Marphat Empire

Marphat Empire
Sarbômê
100–600 CY

Geographical range	Etzavaz
Dates	100–600 CY
Followed by	?

The Marphat Empire was an ancient civilization controlling much of northern Etzavaz during the 1st millennium CY. The empire, along with the other Marphat states, were among the leading political forces of Etzavaz and the trade system of the Triangle Sea in general.

Etymology

The Demma Marphat endonym for the Empire was Sarbômê, stemming from sarre "noble, honorable" and bômê "earth, land".

The name Marphat is an exonym, a transliteration of Rausin marφat.

History

Pre-history

Archeological evidence shows that North Etzavaz had been inhabited by culturally contiguous sedentary peoples since at least the Chalcolithic: gold ornaments and copper tools have been found at [site] dating to the early 2nd millenium BCY. Little is known about the cultures that inhabited the region, but according to Marphat legend, North Etzavaz was inhabited by various tribal groups which often came into conflict with each other.

According to Marphat legend, it was a tribal leader known as Ahesuyê who united the Marphat tribes and was crowned King of the Marphat. It is said that he convinced local chieftains to unite under him, and subjugated those who refused through conquest. Ahesuyê was named “King of the Marphat, King of the World, Chieftain of Chieftains, from the Mountains to the Seas, God amongst men”, which is a title that would be borne by later kings of the Marphat Empire (with the exception of “God amongst men”). He is said to have ruled for 50 years, a period described as a golden age of Marphat civilization. Upon his death, it was his son Erri-nepera who took the throne. Erri-nepera is said to have ruled for 20 years, which, in contrast to his father’s reign, is described as a period of strife and instability. Erri-nepera died around 70 CY, allegedly killed by his eldest son, who with his two brothers divided the Marphat people into three groups: Mountain, Lake and River.

Old Marphat period

The Marphat states around 100 CY.

The earliest Marphat inscription is dated to around 130 CY, “Seventh year of the reign of Aheyotti”. It was found in the city of Tommu-nôdur (modern-day Tondór) and is believed to be an early religious text. Tommu-nôdur was a major city of the Kingdom of Dozê, one of the major kingdoms in the region at the time. There are during this period four major kingdoms: Dozê, Nîzân, Maṭël and Änzim. The city-state of Têke-ṯêwa also holds significant territory at this time. To the south going down to the Triangle Sea coast are also various Tsyku Marphat-speaking city-states.

Imperial period

The Marphat states around 400 CY.

In the year 389 CY, Girrizomê was crowned King of Dozê after his father’s Girrikêmat’s death. During his reign, Girrikêmat had conquered the Kingdom of Nîzân and was waging war against Têke-ṯêwa. Girrizomê took over his father’s campaigns and by the year 396 had subjugated Têke-ṯêwa and Maṭël and founded the Marphat Empire. Through a personal union, he also integrated Änzim into the Empire. His Empire stretched from the Verethian Strait to the north, down to the Black River to the south. He never conquered the lands south of the Black River due to the resistance of the cities of [X] and [Y]. The Empire began a strong policy of myth and legend to justify the imperial lineage as divine, and this is where the myth of Ahesuyê and the Marphat Calendar originate. Girrizomê’s dynasty would adopt the titles of “King of the Marphat, King of the World, Chieftain of Chieftains, from the Mountains to the Seas”. This dynasty would last for 200 years, collapsing around 600 CY, coinciding with the “Bronze Age Collapse” across the Triangle Sea. In the case of the Marphat Empire, this collapse was caused by a variety of factors, which have broadly been identified as a crisis of succession which weakened the Empire, followed by invasions from outside peoples, primarily the Arths, an Ashno-Verethian people who migrated from Ashnan.

Warring states

The Marphat states around 1000 CY.

Following the Bronze Age Collapse and invasions by foreign peoples, the Marphat states were divided and most of the major urban centers in the region had been overran and went into steep decline. Errunti was destroyed and reduced in a series of wars and conflicts with TBA, while Aykikëň and TBA were conquered and completely destroyed by Arthan tribes around 600 CY. This chaotic period had mostly stabilized by 1000 CY, with minor states coalescing or conquering each other. The largest of these polities were Wirru, Munaa and Siwaň.

Capture by Arthan confederacy

Arthan confederacy Arthan script

Language

The Marphat languages were a closely-related cluster of three varieties, with some level of mutual intelligibility. Modern linguists refer to them as Mountain (demma), Lake (siwa), and River (tsyku) Marphat. They are thought to be unrelated to any of the other language families in the area; Marphat is occasionally considered a monolithic wikipedia:Language isolate as a result. The language family likely survived in mountainous regions until TODO.

The three were written with the same Marphat script, originally ideogrammically, then evolving into a hybrid logographic-syllabary, although the stages are difficult to pick apart today. The Marphat script was one of the first writing systems in human history, being the ancestor to multiple modern-day scripts, including the Verethian and Dhimze scripts.