Yezchamenid: 1000BC, Alphatian Sea
by Átila Pires dos SantosI'm posting here my thoughts about Zendrolion's idea about bringing the M-Mesopotamic civilisations to the Alphatian Sea region. I'm also including here some thoughts, based on GP's work, about the Tanagoro peoples and their migrations (I'm assuming here that modern Tangor speak M-Nilo-Saharian languages; M-Bantu languages are spoken in Yavdlom and by the Simbastas (M-Swahili); the Karimari have a M-Khoisan language; and the Nuari is one of the many peoples that speak M-Austronesian languages).
First of all, I'd like to say again that Adrian Mattias' work for the Yezchamenid land is great and that's why I'm attempting to bring most of it to the past of Mystara, instead of completely ignoring it or most of it.
Here's a possible equivalence table for the Yezchamenid provinces and RW peoples:
o Darsia: Persia
o Uvaraz: Persia (southern)
o Zrakan: Persia (northern)
o Dradze: Persia (eastern)
o Pazarkan: Persia (Pegataurs)
o Hattas: Hittite
o Yivja: Phoenicia
o Mebirush: Babylonia
o Chura: Assyria
o Midan: Media
o Draya: Bedouins
Using this and the Pitchans, a Oltec people that gave origin to some of the peoples of Yezchamenid, I wrote this timeline and another table of equivalences, for the peoples that appear at the timeline and the provinces of Yezchamenid at 1000BC.
TIMELINE:
c. 8000 BC: Orimulian civilisation destroyed by Y'hog Carnifex. The survivors carry the Orimul culture to the west (Serpent Peninsula *1) and east (Oceania), while those who stays are sent back to the Stone Age. The Orimul culture splits.
c. 5000 BC: First Tanagoro migrational wave *2; they leave "old Tangor" (modern Jen) region, arriving at Oceania and Cestian Peninsula *3. Some Orimulian living in Oceania (east-late-Orimul civilisation) migrate to the empty Esterhold (Bellissaria, Thothia and the Alatians are already inhabited by Asyidhi tribes; Minaea is inhabited by Aharian tribes). Gradually they'll create their own distinct culture, becoming the Pitchans.
c. 3000 BC: GRoF: Pitchan civilisation is destroyed by invading Olthar tribes, the Proto-Jennites. Some Pitchans joined the Proto-Jennites, while others migrated to southwest Esterhold and Bellissaria; they become the Sagur civilisation.
c. 2500 BC: Asyidhi tribes that migrated to the lands that will be known in the future as Taymor. There they start a new civilisation.
The Adakkian (Asyidhi) civilisation of Bellissaria interacts with the Sagur; they eventually fuse, forming the Mebirush (Esterhold) and Chura (Bellissaria) civilisations.
Some Aharian tribes of Minaea (Hattan) are gradually pushed into southeast Bellissaria by the Proto-Jennite, while others (Dars and Midan) adopt their lifestyle.
Thelles (Aharian) people of southwest Alphatia starts settling the Isle of Dawn.
Yavi-Tanagoro tribes migrate to the western part of north Davania. Primitive descendants of the Orimul are displaced by these Tanagoro, settling at the Isle of Dread.
c. 2250 BC: The Durkuri minotaur people conquest Mebirush, but adopt the local culture. Chura become a vassal land of the Durkuri-Mebirush nation.
Height of the Taymoran power; Taymoran city-states dot the southeastern coast of Brun. Taymoran sailors found trade outposts at northeast Ochalea, the Alatians, Pearl Islands and the empty south Bellissaria, allowing them to trade with all civilisations of the Alphatian Sea and Tangor Bay. Taymoran traders bring mercenary lupins to Ochalea and Tanagoro to south Bellissaria to garrison the fortified outposts. The Pearl Islands are already inhabited by rakastas.
Yavi-Tanagoro tribes arrive at the Serpent Peninsula, where they met the Sheyallia elves. There, they create the original Yavdlom civilisation.
(White = Mebirush; Red = Chura; Purple = Hattas; Yellow = Taymora; Blue = Thelles)
c. 2000 BC: The Hattan cities of southeast Bellissaria fights against Mebirush imperialism (with limited help of Taymor). Chura becomes a battleground.
Thelles biremes and triremes, copied from the Taymorans, fight for the trade outposts of the Alatians.
Azcan and Asidhi tribes living northeast of Taymor become the Nithian civilisation.
c. 1750 BC: Fall of Taymora and the Glantri Catastrophe.
