Prežeon
From Almeopedia
The Prežeon [prɛ ˈʒɛ on] dynasty ruled Verduria for 336 years, from 2792 to 3128, longer than any other dynasty; they began as Lords (sannoi) of Verduria city and ended as kings (dalî) of half of Eretald.
| Prežeon lords | |
| 2792-2814 | Lelusio |
| 2814-59 | Valura |
| 2859-88 | Ánabar |
| 2888-2902 | Safcu |
| 2902-2939 | Avtor |
| 2939-43 | Caleon |
| Prežeon kings | |
| 2943-58 | Caleon |
| 2958-3031 | Ževuran |
| 3031-59 | Estdorot |
| 3059-95 | Onvaďra 1ë |
| 3095-3113 | Ažerey 1e |
| 3113-15 | Zol |
| 3115-28 | Acuyo |
Rise of the family
Since 2477 the city of Verduria was ruled by a sanno. The city was a satranda, which we might translate as an autonomous region; the sanno answered to the Caďinorian emperor but could rule the city as he liked. The sanno was also captain of the provincial army, which gave him more power than the nominal governor, the duke of Vyat.
The Prežeons were related to the Sáluerî, who dominated the lordship till 2634; however, much of the Verdurian aristocracy could say the same. They were a respectable but not a dominant noble family with estates near Belušati. In 2752 the sannei Asárë named Humeon Prežeon, who had married her cousin, as kešaro (steward) of Išira, then largely the rich southern shore of the city; Humeon's son Lelusio succeeded him in this position in 2778.
In 2789 the count of Menla, Mélicom Dádiat, usurped the lordship on the death of Dezäna Yan. This was the first time such a thing had happened under the lordship, and it caused a good deal of upset— the emperors had established a biyetora or council of nobles to choose lords precisely to avoid such lawlessness. Mélicom did have his supporters; it seemed then that he could only be deposed by war, a step his opponents were not willing to take. Tegen Yan, however, had other ideas. He had himself been sanno for ten years, till his sister Dezäna deposed him. He assassinated Mélicom in the spring of 2792, killing his wife and two sons for good measure, and declared himself sanno.
The nobles were even more shocked by this turn of events; this was how barbarians, not Caďinorians, decided their affairs. Tegen was put on trial for murder by the Biyetora and executed. The nobles then met to choose a new sanno. Lelusio had been one of the strongest voices for the rule of law, and the remaining Yanî were discredited; it was natural to pick him.
Lords of Verduria
Four months later Žésifo itself fell to the Curiyans; the age-old Caďinorian Empire was gone. This was a great shock, though not unprecedented. The day to day results were small— Caďinorian authority in the north of Eretald had long been minimal.
(In the coming centuries, a good deal of mystical nonsense was generated by the coincidence that Žésifo fell in the same year the first Prežeon ruled.)
The immediate question was who would control Verduria province: the sanno of the city, or the duke of Vyat. Even this level of power was a fantasy for both nobles: the province was divided into a patchwork of noble estates, and the nobles saw no great value in a strong central authority, except when the province was invaded. (This happened often enough that the lord's captaincy was not a legal fiction.) Only the towns along the Svetla and the ocean, dependent on trade and therefore on stability and the rule of law, really favored a provincial administration.
In 2870 Lelusio's grand-nephew Ánabar married Ašeli, princess of Zeir. This doubled the size of the Lords' nominal territory; more importantly on a practical level, they were now the largest landowners in the combined realm. Nonetheless this only gave them a better hand, not control of the game. Ánabar's son Avtor actually allied with the marquis of Irvesi against Ondorot, duke of Vyat. A small battle ensued (2920), which the allies won decisively enough that the dukes of Vyat were put permanently out of the running. The lords were now accepted as the rulers of the province, so long as they didn't make any very serious attempt to exercise their authority.
In 2941-2 Avtor's son Caleon mounted an expedition against Lácatur, the Western Wild, gaining direct control over a territory as large as Zeir; the Verdurian lords need no longer worry about mere rebellious nobles.
Kings of Verduria
Ctésifon had thrown off Curiyan rule in 2917, under Bura. Bura's son Ertala attempted to restore traditional imperial authority over Verduria; Caleon's resistance led to the declaration of the kingdom (dalua) of Verduria in 2943 and the subsequent conquest of Ctésifon.
The history of Caleon and his successors is told in the article on Verduria.
Caleon referred to himself as often as Cefsanno i Arcaln (Warlord of Arcaln) as dalu i Verdúria; and it is common to refer to the Prežeon kings as the Arcalnei dynasty. I have sometimes followed this practice, but Prežeon is also correct, and emphasizes the continuity with the last 153 years of the sannát.
Scholarship bloomed under the Prežeons: contact with Žésifo encouraged rediscovery of Caďinorian knowledge, and the establishment of the kingdom encouraged new thoughts and ways of doing things, in fields ranging from philosophy to poetry. The Verdurian žuyse onteca, the scientific method, was largely elaborated during their rule.
| Preceded by: Usurpation of 2789 | Prežeon d. 2792-3128 | Succeeded by: Usurpation of 3128 |
