Aciriano-Istroyan Kingdom

The Aciriano-Istroyan Kingdom, also known as Abdinia or Kenopatria, was an ancient Istroyan kingdom covering a large area in the northwestern regions of modern day Aciria. It was founded somewhere in the 6th century BC, and Istroyan culture continued to flourish on specific islands until the 1st century BC before being eventually assimilated into the Marinai people.

The kingdom was founded when the Istroyan tyrant Alketadas invaded Aciria from the Istroyan colony on the island of Telanos in 590 BC. The Aciriano-Istroyan kingdom refers to not only the kingdom established by Alketadas, but the realms that followed from the collapse of the kingdom after the death of Alketadas' son. Over time the Istroyan identity was lessened by assimilation into the native populations, creating Marinai-Istroyan Kingdoms by the coastal regions, and even a short lived Montanaro-Istroyan kingdom in the mountains.

The Istroyan population in the region remained relatively small over the centuries, but despite this, Istroyan influence on the culture, religion and language of pre-latinic Aciria was vast due to the ruling class initially refusing to accept any local customs or beliefs. Modern research has also shown that Istroyan influence is also present in the ethnic makeup of the Acirians, shown by some Montanaro populations having notable Istroyan ancestry. Intermarrying between the Acirians and Istroyans was uncommon, but not unheard of, with the earliest record of this being Alketadas' son's wife being the princess of an Acirian tribe.

Istroyan influence quickly lessened following the collapse of the Aciriano-Istroyan Kingdom ruled by Alketadas and his son, with smaller kingdoms and republics more akin to Istroyan colonies continuing its legacy.

Istroyan presence in Aciria
Archaeological digs have discovered fragments of Istroyan pottery and Istroyan jewelry in the marine regions of Aciria dating to the 8th century, suggesting initial contact between the Istroyans and Acirians dating back to the 8th century via trade. Istroyan written records on the "Glaistos" also are dated around this time period, with them describing the lands they inhabit as "rich with gold and silver", which might be what the Acirians traded with the Istroyans for their goods.

Istroyan colonies in Aciria
The biggest Istroyan colony in Aciria was the colony of Kenopatrida on the island of Telanos. It's thought to have been established in the latter half of the 8th century to offer a place of rest for sailors and traders, whilst encouraging trade by allowing storing goods from Istroya or Aciria before shipping them back to Istroya. The colony's population growth quickly got out of hand, which in return caused the government to not only forbid further immigration but exile people to the mainland to further Istroyan influence in the region. The exiles eventually formed their own colonies, with the most important one of the exile colonies being Abdinion due to its proximity to Kenopatrida, becoming a gateway between the mainland colonies and the rest of the Istroyan world.

Initial conflicts
The relations between the Acirians and Istroyans remained peaceful until the establishment of colonies on the mainland. The Acirian population on the islands was limited which meant the enslavement of Acirians wasn't large scale and also meant that the conflicts Acirians might've started were easily stopped by the more well-equipped Istroyans. The establishment of colonies on the mainland meant the expansion of Istroyan agricultural land which expanded onto the lands Acirians considered theirs, resulting in regular Acirian raids to the frontier farms. The small-scale conflicts on the frontier between Istroyan guards and Acirian raiders also quickly ramped up the amount of Acirians enslaved by the Istroyans, which angered the population further.

"The Glaistos, originally thought to be noble savages who can be educated, have recently shown their true face. Their actions against our peaceful settlers on their so-called "holy land" will result in nothing more than the unfortunate demise of their people."

- Theokasios

The Acirians being unable to discern between the different Istroyan colonies resulted in Acirians attacking and raiding even those settlements that belonged to the colonies that had respected the deals they had made with the local tribal leaders, seeing the Istroyans as a whole as an aggressive, invading force.

Istroyan invasion
What historians see as the starting point of the Aciriano-Istroyan Kingdom is when the Istroyan colony of Abdinion was sacked by the Glaistos, who have been identified as one of the pre-latinic inhabitants of Aciria. Abdinion's tyrant, Alketadas, narrowly escaped his death in Abdinion and escaped to the Istroyan colony of Kenopatrida on Iolcessos, where he informed the local leaders of the colony's fate. By 592 BC Alketadas had returned to his native Istroya, where he had mustered up a fleet and an army of Istroyans. Where, exactly, Alketadas got this fleet and army from is unclear, but it's thought to have been a mix of what Alketadas was able to buy with his own wealth, volunteers, and the allies of Alketadas that were eager to avenge those who were lost in the sacking.

It was in the summer of 590 BC when Alketadas' fleet and army left Kenopatrida for Abdinion, which the Acirians had inhabited now for several years. The town was quickly retaken with little casualties due to the well equipped and trained Istroyan mercenaries, but Alketadas did give credit to the Acirians for the ferocity which they fought with before retreating.

"The beautiful city of Abdinion was raped and to an extent, reclaimed by nature, due to the inability of the Glaistos to upkeep a civilized society. The beautiful marble buildings had been taken apart and left to the elements, while the grand works of art portraying our gods and heroes were knocked over and turned to rubble. Our streets were now littered with blood, guts and corpses; (they) fought with ferocity that matched a cornered animal, perhaps unable to even understand the concept of surrender or retreat, maybe even fear."

