History of Érevon
The Érevish people and the modern Kingdom of Érevon trace their history to the prehistoric tribes who accompanied the mythical Prince Heremon out of the east and into the new western continent which now bears his name. Beginning with a succession of three dynastic kingdoms, interrupted by periods of transition which included the world's first republic, the country grew into the Mílesean Empire, the largest and most successful empire in history, which lasted (nominally at least) for nearly two thousand years. The country has continued to add to its history as a leading global power throughout the years and into current times.
The archiological evidence indicates settlement in the Corrail River valley by siminid humans occurred in waves beginning some 30,000 years ago, displacing the Fear Bolg whose ancestors had previously occupied the region for over two million years. Fossilized Bolgid remains found in an upland cave overlooking the Corrail River south of Lantara have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago. Four fossilized Siminid teeth discovered on the west bank of the Bóchra River, dated to 125,000 - 80,000 years ago, represent the earliest evidence of Siminid activity in the region. The earliest evidence of sustained Siminid habitation in the region consists of 18,000 year old structural foundations indicating extensive settlement of the fertile plains between the Corrail and Neimheadh Rivers by that time.
Some time before 4000 BCS, neolithic Kiltic settlers introduced cereal cultivation, domesticated livestock including cattle, sheep and swine, and began constructing large timber buildings and stone monuments. The earliest evidence of farming in Érevon consists of a flint knife, cattle bones and a sheep's tooth found in the town of Dúnurlainn, which have been carbon-dated to c. 3970 BCS. The oldest field system in the world, made up of small divisions separated by low dry-stone walls, was identified in 1883 beneath a peat bog in Upper Tiramwal. The fields were under cultivation for several centuries between 3500 BCS and 3000 BCS, with barley, oats and wheat being the principal crops.
The Érevish Bronze Age began late in the third millennium BCS, heralding new technologies such as the wheel, the yoking of oxen, textile weaving and the brewing of alcohol, all of which dramatically changed the everyday lives of the common people. The bronze age also brought the development of skillful metalworking, giving rise to new weapons and tools, as well as fine gold and silver decoration and jewelry.
According to An Scéal Faoi Thógáil Érevonaigh (The Tale of the Taking of Érevon),1 Prince Heremon, the mythical founder of the Kiltic Race, led his clan and a “mixed multitude” of others who joined them, along “with their captives (slaves), flocks and herds,” out of prehistoric Heberia on a three year, 7,000 wmi. journey across the Great Isthmus into the new continent that is now named Heremonia in his honor. When they crossed the Neimheadh River into the fertile Great Plain of Andawan, they were challenged by the Fear Bolg inhabitants (who called the place Turavenica).
There were six Fear Bolg kingdoms in Turavenica. They were Abaranta (hence Barantia), Lahondok, Vorajek (hence Vorgia), Skadolukka, Vyerena and Podola (hence Podo Ratha). After defeating the Fear Bolg at the First and Second Battles of Talafuil in 1699 BCS, Heremon claimed kingship over the country and established his capital on an island in the Corrail River which the Fear Bolg called Pavitra Balut, meaning “Sacred Oaks.” The Kiltoi called the place Oileán Darach (“Oak Island”), which became “Elondairagh” and in modern times has become “Lantara.”
Heremon had four sons - three with his first wife Ouva, and one with his second wife Tí. Their names were Muimne, Daithí, Laighean and Irial. Heremon divided his people into four Codanna (literally “portions”) and placed one of his four sons at the head of each of them. He divided his new kingdom into four regions, one for each Cuid. Each son was to select the country over which he would become prince. When it came time to choose, Heremon allowed Irial, his youngest son, to choose first, instead of his oldest son Muimne. Irial chose the southeast quarter, which became known as Cuid n’Irialach (Irial’s Portion).
Each of his remaining sons, harboring resentment at being placed behind their half-brother, chose his quarter in turn – Muimne the southwest (Cuid Mumneagh), Daithí the northwest (Cuid Daitheagh), and Laighean the northeast (Cuid Laghenach). The history of Érevon is replete with numerous internal conflicts because the people of those three portions (known as the “Ouvan Portions”) continued down through the centuries to maintain a certain level of ethnic resentment towards the people of the Cuid n’Irialach.
