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'''Rusana''', officially the '''Republic of Rusana''' is a sovereign state located in southern [[Alshar]]. According to the 2027 census it has a population of roughly 54 million people. The population of Rusana is split almost evenly between urban and rural areas, with the capital city of Tabish being the undisputed center of economic activity. Rusana has a land area of 794,582 km2 and is bordered by [[Corumm]] to the east, [[Canpei]] to the north, [[Pukhgundi]] to the west and the Taizi Sea to the south. | '''Rusana''', officially the '''Republic of Rusana''' is a sovereign state located in southern [[Alshar]]. According to the 2027 census it has a population of roughly 54 million people. The population of Rusana is split almost evenly between urban and rural areas, with the capital city of Tabish being the undisputed center of economic activity. Rusana has a land area of 794,582 km2 and is bordered by [[Corumm]] to the east, [[Canpei]] to the north, [[Pukhgundi]] to the west and the Taizi Sea to the south. | ||
Rusana has seen human habitation since at least | Rusana has seen human habitation since at least 4000 BC and has been a battleground for several regional powers including the [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] and various Corummese dynasties. During the 16th and 17th centuries the unified Rusani state was battered by invasions from its more powerful neighbors, which caused it severe territorial losses and heavily curtailed its autonomy. As a crossroads of empires its population is composed of a Rusani majority but also is host to various minorities such as the Tauqi and Kassar people and Corummese muslims known as the Yue. Rusana's economy is small and relatively underdeveloped, relying primmarily on the export of raw materials, agricultural products and fishing. | ||
==History== | ==History== | ||
=== Early Habitation === | === Early Habitation === | ||
The territory of modern Rusana has been continously inhabited since at least the fourth millenium BC when migratory waves of people possibly originating in the plains of north [[Alshar]] settled in the area. The civilization centered in the ancient city of Pharod dates at least back to 3890 according to radiocarbon dating. For much of antiquity the city of Pharod held a preeminent position and its people spread to other parts of modern day Rusana, founding new cities such as Nasrad, Khaton and Rilban. All of these cities had their own kings but they still deferred and sent tribute to Pharod as the mother city. | |||
=== Oduniyyad Caliphate Period === | === Oduniyyad Caliphate Period === | ||
Starting in | Starting in 665 CE, the expanding [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]] began its conquest of the southwestern states of [[Alshar]]. The wali of the Bulkawan wilayat, a certain Malik Ibn Harun landed in [[Pukhgundi]] with thirty thousand troops and secured the submission and conversion of its rulers to Islam. He reorganized the kingdom into the Alsar Wilayah with himself as governor. Founding the fort of Haras at the eastern edge of Pukhgundi's territory and leaving a small garrison, Malik Ibn Harun continued his eastern march along the coast into the territory of the Kingdom of Lakdu, his army augmented by five thousand levies from Pukhgundi. Ibn Harun then gained the allegiance of the Lakdu vassal king of Sikam, impressing him with the size of his army and the tenets of Islam. Proceeding east and with his army led by Sikam guides, he outmaneuvered the Lakdu army and defeated it at the battles of Lodran and Porus, ending the kingdom's organized resistance. | ||
[[File:Hephthalites_chieftain_late_5th_century.jpg|thumb|Coin minted with an image of wali Malik Ibn Harun, used as proof of treason against Caliph Mansur I]] | [[File:Hephthalites_chieftain_late_5th_century.jpg|thumb|Coin minted with an image of wali Malik Ibn Harun, used as proof of treason against Caliph Mansur I]] | ||
Ibn Harun spent all of | Ibn Harun spent all of 667 conquering the now disunited urban centers of Lakdu. He added the territory into the wilayat of Alsar, tried to supress local paganism and endowed new mosques to help propagate the Islamic faith. Unlike other Audonian nobles, Ibn Harun was an enthusiastic supporter of conversion of local populations despite the diminishment in taxation from dhimmi sources. Ibn Harun next sent spies north and east to ascertain the most advantageous route of expansion for the Caliphate. To the east his spies reported the existence of the kingdom of Nasrad who served as a buffer state for a large empire named ''Korun'', with well guarded border forts and vast armies. To them he sent an embassy promising peaceful intent and offered to continue the peaceful trade relation that had been maintained with Lakdu, an offer that was accepted. To the north his spies reported a peaceful,pastoral society who lived in small cities with palisades or in temples in the mountains, the agents reported the name of the country as Dagnum. Malik Ibn Harun determined to attack the tribes of Dagnum to his north first and dispatched letters back to Bulkawan asking for reinforcements with which to attack Korun after. | ||
