According to tradition the city of Aure Arrasex was founded in -313.
Names: Xrātibrexos = 'valorous arm'.
Atheism (bisnūmias, 'without-god-ness') had very different connotations for the Cuzeians. Cuzei was the most advanced human nation, and the source of its difference was its belief in Iáinos; only the iliū had more knowledge and power, and they were the source of Cuzeian belief. In this context atheism seemed either foolish or psychopathic. Indeed, a Lord of Cuzei could be prosecuted by the King's Council for atheism-- as Beretos's lord was, though falsely. Only centuries later, in the late Silver Age, would there be atheistic philosophies (and the social tolerance for them to be left alone).
Irīrante taunts the Knowers because Iáinos does not immediately strike him down and rescue them. For the Knowers this must have been frustrating (as well as dangerous), since they never claimed this sort of influence over Iáinos. Following the iliū, they taught that Iáinos was not like a pagan god, distributing magic and favors to his supplicants. He had after all allowed Amnās and the ktuvoks to make war against the iliū eight times; it was part of his Dream to allow freedom of action to evil.
Names:
Manimedas 'powerful son'; Murgemedas 'stone son'.Mûstibliciu = 'having many horses'. Dācuas is of uncertain meaning.
The story of Itīrante and his sons, ending in utter defeat and the occupation of their lands by Little Cuzeians and Caďinorians, is of course a cautionary tale against pride and rebellion against Iáinos. No doubt the story is accurate enough (the center of Eretald, where Cuzeian and Caďinorian and Meťaiun met, was the most subject to cultural mixing of the sort that horrified the orthodox Cuzeians), but it's worth remembering that we're reading the account written by Itīrante's enemies.
The Cazinorō who occupied the duchy of Cayenas were technically the Kaino; their language, Kahinisa, was a sister to Caďinor. They are important here only as agents of divine retribution, but they went on to greater glory, capturing the remaining portion of Davūr, up to the ocean, around -250, and retaining it for two centuries. They were the first Central state, and retained the urbanization and administrative machinery of the Meťaiun/Cuzeian state (and conducted their diplomatic affairs in Cuêzi). Meanwhile the Caďinorians themselves turned the middle Cayenas (Svetla) into a patchwork of tiny, powerless towns.
The fall of Davūr impelled many Metailō to flee, founding the kingdom of Davrio on the island of Kebri.
Names:
Raviecadas = 'just commander'Samocêlas = 'bright sword'
Xrāticūnas = 'valorous deed'
Ambecālu = 'with grace', an example of a name formed from an intrumental. The word for prophet, numīcuras ('god-messenger'), is the same as the word for a pagan priest.
Xarinen = Meť. Gharinen 'lucky young man'
Rêstirōpas = 'last fruit'; supposedly the field contained the last fruit trees before one reached the great grasslands of the south.
Lanetio = 'thinker'.
The sizes of the armies are lower than those given for the initial invasion-- which makes sense; this is a war for the conquest of a single city, when Cuzei had already been settled for a few generations; while the initial invasion was an entire migration of peoples.
The battle of Rêstirōpas is perhaps the closest the Cuzeians came to a humiliating defeat. On the left, their cavalry was heavily outnumbered, and since Xarinen's army seems to have marched a bit rightward, the spearmen were outnumbered and outflanked.
They were saved by the actions on the right: Lanetio chased away Xarinen's cavalry (which he outnumbered), while Xrātibrexos quickly wheeled his troops around to face left, and then marched them straight across the field to mop up the Metailō.
Although this story establishes that the ruling class of Nayas was the Inibeigō, the Cuzeians of the Isrēica always treated it as belonging to the Little Cuzeians-- seen in general as poorer, more barbaric, less orthodox, as well as in some way subservient to the Eleitan state. Still, this story at least gives a heroic role to their founder Xrātibrexos.
Thought the Nayōrē never produced much literature, we do have some histories and legends which tell their side of the story. They considered the Eleitans to be arrogant and unwarlike. Their account of this battle is a good deal less schematic, mostly consisting of accounts of individual combats, focussing on the Xrātibrexigō. The name of Lanetio is not even mentioned, though Samocêlas gets a death scene with a fine dying speech.
Names: Vexilerias 'clear seeing'
The liver was the seat of compassion, which is why Vexilerias is touched there.
It's easy to forget that Western individualism is by no means universal or instinctual. Cuzeian society was communal in organization; everyone had duties to their family, their village, their House; and for the most part it simply made no sense to think about making one's own way in the world. As the economy grew more complex and specialized, however, new elements were not communal. So, for instance, the wheat crop was always planted and harvested communally, but when Cuzeians started to grow lemons, it was by the initiative of individuals or families who kept the proceeds for themselves.