The Churans, after years of suffering from the Mebirush/Hattan war, finally becomes independent fro both and even conquering them, forming the Churan Empire. The resentful Churans razes the capitol of the Mebirush; using a magical gate, many flee to northeast Alphatia, where they found Ambur, while the auroch minutaus use it to arrive at the Orc's Head Peninsula, becoming the winged Enduk and founding Nimmur.
c. 1500 BC: Yezchamenid Empire: One of the tribes of Skothar, the Dars, enters Bellissaria, conquering all Churan Empire (including the Hattans and Mebirush). They also conquer the old Taymoran colonies: south Bellissaria (Yivj,) the Pearl Islands, the Alatians and Thothia.
Displaced after the Dars conquests, Thelles (Traldar) tribes looking somewhere to settle are invited by Nithia to do so at Karameikos. Later, other Thelles tribes do the same at Darokin and Thyatis (Doulakki).
Dars invite another nomadic tribe of Skothar, the Midans, to rule part of Chura as long as they're able to put down any revolt.
c. 1000 BC: The Alphatian Landfall. Alphatians conquer easily all Alphatia from the Yannifey tribes. The Thelles of Greenspur and Ambur are also conquered.
The Yezchamenid Empire is destroyed by the Alphatian forces, taking all Bellissaria, the Alatians and Esterhold. Some Tanagoro living in south Bellissaria migrate to the Pearl Island, adopting the rakastan language. The, however, can't avoid being also conquered by Alphatia.
Minoides and a group of minotaurs fleeing from Nimmur return to the ruins of the capitol of Mebirush through the magical gate. Some of them work to Alphatia as mercenaries.
Notes:
*1 - By now, the land bridge linking Brun and Davania through the Serpent Peninsula and Thanegia Island is no more, avoiding that Y'hog Carnifex enter Brun, going after the last Orimul city-states.
*2 - It may be actually the second wave, especially if the Karimari (M-Khoisan) people are already living at the Serpent Peninsula.
*3 - It's possible that Kum-rah was a Tanagoro shaman of Ka that lived in Cestia. His direct descendants (Cave Rakasta, Simbasta, etc) still speaks the language Kum-rah once spoke (M-Swahili), related to the modern Tanagoro languages of Yavdlom (M-Bantu); the rakastas that descend from Ba-steh (Rakastodon Fatalis, Sherkastas, etc) speak an unrelated language (M-Austronesian). Other peoples also adopted variations of this original rakastan language, like the Nuari (and, from them, the Stonecarving civilisation of Colima (Isle of Dread; M-Rapa Nui), which originated the modern Makai after the Stonecarvers fled from the Kopru) and the modern Cestians (assuming that's the M-Madagascar).
Equivalences:
o Orimul: Olmecs (Wiki)
o Pitchans: Olmec-Sumerian bridge
o Sagur: Sumerians (Wiki)
o Adakkians: Akkadians (Wiki) [Perhaps ancestors of the Varellyans and the name "Adakkian Sound" comes from them?]
o Mebirush: Babylonia (Wiki) [also Ambur and Nimmur]
o Chura: Assyria (Wiki)
o Durkuri: Kassite auroch minotaurs (Wiki)
o Hattas: Hittites (Wiki)
o Taymora: Phoenicia (Wiki) [also Yivja]
o Dars: Persians (Wiki)
o Midan: Medians (Wiki)
o Jennite: Scythia (Wiki) [they may have some Dar/Midan blood as well, helping them to be something closer to RW Scythians]
o Thelles: Mycenaean Greeks (Wiki)
o Cypri: Minoan (Wiki)
o Alphatian (original): Atlantean (Wiki)
(Another useful link for getting the feeling of Yezchamenid; And another one for the whole Sea of Alphatia)
Yezchamenid Provinces:
o Darsi: East Esterhold
o Uvaraz: Northwest Esterhold
o Zrakan: Central Esterhold
o Mebirush: Southwest Esterhold
o Dradze: Minaea (some Jennite)
o Midan: Dawnrim [Bellissaria] (originally part of Chura)
o Chura: Notrion, Meriander [Bellissaria]
o Hattas: Horken, Lagrius [Bellissaria], plus Spearpoint peninsula
o Yivja: Surshield [Bellissaria], except for Spearpoint peninsula
o Draya: Thothia (Asyidhi tribes)
o Pazarkan: Alatians (no pegataurs, Asyidhi tribes and Thelles/Taymoran colonies instead)
I took the pegataurs out of Yezchamenid since they should appear only after 800 BC (mix of Shiye elves and pegasus)
BTW, those maps comes from one of Thibault Sarlat's maps