On the eve of the start of his invasion in | On the eve of the start of his invasion in 668, Malik Ibn Harun was recalled to Audonia, probably the victim of intrigues against him due to his martial success and the size of the territory he governed. He considered resisting the summons but relented when his soldiers mutinied and made it clear they would not follow him into rebellion against God's Caliph. In early 676 Ibn Harun's replacement arrived from Audonia, the wali of Umard, Musa Al Ghanim. For his efforts, Malik Ibn Harun was made wali of a smaller province in the Audonian interior and would go on to be arrested and executed in 690 after plotting to kill the Caliph and install Mansur's nephew on the throne. | ||
Wali Musa Al Ghanim took command of all Oduniyyad forces and began the campaign with roughly 36,000 troops although he left behind around five thousand cavalry under Khamis Muminir to suppress a pagan uprising in Lakdu. Marching north he defeated several forces of Dagnumites, amounting to merely a few mid sized warbands. As he marched around the countryside he found no large army to fight but was instead constantly being ambushed and harassed by small groups. Getting word that local monks reported on the movements of his army to his enemies, Al Ghanim directed his force to the White Peak Monastery, which was rumored to house several holy relics revered by the Dagnumites. Al Ghanim approached on the monastery and after finding its gates closed to him, laid siege to it. Al Ghanim ordered the setting of mangonels on a nearby hilltop and commenced a bombardment that lasted for three days. Two direct attacks on the gates were repulsed by the monks. A week into the siege the Muslims were informed by spies they had left behind on their march that a large force of at least forty thousand warriors was quickly moving towards White Peak and would be upon the besiegers within a week. Unwilling to abandon the siege Musa Al Ghanim ordered that the pass leading to the monastery be fortified with a palisade while at the same time sending his swiftest riders to alert Khamis Muminir of his pressing need. On March 30th of 676 the tribal army under Ataliqan arrived at the mountain pass to see his way blocked by the wooden palisade erected by the Muslims. With the tables turned and the besieger now being the besieged, Ataliqan ordered his army to storm the palisade, beginning the Battle of Rauran Pass. Ataliqan's troops tried to bring down the wall with makeshift rams, hacking into it with axes and climbing it by hand or with ladders. Each time they were repulsed by a combination of the efforts of the muslim defenders and the mangonels Al Ghanim had repositioned to overlook the pass. The monastery defenders also began routinely sallying forth to put pressure on the muslim rear. On the second day of the battle the palisade was first breached and then brought down with hooks and ropes. A fierce melee ensued in the confined space of the pass, with Musa Al Ghanim being speared through the neck by one of Ataliqan's bodyguards. Just as the morale of the Muslims was wavering, the cavalry of Khamis Muminir arrived and proceeded to charge straight into the back of Ataliqan's army. The surprise arrival of the cavalry and the repeated charges sent the enemy into a panic as they were squeezed between the two Muslim forces. Ataliqan tried to rally his forces but was cut down in the melee and his army was completely routed. | Wali Musa Al Ghanim took command of all Oduniyyad forces and began the campaign with roughly 36,000 troops although he left behind around five thousand cavalry under Khamis Muminir to suppress a pagan uprising in Lakdu. Marching north he defeated several forces of Dagnumites, amounting to merely a few mid sized warbands. As he marched around the countryside he found no large army to fight but was instead constantly being ambushed and harassed by small groups. Getting word that local monks reported on the movements of his army to his enemies, Al Ghanim directed his force to the White Peak Monastery, which was rumored to house several holy relics revered by the Dagnumites. Al Ghanim approached on the monastery and after finding its gates closed to him, laid siege to it. Al Ghanim ordered the setting of mangonels on a nearby hilltop and commenced a bombardment that lasted for three days. Two direct attacks on the gates were repulsed by the monks. A week into the siege the Muslims were informed by spies they had left behind on their march that a large force of at least forty thousand warriors was quickly moving towards White Peak and would be upon the besiegers within a week. Unwilling to abandon the siege Musa Al Ghanim ordered that the pass leading to the monastery be fortified with a palisade while at the same time sending his swiftest riders to alert Khamis Muminir of his pressing need. On March 30th of 676 the tribal army under Ataliqan arrived at the mountain pass to see his way blocked by the wooden palisade erected by the Muslims. With the tables turned and the besieger now being the besieged, Ataliqan ordered his army to storm the palisade, beginning the Battle of Rauran Pass. Ataliqan's troops tried to bring down the wall with makeshift rams, hacking into it with axes and climbing it by hand or with