Heremon ruled in the new land for fifteen years, after which his eldest son Muimne became king, ruling for only one year before dying of plague. He was succeeded in turn by his brother Daithí, who was killed after two years along with his brother Laighean at the Battle of Árd Ladraganna. Heremon's youngest son Irial, called Fáidh ("the Prophet") for his wisdom, then became king. During his reign Fomorians from the southern sea first appeared on the rivers of Érevon. Irial ruled the young kingdom for ten years, during which time he cleared twelve plains, dug seven royal forts, and fought four battles against the Fomorians. He died at the Battle of Mag Muairdene. Mílesean Age scholars placed his death during the reign of Tautanestet in Janubia (c. 1670 BCS).
Irial's son Ethriel was the last of the kings who arrived with Heremon during the conquest. In the course of his twenty year reign, Ethriel cleared six plains, built three royal forts and established the city of Naus. He was killed in the Battle of Rairiu by Conmáel of the House of Muimne, who himself was killed by Ethriel's son Follach. Follach was the first king born in Érevon. He ruled the kingdom for thirty years. He was called Caogcathach (of the Fifty Battles) because he fought twenty five battles to defend his throne against the House of Muimne and twenty five battles to defend the kingdom from Fomorian attack.
Follach's son Tigernmas was the last ruler of the First Dynasty. During his reign gold and silver were first smelted. He was the first king to give drinking-horns to his followers, and the first to have clothes dyed purple, blue and green and decorated with brooches, fringes and ornaments. In the seventy-seventh year of his reign, he summoned all of the men of Érevon to assemble on the eve of the summer solstice at the plain of Magh Marú (which was then called Magh n'Adhradh). There he had erected an enormous edifice of the pagan god Cromcloch.
On the day that all the men of Érevon were assembled there together, when the sun reached its height in the sky a momentous thunderclap sounded, and a fiery bolt of lightning came down and struck the ground directly in front of the great idol, creating a chasm which opened up and swallowed three fourths of the men of Érevon, king Tigernmas among them, before closing again as swiftly as it appeared. This great tragedy caused chaos in the kingdom, and the throne sat empty for seven years as civil war raged, until a new king of the House of Irial would once again bring peace to the country.
The earliest known Érevish historical records are derived from Ogham Stones dating to as early as 1500 BCS. Over 2450 of these monuments have been documented throughout the length and breadth of Érevon. The vast majority of known Ogham inscriptions consist of personal names, often including formulaic descriptions of ancestry or tribal affiliation, and are presumed to mark territorial borders. However, hundreds of clusters of Ogham Stones have also been found to contain more detailed descriptions of major events and other information that has been vital to our understanding of early Érevish history.
The historical record derived from Ogham Stones is augmented by the thousands of Saolanna which have been discovered within Early Archaic Period tombs throughout the Corrail Valley. Saolanna are detailed obituaries written in the Ogham alphabet along the edges of clay tablets. They identify the occupant of the tomb and describe his or her life and times, often in intimate and humorous detail. They are believed to have been intercessions to the gods of the netherworld, in the hope of being reincarnated into a new life that would be familiar and comfortable.
The First Kingdom:
The historical record derived from these ancient sources confirms the existence of a unified Kiltic kingdom in the Corrail River valley, reestablished after seven years of civil war in the 16th century BCS by a King known as Eochaid Faobharglas ("Greenblade"), who traced his lineage to a "King Iralfaigh," (presumably the legendary prophet-king Irial Fáidh, fourth son of Heremon). Ascending to the throne in 1533 BCS, King Eochaid is the first2 of a long list of historical figures who led a succession of dynasties that ruled in Érevon for nearly two millennia. Érevish culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Kiltic in its language, religion, arts and customs.
