Seris Empire
If there is any nation that inspired respect, admiration as well as fear in the lands of Karia is the Seris Empire. Perhaps the greatest state of the continent as well as the most populated. From their majestic capital of Sakouramish, the seris emperors ruled their powerful realm. Their armies ensured the protection of the frontiers of the Empire and also ensuring the independence of the tributaries of the Empire from foreign aggresion while a improved system of government officials were in charge of the taxes, deliver justice, controlling agriculture and the rivers floods etc.
Nowadays, the Empire is experiencing its first symptoms of decline. The military class seems to have have become the shadow behind the Lion throne. Emperor Mithradates II is old but still respected by its subjects and the military. Since the reign of Emperor Asurlan V, the old centralized imperial goverment have become in reality a feudal state, with distant members of the Imperial family controling their provinces as their own realms, having their own armies and raising their own taxes!. Only the sacred figure of the Emperor and the power that he still has over his subjects prevents these lords of fighting between them. The Emperor has tried all this time in keep peace and have the lords happy and obedient. But who knows what will happen when the Emperor is no more !.
All of this means that the Emperor of Seria doesn't have the manpower and resources that it had in the past, but despite all this problems, the Empire of the Seris is the strongest and hegemonic power in the region, and no one in the continent is in a position to challenge it. The Empire still has a network of vassal states and tributaries which send tribute every year in order to establish their own goverments legitimacy and to be protected from foreign intervention with the protection of the Imperial armies.
The marriage of the emperor with one of the daughters of the Blatian king of Cloudia has granted a long peace and friendly relations with the Blatians of Cloudia. But now that a new power is arising in the city of Blati, ready to unify all the Blatians, perhaps its time to reconsider the strategy of the Empire towards the Blatian realms on the other side of the straight.
Structure
The Empire goverment could be explained in the shape of a pyramid. On the top is the Emperor, who is the Chief of the Goverment and the supreme commander of the armed forces as well as the religious embodiment of the nation.
Second to the Emperor in rank inside the goverment in the Chancellor, who act as a assistant of the Emperor and controls the imperial burocracy. Then came the ministers :
- Minister of Finances: Control the taxation across the Empire, control the Mints and have a registry of the gifts and tributes gave by other states.
- Minister of Health: His main role is to enshure that all the state granaries are full and that all the cities have propter sanitation.
- Minister of War: He advices the Emperor in matters of Warfare and help him choose the generals of the Imperial Army and admirals of the navy.
- Minister of Science and Magic: he is in charge of the Imperial Libraries and the Magic schools across the country.
- Minister of foreign affairs: As the title says, his role is to establish diplomatic relations with other countries and keep an eye on the tributaries of the Empire.
The country is also divided into a complex set of administrative divisions:
Culture
The seris believe their Empire is the center of the World. And geographically speaking it is almost correct. They consider themselves the most civilized nation on Yeia. They believed their Emperor is appointed directly by the gods for rulling the world in their name. The seris only recognize as fellow civilized nations the Blatian Empire and the Kingdom of Cloudia, (the Ikarian successor states), the Oronai Kingdoms, their tributaries, the Desert Peoples, the Kingdom of Adhel and all the Elven realms in Yeia. The rest are all considered barbarians and the Empire doesn't care too much about them.
The Seris are a very pious people. They believe that their Empire's might cames for the Gods being pleased with them. Seris religion, derived from the religion of the Davidovian Peoples, focused heavily on pleased the Gods in order to them to grant prosperity to the realm. This is why the Emperor role as mediator with the Gods is so important, as it is his duty to perform the most sacred rituals in order to gain their favour and not anger them.
The Seris are also fans of theatre, specially commedy and representations of their heroic sagas. They also are passionate about their national sport, which is played mounted in horses and it consists on hitting a ball with an stick and put it in a box in the ground. The Seris called it Yükpil (Horseball), and in Blatian its name is called Tsikon, because it was borrowed from the Seris by the Blatians.
The Seris as most of the davidovian peoples see interracial marriage between elves and humans with good eyes and the offpring fruit of those unions have suffers no discrimination and most of them are even awarded the highest court tittles. The Elves too have no problems as they are seen as rightful citizens of the Empire. A reasonable percentage of them live live in villages and cities among humans engaging in trade and other activities.