As with many stories of beginnings, this one is a little too neat to be entirely accepted. Communal wheat farming didn't begin with Lanetio; his innovation was to establish central granaries. The story can also be seen as the Cuzeians ceasing to see themselves as pastoralists: though retaining their importance as a cavalry, the Lords now had responsibility for organizing agriculture in their aurē.
Names:
Ravixuo 'just eye'; Amīsia 'joy'; Ravicêlas 'just sword'Oleniōre 'jewel beauty'; Gūrexivio 'lion claw'; Têllêisomâ 'lovely dream'
Ximāuro is of uncertain meaning.
Xrātimedas 'valorous son'.
Celōusio 'swordsman'.
Mitanocoros = 'southern port'; Mēsē Camminex = 'fields of the Camminas'
The northern version is of course from CLE; the southern version is CAA. Since such discrepancies are relatively rare, CLE and CAA are generally taken to be based on an earlier source, written or oral, now lost. Either each city's Knowers wrote their own account of the union, or one of them replaced the lost source's account with a local account.
CAA's account centers on the young duchess, Oleniōre. Ravicêlas's advice to the duchess is pure Cuzeian realpolitik-- the main duty of a dynasty is to perpetuate itself, and Ravixuo (and he) had failed in this. Nonetheless, it was an opportunity to establish a larger kingdom, one which would dominate the Cuzeian world. Xrātimedas is rather too clear that he regarded the potential union as a takeover.
CLE's account concentrates on the northern duke, Ximāuro; Oleniōre here seems to have little choice but to be bowled over by his splendor and accept his suit, and no rival is mentioned. On the other hand, CLE is more honest about why exactly Ravixuo had no legitimate sons.
CAA speaks of knowing Eīledan, not Iáinos. The duchies did not differ in theology, but in emphasis. In effect Iáinos stood for the entire divinity in the north, and received prayers and credit for earthly affairs; in the south it was Eīledan.
The leadership of a lineage or a House was always, in theory, hereditary, though a lord had the right to choose which of his sons would inherit. If he had no sons, he could name one of his nephews as heir. After that the great men of the lineage would decide who would inherit. (If the lineage held a duchy or kingdom, as here, this could be taken as an opportunity for the lords to impose their own choice, or even to choose a new dynasty.)
Celōusio, though out of luck as an aspirant to his father's throne, had a fine career as an epic hero; he's said to have defeated a dragon, tangled with a nation of warrior women (the eguendeā), and helped the elcari defeat an invasion of múrtani, among other great deeds. He's the only epic hero to be mentioned in the Count of Years.
Names:
Āneyinos = 'one people'.Sistebrexos = 'fast arm'; Xōlicêlas 'thunder sword'.
Lūvenūmio = 'loves divinity'
The power of the new kingdom of Cuzei is cemented by a military victory, which leads to a de jure overlordship over all of the entire Cuzeian and Little Cuzeian states.
The Little Cuzeians did worship Iáinos, so it seems a bit redundant that their young chief was sent to Eleisa to come to know him. However, it was felt that Little Cuzeians could always stand to improve their religious understanding.
It's no accident that Ximāuro demands horses as tribute. The best horses have always come from the Barbarian Plain, and within Eretald, from the southernmost states bordering it. Iron weapons, at this time, were only made by the elcari; it isn't likely that many Nayorē had them, but for this very reason Ximāuro asks for them.
The Cuzeian and Caďinorian invasion drove quite a few Metailō into Sarnáe, where by 1 Z.E. they pushed Munkhash back almost to the Dagêsh range, the eastern boundary of Sarnáe. These Metailō are the ancestors of today's Monkhayu; the Cuzeians called them the Xavigō, and did not realize that they had not always lived in Sarnáe (nor that they were related to the Metailō).
At the time CAA and CLE were written, then, the Munkhâshi were a fairly remote threat, and the Xavigō in between were strong. Later editors of the Count of Years, knowing that Munkhâsh would invade Eretald and besiege Eleisa (455-458), greatly added to the foreshadowing in this section, adding a long vaunt in which Amnās vows not only to resist but to destroy Cuzei (and an answering promise from Eīledan that he would protect it).
Names:
Orūlerelo = 'hoped for (child)'Ulōnedelo = 'given by Ulōne'
Edôndas = 'meanderer'; V. Edon.
Dageta = Meť. 'northern house', V. Dažda.
Siluon and Ūxotillê are opaque.
