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Halfway: Difference between revisions
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The Caphiric period saw the maintenance of the political system but saw a revolution in cultural and economic life. The island's role as a center of trade was greatly expanded, and for a time nearly all exports headed east or north from the [[First Imperium]] were first imported into Halfway. The First Imperium government began to transform the architecture and infrastructure of the island to meet the requirements of a major Imperial settlement. An influx of Latin-speaking administrators and traders began to relocate to the island soon after the conquest, gradually transforming the island into a bi-lingual place. Due to its emergent trade-based wealth, the island became an attractive target for Gothic pirates (both from Urlazio and [[Levantia]], including [[Canaery]]). When the [[Urlazian Kingdom]] was established by [[Gothic people|Goths]] in modern [[Urlazio]] in [[324]], the island once again became a major anti-piracy buffer, with a significant portion of the First Imperium's navy based on the island; these fleets generally interdicted piracy in the eastern Urlazian Sea but also worked to protect all trade coming in and out of the island. Halfway became significantly militarized by the First Imperium by around [[400]]. From then, it became symbolic of Caphiric military power in eastern Sarpedon, and the presence of the legions on the island increased the influence of the Latin language which became the primary language of government and business by [[500]]. | The Caphiric period saw the maintenance of the political system but saw a revolution in cultural and economic life. The island's role as a center of trade was greatly expanded, and for a time nearly all exports headed east or north from the [[First Imperium]] were first imported into Halfway. The First Imperium government began to transform the architecture and infrastructure of the island to meet the requirements of a major Imperial settlement. An influx of Latin-speaking administrators and traders began to relocate to the island soon after the conquest, gradually transforming the island into a bi-lingual place. Due to its emergent trade-based wealth, the island became an attractive target for Gothic pirates (both from Urlazio and [[Levantia]], including [[Canaery]]). When the [[Urlazian Kingdom]] was established by [[Gothic people|Goths]] in modern [[Urlazio]] in [[324]], the island once again became a major anti-piracy buffer, with a significant portion of the First Imperium's navy based on the island; these fleets generally interdicted piracy in the eastern Urlazian Sea but also worked to protect all trade coming in and out of the island. Halfway became significantly militarized by the First Imperium by around [[400]]. From then, it became symbolic of Caphiric military power in eastern Sarpedon, and the presence of the legions on the island increased the influence of the Latin language which became the primary language of government and business by [[500]]. | ||
=== Halfway Emirate and Crusader State === | === Halfway Emirate and Crusader State === | ||
[[File:Aleppo_Citadel_18_-_Throne_Hall.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The establishment of the Emirate of Halfway led to the construction of many buildings with Oduniyyad architectural stylings, such as the Emirate Palace in [[Koureiros]], built [[912]].]] | |||
Halfway remained an important military and trade installation of the Caphiric First Imperium by the 9th century. The island had been a critical point in defeating the advances of the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] in the 7th and 8th centuries, as the fleets based in Halfway provided a strong defense of the eastern Imperium from seaborn invasions. By 800, the Caliphate had largely given up trying to take [[Thessia]] or Halfway due to this strong presence, leading to a century of gradually slackening military standards on the island. The fleet and defense forces on the island were generally neglected such that only a quarter of its peak strength was seaworthy by [[860]]. An attack by forces allied to the Caliphate in [[882]] nearly succeeded in taking the island despite the fact it was initially only intended as a raid; the Oduniyyad forces took two of the six cities and were barely halted outside the gates of [[Koureiros]]. The 882 attack did not raise alarm among the leaders of the First Imperium as it was understood to be evidence of Halfway's continued impregnability and another victory stalwart defense against Islamic forces; the historical record is unclear if the Imperators or their advisors understood the full depth of that year's campaign. The news of the raid spread quickly throughout Caliphate-occupied eastern Sarpedpon, where Halfway became known as a soft target that could fall to a determined attack. | |||
In [[889]], the {{wp|Ghazi (warrior)|ghazi}} Sa'id al-Mulk gathered a large force of mercenaies, native Istroyan mariners, and personal familial allies into a force of around 10,000 men and invaded Halfway. Some scholars believe al-Mulk had been a participant in the 882 campaign or had otherwise spoke to survivors because he decided to besiege Koureiros first in order to destroy the main Caphiric garrison and fleet as well as decapitating the island's administrative apparatus. The city held for eight months as the Archon sent increasingly frantic pleas to [[Venceia]] for aid, calls that went largely unanswered as it was thought Halfway was too strong to be taken. On 14 April [[890]], Koureiros surrendered to al-Mulk and its residents were spared but the Imperial fleet stationed there was destroyed and the Legionaries stationed there were sold into slavery in eastern Sarpedon. The Archon was induced to recognize al-Mulk as ''{{wp|Emir|Amir}}'', nominally transferring his own authority. Emir Sa'id I next methodically reduced and took the remaining five cities on the island in the summer of 890, all of whom surrendered relatively quickly once the scope of the disaster in Koureiros became apparent. By the end of the year, Sa'id was the undisputed master of Halfway. An Imperial delegation sent in February 891 to accept his obescience to the Imperator and offer him a nominal magistracy was killed with their heads sent back to [[Venceia]]. A punitive campaign against the island was launched in [[892]]; Caphiria's veteran naval forces in the east had been effectively eliminated with the fall of the island, and the force sent to take the island was destroyed in a naval battle in August 892. The small amount of soldiers that did land managed to move around the interior of the island shielded by the Pinefor jungle but were ultimately captured and sold into slavery. The First Imperium turned its attention to other matters following the punitive expedition's failure, giving Sa'id de facto recognition as master of the island. | |||
The Emirate of Halfway was a transitional period in its history. It had destroyed a nearly-milennia old governing apparatus, and new Audonian administrators - as well as Sarpics and others from the Sarpedonic mainland - were brought in to govern the island's cities, deposing the autonomous self-rule of the native mercantile families. New mercantile elites rose from the class of the transplanted administrators. The Emirate period saw a major investment in infrastructure and new architecture throughout the island, as some crumbling old Churches and Pagan temples in city centers were demolished and replaced with new Mosques with the very best architects from eastern Sarpedon and Audonia as their designers. Emir Sa'id built the Emirate Palace in Koureiros, one of the best-adorned surviving medieval palaces in eastern Sarpedon. The island maintained its role as a center of trade, with tariffs now filling the Emir's treasury, but also became a center of {{wp|piracy}}. Seaborne raiders from Halfway consistently harassed the Caphiric shore as well as [[Canaery]], further enriching the al-Mulkid dynasty. | |||
=== Urcean incorporation === | === Urcean incorporation === | ||
=== Modern history === | === Modern history === | ||