Kingdom of Sunþiruda
The Kingdom of Sunþiruda was a Giriþiudan state which existed to the south of traditionally Giriþiudan lands, with its holdings being spread across Alcedina and Fjalla. Sunþiruda arose during the chaotic period following the collapse of West Oleandron, sweeping into Fjalla and conquering the majority of the elven communes that existed in the area. Sunþiruda would eventually come to control the majority of the West Alcedina coast, and although it would later lose the northern lands to Widuþia, Sunþiruda persisted in the south for several centuries.
History
The nucleus of the Kingdom of Sunþiruda would arise in the south of Giriþiuda by 806 SC. The Giriþiudans, unlike other Wesevölk ethnicites, remained in the north of mainland Telgren and did not participate in the Wesevölk migrations, perhaps due to their relative isolation and lack of pressure from the Yuskiy migrations which were taking place at the time. Although Giriþiudan forces had occasionally skirmished with the Empire of Oleandron, the northwestern parts of that nation were easily defensible and rarely worth invading. It was far more profitable to sell slaves captured from other tribes south for the militarily powerful tribes.
The collapse of Oleandron and migrations of other peoples led to conflicts across Giriþiuda by various invaders, but these were largely driven back by the superior tactics and equipment of the Giriþiudans. However this did have one notable effect in that the smaller tribes were largely subsumed by larger ones around this time. With no more population pressures, Giriþiuda was soon filled with an anundance of young warriors, eager for war and loot. The collapsed remnants of West Oleandron proved a lucrative prize, and in 806 a southern Giriþiudan leader known as Witimar gathered over 10,000 troops and marched into the south. They would sweep into the great valley of Valerier and conquer the whole thing in a little over a year, netting Witimar a larger new state. Witimar then marched across the mountains into the Fjallan plateau, and by 811 had succeeded in defeating the final coalition of elves in the region, as well as shattering and taking over leadership of several weaker Erleting tribes which found themselves competing with him for the lands. Although a few minor communes scattered in the deeper woods escaped his reach, Witimar would then declare the Kingdom of Sunþiruda, crowning himself as the first Giriþiudan king.
Witimar, though an effective military leader, was little more than a warlord and managed his new domain poorly, finding himself in deep debt to the halflings to his south. His solution to this debt issue was to invade the halflings, which proved successful at first. However, he was killed in an ambush and died in 820. Heirless, he was succeeded by his nephew Wildimar. Wildimar made peace with the halfling states in exchange for a more favorable repayment of debts. He then turned on and defeated the remaining Erleting on the plateau and made them pay tribute in order to secure more funds for repayment of debts. He granted increased privileges to the elven towns in exchange for greater taxes, especially on their luxury goods. These goods, mostly traded to halflings, would causes prices to rise for the halflings, essentially making them pay for part of the debt. Increasingly, smaller towns of Giriþiudans began popping up on the frontier, and a few mixed settlements arose as well.
Wildimar, though an effective ruler, did little to expand his domain, and consequentially many of his warriors became disontented. Rising up in rebellion, they succeeded in taking control over several key passes and fought off the king's army for several years, before attrition forced them to capitualte. This seriously weakened the Sunþirudan army, and consequentially they were invaded and their northern lands in Giriþiuda were seized by rival powers. This left Wildimar without a solid population base for settlement, essentially ensuring the Giriþiudans would never make up more than a warrior class. Wildimar died in 842, and following his death a series of mediocre kings who did little more than fight off Erleting raids came into power.
