Peligi
From Almeopedia
| • Peligi |
Peligi [ˈpɛ li gi] was a city-state in Barmund, on the Skourene littoral. From its humble origins, the Peligir state grew to become dominant in the region, and then contributed much to the infighting that weakened the Skourenes and expedited the Tžuro conquest.
Etymology: Old Skourene ‘they sustain you’, Tžuro Pelihi, Uṭandal Pilagi, Ṭeôši Peliš, Ver. Pilagi.
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Early History
Peligi was founded by Miligenḍik settlers, serving, along with Ṭisutra, as a colonial center in Barmund. Not much happened there until 296, when the city was besieged by Epuneka of Imuṭeli; however, it was returned to Miligenḍi in the peace accords of 299.
For several centuries the colony developed, thriving on trade and manufacturing. Especially important to the city's development were the copious amounts of iron to be found on the Peligir peninsula. In 545, Peligi (resentful, perhaps, of the Miligenḍik style of government) declared independence, taking Ṭisutra with them. Guṭleli's short war with Miligenḍi in 712 provided Peligi with the opportunity to swipe a bit more territory in Barmund.
In the late 9th century, when nearby Kuḷiŋibor exploited an Axunemi invasion to form the Mudric Confederacy, Peligi declined to join. Even at the height of Muḍureg, Peligi—though completely surrounded by it—tenaciously clung to independence. This vexed the Kuḷiŋiboriki to no end; finally, when the Axunemi general Duxivei conquered southern Mnau, Kuḷiŋibor invaded Peligi in 1022, conquering smaller Ṭisutra and besieging (but failing to take) the capital. Eventually, the Axunemi pressure on western Skouras served to help Peligi; after an invasion enfeebled Kuḷiŋibor in 1190, Peligi regained its former territories. The city's seemingly miraculous salvation from both the Kuḷiŋiboriki and Axunemi inspired an unregarded monk in the cult of Kolatim, Uruṭiḍag: he claimed that Peligi was a divine city, the new center of Skourene faith and culture. Naturally, the prophet was rather unwelcome in his hometown, but a few thought he might be on to something.
The Rise of Peligi
As the rest of Skouras slowly pulled itself out of decline, the Peligir state steadied itself and began sending ships to trade as far away as Arcél. For the first time, in 1505, Peligi conquered something; the something, in this case, was the nearby island of Minṭu. The increasing fortunes of Peligi only encouraged belief in Uruṭiḍag's gospel of a renewed Skouras. (Uruṭiḍag, by this time, was long dead, of course, but some of his ideas had caught on.) Finally, Peligi had enough momentum to go on a little conquering spree: it took Pitrat (1554), the Namal (1560s), Ageşoram and Ṭisuraku (1574). In their push northward, the Peligir made a alliance with rebels in Ṭisuram, implying that Ṭisuram might be given its ancient colony Ṭisuraku, but nothing ever came of this. Peligi insisted afterward that they had never definitively promised anything to anybody, but the Peligir began to acquire a reputation as swindlers.
Meanwhile, the Tžuro princes to the north were converting to Jippirasti and readying themselves to conquer the world; so far, all they had conquered of Skouras was a few bits of Papliopagimir territory. Peligi, like Kuḷiŋibor four centuries earlier, tried to use a threat of foreign invasion to drum up support for a confederation, but nobody was yet convinced except Teralam. Its attempts at peaceful amalgamation mostly thwarted, Peligi decided to conquer some more territory. Under the command of the general Adesdanti, Peligir forces took Guṭleli in 1595. By 1609, Adesdanti was despot of Peligi. He sent delegations to the rest of Skouras, trying to justify his conquest of Guṭleli and urging unity in the face of the Tžuro hordes, which had begun to attack the northern cities. Though Peligi supplied the besieged cities, all of them (Papliopagimi, Miligenḍi, Ṭisuram, and others) were taken or surrendered; Adesdanti explained that this was because the fallen cities had refused Peligir offers of alliance (that is, Peligir hegemony).
