Kuḷiŋibor

From Almeopedia

Kuḷiŋibor
812 - ±880 ; 975 - 1609 ; ±1729 - ±1735
Native:	ancient Kuḷiŋibor, modern Kulimbur
Verdurian:	Cúlimbur
Characteristics
Capital:	Kuḷiŋibor
Government:	senate (usampas)
Ruler’s title	asemop
Language:	Old Skourene
Religions:	Skourene paganism

Kuḷiŋibor ['ku ɭi ŋi bor] is a former Skourene city-state located in Barmund. Famed for its development of the idea of confederation -- an innovation detractors claimed was little different from empire -- Kuḷiŋibor also boasted a rich literary tradition.

Etymology: Old Skourene ‘lion island', Uṭandal Kulimbur, Tžuro Koriŋ.

Contents 1 Early history 2 Confederate ideology 3 Descent into obscurity 4 See also

Early history

The exact origins of Kuḷiŋibor have been lost to the mists of time. The first known records, dating back the 500s, were written by Guṭḷelik administrators, who count the city as part of their empire. Its first inhabitants were Guṭḷelik as well; it was apparently colonized to forestall Miligenḍi moving south along the coast from Pitrat.

After the defeat of Guṭḷeli's empire in 786, Kuḷiŋibor passed into Kolatimandik rule, together with Pitrat. Both cities languished under the new regime, and they both successfully rebelled in 812, taking Korileŋ and Arṭali in 818-9, and Minṭu in 822. Buoyed by its successes, it became one of the more pro-active Skourene states.

Confederate ideology

Noting the speed at which Axuna had decimated the Jeori, the people of the Littoral feared that it might try to invade the Littoral next. The northern Skourene states shook their heads, but Kuḷiŋibor formulated a defense plan, a confederacy (mḍera). Kuḷiŋibor insisted that it wasn’t an empire; members would govern themselves, but put their armed forces under a unified command, and eliminate tariffs and other barriers to trade. With the accession of Kolatimand, the Muḍureg or Mudric Confederacy was born. By 900, it comprised almost the whole Skourene sphere.

This was the heyday of Kuḷiŋiborik culture. Its literary output ran to reams of soon forgotten political propaganda, as well as fantasy, notably the Nilgḍela (Vision) of Maḍaŋtoş, in which a man sails to the moons and under the earth, and Paligag’s stories of gods and monsters.

The lack of any immediate threat from Axunai meant that the high cost of maintaining standing troops and the confederacy itself were seen as unnecessarily onerous, and over time resentment towards Kuḷiŋibor and its melodramatic claims of invasion began to build. The other member states voted several times to reduce the influence of the Muḍureg, and that of Kuḷiŋibor with it. When the Kuḷiŋiboriki finally refused to participate in the invasion of Ḍeleli, the other members of the confederation simply expelled it. After Ḍeleli was annexed, the remainder of the Muḍureg turned its armies against Kuḷiŋibor. Both states waged a seven-year war that ended largely in a stalemate, and both were rebuffed in their attempts to gain control of Minṭu.

Descent into obscurity

The long-touted invasion finally materialized in 1010, when Axunemi forces seized a large chunk of Kuḷiŋiborik territory on the Mnau peninsula. Kuḷiŋibor recieved no support from the remaining Skourene states, and vented its ire by besieging Peligi, a close neighbour who had never joined its mutual defense pact. It was unable to capture the city, though. The Engidorid League relieved it of the northernmost portion of the Namal in 1070, and Nemiṭali in 1106. Axunai continued its attacks on Kuḷiŋibor as well, conquering Arṭali in 1095, Minṭu in 1115, and launching an all-out assault from 1134 to 1140, which was halted at Pitrat.

In 1190, when Axunai returned in force, Kuḷiŋibor was being hit especially hard by a virulent plague. It is said to have been so severe that Pitrat couldn't even muster enough defenders to man its walls, and the other states pounced on its weakness at the earliest opportunity. Peligi reconquered Ṭisutra, and Arṭali and Korileŋ became independent. Kuḷiŋibor seemed to melt away like a ghost.

Still severely weakened, it accepted Peligi's offer of alliance in 1609, even though that effectively placed it under Peligir control. Peligi itself proved unable to withstand the military might of the Tžuro, however, and Kuḷiŋibor was the final Skourene town to fall into their hands. Arṭali reconquered it for the Uṭandal and itself in 1810.

See also

• For a comprehensive history of the Old Skourenes, please refer to the Historical Atlas of Skouras.
  
• The history of Kuḷiŋibor is inextricably linked with its great project of Skourene unity, the Muḍureg.

Author: Yebi