History of Zaclaria: Difference between revisions

The '''history of Zaclaria''' is rich and extensive, dating back from well before the innovation of the written record. The earliest attested archaeological artifacts in Zaclaria, like those excavated at Heydişehir and Aksarı in northern Zaclaria, confirm a human presence in Zaclaria since the Lower Paleolithic. Zaclaria's history is intertwined with the history of a larger region traditionally known as Dar-al-Furat. Today, it is the [[Audonia|Audonian]] subregion of [[Daria]] (Dar-al).

From the 10th to the seventh millennium BC, early agricultural communities began to flourish in and around the northern region of Zaclaria. The emergence of the ancient city Ankaraklar, as determined by radiocarbon dating, dates back to early 4,395 BC. There are dozens of prehistoric sites across the Zaclarian plateau, pointing to the existence of ancient cultures and urban settlements in the fourth millennium BC. During the Bronze Age, the territory of present-day Zaclaria was home to several civilizations, including Diwaisa, Çyr, and Akçaabad. Diwaisa, the most prominent of these civilizations, developed in the southeast alongside those near Koushahr Bay, and continued its existence until the emergence of the Sultanates. By the second millennium BC, the ancient Zaclarian people arrived in what is now Zaclaria from the Central Audonian Steppe, rivaling the native settlers of the region. The sharing of early Audonian cuneiform in the 13th century BC advanced contact among civilizations as formal states emerged. Four major city-states rose to prominence towards the end of the second millennium BC; Diwaisa and Yahli in the south, Çyr in the west, and Gökçarreh to the east.

Into the start of the first millennium BC, a period of rapid and intense cultural development punctuated by sporadic warfare between the city-states and other Audonian civilizations began. This period also saw the first limited interaction with Istroyan civilization from the far west, beginning towards the 15th century BC. As the Istroyans began to establish permanent settlements along the Audonian coast, they introduced advanced metallurgy, sailing techniques, and new crops and animals to the continent. Many Audonian city-states and civilizations, including Diwaisa were either assimilated or conquered under the Istroyans between the 11th and 7th century BC, a period known as the Istroyan Golden Age.

As the Istroyan civilization began to slip into decline in the 6th century BC and retreat back to the eastern coast of Sarpedon, various Audonian city-states and empires emerged. In the first half the century, under Édoğukanton, king of Sainhahr, the city-states of Diwaisa, Çyr, and Ghah entered into an alliance with each other in order to stabilize the region. This alliance lasted approximately seven decades before Edoğukanton III ended the alliance, conquering them under the Sainhahrid Empire. Sainhahrid rule saw unprecedented economic and population growth throughout Sainhahr and a renaissance of culture and artwork, with the Sainhahrid kings conducting massive building projects, especially in the capital of the empire, Our-Orra itself, and bringing back many elements from the previous two thousand or so years of Diwaisan culture. The Sainhahr Empire would be short-lived, being conquered after less than a century by the Farsiwan Empire.

Zaklosia played a role in the commercial activity of the Istroyans, contributing at least two commodities: precious pearls and purple dye. Over centuries tribes from the east and north settled in Zaklosia , making a living by fishing, farming, herding or stock breeding, and many present day Zaclarian families trace their ancestral roots to other parts of Audonia. Zaklosia's pre-Islamic population consisted of Christian Audonians (mostly Abd al-Qays), Audonians (Zoroastrians), Jews, and Audonian-speaking agriculturalists. In the 1st century BC, the Istroyan Empire was subsequently divided into a number of small kingdoms and from the 1st century BC up to the 3rd century CE, large parts of modern-day Zaclaria were contested between the Istroyan Empire and Audonian kingdoms. An Audonian warlord named Safiq Al-Mutayed rose to power through an unprecedented military campaign through southeastern Audonia. Many campaigns were quick piratical raids, but others were large-scale attacks in which many Audonians were slaughtered and great wealth carried off or destroyed. In 267 AD, Al-Mutayed founded the Kingdom of Zaclaria, which dominated and controlled the region around Koushahr Bay. The formation of the Kingdom is considered to be the start of the ancient Zaclarian civilization associated history.