The next king of note, Theomand II, took power in 909 SC. Seeking the support of the warrior caste, Theomand immediately levied forces from the Giriþiudan population and invaded the Erleting tribes which had lapsed in payment. "Forgiving" their debts in exchange for their military forces, he led the newly enlarged army into the south, succeeding in conquering the halfling realms by 917. It is at this point he took his forces south into Alcedina. Seeking to conquer the rich coastal city of Isileum, he marched into the lowlands, surrounded it, and demanded its surrender. Isileum, seeing him as just another barbarian conqueror, refused this demand, and actually succeeded in repulsing Theomand's assult. However, upon their victory, the troops of Isileum were shocked to see that Theomand's army had not dispersed, and had actually settled in for a siege. Although confidant in their victory, thanks to sea routes supplying plenty of goods, they were also surprised by Theomand leaving a smaller force encamed outside while the bulk of the army captured the countryside in all directions. Theomand would make it all the way to the Hold of Bhur Drizl, subjugating the various minor realms of Erleting and Alcediner in the region. Teating with Bhur Drizl, he negotiated dwarven help in the construction of a mighty new stone capital, for which he would pay a large amount of money to build. He then returned to Isileum and once more demanded its surrender, giving terms that were actually more generous than the initial ones. Having by now realized that they risked a huge amount by remaining defiant and gained little even should they prevail in the end, Isileum's leaders capitulated. With the fleet of Isileum behind him, and the wild Erleting tribes bolstering his forces, Theomand was able to march south, and by 933 had reached the city of Tridunai, which would be the last to fall.
Of course, not all of Theomand's conquests were done in one stretch, but rather in 5 campaigns over 15 years. During this time, he also completed the construction of his new capital- the city of Mililbaurg. Mililbaurg istelf is a city situated along the coast, and became the new focal point for the naval force, though Isileum continued to dominate trade. Mililbaurg itself still exists to this day, and is now the capital of the Telrai nation of Gafutuo. Unfortunately, Theomand's dream of establishing Mililbaurg as a Giriþiudan-majority settlement and center of the nation's military prowess never came to fruition, though the wide avenues and well-planned city became rather densely populated in its own right the Giriþiudan population was simply too small, spread out, and use as the core of the military to form a real majority in any city of note. Despite this, Theomand II is known as Theomand the Great, for his expansion would prove to be the savior of the kingdom.
After Theomand's death, Sunþiruda suffered from a long period of decline. Content with their wealthy kingdom, Sunþirudan rulers neglected the military and let it manage itself. Increasingly, the military elite of the Kingdom became occupied with other pursuits, leaving the kingdom dependent on the Erleting tribesmen. The decision to allow the military to slip into this state proved to be a poor decision, as the Erleting were unruly and consistently fought against one another, even once brought into the kingdom proper. Erleting military leaders also had to be promoted to high positions, raising them to the aristocracy. All this left the army in poor shape, and with few important strongholds outside of the Erleting-populated borderlands. This weakness left the north vulnerable to assaults, and in 944, two twin brothers invaded Fjalla with an army of 40,000 Giriþiudans. Their forces were shortly joined by several rebellious nobles and their enterouges, raising the number to over 50,000s. The Sunþirudans, unable to effectively respond, lost all the defensive terrain of the woodlands, leaving them on the back foot. The Sunþirudan ruler, Theobrand, met this army in battle, attacking into the hills and being routed by the brothers. Pressing their advantage, they marched on Mililbaurg, but failed to take the fortified capital. Theobrand, however, was killed, and left the kingdom to his brother Theomand IV. Theomand was a significantly more prepared ruler, and devised a sneaky plan which worked to perfection. Promising his daughter's hand in marriage to whichever brother was the leader of the horde, he divided the brothers. The factions loyal to them would start infighting, before the invading army completely dissolved, allowing Theomand to reclaim the lowlands. The two brothers skirmished all across Fjalla, with one being driven into Valerier, which he held out in. The victorious brother triumphantly married Theomand's daughter and conlcuded a peace treaty with him. His new kingdom, Widuþia, would gain the elven and halfling-majority lands, while Sunþiruda retained Alcedina and the Erleting-majority lands in Fjalla.