Crinu (from Meť.) is a pithy-stemmed reed similar to papyrus, used by the Cuzeians to make paper (crindas).
Bāxemanis = 'skillful hand'.
Unlike any other ancient human script on Almea, Cuzeian writing never passed through an ideographic or logographic stage. Whether or not this story is true in detail, the Cuzeians certainly got the idea of alphabetic writing from the iliū.
We do possess some very early manuscripts which show, as the text describes, multiple acrophonic graphemes for the same sound. Some writers liked the decorative effect, but increasing stylization made the pictures hard to recognize. Some variants survived for quite some time, or in outlying regions; this is probably why the Caďinorians of Araunicoros, when they started to write their alphabet, found (for cīllā 'hair') as an alternative for (from goêlu 'wheat'), and could adapt the first for their /q/ sound, the second for /k/.
CAA and CLE are written in a pre-Golden Age orthography which did not yet distinguish vowel qualities, or even voiced and unvoiced consonants (which is why the text speaks of 10 rather than 15 consonants). These distinctions were all added by Anacūlato, presumably following the Knowers' oral tradition. (In a few cases, later editors decided he was wrong, and I've followed the consensus. E.g. Anacūlato spelled the name of the iliu king Ecēlito as Egēlito.)
As noted, Cuzei absorbed Sūās in 104; this is considered the beginning of its Golden Age. For its subsequent history, see the Historical Atlas. In the Land of Babblers, whose story begins in 287, is an important glimpse into Golden Age politics, especially the Cuzeian failure to anticipate the Munkhâshi threat.
For more on the Cuzeian religion, see Almean Belief Systems; and on the Cuêzi language, see the (upcoming) grammar.
2. Ambretāu (till the end of the 4th war); wife Urisama
3. Anāos (till sometime after the creation of men)
4. Soromo (till the end of the 6th war); wife Atāunē
5. Ecēlito (till the middle of the 7th war)
6. Uxrâssos (till late in the 8th war)
7. Omontāsio
--nine iliu kings--
17. Rāviciu (till ~ 210); wife Ridinari
18. Sīluon; wife Ūxotillê; taught writing to the Cuzeians
Name | born | Noteworthy events | died (age) | ||
1 | Inibē | -416 | Duke of Metayu (and Ocayami), -375 (at 41) | -360 (56) | |
2a | Îcemēgro | -385 | Duke of Metayu -360 (at 25); murdered later that year | -360 (25) | |
2b | Îcecêlos | -383 | Duke of Araunicoros (in rebellion v. Îcemēgro), -360 | -302 (81) | |
2c | Itīrante | -380 | Duke of Metayu -360 (at 20); conquered Cayenas, rebelled against Iáinos, -318; divides duchy with sons, -310; killed by sons, -307 (at 73) | -307 (73) | |
3a | Manimedas son of 2c |
-349 | ruler of Araunicoros and Comex, -310 ;co-duke of Dunōmeyū, -307 | -290 (killed) | |
3b | Murgemedas son of 2c |
-347 | ruler of Cantiego and Colsindas, -310; co-duke of Dunōmeyū, -307; Loses Cayenas to the Caďinorians, -300 | -290 (killed) |
The Xrātibrexigō, those loyal to Iáinos during the atheism of Itīrante, claimed descent from Îcemēgro (the only theologically safe son of Inibē). This is somewhat unlikely (if Îcemēgro had a son the politics of the -380s would have gone differently), but they were certainly part of Inibē's clan.
