Hištanšahr: Difference between revisions

'''Hištanšahr''', referred to natively as '''Uzdehzanistan''', was a realm in southeastern [[Levantia]] established in the late 7th century by Prince Artaxerxes, a scion of the {{wp|Nestorian}} Ashrafin dynasty of northwestern [[Audonia]]. As the Ashrafinids were gradually conquered by the emerging [[Oduniyyad Caliphate]], Artaxerxes took several companions and a small army northwest across the [[Sea of Istroya]] to the southeastern shore of [[Levantia]], where his small but organized forces easily conquered the small [[Istroyan]] cities and [[Gaelic people|Gaelic]] tribes occupying the area; they would soon be joined by waves of Audonian refugees. Known to its ruling clique as the "realm of the exiled tribe", Hištanšahr grew from a small principality to the dominant military and political power in southeastern [[Levantia]] by about 750 before being quickly eclipsed by the new [[Holy Levantine Empire]]. The state retained its original Nestorian faith despite advances made by the [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] Empire for the next three centuries. Hištanšahr continued on the periphery of the Empire until the 11th century, when it became part of the Empire following the [[War of the Three Princes]] and its ruling class converted to Catholicism.

The numbers of the Audonian ruling class was likely never more than a few thousand at any given time, and the Audonian-descended ruling classes exclusively intermarried by law until the end of the 9th century with the exception of soldiers and commanders. The Istroyan, Gaelic, and [[Latinic people|Latins]] over which the Audonians ruled gradually intermarried among themselves and adopted many cultural mores and traditions of their rulers. Social mobility in Hištanšahr relied on one's ability to speak {{wp|Persian language|Old Audonian}}. The linguistic, ethnic, and cultural mix that Hištanšahr created resulted in the creation of the [[Gassavelian people]].