Bozan
From Almeopedia
| BOZAN |
Bozan [bo ˈzan] is a province of northwestern Xurno, largely consisting of the lower Bonari river valley. The upper valley comprises Bolon, while following the river to the south one comes to Šuzep.
After the Axunemi conquest, the area formed a natural kingdom, ruled from Jenevi, modern Jeney. The local language was known as Bosanšur. As Bolon was later settled from Bozan, this dialect extended there as well.
It was conquered by the Jeori in the 700s, then by Timai of Axunai in the late 800s. In 1635 the governor of Moun allied with Munkhâshi and conquered Bozan, Šuzep, and Gotanel; Bozan was liberated by Rajjay which ruled it for about a century.
It was incorporated into the Kurundasti Tej in the early 1700s, then into one of its successor states, the Naraji Tej; when this collapsed due to a Lenani revolt Bozan found itself independent again (c. 2150).
The Hermit Master Bodeusirc lived in Bozan, under Jippirasti rule; perhaps under the influence of this very ordered religion, he systematized Endajué morality and codified the disciplines expected of an Endajué beylusu or cleric. Famously, he was murdered by a soldier when he refused to accept him as a disciple (1863). The first female Master, Rúmeš, undertook her hermitage in southern Bozan, raising sheep.
Like most of Xengiman, Bozan was conquered by the Sainor and then the Gelyet in the 2400s. It was liberated by Isaoric, emperor of Xurno, in the early 2600s. At this time it had not fully accepted Endajué; open Mešaism survived here for some centuries, and popular practice still retains many Mešaic survivals.
As a conservative area which was slow to adapt the fads of the heartland, it kept its distance from Revaudo, and stayed loyal to the emperors Imdax IV and Siluri II through the first Revaudo civil war. From 3017 to 3091 it was independent, under its own nyei, rescued from the Matora imperial family.
It had hardly been incorporated into the Revaudo state when Cuoli, making its bid to great powerdom, conquered it (3120). It was not reconquered by the Xurnese till 3367. Though Xurnese law has been applied, Bozan is the least 'Revaudo-ized' of the provinces, still ruled by nobles rather than artists. A minority still practices Cuolese pantheism, and there are Jippirasti pastoralists in the hills.
The capital is Xorzoko; other large towns are Jeney and Mendau. Its dialect of Xurnese is Bozangri, close to Rajjari, but with some distinctive vocabulary due to its many overlords; it's also notable for retaining a 'royalist' pronoun system, descending from the formal court language rather than Revaudo egalitarianism.
Etymology: Wede:i Bo:saŋ 'South Bo:', referring to the Bonari, Ax. Bosan, X. Bozan, Ver. Buozon.