The Decline
By this point, the remaining Skourene states not under the thumb of Peligi began pleading for Gurdagor intervention; Gurdago finally obliged, and declared war, taking Minṭu in 1639 and Guṭleli two years later. Adesdanti hardly contested these losses, concentrating instead on the conquest of Meŋeland, some land north of the Namal, and parts of Gelimṭar. In 1644 the Tžuro, under Attafei, decided, for the time being, to conquer Munkhâsh instead of Skouras, and thus allowed the Skourenes a reprieve. Gurdagor troops, under the general Nuppoma, marched north to reconquer Skourene land from the Tžuro, but the Peligir would not allow such a border incursion. The two armies fought inconclusively until 1647, when Adesdanti died and Peligi sued for a truce. This truce was broken when Teralam defected to Gurdago, but without Adesdanti's leadership Peligi was beaten handily; when Peligir troops withdrew, control of eastern Skouras was effectively ceded to Gurdago. For thirty years or so there was a sullen peace between the two powers, until 1670, when Kolatimand (Gurdago's ally, or perhaps more accurately, client state) placed itself under Peligir administration. The ensuing war over the next decade was of no benefit to anyone: it only served to put Kolatimand directly under Gurdagor control and worsen relations among the Skourenes.
The Tžuro Conquest
Once Attafei had conquered the ktuvoks, the Tžuro once more turned towards Skouras, first concentrating on weaker cities. Seeing that this strategy would take (and, indeed, had so far taken) decades, the atej Busiŋgal instead decided to conquer the most powerful Skourene cities. Gurdago was out of reach, but Peligi would fit the bill. The Historical Atlas of Skouras describes the last pivotal battle (in 1711) between Busiŋgal's forces and those of Krolakurilim, dictator of Peligi:
- The army approached by land—the Tžuro still had no navy—and bypassed Nemiṭali and Pitrat as distractions. They burned crops and appropriated herds as they went. The dictator of Peligi, Krolakurilim, was cautiously confident. The Tžuro were operating far from home; the hilly terrain ill-suited their cavalry; their conscript armies were inferior to hardened Skourene patriots. He therefore risked a set battle, outside Ṭisutra.
- Each side tried to choose its own spot for the battle: the Tžuro wanted to fight on the flat ground near the city, the Skourenes in the hills two miles back. There was a sort of comic interlude of a month while the two armies camped in place and attempted to lure each other nearer. As much to occupy their time as anything else, the Tžuro began an assault on Ṭisutra itself.
- This proceeded quickly as these things went, and the Ṭisutranda panicked. Fate could surely not choose to destroy them, with a great Skourene army camped two miles away. They executed a sortie—Skourene history calls it the Fatal Rush—to attack the Tžuro miners and siege engines.
- Ṭisutranda among the Skourene army learned of this, and no one could prevent them from running to the aid of their city. Krolakurilim cursed, but was unwilling to simply let the Ṭisutranda and their city be lost. He gave the orders to march.
- This was the key battle of the war, and the grandest—a historian estimates that there were 50,000 troups on the Skourene side, and double that number among their enemies. And by coming to the aid of the Ṭisutranda, Krolakurilim threw it away. Not only did he cede the choice of ground to the enemy, but he allowed his troops to attack in disarray, as they arrived at the battlefield. By sunset half his army had been destroyed, and Ṭisutra was lost.
After the disastrous battle of Ṭisutra, there was little fight left in the Peligir. Peligi was besieged in 1712 and fell two years later.
Aftermath
The Kurundasti Tej treated the long-resisting city harshly, looting its treasures and exiling its grandees and generals; they ruled their conquests in Barmund from Ṭisutra. Peligi never really recovered from the catastrophe.
Centuries later, the Tej succumbed to schismastic divisions in the north, and lost much of its vigor, as the Skourenes— who we must now call the Uṭandal following their loss of Skouras— were quick to perceive. Ṭisutra, now called Čisra, rebelled against the local Tžuro overseers in 2185, taking Peligi (now Pilagi) with it. Since then Peligi has been an appendage of Čisra.
Even today it is little more than a small, sleepy town, clustered round the sacred hill which still contains the ruins of its ancient palaces and temples.
| Author: Adso de Fimnu |
Categories: Cities | Ṭrota | Skouras
