Čisra
From Almeopedia
| • ČISRA |
Čisra [ˈtʃi sra] is the leading city of the Uṭandal proper. It is located in Barmund on the coast of the Skourene Sea, on the Peligir peninsula. This peninsula is rich in iron, which was the basis for the ancient empire of Peligi and for the rise of Čisra, which for a time included ruled the Uṭandal east of Gurdago and seemed poised to reconquer Skouras.
- For its early history, see the article on Ṭisutra.
Etymology: Old Skourene Ṭisutra ‘temple of the hand’, Uṭandal Čisra; Tžuro Čisča, Ṭeôši Ṭûsutrô.
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Under the Tžuro
The city was conquered by the Kurundasti Tej in 1711, as part of their final drive against Peligi, and they made it the seat of administation for the southern littoral.
The Skourenes of the heartland were heavily looted, and adopted Jippirasti and the Tžuro language in an ultimately successful effort to assimilate and avoid oppression. The littoral had a very different experience: after the sack of Peligi, it had little wealth to loot. As well, few Tžuro settled in the area, which was considered cold, inhospitable, and remote. When the Tej had adjusted to ruling rather than looting, the region recovered, and Čisra, the local capital, grew larger than Peligi (now known as Pilagi).
As the Tej declined (ultimately due to barbarian troubles and the ensuing weakness of the plains economies), it had trouble maintaining its outlying areas. The Namal separated from the Tej in the early 2200s. For a few years a Tžuro governor continued to rule Čisra, but the Čisrans soon realized that no one would really pay attention if they deposed him (2204).
The Čisran empire
Hegemony in Barmund
Čisra had been ruled by dictators before the conquest, and had no local autonomy under it; the Tžuro governor was overthrown by a motley crew of merchant families and local toughs. The strongest family, and the one which had hired the roughest hooligans, was the Maḍaḍara, whose head Abutazi named himself agrut or dictator.
The city inherited Pilagi and Minṭu from the Tžuro; it now embarked on a campaign to unify the other Skourenes, now better called Uṭandal, hopefully by persuasion, but if necessary by force of arms. In the first mode its appeal was always to the ultimate goal of liberating Skouras; if arguments were needed, was it not the largest Uṭandal city, and the closest to the front lines? Minṭu needed little persuading; it accepted Čisran 'protection' in 2217.
Its only rival in Barmund was Kurilan to the south. Kurilan had never been conquered, and felt it had a strong claim to lead the Uṭandal resurgence. It was Abutazi's son Puniblan who demonstrated their error, by the destruction of the Kurilani army outside Arṭai (2252). Puniblan named himself abbur (emperor) in celebration. After this it was not difficult to establish Čisra hegemony over the rest of Barmund.
Union with Kulapman
Now it was time to move against the oppressors. Pitra and Tralim were captured by 2300, and over the course of several wars the Čisrans reduced and finally eliminated the minor state of the Namal.
These victories excited the Uṭandal, and the fall of the Kurundasti Tej, replaced by the Anajati Tej, was taken as a good omen— the Tžuro had not only lost control of the Lenani steppe but were actually at war with the Lenani; on maps the Čisran empire looked as strong as the Tej and surely would soon prevail.
Kulapman (Old Skourene Kolatimand), the largest Uṭandal city, saw the opportunity, but was also cautious; the rule of the Čisran emperor was absolute, unchecked by even a council. It offered to join the empire, but with legal equality of Čisran and Kulapmanik nobles and local rule of its current territory. Negotiations were long, and failed while the dictator Abutazi II ruled; having conquered Ajišur, the capital of the Namal, he figured he could easily take Kulapman as well (though it was five times larger). His son Mešnulšu was less cocky, and quickly negotiated the final union (2412), giving Kulapman what it wanted, but reducing its territory somewhat in return for a large payment in silver.
The union's first action was to occupy the southeastern portion the Gelihur peninsula, including the city of Ḍilai. The Kulapmaniki somewhat expected to be given the administration of this area, but the Čisrans held to the strict terms of the union: new territory belonged to the empire and would be directly ruled by Čisra, even if it adjoined Kulapman.
Advance up the Šurantal
A direct assault on Jippirim was still impossible; instead, the empire attempted to march slowly up both sides of the Skourene Sea. It conquered Mutab from the Anajati in 2465, and in 2470 drew a long, slog against Lenda to a close by occupying Gudral.
The only Uṭandal state outside the empire-- not counting Gurdago-- was the little republic of Šiji. It was cold, remote, and poor, but the emperors considered it with narrowed eyes... why did it hold out; why was it not contributing to the great project of unifying the Uṭandal and liberating the homeland? It doubled the tariffs on Šijinti ships trading in Čisran ports; when this didn't have the desired effect it simply moved troops in and took the island over (2511).
The assault on Skouras
In 2591 the emperor Lamega , after a decade of preparations, began the liberation of Skouras. He was killed by an arrow during the initial battle— acounts said, as he was crossing the border. No matter; his son Anastor took up his sword and shield. Things did not go smoothly: the Tžuro state was smaller geographically, but dense in population, and rich enough to hire horse mercenaries; it didn’t help that Anastor lost half his fleet in a clumsy operation off Ḍarroḍ. It took ten years to capture the city of Dusilim, but the Uṭandal rejoiced: this was the first city in Skouras proper to be recaptured, and surely the end of the Tžuro. The emperor graciously renamed the city after himself: Inṭi Anastor.
