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Tributary system of Imperial Daxia: Difference between revisions
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The brief Chen dynasty introduced the requirement that tributary states should render military support to their overlord. Chen's difficulty in subjugating the local Oduniyyad successor states made it demand troops from the King of Nasrad to support their campaign. When the last Oduniyyad successor state of Lakdu fell, around two thirds of the invading troops were non-Daxian muslim auxiliaries. This was not without risks of its own, Daxian history is littered with examples of vassal forces switching sides mid battle or abandoning campaigns after heavy defeats. Internal feuds and power struggles often led to a fracturing of the tributary relation as some cliques or rulers rejected Daxian overlordship and asserted their independence and others asked for Daxian military support to wipe out their rivals. Internal Daxian crisis and dynastic infighting could also encourage disgruntled vassals to attack their overlord, this was the case of the [[Daxia#Revolt_of_the_Degei_Confederation|revolt of the Degei confederation]] during which a disgruntled local chief angry at diminishing imperial stipends roused the tribes into rebellion and devastated the Zhong dynasty for four years before being defeated. | The brief Chen dynasty introduced the requirement that tributary states should render military support to their overlord. Chen's difficulty in subjugating the local Oduniyyad successor states made it demand troops from the King of Nasrad to support their campaign. When the last Oduniyyad successor state of Lakdu fell, around two thirds of the invading troops were non-Daxian muslim auxiliaries. This was not without risks of its own, Daxian history is littered with examples of vassal forces switching sides mid battle or abandoning campaigns after heavy defeats. Internal feuds and power struggles often led to a fracturing of the tributary relation as some cliques or rulers rejected Daxian overlordship and asserted their independence and others asked for Daxian military support to wipe out their rivals. Internal Daxian crisis and dynastic infighting could also encourage disgruntled vassals to attack their overlord, this was the case of the [[Daxia#Revolt_of_the_Degei_Confederation|revolt of the Degei confederation]] during which a disgruntled local chief angry at diminishing imperial stipends roused the tribes into rebellion and devastated the Zhong dynasty for four years before being defeated. | ||
The Qian dynasty oversaw a great expansion of the tributary system in the number of states subjugated and in the degree of control and influence the empire had over them. Qian expansionism resulted in very diverse peoples who were not used to Daxian practices being brought into the imperial umbrella, from [[Crona]] to [[Australis]] and [[Polynesia]]. | The Qian dynasty oversaw a great expansion of the tributary system in the number of states subjugated and in the degree of control and influence the empire had over them. Qian expansionism resulted in very diverse peoples who were not used to Daxian practices being brought into the imperial umbrella, [[Chimocher]] and [[Ixa'Taka]] from [[Crona]] to various island people living in [[Australis]] and [[Polynesia]]. The tribute of these far flung lands made the Qian court and its treasury the envy of other imperial powers, the sheer breadth of variety enough to fill many tomes on the subject. The Qian also came into contact with [[Levantia]]ns and [[Sarpedon]]ians who also offered gifts which the Daxians interpreted as offerings of tribute and submission, clearly something was lost in translation as these outsiders had no interest in placing themselves on terms of servitude. The tribute system began to break down before the [[First Great War]], the Qian rejection of tribute in kind had become far too onerous for tributaries to maintain and the rise of nationalism led to frequent revolts; most tributary nations were in arrears in the late 1800's. The death knell of the system of tribute was the overthrow in 1946 of the [[Hongli|last emperor]] and the entire imperial system by [[Dai Hanjian]] during his Glorious Revolt. | ||
==Practices== | ==Practices== | ||
===Accession=== | ===Accession=== | ||
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The fourth obligation is the most vague and less understood and there was great discrepancy in how each dynasty interpreted it. Tributaries were supposed heed the dictates of the empire in their dealings with third parties. The majority of the dynasties had a very loose interpretation often reduced to a simple mantra of 'do not conspire with our enemies', in all other respects vassal states were free to conduct their affairs as they saw fit.The Qian dynasty conception of this obligation was that they had a right to dictate the foreign policy of all vassal states, including if they could use royal marriages as a tool in foreign policy and with who they could carry them out, or demanding that permission to wage war on a third state first be requested from the imperial court. The Qian interpretation lent itself to much greater involvement (or meddling in the eyes of the tributaries) to the point that some vassals operated more as provinces than independent entities. The Qian even began appointing [[Imperial Viceroy (Daxia)|Imperial Viceroy]]'s to safeguard their interests in some especially important subject states. | The fourth obligation is the most vague and less understood and there was great discrepancy in how each dynasty interpreted it. Tributaries were supposed heed the dictates of the empire in their dealings with third parties. The majority of the dynasties had a very loose interpretation often reduced to a simple mantra of 'do not conspire with our enemies', in all other respects vassal states were free to conduct their affairs as they saw fit.The Qian dynasty conception of this obligation was that they had a right to dictate the foreign policy of all vassal states, including if they could use royal marriages as a tool in foreign policy and with who they could carry them out, or demanding that permission to wage war on a third state first be requested from the imperial court. The Qian interpretation lent itself to much greater involvement (or meddling in the eyes of the tributaries) to the point that some vassals operated more as provinces than independent entities. The Qian even began appointing [[Imperial Viceroy (Daxia)|Imperial Viceroy]]'s to safeguard their interests in some especially important subject states. | ||