In the late 6th century AD, Islam began to spread throughout Audonia and by the start of the 7th century, it had expanded across the entire continent. The Kingdom of Zaclaria came into contact with early Islam in 611, where secret and infrequent meetings began led by Mu'taz el-Tamer, who was given important roles in the nascent Muslim community by the Prophet Muhammad. After several months of meeting in secret, el-Tamer was granted an audience with Ali Reza Qasemi, the crown prince of Zaclaria. Qasemi appeared to have readily embraced Islam and converted in 613 making him the first Zaclarian Muslim. By 622, Zaclaria had fully converted to Islam. Under Muhammad, the Oduniyyad Caliphate was established as the world's first Islamic empire after winning two decisive battles that saw Muhammad's armies being outnumbered four-to-one; this made many cities and settlements across Audonia pledged allegiance to Muhammad and converted voluntarily to the Islamic faith.

In 636, Soraya Al-Fassara ibn Hedayati emerged from the Esmorieh Mountains and reclaimed her status as a prophetess, sharing verses and purporting them to have been revelations from Allah and telling crowds that Muhammad had shared power with her. After several months of increasingly popular support, she declared herself Caliph of Zaclaria but this was met with swift rejection as the theological opinion of the time was that a woman may hold a secular office of authority but not the spiritual office of caliph. The Oduniyyad Caliphate eventually picked up on what was going on and sent a local general-governor, Umar al-Ben, to formally end the revolt. Umar al-Ben was a staunch Islamic fundamentalist and wanted to make an example out of a female Muslim apostate; he arrived in Zaclaria with a reported army size of 42,295 against Hedayati's army of around 10,212. The Battle of Apostate Zaclaria was fought in the third week of December. On the orders of Umar, the Oduniyyad Muslims advanced. They launched a series of attacks along Hedayati's entire front. The most dreadful carnage took place in a gulley in which human blood ran in a rivulet down to the wadi. As a result, this gulley became known as the Gulley of Blood-Shueib-ud-Dam, and it is still known by that name. Only about a quarter of Hedayati's army remained in fighting shape, and this part hastened to the walled garden while Muhakim (commander of the right wing) covered its retreat with a small rear-guard. Soon the Oduniyyad Muslims arrived at the walled garden, where a little over 2,200 rebels, Hedayati among them, had taken shelter. The rebels had closed the gate and the Oduniyyad Muslims were anxious to get into the garden and finish the job. The rebels stepped back as the Oduniyyad Muslims poured into the garden; the fighting became more vicious and Hedayati was still fighting with no intention of giving up. The Oduniyyad Muslim army pressed the rebels everywhere. Hedayati became the target of Umar al-Ben, who threw a javelin which struck Hedayati in the stomach; as Hedayati tried to crawl away, she was cornered by several soldiers. Umar then cut off Hedayati's head. The news of the death of Hedayati brought about the rout of his forces. The garden where this last phase of the battle took place became known as the "Garden of Death", as the approximately 10,000 rebels within it were slaughtered. This formally ended the Ridda wars and was the final blow to the Caliphate of Zaclaria, which was conquered by the Oduniyyad Caliphate in 637.

=== Oduniyyad Caliphate (637-1089) ===

After the conclusion of the Battle of Apostate Zaclaria, a general named Amir ibn Saydani was installed as provincial governor for Zaclaria, known as al-Kurush, within the Oduniyyad Caliphate. The new government led by Saydani ended martial law while also bringing the Caliphate's laws into effect despite major peasant and craftsmen revolts in 635 and 642 against the suppression of traditional laws. The first two decades of Oduniyyad rule in al-Kurush were recorded by contemporary historian Umar Assam as featuring rapid assimilation and reconstruction. By the middle of the 7th century, the region had returned to stability, symbolized by the groundbreaking of Al-Isra palace-temple complex. By the mid-8th century, al-Kurush came to be considered one of the heartland provinces of the expanding Caliphate.

The start of the 11th century saw the Oduniyyad Caliphate begin to decline as it dealt with several incidents: the rise of Shia Islam forced the Caliphate to deal with several campaigns and conflicts, the First Crusades were launched by the Catholic Church, and colonialism, sectarianism and infighting contributed to open rebellion which in turn dismantled the Caliphate and ultimately fractured it into separate, smaller states. The region of al-Kurush was able to take advantage of the disorganization at the start, waging its war for independence in 1085. After a relatively short conflict, the Caliphate seceded and al-Kurush was given its independence in 1089, primarily so that the Caliphate could focus its attention on more significant matters.

[[Category:Zaclaria]]

[[Category:History of Zaclaria]]

[[Category:History]]