Xamichia

Xamichia (more commonly known as the Old Sammichian Empire) was an empire concentrated in the northwestern Shire, and is one of the first known civilizations in the Shire. While Sammichians lived on the continent of Thrennex for many years prior to Xamichia, it remains as one of the first examples of an entity that achieved all of the characteristics of a civilization.

While Sammichian presence on Thrennex can be dated as far back as 7,800 PRY, the oldest evidence of Xamichia suggests that the empire first rose around 2,350 PRY, established by ancient Sammichians speaking a less-refined and early variant of Thrennexian. Originally starting out as a small city-state centered around Sarrimus (which evolved into Ceriumuse), it is known for its revolutionary irrigation system which channeled sewage and waste into the Sea of Aten surrounding the continent, along with developing a complex crop cycle that took advantage of the changing seasons and allowed the Sammichians to cultivate at the height of summer and plant new crops appropriately as the soil returned to permafrost as winter returned. This also enhances the resilience of Xamichia, which was able to survive and develop in such a cold and unfriendly climate.

Between 2,350 and 2,000 PRY, Xamichia began expanding its territory across Thrennex, settling new towns and villages, such as Perna, Nedes, and Teket, and built up Sarrimus into a great and well-defended capital. It was also at this time that the centralized government transitioned from a crude and undeveloped chain of chieftains into the imperial rule that characterized Xamichia for centuries. Not soon after came the spread of the Xamichine Pantheon, the first Sammichian religion and one of the oldest pagan religions known, which was slowly replaced by the Orthodox Sammichian Trinity. As society and order became more prominent elements in Xamichia, mercantilism and trading did as well. Social classes were also formed; as some families grew incredibly wealthy, they chose to only mingle with those of similar status, creating an elitist and feudal society.

By 1,000 PRY, Xamichia had a well-established government, a monarchy ruled by an Emperor and the Imperial Family, along with the Sammichian Imperial Chancellory in later years. In 852 PRY, Xamichia made its first encounter with the Human race; a ship of Human explorers from the city of Melaedes stumbled upon Sarrimus while mapping the Sea of Aten. The ship was surrounded and its crew imprisoned. Eventually, the Humans were sold by the government as exotic slaves for noble families. As it turns out, one of the crew members was Prince Callem of Melaedes; King Menestes sent a fleet of ships to recover his son, and they too found Sarrimus. Again, most Humans were captured and sold into slavery. One ship managed to escape, however, and Xamichia entered a war with Melaedes that resulted in the entire city being plundered and razed to the ground by Sammichian forces.

After realizing the potential and strength of its military, Xamichia began annexing lands outside of Thrennex, hording land and becoming rivals with the burgeoning Lilladonian Empire in the east. At this point, Xamichia had become well-informed of a good portion of the Shire's geography and other major powers within it. Utilizing the skills of some of the most talented cartographers and strategists of the ancient world, Xamichia conquered and annexed nearby domains successfully for many years, climaxing in the Mandatux Imperatia, a highly-aggressive takeover across the northern Shire, even branching far into the Central Shire at one point, and into the Demmatrodine Region to conquer Fulfwotz. However, during this period, the interior of the empire was slowly deteriorating, as costly campaigns drained the economy and severe elitism crippled the social stability of Xamichia. It was also this era that the Sammichian slave trade reached its height, becoming the largest slave trade ever seen in Shire history. It was common for locals of claimed lands to be sold into slavery after being deemed either inferior or being subject to hostile occupation. There is a reason why many called Xamichia the Domain of Slavers. Xamichia was in very poor shape after Empress Flux moved the Sammichian capital to Fulfwotz around 70 PRY, ending the Mandatux Imperatia, and leading to the collapse of Ceriumuse. Xamichia was dissolved and broken up into dozens of kingdoms in 58 PRY after the Great Epiphany.

Etymology

While the exact origins of the name Xamichia are unknown, it is very clear how Sammichian evolved from Xamichine, used to denote things of relation to Xamichia. Many legends provide a convenient explanation, claiming that Xamichia was first created by King Xamtet of Chia, although it's been recorded that King Xenophon of Pernaeus was the first ruler of Xamichia.

Another theory is what Xamichia translates to in Thrennexian; The prefix Xam- means mighty or powerful, while the suffix -ich pertains to blood and status. -ia is commonly used to denote an area of land under sovereign rule; therefore, Xamichia could be interpreted as Land of Mighty Blood.

History

Due to the very age of Xamichia, much of its early history is unknown; however, it is known to be the product of numerous vekaxa caravans merging throughout Thrennex as the Sammichian race developed and evolved to have a sense of society. Ancient scriptures and tomes describe a grouping of vekaxa on the western coast of Thrennex, each one ruled by a different chieftain. Feuding between the vekaxa was frequent and commonplace; such vekaxa only remained together as to better defend themselves from the eastern Barbaric Tribes and hostile Thrennexian wildlife. The chieftain of the vekaxa Pernaeus, Xenophon, sought an end to the unrest, and accomplished this by uniting all the vekaxa under one banner. According to many accounts, this unification was not peaceful in any sense and resulted in the vekaxa of Nessica, Kallides, Mantavas, and Fetellia were razed for attempting to secede. This new city state was called Sarrimus (known as Ceriumuse in the English language). The vekaxa were renovated into permanent dwellings, and using survivors from the vekaxa who tried to secede as slaves, the precursor to the Great Citadel of Ceriumuse was constructed. It is estimated that at this point, there were roughly 4,000 inhabitants. This unification is one of, if not the first known civilizations to form in the Shire. This is believed to have occurred around 2,400 PRY.

Xenophon continued to rule Ceriumuse, and styled himself King. He was considered to be a kind and benevolent ruler, however many archaeological remnants contradict this; the remains of over 970 individual people have been discovered in ancient catacombs beneath the old citadel, many showing signs of being maimed, tortured, and being malnourished. Despite his style of rule being questionable, Sarrimus experienced a period of innovation under King Xenophon, creating irrigation systems that emptied into the Sea of Aten and forming the Thrennexian calendar based off of the menstrual cycles of Sammichian women which proved to be the basis for Sammichian crop cycles and agriculture. Xenophon was murdered around 2,330 PRY by his jealous brother Anaxitoras, who was mortally wounded as well in the struggle to kill his brother. Left without an heir, many vied for position of the ruler of Xamichia, resulting in the takeover of the kingdom by Aggripedes of Impe, establishing the Impe Dynasty as one of the Shire's first royal families.

Impe Dynasty

King Aggripedes proved to be an intelligent and well-rounded ruler; it is believed that he shifted Sammichian focus from glory and warring towards the arts, based on the large collections of fine vases and sculptures discovered from this era. Aggripedes also oversaw the construction of the basis of the Great Citadel at Priscillus, more commonly known as the Citadel of Ceriumuse. The methods of masonry used to construct the citadel was then used by Sammichian stonemasons to construct homes and public buildings. Slabs discovered inside of the citadel dated to Aggripedes's rule indicate that he may have refined the Thrennexian language, which was fragmented into different dialects when prehistoric Sammichians divided into vekaxa caravans. These slabs helped decipher and understand the ancient Thrennexian language, and were named the Aggripedean Slabs. King Aggripedes oversaw the expansion of Sarrimus, until his death in 2,289 PRY. He was succeeded by his son, Terthes,