- Alketadas

Alketadas was initially content with simply rebuilding his former city, but found out that in his absence, nearby colonies had also been at best victims of raids, and at worst, destroyed. Enraged by this, Alketadas rested for the night before sending some of his men to inform Kenopatrida of his plans to reclaim the region before marching for the other colonies. His wars against the Acirians continued on and off for a decade, and in 580 BC he halted his wars by marrying his son Lacidaos to the daughter of a powerful Acirian tribal leader, who then vouched for Alketadas when suing for peace.

Reliability of sources
Some modern historians have doubted the accuracy of descriptions of the war, due to all the sources being Istroyan due to the lack of written sources from Acirians at this time. Many of the sources are thought to have exaggerated the success and speed of his conquests.

Rule of the Alketadian dynasty
The first ruling Istroyan dynasty in Aciria is known as the Alketadian dynasty, named after the first king Alketadas. Alketadas was infamous for his ruthlessness against the Acirians, even in Istroyan sources. Acirian enslavement was widespread during his rule, used for the reconstruction of the Istroyan colonies, construction of temples, forced to work in mines and often even shipped off to work in Istroya. The vast amounts of slave labour propped up the economy of the new kingdom quickly, which then enticed more Istroyans to move there. The economy soared and the cities were not only reconstructed, but expanded due to the wealth the rare metals extracted from the mines brought. Alketadas eventually died around 568 BC, which meant his son Lacidaos ascended to the throne at the age of 27. Lacidaos' and his fathers rule couldn't have been more different: Lacidaos had spent much of his life around Acirians since he was a child, growing up in the colonies. He spoke the language fluently and had great compassion for the Acirians, which caused him to allow them to gain citizenship and outlawed "cruel treatment" of Acirian slaves to lessen the unrest between the Istroyans and Acirians. His wife being a native Acirian, she often was the messenger between the Acirians and the Istroyans as opposed to Lacidaos himself, due to the former being suspicious of the latter following the cruel rule of Alketadas. Lacidaos' wife was described to have a silver tongue, which meant the expansion of the Istroyan kingdom diplomatically, some tribes voluntarily joining the kingdom in return for protection from the other tribes.

Lacidaos died at the age of 41 under suspicious circumstances. His death became the inspiration for a play by Aciriano-Istroyan poet Arantheos, where Lacidaos became the victim of a grand conspiracy.

Collapse of the First Kingdom
The prosperity that followed the establishment of the First Kingdom, known as Abdinia, was also its downfall. The fast expansion and creation of new cities far away from each other alongside with the prosperous trade had created powerful, wealthy families in different parts of the kingdom that declared independence following the death of Lacidaos. The first of these was Empastira on the western coast, which was quickly followed by Salidros, and even Kenopatrida after it was noticed the new king was unable to do anything to keep the kingdom together. Empastira's government eventually settled on a diarchy ruled by King Kenoros and King Hekaos, while Salidros and Kenopatrida returned to their historical tradition of democracy.

Despite being the de facto capital of the ancient Istroyan colonies in Aciria since its founding, Kenopatrida quickly declined due to trade slowing down as the new main port of the colonies turned to be Salidros due to the closer location and smaller customs. Kenopatridas insular location also didn't work in its favour, due to having to import much of its food and wood from the mainland.

Religion
Sculptures and coins minted in the early years of the Istroyan settlements portrayed figures from traditional Istroyan religion and mythology, but after the collapse of Abdinia, figures that have been interpreted as gods and heroes from the native religion of the region. It was also during this time when Istroyan architectural influence became more commonplace in Acirian places of worship with the busts of Istroyan gods being included in these temples relatively often, suggesting the two groups had found common ground with their beliefs.

Salidros
Salidros has been historically seen as the most tolerant of the Istroyan kingdoms when it came to the religion of the natives. The first Salidran archon Ibapides sent multiple expeditions to the mountainous, rural regions of Aciria to study the religion of the natives, deeply interested by their utilitarianistic views. Ibapides wanted the expedition to visit as inland as possible to minimize the Istroyan influence in the religion to ensure the "purity" of the beliefs. Following the return of the expedition, Ibapides considered the gods of the Acirians to be the same as theirs; just different aspects of them, and ordered a statue of the Three Sisters to be constructed by the port to welcome any visitors and merchants to the city.

Ibapides was eventually exiled due to fears of tyranny, and legend says that Ibapides never returned to the Istroyans but went on to live with the Acirians, and became a priest at an Acirian temple.

Art
Unfortunately, the history of instability in Aciria has resulted in the destruction of many pieces of art that the Aciriano-Istroyan Kingdoms may have produced. The biggest source of information regarding the Aciriano-Istroyan art has been the Pistallo Cave, in which archaeologists uncovered over 120 pieces of art, including but not limited to murals, busts and coins. The art seems to be Istroyan in nature, but they seem to portray items and people not common in Istroyan art, believing that this is a result of the Aciriano-Istroyan syncretic art.