Arcél 950

From Almeopedia

Early kingdoms have a certain natural size, dictated by the (low) speed of travel, ecological zones, ethnic differences, and the inefficiencies of early bureaucracies. However, ambition is limited by none of these things; acknowledged master in his realm, why should a king not be lord of all realms?

Now that there were more people to the west, trade had increased, largely to the profit of the kings of Pheʔ, at the mouth of the Tsyeʔ. The kings of Tsopwan viewed this as an affront, and after a series of wars king Nyesrin succeeded in conquering Pheʔ, in 914.

As an economic enterprise, this was a bust. Pheʔ was duly looted, but trade with the interior was disrupted, and further conquest proved difficult; the city of Tueʔ even grabbed most of Pheʔ’s territory and was too far away to easily punish. Worse yet, the city of Uykhrai, tired of the levees for troops and tribute, rebelled and by 950 had secured its independence.

Settlers in the forest zone came from established kingdoms and were not so attached to particular settlements; they formed two medium-sized kingdoms: Krwŋ along the Hrat river, and Sɔitsɔi on the upper Ħomtso. Both of these were organized by vigorous new cities (Krwŋ and Khorči respectively), well beyond the previous limits of settlement; it has been a common pattern in the Uytainese sphere that wealth comes from the south, but power from the north where life is harder.

(These names are given in reconstructed Old Krwŋese, which differs noticeably from Uyseʔ; in which they are Krun, Saitai, Khartsiʔ. The a → ɔ sound change was remarked on even at the time, as it could be represented in the developing Uyseʔ writing system; the same was not true of the affricate in Kharči, whose exact phonetic nature is thus speculative.)

Agriculture has now spread to the Itsenic peoples, reducing the Kle?met’ tribes to more marginal land. An expanded Dneht remains the only organized state.

Also note the expansion of the Bé along the coast.

The Bé social system was organized around jɔ or matriarchal families; but by this time some of these were important than others, either from genealogical primacy, better access to resources (such as nawr oxen), or control of a market town. In effect these had become aristocratic families, which dominated a territory and were considered to own the land. They were entitled to a tenth of the major crops and had other rights, but were also expected to defend their territory, judge disputes, punish major criminals, and help in times of crisis.

As settlement reached the highlands, a new way of life became possible: pastoralism, focussed not on growing crops but on herding sheep, goats (acquired from the elcari), and notseh cattle. There were no horses in Arcél and none of the herd animals are rideable, so the herdsmen travelled on foot. The first people to adapt this lifestyle were Uyram; the pastoral area is indicated by ruled lines, suggesting a population density in between that supported by hunting/gathering and agriculture.

Mnesean hunter/gatherers are displacing Uyram in the southeast.

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