Empire of Tauressos

The Empire of Tauressos was the first unified state that emerged from the Tauressian Civilization.

First Tauressian Empire
Modern humans first arrived in Hiberia around 40,000 years ago. These people likely migrated southwest from the area of Pantagonia, in the far north of Euteria. The Great Freeze glaciated large swaths of the continent and isolated a group of these early humans in Hiberia. This isolation gave rise to the Paleo-Hiberians, who shared common cultural traits such as religion, language, and social structures.

The city of Tauressos, located at the far western edge of the Tauressian Peninsula, emerged as an independent city-state roughly 15,000 years ago. According to legend, the city was built on a source of ancient energy buried deep beneath the ground. The inhabitants learned to control and harness this energy, which brought them unprecedented technological advances. The city of Tauressos itself was built on an island within the bay. Using this new technology, the Tauressians became expert miners and sailers and built colonies throughout the Serephanian and the Ocean beyond.

The destruction of the empire was said to have occurred in a great cataclysm. Something had gone wrong during an experiment involving the energy beneath the city and caused a chain reaction that destroyed the core of Tauressos and left the rest of the civilization defenseless. Many scattered throughout the former territories, and some fled beyond to the unknown. For thousands of years, many of the refugees had no contact with one another.

First Malgum period
After the fall of the first empire, various smaller polities emerged known as Malgums. These were independent, self-ruling states, although some chose to form alliances and federations with each other. Some of the Malgums managed to retain elements inherited from the first empire; an advanced organized government, an active military, and organized religion. Others, specifically those further away from the influence of the formal capital, regressed back to barbarians. Notably, the island of Misunia lost contact with the rest of Tauressian society. Misunia was colonized by Tauressians as the southernmost outpost of the empire. Its primary purpose was military and mining since the island had vast deposits of valuable iron. Unlike other areas of the empire, the island had little-to-no infrastructure that could support the technological advances characteristic of Tauressian civilization. When the capital was destroyed, the islanders were forced to provide for and defend themselves. The ships they could build were not suitable for open-ocean travel and left them isolated.

Other Malgums such as the Aguran Islands maintained contact with the mainland but chose to maintain a distance from the other Tauressians. The Agurians developed their own sense of identity that was separate from those of the mainland. They were expert seafarers and journeyed out into the vast expanse of the Great Western Ocean. According to local legends, a group of Agurian sailors traveled to the southern tip of Atria. It was during this time period that the Hiberians, an offshoot of the Numantians, crossed the strait into Euteria. The group settled in eastern Hiberia along the Serephanian Sea. The Hiberians became important trading partners of the Tauressians, who in turn influenced their way of life.

Several factors caused the Malgums to band together: the expansion of the Serephanians and Proto-Aquilonians threatened their territory, while unknown raiders from the far east constantly attacked the polities. These eastern raiders settled on the island of Nardinia, making it their permanent base.

Second Tauressian Empire
3,000 years after the fall of the First Empire, a group of Neo-Tauressian city-states joined together to defend themselves against Nardinian attacks. This wasn't as centralized as the First Empire, but rather a confederation of the cities that shared a common language, religion, and culture. It was based around the convergence of the Western Ocean and the Serephanian Sea. The de facto capital and the most influential city was Misharam, located on the Atrian Serephanian coast.

The cities of the empire were essentially independent. They had the freedom to create their own laws, spoke individual dialects, and citizens identified with their city before the empire. However, the cities shared a common currency and military which united them together.

Second Malgum period
The second Malgum period occurred after a civil war between the states of the Second Empire. Weakened by the Nardinian attacks, the empire fractured into four Malgums: Mizwar (a rump state of the former empire), Amezia, Tamanza, and Kona. Tamanza, the easternmost Malgum, allowed the Phocenians to built colonies along their coast. The Phocenians already had colonies along the coast of North Atria, but none were as far west at Hiberia. Being well connected to the east meant new trading networks for Tamanza, which was rich with valuable metals highly sought after by the kingdoms of the east. Spurred by this economic resurgence, Tamanza gained considerable wealth which allowed them to finance military operations. Tamanza also encouraged the Phocenians to continue building colonies in their territory.

Tamanza conquered Amezia and settled the land with the Phocenian colonists. This process continued until it had conquered every remaining Malgum, including Mizwar. During this time, the relationship between the Tauressians and Phocenians became even more intertwined; Phocenians held large swaths of land, had prominent roles in government, and introduced the Phocenian language as the language of the elite. Historians called this process Phocenization. The Amaanite religion, the native beliefs of the Phocenians, became the official state religion and numerous temples and monuments were erected as places of worship. Citizens of pure Phocenian ancestry made up nearly a third of the total population and represented the upper class of Tamanza.

Tamanza became a strong, booming nation that benefited from the native Tauressians knowledge of long-distance open-ocean travel, mining skills, and valuable inland trading routes, while the Phocenians were masters at fast coastal travel, had extensive trading networks, and had an intimate knowledge of the Serephanian. By the time Tamanza began expanding, Phocenian became the official state language and Phocenians themselves held nearly all the important positions of government.

Neo-Tauressian Empire
The third and final incarnation of the empire was the Neo-Tauressian Empire (also called the Third Tauressian Empire or the Phoceno-Tauressian Empire). It was preceded by the Malgum of Tamanza, one of the successors to the Second Tauressian Empire. The Neo-Tauressian Empire was unique in that most of the political and cultural life was dominated by the Phocenians, a Hematic people who originated in the Eastern Serephanian. They represented nearly a third of the total population and culturally shifted the linguistic and religious aspects of native Tauressian society.

It was common for both groups to intermarry. Mixed Tauressian-Phocenians represented one-third of the population, the Phocenians represented a third, and native Tauressians accounted for a third. Although Phocenian started as the language of the elite upper-class, it eventually gained traction amongst the average citizens. Under Phocenian rule the empire expanded rapidly, conquering large swaths of territory in Atria and Euteria.