The period known as the First Kingdom (sometimes the "First Golden Age") lasted over four hundred years from 1699 BCS until 1283 BCS. It was characterized by extensive forest clearing for pastureland, and the placement of vast swaths of new farmland under cultivation. The construction of a network of roads, watchtowers and ringforts facilitated the consolidation of power as well as expansion into surrounding territories.
The First Kingdom is perhaps best known for the Tombs of the Kings, megalithic passage graves containing grand burial chambers, which were constructed during this period. The most magnificent of these can be found in the Gleann Ríoga (Royal Valley) on the east bank of the Corrail River south of Lantara. Other important megalithic sites include Diamhair, Láthair and the Brú na Bith. Many passage graves from the First Kingdom period are still being discovered, excavated and studied to this day.
The Warring Time:
The First Kingdom collapsed in 1283 BCS, leading to a dark interregnum period in ancient Érevish history known as the Amcogaíochta (Warring Time). Many historians attribute the collapse to the long reign (70 years) of the last Third Dynasty king, Ailldeargoid. He ruled from his childhood until he was very elderly, outliving all of his potential heirs, which created a succession crisis upon his death. There is debate whether a crop blight known to have affected the region during that time had any impact upon the disintegration of the First Kingdom, or merely coincided with its downfall.
Spanning nearly two hundred years from 1258 BCS until 1064 BCS, the Amcogaíochta was a period of political fragmentation, social disunity and internal warfare leading to foreign invasion. Very little textual or monumental evidence exists from the time, especially from the earliest part of the period. What has survived tells the story of an extremely volatile era when temples were pillaged and holy sites defiled, artwork was vandalized and the statues of kings were broken or destroyed. The renowned first century File, Maelseach Fuaimilis mocked the period in his historical poem Caoga Rí Laistigh de Chaoga Lá (Fifty Kings in Fifty Days) as a shameful interval of disorganization, disunity and ineffective leadership.
As the Warring Time progressed, rule over Érevon became roughly equally divided into two competing power bases, splitting the country between east and west. In time, the hostilities between these two kingdoms erupted into open warfare, resulting ultimately in the reunification of the country under a strong king of the Irialean line known as Eochaid Ollamhaidh.
The Second Kingdom:
The Second Kingdom, also known as the Athaontú (Reunification), lasted from 1064 BCS until 715 BCS. Toward the end of the Warring Time interregnum, two rival powers arose in Érevon, one in the East based at Naus, and another in the west, based at Kindee, each fighting for control of the entire country. In 1073 BCS, Eochaid Ollamhaidh ascended the throne at Naus. In the tenth year of his reign, he took advantage of a revolt in northern Cuid Mumneagh to launch an attack upon Kindee, which met with little resistance. After toppling the Kindee kingdom, Eochaid Ollamhaidh consolidated his power over all of Érevon and is regarded as the founder of the Second Kingdom. He was called Ollamhaidh ("the Learned") because of his legendary intellect. Throughout history he has been portrayed as great in wisdom, wealth and power beyond imagining, and has become the western archtype of the wise, benevolent ruler.
Characterized by a stabilization of central government, increased crop production and reconquest of lost territories, the Second Kingdom reached its peak during the reign of Rothechtaid Rotha (896 – 865 BCS), who was the first king to employ a four-horse chariot. However, the untimely death of his son Élim Ancaol only one year after succeeding his father as king led to a period of increasing instability in the kingdom. His younger brother Róán was never able to secure widespread popular support at any time during his twenty-two year reign. Ultimately he was brought down by Prince Barrfhionn Súilghéar (Keen Eye) of Cuid Mumneagh, killed at the Battle of Móin Sleamhain.
The overthrow of the Fourth Dynasty in 842 BCS brought about a period of gradually increasing tyranny by the Muimnean kings of the Fifth Dynasty, resulting in ever-declining support for the monarchy. During the Fifth Dynasty, the royal family took every opportunity to exploit its position for personal gain, to the increasing detriment of both the lower and the upper classes. As royal overreach became increasingly oppressive, it ultimately resulted in the widespread popular uprising that brought down King Cainneach Deascach (727 - 715 BCS) and established the world's first known republic in 715 BCS.