Name | born | Noteworthy events | died (age) | ||
1 | Xrātibrexos | rebelled against Itīrante, -318; given lands in Eleisa and Tevarē, -310 | -277 | ||
2 | Xrāticūnas | duke of Nayas, -277 | -248 | ||
3 | Xrātimedas | duke of Nayas, -248; incites Nimoicū to rebel v. Ximāuro, -246; defeated by Ximāuro, becomes vassal, -243 | -212 | ||
4 | Xrāticipato | duke of Nayas, -212 |
Name | born | Noteworthy events | died (age) | ||
1 | Lēivio | -410 | helped conquer Metayu, -375 (at 35); Ruler of Cantiego, -360; Duke of Cayenas (Cantiego, Colsindas, Osuripoli), -355 | -339 (71) | |
2 | Līxiruitas | -386 | duke of Cayenas, -339 (at 47); conquered NoxosDuke of Tevarē, -320 (at 66); dispossessed from Cayenas, -318 | -315 (71) | |
3 | Līxielâsas | -361 | duke of Tevarē, -315 (at 46); founded Aure Arrasex, -313 | -307 (54) | |
4 | Raviecadas | -334 | duke of Tevarē, -307 (at 27) | -274 (60) | |
5 | Ravixuo | -253 | duke of Tevarē, -274 (at 30) | -253 (51) | |
6 | Oleniōre | -272 | duchess of Tevarē, -253 (at 19); marries Ximāuro, -250 (at 22) | -210 (62) |
Name | born | Noteworthy events | died (age) | ||
1 | Calēsias | -405 | helped conquer Metayu, -375; Ruler of Colsindas, -360; Conquered Alaldas, -355; Founder and Duke of Eleisa, -350 | -330 (75) | |
2 | Yeremizos | -376 | duke of Eleisa, -330 (at 46); took Vionnosindas, founded Norunayas, -320 | -309 (67) | |
3 | Samocêlas | -347 | duke of Eleisa, -309 (at 38) | -277 (70) | |
4 | Lanetio | -316 | duke of Eleisa, -277 (at 39); organized famine relief, -272 | 258 (58) | |
5 | Ximāuro | -282 | duke of Eleisa, -257 (at 25); married Oleniōre, uniting the two duchies, -250 (at 32); called king of Cuzei after his defeat of Xrātimedas, -240 | -206 (76) | |
6 | Āneyinos | -249 | king of Cuzei, -206 (at 43); sent Orūlerelo to learn writing, -204 | -190 (59) | |
7 | Bāxemanis | -222 | king of Cuzei, -190 (at 32) | -174 (48) | |
8 | Nîterio | -197 | king of Cuzei, -174 (at 23) | -128 (69) | |
9 | Nūmibēge | -169 | king of Cuzei, -128 (at 41, nephew of 8) | -107 (62) | |
10 | Enalādas | -145 | king of Cuzei, -107 (at 38) | -79 (66) | |
11 | Feroicolê, | -118 | king of Cuzei, -79 (at 39); killed in war with Cazinorō | -71 (47) | |
12 | Cueporio | -87 | king of Cuzei, -71 (at 16) | -65 (22) |
Name | born | Noteworthy events | died (age) | ||
1 | Nalerio | -127 | named regent for Cueporio, -71; king of Cuzei, -65 (at 62) | -50 (77) | |
2 | Udionelo | -96 | king of Cuzei, -50 (at 46) | -33 (63) | |
3 | Cāpinūmio | -71 | king of Cuzei, -33 (at 38) | -13 (58) | |
4 | Eruimed | -47 | king of Cuzei, -13 (at 34) | -2 (45) | |
5 | Gurēcipato | -18 | king of Cuzei, -2 (at 16, nephew of 4) | 43 (61) | |
6 | Zîtexravas | 1 | king of Cuzei, 43 (at 42) | 72 (71) | |
7 | Lôdicūnas | 33 | king of Cuzei, 72 (at 39); invaded Sūās to save it from Kaino, 95; incoroporated Sūās into Cuzei, 104 | 108 (75) |
name | meaning | ruled | kings | remarks | ||
1 | Calēsiōre | of Calēsias | -350 - -65 | 12 | The Dawn Age, starting with the union of Eleisa and Tevarē (-250). | |
2 | Esocadi | 'regents' | -65 - 327 | 17 | Absorbed Sūās, 104: start of Golden Age. Later rulers increasingly weak. | |
3 | Mitano | 'southern' | 327 - 412 | 3 | Claimed descent from Lēivio, and offered somewhat livelier leadership. | |
4 | Obēgelo | 'favored' | 412 - 552 | 7 | So named because it received assistance from the iliū during the seige of Eleisa. From 440, the Silver Age, dominated by the fight against Munkhâsh. | |
5 | Nēromurga | 'holy stone' | 552 - 601 | 2 | The late Silver Age. | |
6 | Maroūsigo | of Maroūsias | 601 - 663 | 4 | Inaugurated the Empire-- and the Decadent Age; founded by the usurping general Maroūsias. | |
7 | -- | 674 - 814 | 10 | Emperors were chosen by the military. After 750, the south rebelled under its own general-emperor. | ||
8 | Sosillânu | 'for the light' | 814 - 885 | 4 | Cuzei permanently divided; called Age of Perversity. | |
9 | Alaldigō | of Alaldas | 885 - 931 | 3 | ||
10 | Niōro | 'beautiful' | 931 - 967 | 2 | ||
11 | Rûtexūnas or Rêste |
'good land' /'last' | 967 - 1024 | 4 | In 1024, with Caďinas already in control of the country, the last emperor Zeilisio IV died, and was not replaced. |