Zaclaria

Zaclaria, officially the Crowned Protectorate of Zaclaria, is a sovereign country on the southeast region of Audonia. According to the most recent 2035 census, Zaclaria's population is 64 million, making it the 6th-most populous country in Audonia. The capital of Zaclaria is Bayen and its largest city is Arhavza.

While the current state of Zaclaria has only existed for about two centuries, its history stretches back over two millennia. The region of the Mahabis Governorate is the site of the ancient Diwaisa civilization, famed since antiquity for its pearl fisheries, which were considered the best in the world. As a whole, the area of Zaclaria has been home to successive civilisations since the 3rd millennium BC. Zaclaria was founded in 247 BC as a city-state and the Sultanate of Zaclaria was created in the 6th century. The Sultanate was conquered by Oduniyyad Caliphate in the 9th century until the Zaclarian Revolution in the 11th century, leading to the creation of the Emirate state which ruled for approximately 7 centuries and two dynasties. The Emirate collapsed in the late 18th century during the violent Ümmidre Revolution. In the early 19th century, Zaclaria was conquered and made into a province by the Imperium of Caphiria. This period lasted over a century until 1943 where Zaclaria, being led by the Al-Fassara Dynasty, was given its independence and became a Crowned Protectorate of Caphiria.

Zaclaria is a unitary parliamentary monarchy consisting of 15 Governorates. The current head of state, its Sultana, is Arabella IX. Zaclaria is a highly developed country with heavy investment in the banking and tourism sectors; it has a powerful military backed by Caphiria, is a member of The Anosphere and the League of Nations, and has the second-largest economy in Audonia behind Pukhtunkhwa.

History

Zaclaria has a rich and extensive history, 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.

Prehistory

A partially restored section of the ruined town of Ankaraklar

Diwaisa royal palace c. 2400 BC

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.

Classical period

A temple built by the Istroyan Empire

Istroyan Temple at Marathus ruins

Al Khor Island, the location of the purple dye industry

Ancient city of Zaishiyara

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.

The Farsiwan Empire was an ancient Audonian empire that would control most of Audonia and even parts of Punth for several hundred centuries. The empire, which incorporated various peoples of different origins and faiths, saw immense cultural development and is notable for its successful model of a centralised, bureaucratic administration (through satraps under the King of Kings), for building infrastructure such as road systems and a postal system, the use of an official language across its territories, and the development of civil services and a large professional army. The Farsiwan Empire was instrumental in the spread of Zoroastrianism as far as Corumm. Under Farsiwan rule, the satrapy of Diwaisa was strategically important as it served as both a barrier between the Occident world as its western border and as a sort of liaison as the south was prone to revolts. The Kings of the Farsiwan Empire became reliant on Diwaisa to keep the peace and as a result, the satrapy of Diwaisa became one of the wealthiest and influential satrapies. The capital of Diwaisa, Zaishiyara, would become one of the four capital cities.

In early 4th century BC, the Farsiwan Empire began to decline and become unstable, with large portions of the empire governed by jealous and unreliable satraps and inhabited by disaffected and rebellious subjects. Iskander, King of the Istroyan Empire, invaded and conquered the remainder of the Farsiwan Empire in the 330s BC. During this era, the region of Diwaisa was renamed to its capital Zaishiyara by the ancient Istroyans, who referred to it by its latinized Zaklosia, the center of pearl trading. Iskander had planned to settle Istroyans colonists in Zaklosia, and although it is not clear that this happened on the scale he envisaged, Zaklosia became very much part of the Occidental world: the language of the upper classes was Istroyan (although Classical Audonian was in everyday use), while Zeus was worshipped in the form of the Audonian sun-god Shams. Zaklosia even became the site of Istroyan athletic contests.

Ruins of the Zaclarian Kingdom

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.

Islamic period

Bronze Statue of Mu'taz el-Tamer

Ali Reza Qasemi, first native Zaclarian Muslim

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.

Muhammad died in 632, which launched a series of conflicts between Muhammad's successor Abu Bakr and rebel Audonian caliphates who were led by a number of people who claimed prophethood. These conflicts were called the Ridda wars and lasted approximately a decade. One of the Muslim apostates, Musaylimah, established a caliphate in Zaclaria in 633.

As Caliph of Zaclaria, Musaylimah's religious reformations were particularly unique as he was heavily influenced by mainstream Christianity, of which his tribesmen were followers; he was also influenced by Gnosticism, Zoroastrianism and Manicheanism - he prohibited the consumption of pigs and wine, taught three daily prayers to the Allah, facing no particular side. He criticized Muslims for selecting Kabaah or earlier Jerusalem as the direction of prayers, saying that God is not limited to any direction and that Muhammad never wanted to make it compulsory to face the Kabaah. He also asked for night fasting instead of Ramadan fasting during day, and didn't require circumcision. He considered men and women equal and allowed free marriages without the need of bridal money. He further declared polygamy as sinful. He also believed in transmigration of souls and reincarnation but finally all the souls would be judged by God on the Day of Judgement. He was also against including his or any Prophet's name in chantings to God, saying that mixing veneration to God with veneration to human beings is unfair and ungodly.

Plate depicting Musaylimah as Caliph

An 18th century painting depicting Soraya Al-Fassara ibn Hedayati

During the Ridda wars, Soraya Al-Fassara ibn Hedayati declared that she was a prophetess after learning that Musaylimah and others had declared prophethood; 8,500 people gathered around her to march on Medina. However, her planned attack on Medina was called off after she learned that the army of another self-proclaimed prophet had been decidedly defeated by the ever-growing Oduniyyad Caliphate. Thereafter, she sought cooperation with Musaylimah to oppose the threat of Oduniyyad Caliphate and a mutual understanding was initially reached with Musaylimah. Later, the two married and she accepted his self-declared prophethood. Musaylimah fought and was killed in the Battle of Yamama by Wahshi ibn Harb, the same man who had killed Muhammad's uncle, Hamza, in the battle of Uhud before his conversion to Islam. Upon hearing this, Hedayati disappeared in the Esmorieh Mountains for two years. Interestingly due to unknown circumstances, the Oduniyyad Caliphate seemed to have forgotten about the Caliphate of Zaclaria; the two most popular reasons are that the Oduniyyad Caliphate was too concerned with its western expansion across the Istroyan Sea into Istroya and its eastern conquests into Punth, and that the Zaclarian Caliphate had already been effectively ended with the death of Musaylimah.

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 Oduniyyad Caliphate flourished in the Middle Ages and al-Kurush likewise benefited from economic and scientific developments; the first hospital on the region was created in the early ninth century and the first university, the School of al-Melit, was chartered in the late 10th century. The region of al-Kurush became one of the many intellectual centers in Audonia and was at the forefront of the Islamic Golden Age; an observatory in al-Alay observed several planetary transits in 1032, ginger and sassafras were commonly cultivated plants used frequently as remedies for medieval ailments, tea was also introduced from Punth during the Oduniyyad era, sometime during the 10th century. The cultivation of tea became a major economic activity and production swelled to meet the demands both of Audonia, especially after the schism of the two caliphates, as well as western markets in Levantia and Sarpedon, eventually reaching as far as Crona.

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 Levantine 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.