The Commonwealth:
Main article: An Comhlathas (The Commonwealth)
In response to decades of oppressive misrule by the tyrannical Muimnean despots, aggravated by an extended famine that instigated unrest among the lower classes, the nobles and the people of Érevon rebelled. The king and his family were deposed, and a new form of government was established by the nobility and the ruling clan chieftains, which they called An Comhlathas (The Commonwealth).
A system of divided government quickly developed, run by a Seanad (Senate) of nobles and a Tionól Treibhe (Assembly of Clans) made up of tribal chieftains, and led by a triumvirate executive that ultimately answered to the nobility that appointed it. Although only a small number of powerful families (called Uaisle) wielded real power during the Commonwealth period, most historians consider it to be the world's first example of representative government. The system functioned well, and prosperity returned to the country.
When a Frankish invasion from the north in 621 BCS threatened to overrun Oileán Darach, the governing Seanad appointed the Irialian Prince Eochaid mac Feidlimid Ó hAnnagáin to the position of Giúistís Armraigh ("Magistrate Martial") and tasked him with defending the Commonwealth. Ordered to sue for peace in advance of the Battle of the Sruthán River, Prince Eochaid defied the Seanad and attacked the Franki with the famous battle cry, "Érevon buys her freedom not with gold and silver, but with iron!"
Prince Eochaid led the Érevish to victory that day and drove the retreating Franki northward, eventually expelling them from the country and returning in triumph to Oileán Darach. When the Seanad sought to arrest him for defying their order, the people rose up, declaring Eochaid king by acclamation. He was eventually acknowledged as king by both the Seanad and the Tionól Treibhe in turn, establishing the Third Kingdom.
The Third Kingdom:
The Third Kingdom (c. 621 – 473 BCS) began with the establishment of the Sixth Dynasty by King Eochaid Cosantóir (The Protector), and marked the rise of Érevon as an international power. The period is noted for some of the most well known of the Archaic kings, including the aforementioned Eochaid Cosantóir, as well as Fearchar Ceanasach, Sluaghadhán Réimeasfada and his son Eochaid Creachadóir. During the Third Kingdom, Érevon's political control expanded outward from the four Codanna of Tyruallia, beginning the process of expansion that culminated in the largest empire the world has ever known.
The Third Kingdom was in a state of near-perpetual warfare throughout its existence, beginning with the conquest of Podo-Rath and its valuable silver mines. The wars of conquest continued, first in the south, and then northward into Tyronia and Barantia. Within less than a century of driving the invading Frankish horde from the gates of their capital, the Érevish ruled a kingdom that stretched from the Koubou River in the north to the shores of Loughs Lurney and Seolta in the south, and from the Neimheadh River in the east to the Bith River in the west. By the beginning of the fifth century BCE, Érevon had expanded its territory further east to the Torrean Sea and south into Timreal and Covania, and the new office of Lámhanrí (Provincial Governor - literally "arm of the king") was established to bring the king's rule to the conquered provinces.
Internal tensions challenged the kingdom's institutions as well. Having enjoyed an active role in the government of the country for nearly a century, the Érevish nobility and the clan chieftains struggled to reassert their power in the face of the restoration of royal rule by increasing the influence of the Seanad and the Tionól Treibhe upon the lives of the common people. In addition, the tremendous influx of foreigners, particularly slaves, from the conquered provinces enriched the aristocrats but ruined the peasants and urban workers. The exploding slave population also led to a series of slave revolts, the last of them in 493 BCS. The later decades of the Third Kingdom witnessed the rise of great generals, who exploited their military conquests and the factional intrigue at court to gain control of the political system.
During the reign of king Seachlann Bródúilas (493 – 482 BCS), renowned general and statesman Cearbhall Anuasal was appointed to lead seven military campaigns across the Bith River against the Jarmenic tribes of the west.
To be continued...