===Benefits=== | ===Benefits=== | ||
The benefits of joining the tributary system were manifold. Tributary states gained the right to trade with the empire (all relevant taxes and duties still applied), which was the largest market of eastern [[Audonia]] and had the biggest agglomerations of people, in addition to being the only nation with access to eastern goods. (''[[Levantia]] and [[Sarpedon]] are located east of Daxia, therefore Daxian sources call it the East''). The potential profits of engaging in commerce with [[Daxia]] could potentially dwarf the cost of giving the yearly tribute, so wily rulers made optimal use of trade missions and merchant networks to gain back their 'investment' and then some on top of that. As has been noted the Qian dynasty made significant adjustments to the system and began closing off avenues of profit by increasing taxation and duties on foreign goods making the tributary relationship more economically one sided. | |||
The political recognition and support of the empire was also very useful in helping local rulers cement their positions and intimidate and discourage internal rivals from attempting a power grab. Often times a veiled threat of armed intervention was enough to maintain the status quo for a few more years. Especially loyal and valued vassal states whose rulers were granted titles by the imperial court could also expect monetary stipends to reinforce their loyalty, in rare cases the monies kept being dispensed in a hereditary manner, a very rare form of praise for a particularly loyal royal line. Being a vassal of [[Daxia]] was also seen as enhancing the prestige and pedigree of a dynasty and could be an extra leverage in interactions with other states outside the system. | |||
The military dimension of the tributary system was more arbitrary; support for a vassal was never guaranteed just as it was not guaranteed would be as extensive as required. Imperial armies dispatched to aid tributaries had their own supplies but usually these were a reserve, they expected to be fed and housed by the vassal with its own means. In times of imperial crisis, vassals pleas for help would go unanswered or be firmly replied with stern admonishments to handle the matter themselves. Sometimes in lieu of an army, the empire would send diplomats with bribes for those attacking the vassal, this was particularly effective with many nomad and migratory confederations; the bribes paid to secure peace of mind were tacked on to the yearly tribute to be repaid, the were not gifts. | |||
===Rituals=== | ===Rituals=== | ||
Maintaining the tributary system involved much feting and entertaining dignataries from all across the continent and the Daxians observed certain rituals and formal ceremonies at various stages of the process. As the receiving of tribute was considered a joyful and auspicious occasion, the caravans carrying the imperial tribute were accompanied by musical bands playing trumpets and drums, each local governor had a duty to organize and pay for these music bands and see that they remained while the caravans were in the province. The foreign delegates all had to wear clothing of the same color, and not one vassal state was assigned the same color. This was done for issues of identification and to warn people away from interfering with the caravans (or fraternizing). The ritual obeisance before the Emperor and his court was the most important moment, on the first year of the compact the ruler and vassal-to-be traveled himself to the capital and ritually kowtowed seven times, as seven was a number that signified good luck. He was then given an ornate silver scepter topped with the effigy of a peacock to signify his new status as a vassal under the empire. Afterwards came the solemn session of bargaining and haggling before the Tribunal of Accounts, where the ruler was completely alone and could have no ledgers or documents to aid him; he had to come prepared with a sufficient knowledge of his realm's products and figures or else risk being pummeled into a very disadvantageous tributary arrangement. Next came the reading of the [[Imperial Tallies (Daxia)|imperial tallies]] in the Hall of Tributaries where the keepers of the tallies read out the requirements of tribute to the accompaniment of music; after the reading the delegations were given a normal sized copy of the tribute list to take home with them. | |||
===Status=== | ===Status=== | ||
In the [[Zhangwo]] conception of Daxians as the peerless ideal of humanity, all other nations were lacking and inferior. There are many terms in the Daxian language for outsiders, foreigners and barbarians; epithets applied to most nations that eventually found themselves in thrall to the empire. But giving tribute was seen as a way out, and upwards. Coming under the wing of the greatest civilization and being cognizant of their own inadequacy and inferiority by obeisance and tribute was the first step towards an enlightenment. These nations went from ''Kakun'' and ''Hurd'' to the [[Good Barbarians]], peoples on the path to joining the Daxians at the pinnacle (a journey that would take them hundreds of thousands of years, by most | In the [[Zhangwo]] conception of Daxians as the peerless ideal of humanity, all other nations were lacking and inferior. There are many terms in the Daxian language for outsiders, foreigners and barbarians; epithets applied to most nations that eventually found themselves in thrall to the empire. But giving tribute was seen as a way out, and upwards. Coming under the