Assets
Silver and gold, as well as precious stones can be found in great quantities specially in the north which are used to produce the finest jewels in the world,coveted by all Yeia's nobility . The Empire is protected in the East by a series of fortifications called the Thousand Fortresses while each province has its own castle where the province lord lives and rule his domains.
History
Seria has a very rich history of almost 4000 years. From the arrival of the davidovian peoples to the current dynasty. At the beginning the seris people weren't unified, they lived, first in little settlements, usually hill forts and they were predominantly an agrarian people, cultivating rice and wheat, which were the basis of their diet. They also expanded conquering and absorbing their nearby neighbours using technologies unknown to the indigenous peoples as war charriots and bronze weapons. 600 years after the crossing of the Suris Straight we have the first evidences of the Seris language associated with divination, temple accounting, religious rituals... etc .
Around the 20th century BP we have the appearance of the first city-states and kingdoms. The fighting between them will last until the 7th century BP when king Arsakes I unified all the Seris states, stablishing the Seris Empire.
Since its foundation the Seris Empire have had 3 dynasties (without taking in consideration the brief Mervadid dynasty founded in the South of the country by the Yunyun nomads) and it has expanded and contracted over the centuries. Firsly annexing the elven territories in the South and then creating a network of tributaries that lasted until nowadays. During the first two dynasties we also found what the Seris know as their Classical Literature with works about philosphy, theatre, history, poetry or sagas telling the stories of the gods and the heroes. Many of this works have become very popular worldwide and have influenced other civilizations.
The History of the Seris Empire has been also a history of relations with their neighbours. From the most powerfull ( for example the Ikarian Empire and its succesors to the West or the Farai Nomads and the Dark Elves to the East). Sometimes Seria was at war with them ( for example the first and second Seris- Ikarian Wars in the 4th centuries AP or the campaigns of Asurlan I in the East from 251 to 264 AP) or had peaceful relations or even alliances with these neighbours, influencing them and even being influenced by their culture, with new technologies, (like the use of iron), and new artistic, philosophical or religious ideas.
Although it started as a new hope for Imperial Stability, the new Yüttakid dynasty has become very unstable and one example of it is the fact that the centralization of the goverment has almost collapsed, due to the pressure of the provincial lords and the increasing power of the military faction in the state politics. Although Emperor Mithradates II has saved the Empire from dissaster and civil strife, tensions between different goverment factions still exist and the shadow of another civil war after the death of the monarch is a possibility.
You can learn more about the History of the Seris people, with its most famous historical events, clicking in the link below.
Demography and Population
Most of the Seris population are farmers, but a substantial part of the citizens of the Empire live in cities. Some of them are among the most populated in the world.
The society is divided in 6 classes. On the top is the Emperor and the Imperial family, next are the nobles and priests, then the warrior class or Namru, in Seris, then the Merchants and burocrats, then the artisans, craftsmen, blacksmiths and finally the farmers. .
Seris citizens could be of three races, humans, half elves and elves. The humans are mostly descendants of the davidovian peoples that crossed the straight of Suris and mixed with the natives. the Elves, originated from the south of the country were annex and assimilated in the first century AP during the Sitakid dynasty. Although all of them are fluent in the seris language in private and among them they spoke the Elvish language. At finally the half elves are of course the result of the interracial unions between elves and humans. They inherit both the kindness, intelligence and good sight of their elven relatives and the bravery, audacity, empathy and adaptability of their human forefathers. Bacause the elves are very powelful magic creatures, they are of course very powerful and as their elven relatives they can perform the sacrest and most powerfull magic, unknown to the rest of the humans.
Since the beginning of the Yüttakid dynasty the Namru had become very powerfull. Originated as a distinct class during the later centuries of the previous dynasty they power increased when they help Yüttak VIII become Emperor. Together with the merchants they are the only class that can become nobles. And much of the provincial nobility comes from the Namru class, and the proffesional core of their armies is formed exclusively by Namru soldiers. They have many rights, they can carry swords in public as the nobles do. They have reserved places in the theatres, they can be hurt by any other class below them and, most importantly, they don't pay taxes. Their main weapons are the bow, the spear and the sword. Most of them formed part of the cavalry but nowadays many of them have decided to fight on foot.
Mythology & Lore
The Seris believe in the gods of the old Davidovian religion. They are 12 Gods.