Prehistory:
The archiological evidence indicates settlement in the Corrail River valley by siminid humans occurred in waves beginning some 30,000 years ago, displacing the Fear Bolg whose ancestors had previously occupied the region for over two million years. Fossilized Bolgid remains found in an upland cave overlooking the Corrail River south of Lantara have been dated to between 680,000 and 780,000 years ago. Four fossilized Siminid teeth discovered on the west bank of the Bóchra River, dated to 125,000 - 80,000 years ago, represent the earliest evidence of Siminid activity in the region. The earliest evidence of sustained Siminid habitation in the region consists of 18,000 year old structural foundations indicating extensive settlement of the fertile plains between the Corrail and Neimheadh Rivers by that time.
Some time before 4000 BCS, neolithic Kiltic settlers introduced cereal cultivation, domesticated livestock including cattle, sheep and swine, and began constructing large timber buildings and stone monuments. The earliest evidence of farming in Érevon consists of a flint knife, cattle bones and a sheep's tooth found in the town of Dúnurlainn, which have been carbon-dated to c. 3970 BCS. The oldest field system in the world, made up of small divisions separated by low dry-stone walls, was identified in 1883 beneath a peat bog in Upper Tiramwal. The fields were under cultivation for several centuries between 3500 BCS and 3000 BCS, with barley, oats and wheat being the principal crops.
The Érevish Bronze Age began late in the third millennium BCS, heralding new technologies such as the wheel, the yoking of oxen, textile weaving and the brewing of alcohol, all of which dramatically changed the everyday lives of the common people. The bronze age also brought the development of skillful metalworking, giving rise to new weapons and tools, as well as fine gold and silver decoration and jewelry.
Founding Myth:
According to An Scéal Faoi Thógáil Érevonaigh (The Tale of the Taking of Érevon),1 Prince Heremon, the mythical founder of the Kiltic Race, led his clan and a “mixed multitude” of others who joined them, along “with their captives (slaves), flocks and herds,” out of prehistoric Heberia on a three year, 7,000 wmi. journey across the Great Isthmus into the new continent that is now named Heremonia in his honor. When they crossed the Neimheadh River into the fertile Great Plain of Andawan, they were challenged by the Fear Bolg inhabitants (who called the place Turavenica).
There were six Fear Bolg kingdoms in Turavenica. They were Abaranta (hence Barantia), Lahondok, Vorajek (hence Vorgia), Skadolukka, Vyerena and Podola (hence Podo Ratha). After defeating the Fear Bolg at the First and Second Battles of Talafuil in 1699 BCS, Heremon claimed kingship over the country and established his capital on an island in the Corrail River which the Fear Bolg called Pavitra Balut, meaning “Sacred Oaks.” The Kiltoi called the place Oileán Darach (“Oak Island”), which became “Elondairagh” and in modern times has become “Lantara.”
Heremon had four sons - three with his first wife Ouva, and one with his second wife Tí. Their names were Muimne, Daithí, Laighean and Irial. Heremon divided his people into four Codanna (literally “portions”) and placed one of his four sons at the head of each of them. He divided his new kingdom into four regions, one for each Cuid. Each son was to select the country over which he would become prince. When it came time to choose, Heremon allowed Irial, his youngest son, to choose first, instead of his oldest son Muimne. Irial chose the southeast quarter, which became known as Cuid n’Irialach (Irial’s Portion).
Each of his remaining sons, harboring resentment at being placed behind their half-brother, chose his quarter in turn – Muimne the southwest (Cuid Mumneagh), Daithí the northwest (Cuid Daitheagh), and Laighean the northeast (Cuid Laghenach). The history of Érevon is replete with numerous internal conflicts because the people of those three portions (known as the “Ouvan Portions”) continued down through the centuries to maintain a certain level of ethnic resentment towards the people of the Cuid n’Irialach.
Heremon ruled in the new land for fifteen years, after which his eldest son Muimne became king, ruling for only one year before dying of plague. He was succeeded in turn by his brother Daithí, who was killed after two years along with his brother Laighean at the Battle of Árd Ladraganna. Heremon's youngest son Irial, called Fáidh ("the Prophet") for his wisdom, then became king. During his reign Fomorians from the southern sea first appeared on the rivers of Érevon. Irial ruled the young kingdom for ten years, during which time he cleared twelve plains, dug seven royal forts, and fought four battles against the Fomorians. He died at the Battle of Mag Muairdene. Mílesean Age scholars placed his death during the reign of Tautanestet in Janubia (c. 1670 BCS).
