being a primarily desert island, the process of agroforestry encourages the foraging and picking of foods from natural flora and fauna sources. It is a source of pride and leadership shared among the women to provide basic necessities for their families.
As a sacred honor, women are the sole individuals who can prepare a drink for sacred religious rituals or momentous life events, including marriage, funerals, or even the announcement of a pregnancy.
Since the father doesn’t raise boys, men don’t get to raise their own children—only their sister’s children.
