The Age of Karqašlu is the second period of Ancient Bulwar, preceded by the Age of God-kings, and succeded by the Age of Monsters. This era starts with the invasion of Bulwar by the Gigiru and the founding of the Karqašlu Empire, that ruled most of Bulwar between 1537 and 1134 BA, and ends with the fall of Karqašlu to the Onslaught and civil strife.
Founding of Karqašlu[]
The nomadic invasion in 1537 BA swept over the city-states and united them into one large empire, that at its height spanned from Azka-szel-Azka to Azka-Sur, connecting the Suran Plain to Bahar through the now sunken Kuzarami lowlands. Ašqarin-Aga-kar, the leader of the Qašnitu and the first Surael Reborn according to the Sun Cult, managed to conquer the entirety of the Suran Plain in a couple years, defeating the remaining God-kings, and settling his people in the northern banks of the Buranun, between Kalib and Azkabar. It is currently unknown how the nomads managed to counter the God-king’s magic and Djinn artefacts, but we know that they easily defeated their armies thanks to a weapon unknown in Bulwar: The horse chariot.
Like other groups of Zabatlari, the horse, an animal unknown in Bulwar until the invasion, was central to the Gigiru lifestyle. The warrior class of Karqašlu, known as Ituqattar, was exclusively composed of families of chariot-riders, and the use of chariots gave an enormous military advantage over the Bulwari, that fought mostly in shield walls, and while they had chariots, they were bulky, slow, and drawn by donkeys or oxen.
The city of Karqašlu (Panu Karqašlu), founded by King Aga, was located near modern Kumarkand. The city is still inhabited in modern days, but its population declined during the Age of Monsters when Kumarkand was founded, and since then, no more than 3000 people had inhabited the city, which moved 2 kilometres east of the centre of the old city.
The Imperial Period[]
The empire lasted for about 400 years until it fell during the Onslaught, but it peaked early on. While it had a strong control over the Suran plain, its control over Bahar and the Kuzarami lowlands was more tenuous. The city of Nisabat was founded as an administrative centre in an attempt to weaken the power of the Aqatbari aristocracy, but it seems that the displacement of the political centre failed, and Aqatbar kept collecting the tribute from the Bahari city-states before being sent south. The hold of Ovdal-Tûngr, which enjoyed a period of prosperity and independence under Magar Aznezhyg, became a vassal of Karqašlu due to their control of the surrounding area. While 650 years had passed since the start of the reclamation, and only 300 since the hold became independent from Barzilšah, the dwarves only managed to reclaim the first level of the hold successfully, with the efforts on reclamation of the second level being slow due to the lack of manpower and resources. While at the beginning the relations between the Dwarves and Karqašlu were cordial, with king Agaxahar visiting the hold during his rule. However by the time of Alušir the relations deteriorated due to the constant tributes, since they reduced the much needed resources to continue the reclamation.
In 1469 BA Elikhet the Wanderer and Alušir of Karqašlu fought over the domination of the Divenhal. Mid-war, the Bahari subjects rebel and support the Kheteratan war effort. The combined Bahari armies defeated the Karqašlu army in the battle of Eduz-szel-Ninezim, while the Tûngric fleet supported Kheterata on the blockade of Brasan, Ginudašin, and Zanakes, the main ports of Karqašlu.
Elikhet claimed victory and several coastal cities, most notably Brasan, became subjects of Kheterata. The cities of Bahar, now independent, fragmented, with the exception of Aqatbar, that managed to keep control over the Saluraš basin due to the lack of other important urban centres.
While the empire declined in geographical scope, the 14th century BA was a period of prosperity along the Suran and Baranun plains. An architectural revival crosses the region, with many cities being expanded and renovated. Additionally the first trade networks with Rahen appear, exchanging goods such as spices, pottery and metalwork. During this time the first Bulwar canal was dug as a connection between the Suran and Baranun rivers.
The Onslaught[]
Starting around the turn of the 12th century BA people started to disappear from coastal towns and villages everywhere along the Divenhal. Then, moving from west to east, entire settlements disappear. The Ayabnati colonies through the Diven stopped sending ships to Bulwar overnight, and are later found razed. Records are disjointed but they speak of creatures that come from the sea and burn down villages and towns. They capture as many people as possible and then disappear with them. Those taken were never seen again.
In 1191 BA Azka-szel-Azka was the first major Bulwari city to be hit by the attack. Thirec the Younger, a Castanorian scholar from the time of Castan Beastbane, tells us that the fortress was well prepared. Its thick walls would withstand any siege and its food supplies had been well-stocked, even though at that moment it housed the majority of the population of Bahar. But the ‘Deep Devils’ snuck in through the sewer system at night. It wasn’t until a year later that the fortress was found quiet, its entire population slaughtered.
But the slaughter of Azka-szel-Azka was only the start. Over the next fifty years similar events would occur at other locations all along the coasts of the Divenhal. Brasan, for example, was razed in 1185 BA, leaving the city desolate for decades. The coastal regions of Bulwar quickly became depopulated with only a few daring or stubborn fishermen remaining in their villages. But inland was not entirely safe either, as on occasions it seems raids happened along the Suran as far upstream as Kalib. These inland raids appear to have been the final nail in the coffin of the Karqašlu Empire.
Batur II of Karqašlu gathered an army in 1139 BA, then he marched down the Suran and set up camp by the ruins of Brasan, telling his army to prepare for battle whenever it may come. King Batur was asleep when the first attacks came and were repelled by his night guard and their palisade, but great damage had been done to their forward defences. By the time the second attack came the king was awake and leading the defence. This time they came in greater force, however. The palisades gave way and the forward defences were swarmed, soldiers couldn’t see what they were fighting, but they were terrified. Amidst the chaos the king was wounded and had to retreat. Finally his magi managed to turn the tide with spells of blinding light, causing their attackers to retreat. The army was greatly diminished and their situation looked dire. So they gathered around the king’s tent and prepared their final stand. Somehow they held out. When the first rays of the morning sun lit the battlefield only the king and a dozen men remained as the devils fled before the light. Five years after this battle, the attacks of the sea devils stopped.
Fall of Karqašlu[]
Batur II would be the last king of Karqašlu. Shortly after his return to the capital he died of his wounds and the empire died with him. There was a crisis and a civil war that broke the empire into several rump states. Batur III, the youngest and last surviving son of Batur II managed to reunite the Suran Plain, but he died in 1134 BA during the siege of Karqašlu while fighting the newly established Harpy Queendom. The death of Batur III is considered the end of the Age of Karqašlu, and the beginning of the Age of Monsters.
Religion[]
Main Article: Bulwari Pantheon
Bulwari Pantheon refers to the original religious beliefs and practices of the Bulwari peoples between circa 2800 BA and 1000 BA, prior to the establishment of the Bulwari Sun Cult as the main religion of the subcontinent. Originally, the Bulwari Pantheon was a polytheistic religion with the gods structured in a familiar hierarchy, with each city-state having a national god as the head of the pantheon. The religion later evolved to have the Sun god as the head of the pantheon.