Irial's son Ethriel was the last of the kings who arrived with Heremon during the conquest. In the course of his twenty year reign, Ethriel cleared six plains, built three royal forts and established the city of Naus. He was killed in the Battle of Rairiu by Conmáel of the House of Muimne, who himself was killed by Ethriel's son Follach. Follach was the first king born in Érevon. He ruled the kingdom for thirty years. He was called Caogcathach (of the Fifty Battles) because he fought twenty five battles to defend his throne against the House of Muimne and twenty five battles to defend the kingdom from Fomorian attack.
Follach's son Tigernmas was the last ruler of the First Dynasty. During his reign gold and silver were first smelted. He was the first king to give drinking-horns to his followers, and the first to have clothes dyed purple, blue and green and decorated with brooches, fringes and ornaments. In the seventy-seventh year of his reign, he summoned all of the men of Érevon to assemble on the eve of the summer solstice at the plain of Magh Marú (which was then called Magh n'Adhradh). There he had erected an enormous edifice of the pagan god Cromcloch.
On the day that all the men of Érevon were assembled there together, when the sun reached its height in the sky a momentous thunderclap sounded, and a fiery bolt of lightning came down and struck the ground directly in front of the great idol, creating a chasm which opened up and swallowed three fourths of the men of Érevon, king Tigernmas among them, before closing again as swiftly as it appeared. This great tragedy caused chaos in the kingdom, and the throne sat empty for seven years as civil war raged, until a new king of the House of Irial would once again bring peace to the country.
The Archaic Period:
The earliest known Érevish historical records are derived from Ogham Stones dating to as early as 1500 BCS. Over 2450 of these monuments have been documented throughout the length and breadth of Érevon. The vast majority of known Ogham inscriptions consist of personal names, often including formulaic descriptions of ancestry or tribal affiliation, and are presumed to mark territorial borders. However, hundreds of clusters of Ogham Stones have also been found to contain more detailed descriptions of major events and other information that has been vital to our understanding of early Érevish history.
The historical record derived from Ogham Stones is augmented by the thousands of Saolanna which have been discovered within Early Archaic Period tombs throughout the Corrail Valley. Saolanna are detailed obituaries written in the Ogham alphabet along the edges of clay tablets. They identify the occupant of the tomb and describe his or her life and times, often in intimate and humorous detail. They are believed to have been intercessions to the gods of the netherworld, in the hope of being reincarnated into a new life that would be familiar and comfortable.
The First Kingdom:
The historical record derived from these ancient sources confirms the existence of a unified Kiltic kingdom in the Corrail River valley, reestablished after seven years of civil war in the 16th century BCS by a King known as Eochaid Faobharglas ("Greenblade"), who traced his lineage to a "King Iralfaigh," (presumably the legendary prophet-king Irial Fáidh, fourth son of Heremon). Ascending to the throne in 1533 BCS, King Eochaid is the first2 of a long list of historical figures who led a succession of dynasties that ruled in Érevon for nearly two millennia. Érevish culture flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Kiltic in its language, religion, arts and customs.
The period known as the First Kingdom (sometimes the "First Golden Age") lasted over four hundred years from 1699 BCS until 1283 BCS. It was characterized by extensive forest clearing for pastureland, and the placement of vast swaths of new farmland under cultivation. The construction of a network of roads, watchtowers and ringforts facilitated the consolidation of power as well as expansion into surrounding territories.
The First Kingdom is perhaps best known for the Tombs of the Kings, megalithic passage graves containing grand burial chambers, which were constructed during this period. The most magnificent of these can be found in the Gleann Ríoga (Royal Valley) on the east bank of the Corrail River south of Lantara. Other important megalithic sites include Diamhair, Láthair and the Brú na Bith. Many passage graves from the First Kingdom period are still being discovered, excavated and studied to this day.