The Čisrans raised a local army to help in the liberation. It promptly rebelled. This was put down, with an exemplary harshness. But now the situation was clear. The inhabitants of Skouras may have been of Skourene blood, but they were not Skourenes in the sense that mattered, that of culture. They spoke Tžuro, called themselves Tžuro, worshipped Jippir, and considered the Uṭandal to be dirty, uncivilized, pagan invaders.
Anastor made some attempt to continue the fight, marching north to attack Kurundim. When this was repulsed he sent his rebuilt fleet to attack Ičili, the gateway to Jippirim— only it was battered by the Tžuro and by storms, barely making it back to Gudral.
Empire in the west
The Čisrans were not quite ready to give up; they invited Gurdago to join the fight. It refused with insolence, and Anastor, angry, took Jecuor from them (2607). The inhabitants were a good deal more tractable than the Tžuro— Gurdago was noted for even harsher rule than Čisra. Gurdago counter-attacked in Barmund, and Anastor pushed them back into Mešäriš, the southernmost portion of Čeiy, currently independent. Čisra pushed on, decisively defeated the Gurdagor army, and— why not?— occupied Mešäriš (by 2612). Čeiy was hard pressed by the Gelyet at this time, and was reduced to little more than its capital, Ṭetäs.
Anastor maintained till the end of his life (2622) that these moves were needed to gain resources for the final push against Jippirim; but his successors were pleased enough with the size and power of their empire and wary of adding to their troubles by conquering more Tžuro. If further expansion was needed, why not try for Ṭetäs, which was as large and rich as Jippirim but much less fortified; or perhaps sail across the southern ocean and take Gurdago?
The empire allowed no internal autonomy, except to Kulapman; it was divided into provinces (kšarar) ruled by governors appointed by the emperor. The tišatama or Black Ships, the emperor’s secret police, made frequent unannounced visits to ensure the loyalty of the governors; its boast was that it punished dissent “as soon as it was thought, before it was done”.
Struggle with Xurno
One party was not content with the extent of the Čisran empire: Xurno, the revitalized, highly militarized Axunaic empire built during the struggle with the Gelyet. The Xurnese had restored the ancient unity lost since the division of Axunai, and considered Čeiy part of their inheritance. They pushed the Gelyet out of the country by 2660— occupying Ṭetäs in the process. Then they advanced on the Čisrans. By 2690 they had been pushed out of Bal.
The Čisrans furiously counter-attacked, retaking Bal while the Xurnese were busy with Pronel to the north. Finally the emperor Kipric had had enough. He blockaded Čisra itself, and marched an army straight up the Šauki valley, across the mountains, and across Barmund. The venture paid off: the city fell in 2750.
The empire collapsed. Barmund was occupied by Xurno; the Tžuro recaptured Dusilim, Mutab, and Gudral; Jecuor and the Namal were independent under local kings. The provinces of Šiji, Tralim, and Ḍilai and the autonomous territory professed their loyalty to Čisra and named an escaped Maḍaḍar as the new Emperor.
The Uṭandal League
Čeiy resented rule by the Xurnese, and successfully rebelled by 2840. The Uṭandal participated in the struggle and asserted their independence as well. Čisra was independent by 2820, and liberated Pitra; but no one, not even the Čisrans, wanted to reestablish the Čisran empire. Instead Čisra promoted a league, the Ḍaş Uṭandal or 'League of the Strong', in which it would be merely the leading light. Each city would rule its own affairs, and a council of ministers would govern the league and appoint the commander of its army. Čisra itself was ruled by a council of important families, which elected a three-man directorate; the leading figure in the state, however, was the army commander, who was invariably Čisran.
Its chief rival was Muranal to the south, based in Arṭai. The League and Muranal fought a series of wars in the 2800s, culminating in the League's capture of Kurilan in 2876. At the same time the League steadily fought to advance northward through the Namal, which was under Tžuro rule. In 3028 it destroyed the independent tej of the Namal, conquering Mutab.
In 3033 Muranal, impressed with the conquest of Mutab and wary of its neighbor Luṭay (based in Jecuor, peacefully acceded to the League.
The League and Luṭay fought war after war over the next century; the League had more people, but it was said that the only skills of the Luṭair were fishing and fighting, but that in these they were unsurpassable. In the final war (3149-54) the League collapsed, dividing into Barmund, Čisra, and the Namal, with Luṭay occupying Arṭai, the largest city in Barmund after Čisra.
Modern Čisra
By now Čisra had earned the enmity of all its neighbors; they had no time for tales of rekindled Uṭandal glory, and considered it untrustworthy whether proffering empire or confederacy. The council of leading families was replaced with a more conventional senate with a broader base of support; Pilagi had its own local senate.
For a time Arṭai was the leading city of Barmund, and after definitively defeating Luṭay in 3380, it went after Čisra as well, occupying the peninsula in 3395-8. Čisra rebelled in 3420.
In 3472 there were signs that Minṭu was tired of Luṭair rule. Čisra acted quickly, expelling the Luṭair and making sure not too many Minṭundu were killed. A local senate was established; not enough time has passed to judge how well this new arrangement will work.