After this war, Sunþiruda was greatly weakened. They had lost the productive elven artisans and the prosperous halfling farms of Fjalla, and although they retained the rich trading cities of Alcedina, these cities had gained a large amount of autonomy and therefore committed less funds to the Sunþirudan coffers. During this time, Giriþiudan religion began spreading amongst the cities as the elven part of the nation became more distant. Sunþiruda continued to grow weaker as cities asserted more and more autonomy, with a few of them becoming independent before the year 1000. However, they experience a brief revival during the years 1011-1019 when Wiwick I ruled as the regent of Widuþia as well as king of Sunþiruda. However, after Wiwick's reign, Sunþiruda fell into civil war and would not recover. The last few cities besides Mililbaurg had become independent by 1033, and the countryside became occupied by Erleting tribes. With the fall of Mililbaurg to a Erleting warlord in 1040, Sunþiruda was officially destroyed, not that this Erleting warlord even held the city for long.
The collapse of Oleandron and migrations of other peoples led to conflicts across Giriþiuda by various invaders, but these were largely driven back by the superior tactics and equipment of the Giriþiudans. However this did have one notable effect in that the smaller tribes were largely subsumed by larger ones around this time. With no more population pressures, Giriþiuda was soon filled with an anundance of young warriors, eager for war and loot. The collapsed remnants of West Oleandron proved a lucrative prize, and in 806 a southern Giriþiudan leader known as Witimar gathered over 10,000 troops and marched into the south. They would sweep into the great valley of Valerier and conquer the whole thing in a little over a year, netting Witimar a larger new state. Witimar then marched across the mountains into the Fjallan plateau, and by 811 had succeeded in defeating the final coalition of elves in the region, as well as shattering and taking over leadership of several weaker Erleting tribes which found themselves competing with him for the lands. Although a few minor communes scattered in the deeper woods escaped his reach, Witimar would then declare the Kingdom of Sunþiruda, crowning himself as the first Giriþiudan king.
Witimar, though an effective military leader, was little more than a warlord and managed his new domain poorly, finding himself in deep debt to the halflings to his south. His solution to this debt issue was to invade the halflings, which proved successful at first. However, he was killed in an ambush and died in 820. Heirless, he was succeeded by his nephew Wildimar. Wildimar made peace with the halfling states in exchange for a more favorable repayment of debts. He then turned on and defeated the remaining Erleting on the plateau and made them pay tribute in order to secure more funds for repayment of debts. He granted increased privileges to the elven towns in exchange for greater taxes, especially on their luxury goods. These goods, mostly traded to halflings, would causes prices to rise for the halflings, essentially making them pay for part of the debt. Increasingly, smaller towns of Giriþiudans began popping up on the frontier, and a few mixed settlements arose as well.
Wildimar, though an effective ruler, did little to expand his domain, and consequentially many of his warriors became disontented. Rising up in rebellion, they succeeded in taking control over several key passes and fought off the king's army for several years, before attrition forced them to capitualte. This seriously weakened the Sunþirudan army, and consequentially they were invaded and their northern lands in Giriþiuda were seized by rival powers. This left Wildimar without a solid population base for settlement, essentially ensuring the Giriþiudans would never make up more than a warrior class. Wildimar died in 842, and following his death a series of mediocre kings who did little more than fight off Erleting raids came into power.
The next king of note, Theomand II, took power in 909 SC. Seeking the support of the warrior caste, Theomand immediately levied forces from the Giriþiudan population and invaded the Erleting tribes which had lapsed in payment. "Forgiving" their debts in exchange for their military forces, he led the newly enlarged army into the south, succeeding in conquering the halfling realms by 917. It is at this point he took his forces south into Alcedina. Seeking to conquer the rich coastal city of Isileum, he marched into the lowlands, surrounded it, and demanded its surrender. Isileum, seeing him as just another barbarian conqueror, refused this demand, and actually succeeded in repulsing Theomand's assult. However, upon their victory, the troops of Isileum were shocked to see that Theomand's army had not dispersed, and had actually settled in for a siege. Although confidant in their victory, thanks to sea routes supplying plenty of goods, they were also surprised by Theomand leaving a smaller force encamed outside while the bulk of the army captured the countryside in all directions. Theomand would make it all the way to the Hold of Bhur Drizl, subjugating the various minor realms of Erleting and Alcediner in the region. Teating with Bhur Drizl, he negotiated dwarven help in the construction of a mighty new stone capital, for which he would pay a large amount of money to build. He then returned to Isileum and once more demanded its surrender, giving terms that were actually more generous than the initial ones. Having by now realized that they risked a huge amount by remaining defiant and gained little even should they prevail in the end, Isileum's leaders capitulated. With the fleet of Isileum behind him, and the wild Erleting tribes bolstering his forces, Theomand was able to march south, and by 933 had reached the city of Tridunai, which would be the last to fall.