The Warring Time:
The First Kingdom collapsed in 1283 BCS, leading to a dark interregnum period in ancient Érevish history known as the Amcogaíochta (Warring Time). Many historians attribute the collapse to the long reign (70 years) of the last Third Dynasty king, Ailldeargoid. He ruled from his childhood until he was very elderly, outliving all of his potential heirs, which created a succession crisis upon his death. There is debate whether a crop blight known to have affected the region during that time had any impact upon the disintegration of the First Kingdom, or merely coincided with its downfall.
Spanning nearly two hundred years from 1258 BCS until 1064 BCS, the Amcogaíochta was a period of political fragmentation, social disunity and internal warfare leading to foreign invasion. Very little textual or monumental evidence exists from the time, especially from the earliest part of the period. What has survived tells the story of an extremely volatile era when temples were pillaged and holy sites defiled, artwork was vandalized and the statues of kings were broken or destroyed. The renowned first century File, Maelseach Fuaimilis mocked the period in his historical poem Caoga Rí Laistigh de Chaoga Lá (Fifty Kings in Fifty Days) as a shameful interval of disorganization, disunity and ineffective leadership.
As the Warring Time progressed, rule over Érevon became roughly equally divided into two competing power bases, splitting the country between east and west. In time, the hostilities between these two kingdoms erupted into open warfare, resulting ultimately in the reunification of the country under a strong king of the Irialean line known as Eochaid Ollamhaidh.
The Second Kingdom:
The Second Kingdom, also known as the Athaontú (Reunification), lasted from 1064 BCS until 715 BCS. Toward the end of the Warring Time interregnum, two rival powers arose in Érevon, one in the East based at Naus, and another in the west, based at Kindee, each fighting for control of the entire country. In 1073 BCS, Eochaid Ollamhaidh ascended the throne at Naus. In the tenth year of his reign, he took advantage of a revolt in northern Cuid Mumneagh to launch an attack upon Kindee, which met with little resistance. After toppling the Kindee kingdom, Eochaid Ollamhaidh consolidated his power over all of Érevon and is regarded as the founder of the Second Kingdom. He was called Ollamhaidh ("the Learned") because of his legendary intellect. Throughout history he has been portrayed as great in wisdom, wealth and power beyond imagining, and has become the western archtype of the wise, benevolent ruler.
Characterized by a stabilization of central government, increased crop production and reconquest of lost territories, the Second Kingdom reached its peak during the reign of Rothechtaid Rotha (896 – 865 BCS), who was the first king to employ a four-horse chariot. However, the untimely death of his son Élim Ancaol only one year after succeeding his father as king led to a period of increasing instability in the kingdom. His younger brother Róán was never able to secure widespread popular support at any time during his twenty-two year reign. Ultimately he was brought down by Prince Barrfhionn Súilghéar (Keen Eye) of Cuid Mumneagh, killed at the Battle of Móin Sleamhain.
The overthrow of the Fourth Dynasty in 842 BCS brought about a period of gradually increasing tyranny by the Muimnean kings of the Fifth Dynasty, resulting in ever-declining support for the monarchy. During the Fifth Dynasty, the royal family took every opportunity to exploit its position for personal gain, to the increasing detriment of both the lower and the upper classes. As royal overreach became increasingly oppressive, it ultimately resulted in the widespread popular uprising that brought down King Cainneach Deascach (727 - 715 BCS) and established the world's first known republic in 715 BCS.
The Commonwealth:
Main article: An Comhlathas (The Commonwealth)
In response to decades of oppressive misrule by the tyrannical Muimnean despots, aggravated by an extended famine that instigated unrest among the lower classes, the nobles and the people of Érevon rebelled. The king and his family were deposed, and a new form of government was established by the nobility and the ruling clan chieftains, which they called An Comhlathas (The Commonwealth).