ladders. Each time they were repulsed by a combination of the efforts of the muslim defenders and the mangonels Al Ghanim had repositioned to overlook the pass. The monastery defenders also began routinely sallying forth to put pressure on the muslim rear. On the second day of the battle the palisade was first breached and then brought down with hooks and ropes. A fierce melee ensued in the confined space of the pass, with Musa Al Ghanim being speared through the neck by one of Ataliqan's bodyguards. Just as the morale of the Muslims was wavering, the cavalry of Khamis Muminir arrived and proceeded to charge straight into the back of Ataliqan's army. The surprise arrival of the cavalry and the repeated charges sent the enemy into a panic as they were squeezed between the two Muslim forces. Ataliqan tried to rally his forces but was cut down in the melee and his army was completely routed. | ||
[[File:ShrineofAmirTimur.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Khamis Muminir and his descendants|alt=|left]] | [[File:ShrineofAmirTimur.jpg|thumb|Tomb of Khamis Muminir and his descendants|alt=|left]] | ||
Musa Al Ghanim would not live to see the surrender of the monastery the next day, dying on the field of battle from the wound to his neck. The monastery of the White Peak would later be converted into the Ghazi Al Ghanim Mosque. He was succeded in command by Khamis Muminir, commander of the cavalry. The Muslim victory at Rauran Pass crippled the military power of the Dagnumites, the loss of men too high for any hopes of further resistance. Muminir spent a further three years imposing the Caliph's rule and building fortresses to cement Odduniyad control in the long term. He separated part of the Alsar wilayat and united it with the new territory to create the Rusana wilayat, named after the Caliph's mother. Khamis Muminir was confirmed by the Caliph as governor and also made the post hereditary for three generations after him. Muminirs governorship would continue until his death in battle in 688 against an insurrection in Pukhgundi. His son Walid would inherit his position as governor and initiate a vast program of colonization, bringing in thousands of lower class Audonian families to his territories. He mandated the construction of the city of [[Tabish]] at the Baari inlet to serve as a new port and settled it with audonian immigrants. It is also during his reign that a border war would begin against the Oduniyyad's neighbor to the east | Musa Al Ghanim would not live to see the surrender of the monastery the next day, dying on the field of battle from the wound to his neck. The monastery of the White Peak would later be converted into the Ghazi Al Ghanim Mosque. He was succeded in command by Khamis Muminir, commander of the cavalry. The Muslim victory at Rauran Pass crippled the military power of the Dagnumites, the loss of men too high for any hopes of further resistance. Muminir spent a further three years imposing the Caliph's rule and building fortresses to cement Odduniyad control in the long term. He separated part of the Alsar wilayat and united it with the new territory to create the Rusana wilayat, named after the Caliph's mother. Khamis Muminir was confirmed by the Caliph as governor and also made the post hereditary for three generations after him. Muminirs governorship would continue until his death in battle in 688 against an insurrection in Pukhgundi. His son Walid would inherit his position as governor and initiate a vast program of colonization, bringing in thousands of lower class Audonian families to his territories. He mandated the construction of the city of [[Tabish]] at the Baari inlet to serve as a new port and settled it with audonian immigrants. It is also during his reign that a border war would begin against the Oduniyyad's neighbor to the east, the kingdom of Nasrad. The pressing need for more military forces would give rise to the phenomenon of the slave-soldier, as Oduniyyad authorities enslaved many Dagnumites and forced them to serve in the east. While for most of the Oduniyyad period the majority of the forces available to local governors were composed of Audonians and converts, and Dhimmis were barred from military professions, slaves brought from central Audonia, the northern steppes and Nasrad were plentiful and the system of indoctrinated slave warriors would become very important in post Oduniyyad islamic states. | ||
The Nasrad kingdom, being a subject of the Chen Corummese dynasty could expect to be aided in case of conflict. Therefore Governor Walid determined that the invasion had to proceed as swiftly as possible to prevent Corummese reinforcements from arriving in time. | |||
In | In 725 the Caliph Abdul Hakan declared a jihad upon Corumm who began to be called Kafiristan (land of the unbelievers) for a series of Corummese raids on the border city of [[Khov|Khovedjan]]. Governor Walid Al Muminir was commanded to throw back the infidels past the Arik Mountain range which marked the traditional boundary between the two realms. | ||
===Post Caliphate Period and Kingdoms of Ghanim, Lakadu, Barpubad=== | ===Post Caliphate Period and Kingdoms of Ghanim, Lakadu, Barpubad=== | ||
====Chen-Rusani Wars==== | ====Chen-Rusani Wars==== | ||