Timeline-ITM-551
“Through Darkest Ouzhou”
Two Italulohnannese Native Ouzhouans acting out an Ouzhouan Dark Era battle
Following the collapse of the ancient Daqin civilization (also referred to as the Roman civilization) in 3172 Yinli (1), the Ouzhouan natives formed their own kingdoms and city states from the ruins of a once-great empire. This time period in the history of Ouzhou is referred to as the Dark Era by modern scholars due to the increasing isolationism of the Ouzhouan confinement in this era as well as the loss in knowledge from Daqinese times and spread of diseases. Of course, Ouzhou isn’t necessarily completely to blame for Dark Era isolationism, because the Dark Era more or less aligns with the time period in which Antisuyu (2) and Kuntiqucha (3) became more interconnected, therefore causing a decline in interactions between Kuntiqucha and Ouzhou.
After centuries of interactions with the west, Antisuyu was well aware of Ouzhou via Kuntiquchan maps and stories, however, knowledge was extremely limited and no Antisuyuan had ever actually travelled to Ouzhou. For many, Ouzhou became a mythical land populated by odd pale men who followed and fought over a strange religion. After hundreds of years of interacting with Kuntiqucha (most notably Zhongguo (4)), the time inevitably came when Antisuyu would sail east across the Antic Haiyang (5) and cross into the Western Hemisphere. Rivalries between the numerous Antisuyuan empires over resources would cause the Mayan noble Uxmal Cadmael, an experienced wealthy commander in the navy of the Maya Empire, to get the permission of Lxajaw Lxaapo II of Maya to lead a fleet of ships east for Ouzhou. Lxaapo II accepted, and in 3718 Yinli Uxaml set out into the Antic to search for the mysterious continent only heard of in old legends.
Upon arriving in what is present-day Irerkab, Uxmal Cadmael came across Native Ouzhouans residing in the village of Ad Caladh, where Uxmal and his men declared the village property of the Maya Empire. The Native Ouzhouans would obviously not accept such a demand, however, superior Mayan technology quickly subjugated the locals. As more Mayan ships arrived in Ad Caladh (renamed to Antitulum by Uxmal Cadmael) Uxmal would lead a campaign against the Kingdom of Munster, eventually forcing Uxmal Cadmael into the position of the king of Munstekab. As the people of Munstekab were converted over to the Church of Yaxche, the bizarre colonial regime in southern Irekab began to invade up north, with Uxmal Cadmael eventually declaring himself High Ka’ajaw Cadmael I of the Ka’ajawate of Irekab (6) in 3725 Yinli, establishing the first of many Mayan colonies in Ouzhou, as well as the Western World in general.
Within the next few centuries nearly all of Ouzhou and the surrounding Islamic kingdoms were carved up between Antisuyuan colonial empires. The Maya Empire easily came out on top, dominating the majority of western Ouzhou, which was eventually organized into a single administration called the Ka’ajawate of Frankab, however, the Zuni Empire of Yaxche also emerged as a predominant colonial power. The Zuni focused on colonization around the Chaac Sea (7), the colony of Egypt becoming the jewel of the Zuni Empire of Yaxche for much of history.
While the Maya were oppressive of Native Ouzhouans residing in Frankab, with Frankab becoming especially infamous for forcefully suppressing Christianity and local cultures in general, the Zuni were relatively passive rulers. Native cultures were still regarded as inferior to Zuni ideals, however, the Zuni authorities would still tolerate the natives to a point that many local authorities would allow native religions to be publicly practiced and tolerated.
In the Asian Suyusuyu of Yaxche, a nation carved out of Zuni colonies that is still loyal and reliant to the Zuni in many ways, several Native Ouzhouans residing within Asian territory on the southern tip of the Italulohnannese Peninsula (8) were granted their own city states within Asia that operated under a local government that is still subservient to the greater Asian government itself. Within these city states, Native Ouzhouan cultures are still very much prominent and thriving, regardless of the typically poor economies and infrastructure of the city states. One example of the preservation of Native Ouzhouan culture in the Asian Suyusuyu of Yaxche are reenactments of battles between knights (pictured above), which were Ouzhouan Dark Era warriors. While the city states were more or less ignored for much time, their fascinating culture and architecture has attracted numerous tourists, including a handful of visitors from the Cankamist Jituan.
The Frankabic city of Pakal at night
When the Maya Empire first arrived in what became the center of the Ka’ajawate of Frankab, the city of Pakal was referred to by its Native Ouzhouan inhabitants as Paris and was the capital of the Kingdom of France (better known by Antisuyuan and Kuntiquchan scholars as the Capetian Empire). Paris was amongst the greatest of Ouzhouan Dark Era cities, tracing its origins back to the Daqin Empire, and the Capetian Empire was among the greatest of Ouzhouan Dark Era kingdoms. Therefore, when the Maya Empire sailed across the Antic Haiyang Paris, as well as France itself, quickly became a target of the Mayans following the success of Uxmal Cadmael.
