Varani Empire

This article is about the sovereign state, for the Dvekmenu Great House, see House Varani

The Varani Empire (Classical Varani: Великъ Домъ Варани, Great House Varani), also referred to as the Second Dvekmenu Empire was a Dvekmenu state in Sossis during antiquity.
Continuing more in the traditions of the states that emerged after the fall of the Dvekmenu Empire in 618, the Varani Empire was a decentralised tributary state, and regional authority was largely delegated to other Great Houses who ruled their lands, but owed tribute and fealty to the Varani. This state of affairs represented a continuity with the pre- or proto-feudalism that originated in the Dark Age, in which the collapse of a central state which had provided protection led to the exchange between the various warbands and small, rump states that existed in the aftermath of the fall of the Dvekmenu empire and the peasantry in which the peasants paid tribute to the local warbands in exchange for protection from other warbands. Coming largely from a Varani desire to avoid the responsibilities of everyday rule and management to focus on study, this state of affairs continued and became codified into the system of feudalism with official titles of nobility under the Great Houses. This would eventually lead to the collapse of the empire, though, as Great Houses rebelled and fought against each other, particularly during the Mad Phase of the Fey Wars. After the Burning, the Varani were left seriously weakened, and the empire quickly descended into warring factions. Central Varani authority finally gave out in 1489 when the High Arcanum officially nullified all oaths of fealty. The Varani would continue to exist, but never again as a major political power, they became something of a magic guild over the following centuries, until their disapperance in 2489 during the War of the Holy League.

Varani Empire Outline

Великъ Домъ Варани

1066–1489

Flag of the High Varani Arcanum (1413)

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Government

Oligarchic Magocracy

Capital

Vola Karets (1066–1071) Godhome (1071–1489)

Languages

Official: Classical Varani
Regional: Dvekmenic languages, Hitan, Horil, Jalmejn, Old Skorbund

Demonym

Varani

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Preceded by

Dark Age

• West Dvekmenia

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