The Razadan Empire

Hydrass commentators refer to it as "The Razadan Principality," having granted that much recognition to the self-styled Razadan Imperial Dynasty only after several attempts to wipe it out. Indeed, the fact that it exists it all owes more to the hostile territory of the Northlands than its own military might. It consists of little more than a capital city at Muraz, home to perhaps 3,000 souls, and a scattering of wasteland territories that greater rulers have not been bothered to incorporate. Nevertheless, to those under its sway the Empire is as feared as any other conqueror.

Despite its weak power, the Empire actually has quite an ancient lineage, by the standards of the Ilk. The First Emperor, Nezzerkid I, declared himself the rightful heir to the Hyperion Empire in what is now regarded as the year 290. For his reign, and his son's, the "Empire" consisted of little more than an armed camp at Nezzer and a narrow band of hunting ground around it. However, the ascension of Nezzerkid III in 233 led to a marked changed of fortunes for the Razadan dynasty. He invested the gains of his father's and grandfather's border skirmishes in training an elite troop of heavily armoured cavaliers, the Qalits. With these, he conquered his nearest neighbours, whose name has been lost to history. All that remains is their greatest city, Muraz, which Nezzerkid made his new capital. It is difficult to say how long Nezzerkid III continued his conquests, but it is thought that he died some time in the late 220s, perhaps even the 210s, in the semi-legendary Battle of Hutzar.

Much of the succeeding history of the Razadan Empire has been lost, due to the massive earthquake which destroyed the Imperial library along with most of Muraz in 127. The Razadan dynasty maintains that the Empire at that stage was fairly massive, including what is now Talas-Ka, and receiving tribute for provinces as far-flung as the Southlands, though Hydrass historians find this claim laughable. What is known is that in the 140s, just as the Hydrass clan was beginning to expand its control in the south, the Empire nearly destroyed itself in the Feran War between Nezzerkid VII and his cousin, Garoz. Garoz won the war, claiming the Imperial throne on the basis of Nezzerkid VII's supposed illegitimacy. However, the war had slain so much of the Imperial nobility that for the next several generations its territory entered a slow and steady decline, until the Emperors could stand on the walls of Muraz and, gazing at the horizon, see provinces that had rebelled against their control.

It has become a proverb in the Empire that "Grandsons outshine." Indeed, just as Nezzerkid III consolidated the Imperial dreams of Nezzerkid I, Garoz III (117 to 56 in Hydrass counting) spent the 61 years of his unusually long reign rebuilding Imperial authority in many of their traditional domains. He fought his first war from the eighth to the nineteenth years of his reign, from by the Hydrass calendar, bringing six of the ancient Imperial provinces back under the reign of the throne. His second war, lasting from the thirtieth to the fifty-first years of his reign, expanded Imperial authority again almost to the borders of Hydrass control. The last ten years of his reign were spent establishing a well-functioning Imperial bureaucracy to manage the new flow of tribute that the re-expansion has brought. His death in 56 was followed by the ascension of his son, the current Emperor [[Garoz IV]]. Garoz IV is reputed to be something of a simpleton, and it is only a dense network of advisors that keeps his influence from destroying his father's gains. Nevertheless, it appears the Empire has entered another period of stagnation, and already there are mutterings of rebellion from the border provinces for whom freedom is a none-too-distant memory.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License