- Abbina (Abbon Shabai for the Blatians): King of the Gods and god of wisdom, charity and justice
- Alara: Goddess of hunting, wisdom and magic.
- Theyr (Tyr for the Blatians): Goddess of the Earth, of agriculture, women and children, wife of Abbina
- Sek : Goddess of the Moon
- Sal: Goddess of the Sun, volcanoes and thunder
- Sylion: god of the rivers, seas and lakes.
- Khair: God of death, evil and caves
- Mithra: God of war and fire. son of Abbina and Theyr.
- Goydyn: Goddess of beauty, arts and music. Daughter of Abbina and the elf maiden Beledyn.
- Filin: God of artisans, blacksmiths.
- Ber: Goddess of fortune.
- Vipsa: goddess of the house.
Seris Emperors also also deified after death and are worshiped across the country.
There is also the sect of magicians founded by Yemu whobelieved that every human had the power of become a magician because magic is found inside everyone of us. This magic powers could be controled thought study, practice and meditation, and that it has to be used only for doing good.
Divine Origins
The origins of the Seris religion are related to the Davidovian people, the ancestors of the Seris, who arrived to the continent around 3.000 BP. The religion evolved over the centuries , developing more complex rituals and ceremonies, building bigger temples and creating a priesthood.
The first Seris believed that the Gods were responsable of the flooding of the rivers and thus the fertility of the lands. So in order to please them they have to make sacrifices to them. The first priests role was also being mediators between the gods and mankind. They were believed to be able to read the future and to communicate with the realm of the dead.
The seris religion lacked a figure of a high priest, every kingdom or city state had one. But when the realm was unified and the Empire was established the figure and role of the High priest became associated with the Emperor.
Tenets of Faith
There are various sacred texts that guide the faithful, believe to be the words of the gods. Of course the most reviered one is the Book of Wisdom the ancient and sacrest of all seris religious texts, which is believed to contain the words of the God Abbina himself. The basic rules of the Seris religions could be resume in 5 points.
- Pray to the gods and acknowlegde their power (making sacrificies to them)
- Respect your elders and neighbours.
- Connect with nature and respect it
- Bring harmony and happiness to the world with your actions, try to be always just.
- Following the teachings of Yemu the sorcerer, use the power of magic inside you for doing good.
Worship
The seris, like all the davidovian peoples practice the ritual of libation in order to please the gods. For it they pour a drink on an altar or spot. It can be done with many substances (wine, beer, milk, honey or water). In ancient times Seris also performed animal sacrifices, but now this tradition seems to have been abandoned.
Priesthood
The priests of the seris religion are appointed by the high priest (aka the Emperor). They are distinguished from the rest of the population because of their orange garments. They live either their own houses or houses donated by the state or the local goverment, usually inside the temple complex.
Granted Divine Powers
the priest can be granted the power of control nature in order to help people and communicate with the gods and ask for their favour. Sometimes they can also predict the future, if the priest is especially blessed by the diety.
The followers of Yemu also believed that the Gods have granted all of us the power to use magic for good. The only thing we have to do is to focuse, meditate, practice and study in order to master it. This belief is very popular among commoners and certain groups of priests.
Political Influence & Intrigue
Religion and Politics can't be separated. When war is declared, the Emperors ask the gods for their favor, perform rituals and ask the oracles for advices.
Agriculture and prosperity cannot be achieved in the Empire if the gods are not happy and are not worshiped correctly.
And any private enterprise cannot be done without the approval of the Inmortals, because they have the power to control our destiny and lives and to change it either if they are happy or angry with us.
Sects
The most famous sect are the Followers of Yemu, whose doctrine has been describe previously. They still recognize the existence of the gods, but they put an enphasis on the individual and the power that he can achieved with the magic that the gods have granted to all of us. So they believe, that the mastery of magic and they use for the common good are a form of recognizing the power of the gods and thank them for the powers granted. They say that the act of doing good things with magic is a form of sacrifice, like a form of libation.
One voice and one will
Founding Date
-659
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Capital
Alternative Names
Empire of the Seris, Seriushkashor, Kussine
Demonym
Seris
Leader
Leader Title
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Currency
The official currency of the Empire is the Bon, which its a common currency across the commercial routes that lead to Sakouramish.
Official Languages
Related Traditions
Related Ranks & Titles
Related Professions
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Items
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Comments