A system of divided government quickly developed, run by a Seanad (Senate) of nobles and a Tionól Treibhe (Assembly of Clans) made up of tribal chieftains, and led by a triumvirate executive that ultimately answered to the nobility that appointed it. Although only a small number of powerful families (called Uaisle) wielded real power during the Commonwealth period, most historians consider it to be the world's first example of representative government. The system functioned well, and prosperity returned to the country.
When a Frankish invasion from the north in 621 BCS threatened to overrun Oileán Darach, the governing Seanad appointed the Irialian Prince Eochaid mac Feidlimid Ó hAnnagáin to the position of Giúistís Armraigh ("Magistrate Martial") and tasked him with defending the Commonwealth. Ordered to sue for peace in advance of the Battle of the Sruthán River, Prince Eochaid defied the Seanad and attacked the Franki with the famous battle cry, "Érevon buys her freedom not with gold and silver, but with iron!"
Prince Eochaid led the Érevish to victory that day and drove the retreating Franki northward, eventually expelling them from the country and returning in triumph to Oileán Darach. When the Seanad sought to arrest him for defying their order, the people rose up, declaring Eochaid king by acclamation. He was eventually acknowledged as king by both the Seanad and the Tionól Treibhe in turn, establishing the Third Kingdom.
The Third Kingdom:
The Third Kingdom (c. 621 – 473 BCS) began with the establishment of the Sixth Dynasty by King Eochaid Cosantóir (The Protector), and marked the rise of Érevon as an international power. The period is noted for some of the most well known of the Archaic kings, including the aforementioned Eochaid Cosantóir, as well as Fearchar Ceanasach, Sluaghadhán Réimeasfada and his son Eochaid Creachadóir. During the Third Kingdom, Érevon's political control expanded outward from the four Codanna of Tyruallia, beginning the process of expansion that culminated in the largest empire the world has ever known.
The Third Kingdom was in a state of near-perpetual warfare throughout its existence, beginning with the conquest of Podo-Rath and its valuable silver mines. The wars of conquest continued, first in the south, and then northward into Tyronia and Barantia. Within less than a century of driving the invading Frankish horde from the gates of their capital, the Érevish ruled a kingdom that stretched from the Koubou River in the north to the shores of Loughs Lurney and Seolta in the south, and from the Neimheadh River in the east to the Bith River in the west. By the beginning of the fifth century BCE, Érevon had expanded its territory further east to the Torrean Sea and south into Timreal and Covania, and the new office of Lámhanrí (Provincial Governor - literally "arm of the king") was established to bring the king's rule to the conquered provinces.
Internal tensions challenged the kingdom's institutions as well. Having enjoyed an active role in the government of the country for nearly a century, the Érevish nobility and the clan chieftains struggled to reassert their power in the face of the restoration of royal rule by increasing the influence of the Seanad and the Tionól Treibhe upon the lives of the common people. In addition, the tremendous influx of foreigners, particularly slaves, from the conquered provinces enriched the aristocrats but ruined the peasants and urban workers. The exploding slave population also led to a series of slave revolts, the last of them in 493 BCS. The later decades of the Third Kingdom witnessed the rise of great generals, who exploited their military conquests and the factional intrigue at court to gain control of the political system.
The Mílesean Empire:
During the reign of king Seachlann Bródúilas (493 – 482 BCS), renowned general and statesman Cearbhall Anuasal was appointed to lead seven military campaigns across the Bith River against the Jarmenic tribes of the west.
To be continued...
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1 Preserved in Glasléad of Galney's first century history An Bunú na Ríochta (“The Founding of the Kingdom”).
2 Many historians consider his father, Eochaid Denéadaí (of the Vestments), to be the founder of the Second Dynasty. Others have argued that Eochaid Faobharglas and Eochaid Denéadaí are one and the same person.
1 Preserved in Glasléad of Galney's first century history An Bunú na Ríochta (“The Founding of the Kingdom”).
2 Many historians consider his father, Eochaid Denéadaí (of the Vestments), to be the founder of the Second Dynasty. Others have argued that Eochaid Faobharglas and Eochaid Denéadaí are one and the same person.
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The Kingdom of Érevon
The Kingdom of Érevon
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