Of course, not all of Theomand's conquests were done in one stretch, but rather in 5 campaigns over 15 years. During this time, he also completed the construction of his new capital- the city of Mililbaurg. Mililbaurg istelf is a city situated along the coast, and became the new focal point for the naval force, though Isileum continued to dominate trade. Mililbaurg itself still exists to this day, and is now the capital of the Telrai nation of Gafutuo. Unfortunately, Theomand's dream of establishing Mililbaurg as a Giriþiudan-majority settlement and center of the nation's military prowess never came to fruition, though the wide avenues and well-planned city became rather densely populated in its own right the Giriþiudan population was simply too small, spread out, and use as the core of the military to form a real majority in any city of note. Despite this, Theomand II is known as Theomand the Great, for his expansion would prove to be the savior of the kingdom.
After Theomand's death, Sunþiruda suffered from a long period of decline. Content with their wealthy kingdom, Sunþirudan rulers neglected the military and let it manage itself. Increasingly, the military elite of the Kingdom became occupied with other pursuits, leaving the kingdom dependent on the Erleting tribesmen. The decision to allow the military to slip into this state proved to be a poor decision, as the Erleting were unruly and consistently fought against one another, even once brought into the kingdom proper. Erleting military leaders also had to be promoted to high positions, raising them to the aristocracy. All this left the army in poor shape, and with few important strongholds outside of the Erleting-populated borderlands. This weakness left the north vulnerable to assaults, and in 944, two twin brothers invaded Fjalla with an army of 40,000 Giriþiudans. Their forces were shortly joined by several rebellious nobles and their enterouges, raising the number to over 50,000s. The Sunþirudans, unable to effectively respond, lost all the defensive terrain of the woodlands, leaving them on the back foot. The Sunþirudan ruler, Theobrand, met this army in battle, attacking into the hills and being routed by the brothers. Pressing their advantage, they marched on Mililbaurg, but failed to take the fortified capital. Theobrand, however, was killed, and left the kingdom to his brother Theomand IV. Theomand was a significantly more prepared ruler, and devised a sneaky plan which worked to perfection. Promising his daughter's hand in marriage to whichever brother was the leader of the horde, he divided the brothers. The factions loyal to them would start infighting, before the invading army completely dissolved, allowing Theomand to reclaim the lowlands. The two brothers skirmished all across Fjalla, with one being driven into Valerier, which he held out in. The victorious brother triumphantly married Theomand's daughter and conlcuded a peace treaty with him. His new kingdom, Widuþia, would gain the elven and halfling-majority lands, while Sunþiruda retained Alcedina and the Erleting-majority lands in Fjalla.
After this war, Sunþiruda was greatly weakened. They had lost the productive elven artisans and the prosperous halfling farms of Fjalla, and although they retained the rich trading cities of Alcedina, these cities had gained a large amount of autonomy and therefore committed less funds to the Sunþirudan coffers. During this time, Giriþiudan religion began spreading amongst the cities as the elven part of the nation became more distant. Sunþiruda continued to grow weaker as cities asserted more and more autonomy, with a few of them becoming independent before the year 1000. However, they experience a brief revival during the years 1011-1019 when Wiwick I ruled as the regent of Widuþia as well as king of Sunþiruda. However, after Wiwick's reign, Sunþiruda fell into civil war and would not recover. The last few cities besides Mililbaurg had become independent by 1033, and the countryside became occupied by Erleting tribes. With the fall of Mililbaurg to a Erleting warlord in 1040, Sunþiruda was officially destroyed, not that this Erleting warlord even held the city for long.
811 S.C. - 1040 S.C.
Demonym
Sunþirudan
Leader Title
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