Zaiki Miracle

The Zaiki Miracle was an event that occurred in 880 BIF, and resulted in the collapse of the Jarnish Empire and the beginning of a second age of Sufi-Nazadi Kingdoms. It involved the death of the second Jarnish Emperor, and the slaughter of several thousand Jarnish warriors at the hands of Desert Ghouls.
The second Jarnish Emperor's rule was far less stable than his predecessor. After defeating and slaying Ygra, the Unifier in a death-bout in the late months of 881 BIF, Janic first attempted to consolidate his rule over the Jarnish peninsula. To this end, Janic ordered the return of many Jarnish governors from Yethisia, to swear their loyalty to him. This left a power vacuum in many of the larger Yethisi settlements. Amid a rise in attacks by the Desert Ghouls, unrest continued to grow among the Yethisi. Their harsh governance under Ygra's rule, and the suppression of their religion, the Cult of Dama, had fomented anti-imperialist sentiment, and in the face of this power vacuum, this sentiment evolved into the seeds of rebellion.
In the early months of 880 BIF, the city of Ab-Naza and Iferi erupted into full-scale rebellion. After just a week of fighting, the insurgents were able to eliminate the Jarnish garrison, and execute their officials. The Nazadi sent agents and armies to many of the Yethisi settlementsm and by March 881 BIF, the city of Iferi had also shucked the Jarnish yoke.
Emperor Janic is described as a brutal and warlike ruler, and so it is no surprise that he wasted little time raising an army from the Jarnish peninsula. As Ygra had done many years ago, Janic marched east with a force of five thousand Jarnish warriors, seeking to put an end to the Yethisi insurgency. While this may seem a small number, it should be noted that the Jarnish had recently gained access to crossbows from their links with the gnomes of Nek Tharad. Combined with their superior iron weaponry, their forces were likely well equipped to quash the rebels. However, their campaign was met with immediate complications as a result of mismanagement and a lack of preparation.
As a proud Jarnish warrior, and chieftain of a small village near Jirna, Janic had spent no time in the territory of Yethisia. Janic had also managed to insult the Jarnish Assembly of Traders, who had first pioneered trade routes through the Jarnish mountains. As a result, neither Janic nor his advisors had any familiarity with the dangers of the Yethis Desert. His forces were poorly supplied, and poorly equipped to deal with the freezing nights and burning days. Janic's Jarnish scouts were unable to account for the presence of Lakani nomads, who were known to disrupt Jarnish trading missions through the use of guerilla warfare, and so the Jarnish supply lines were severely disrupted. A week-long journey to the city of Ab-Naza stretched into a two week journey as a result, and morale continued to decline among Janic's forces.
Janic's forces met with true disaster in Zaik, a valley found a day's travel from the Wannib River. While making their way through the valley, the rear ranks of the Jarnish came under assault by a horde of Desert Ghouls. The sudden and vicious manadi assault led to panic among the Jarnishmen, which soon turned into a rout. As they fled, many of their number were trampled, and left behind to become food for the ghouls. They ran to the very eastern exit of the valley, only to be met by another host of manadi. Only a handful of Jarnishmen escaped from the disaster, fleeing home while the ghouls gorged on their dead comrades. Janic was not one of these lucky few.
The Zaiki miracle allowed the beginning of a second age of Sufi-Nazadi Kingdoms, and led to the return of the Crown of Flowers to the Yethisi peoples. It was the subject of many beta-suferian paintings and carvings, which inevitably made their way into the northern courts. Janic's death also led to the collapse of the Jarnish Empire, and the formation of the Jarnish republic, who have ruled the peninsula ever since.