wing of the greatest civilization and being cognizant of their own inadequacy and inferiority by obeisance and tribute was the first step towards an enlightenment. These nations went from ''Kakun'' and ''Hurd'' to the [[Good Barbarians]], peoples on the path to joining the Daxians at the pinnacle (a journey that would take them hundreds of thousands of years, by the most generous estimates of learned scholars of the time). The [[Good Barbarians]] could be lavished with titles of some consecuence and meaning, with resplendent robes and scepters of office, with tablets engraved with solemn declarations of authority and friendship and if worthy and loyal enough, with the strength of arms of imperial armies. The term of the [[Good Barbarians]] is tangentially related to the myth of the 'noble savage' espoused by some Levantian authors when discussing the native [[Crona]]ns, but in the case of the [[Good Barbarians]] all of the positive moral attributes of a people seen as innately inferior were entirely dependent on their subservient attitudes, like a light switch they could be turned off if tribute stopped and they would be relegated once more to the offal pile in the eyes of imperial authorities. | ||
==List of tributaries== | ==List of tributaries== | ||
===Kingdom of Guangbei=== | ===Kingdom of Guangbei=== | ||
===Kingdom of Nasrad=== | ===Kingdom of Nasrad=== | ||
=== | The Kingdom of Nasrad was a state that existed west of the Arik mountain range and was an early vassal of the Shang dynasty. The state was conquered by the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] and became a battleground between the two empires for decades. The Muslims were expelled when the caliphate fragmented and Nasrad was reinstated as an independent buffer state. Nasrad offered as tribute many ores such as iron, copper, tin and bronze and also tools and weapons made of these materials. On ocassion they also gathered gems in sufficient quantity (too few could be seen as an insult) so that they could be included in the tribute. Nasrad also gave war elephants to [[Daxia]] that they bought in the markets of [[Pukhgundi]]. | ||
===Emirates of Ghanim and Lakdu=== | |||
Oduniyyad successor states like [[Rusana|Ghanim]] and Lakdu who had tributary status provided trained slaves. Ghanim's ad Lakdu's slavemasters were renowned for the quality of their slaves, from body slaves and eunuch servants to the ghulam slave soldiers. Batches of ghulams were provided yearly and every [[Daxia]]n dynasty employed them. Some ten percent of the early Qian proffesional army is thought to have been slaves provided by their Muslim vassals. In a reversal of roles, Ghanim and Lakdu had to pay a form of jizya to [[Daxia]]. Every muslim citizen (with exceptions for cripples, children, the insane and some other categories) had to pay a special tax (called the Tou tax) to the central treasury which then forwarded the total sum to [[Daxia]] along its annual regular tribute. To ensure nothing was skimmed, special auditors went over the census figures collected by Ghanim and double checked the figures submitted. This form of onerous tax was created to humilliate the muslims, in a mirror to the jizya tax imposed by the caliphate on its non-muslim inhabitants. | |||
===Degei Confederation=== | ===Degei Confederation=== | ||
The Degei Confederation was a nomadic state to the northwest of [[Daxia]] proper that existed for several hundred years and alternated between vassalage to Daxian dynasties and hostility and plundering. During the periods that they gave tribute, the Khans of the steppe sent thousands of prized horses that filled the stables of the imperial armies. They also sent goat and alpaca pelts from the vast herds that roamed the steppes, thousands of jugs of fermented mare milk which they drank as alcohol, fine bows of carved yew and sinew and also multitudes of slaves captured in raids in central [[Audonia]]. The Degei mounted archers were also valuable and effective cavalry auxiliaries when their chiefs were in the mood to heed imperial summons to war, just as they were effective and brutal at decimating border towns. The value of the confederation as a vassal greatly decline after Darukh Khan's failed rebellion as their numbers were decimated and their unity crushed. The traditionally Degei lands were slowly incorporated into Guangbei province. | |||
===Tribes of [[Australis]]=== | ===Tribes of [[Australis]]=== | ||
Qian control of southern [[Peratra]] was for decades an informal arrangement between independent tribal chiefs and the Governor of [[Australis]] based in Rakin. The Ikani, Tasi and Wiramo tribal confederations gave gifts of fruit, fish and carved items to imperial representatives on occasion. The 6th governor changed the practice; Marquis Li De demanded from the tribes the provision of tribute in the same manner as mainland tributaries did and warned that those that refused would be treated the same as the Taualai who were conquered completely in 1658. The nominally sovereign tribes acceded to the tributary system, delivering their tribute in Rakin which was then sent to the mainland with the [[Grog Fleet]]. | |||
===Walis of [[Truk]]=== | ===Walis of [[Truk]]=== | ||
Following the [[Capture of Truk|capture of Truk]] and the extinction of its royal line, its previously subordinate regional walis were placed under the authority of the Governor of [[Australis]] until 1740, having to deliver their tribute to Rakin at their own expense. The walis sent bags of spices, saltpeter, vanilla, kumquats and cloves. They also provided many hundreds of [[Loa]] slaves captured during raids on far flung territories of the [[Loa Empire]]. After 1740 the walis were no longer required to travel to Rakin as [[Truk]] now had its own local governor. The position of wali was abolished in 1825 and so was their control over their fiefs which passed directly to the authority of the governor, making [[Truk]] a full province and taking it out of the tributary system. | |||
[[Category:Daxia]] | [[Category:Daxia]] | ||
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