While Irekab and Prydain fell relatively peacefully to the Maya Empire, the Capetians were a different story. When the Maya arrived in Irekab and consequently united the entire island under the Church of Yaxche, a new religious debate was sparked throughout Ouzhou. While the Catholic Church was very hostile towards the Mayans, who they viewed as violent and dangerous “infidels,” numerous Ouzhouan aristocrats actually saw the Church of Yaxche in a different light. After all, had it not been the Maya who managed to unite Irekab? Had it not been the Maya who had brought new and incredible technology to Ouzhou? And meanwhile, Christianity was only being pushed back by the Maya, humiliated by war after war.
Perhaps the most significant religious conversion in Post-Uxmali Ouzhou was when the recently coronated King Bermudo III of Leon converted over to the Church Yaxche in 3725 Yinli, therefore turning the Kingdom of Leon into the first Native Ouzhouan Yaxche state. Bermudo III was under the impression that Christianity was a false religion and that the outbreak of diseases throughout post-Roman Ouzhouan history, as well as the decline in Ouzhouan Civilization in general, was a punishment from the gods and goddesses of Yaxche. While the Catholic Church and numerous Leonese aristocrats protested Bermudo’s conversion, Mayan military aid quickly put down any resistance and within a few weeks Leon was not only a Yaxche state, but a Mayan vassal state as well.
The establishment of the Church of Yaxche as the religion of the Kingdom of Leon only added flames to the chaotic fire that was burning Ouzhou to a crisp. Within the next few years the teachings of the Church of Yaxche were commonplace amongst the discontent of Ouzhou, as well as amongst those who had simply lost faith in the teachings of Christianity following the recent upheaval in Irekab and Leon. The Capetians, however, would remain absolutely loyal to the Catholic Church and became regarded as Ouzhou’s shield against Mayan imperialism. But not even the Capetian Empire could hold back the Maya, for soon enough the Mayan nobility hungered for an extended colonial empire and managed to persuade Lxajaw Lxaapo II to fund a colonial expedition into the Ouzhouan mainland.
In 3731 Yinli the Maya Empire would invade the Capetian Empire without warning, marking the beginning of the end for Native Ouzhouan Civilization. The Capetians would call on their allies within the Catholic Church, and the Papacy declared that a war against the Capetian Empire was a war against the Catholic Church itself, therefore meaning that the Maya quickly found themselves at war with the majority of western Ouzhou. And yet, not even the unified forces of Catholicism could hold back the Mayan invasion, which swept over Ouzhou. Of course, the Capetian War was far slower than Uxmal Cadmael’s unification of Irekab, and would last a total of seventeen years, especially once the Mayan invaders began to prioritize introducing colonists and assimilating already occupied territory into colonial regimes.
When the Capetian War did in fact conclude in 3746 Yinli what was once amongst the greatest civilizations in Ouzhou was little more than ruins, overshadowed by the new Mayan structures. While a handful of Ouzhouan nobles had converted to the Church of Yaxche and had fought for the Mayans in the Capetian War, therefore earning them some sort of status in the new colonial administrations, the majority of Ouzhouan aristocrats who stayed loyal to the Catholic Church were killed by the Mayans while their subjects were either pushed out east to backwater colonial territory or would fall into a societal standing that was nearly slavery back in the Mayan-populated colonies.
For the next few centuries Mayan colonies in Ouzhou would remain independent of each other, however, following the Native Ouzhouan riots that followed the Era of Storms in the 4330s, all Mayan colonies in Ouzhou were organized into the Ka’ajawate of Frankab, a massive centralized colonial entity that governed a territory larger than Maya itself back in Antisuyu. Frakab operated rather independent of the Mayan government, however, still remained loyal to the monarchy, situated in Tikal. The success of the Ka’ajawate of Frankab would later lead to the unification of Mayan colonies in Popali (9) into the Ka’ajawate of Guatemala (10), as well as the establishment of the Ka’ajawate of Uh (11), although Guatemala would lose a substantial amount of territory to secessionists funded by the Dageming Lianmeng in the aftermath of the War of One Hundred Yinli, and a miners’ strike on Uh would eventually escalate into a full-out cankamist revolution in 4654 Yinli that was only suppressed thanks to Haudenosaunee aid, and to the present day much of Uh is administered by Haudenosaunee occupation zones.
The Ka’ajawate of Frankab, on the other hand, would remain fairly peaceful in comparison to the rest of the Mayan colonial empire following the War of One Hundred Years. By the present day, Frankab has become regarded as the jewel of the Mayan Empire, now only a shadow of its former self in a time period when the Haudenosaunee Empire is the only lifeline for Mayan colonial interests. In the former Capetian Empire, very few Native Ouzhouans remain, and those who did have become second class citizens that live in unsavory conditions and are paid little by the Mayan elite for the worst of jobs in Frankab.
Pakal, the capital of the Ka’ajawate of Frankab, has been dominated by Mayan settlers and their descendants for centuries, and any Native Ouzhouans left are a minority that live in the segregated ghettos of the city. As the capital of Frankab, Pakal has become the financial hub of Ouzhou, regardless of recent friendly competition from Caerdyf (12), the capital of the Nohchilate of Prydain. Pakal has become such a major urban center that it is amongst the largest and most prominent cities within the entire Mayan Empire, and not only attracts businessmen, but thousands of tourists from around the world every year as well. Pakal is considered a symbol of the victories of Mayan colonialism, however, cankamist scholars have become horrified by the mass deportations of the Native Ouzhouans from their homelands, which have now just become another footnote in history books.
Mayan tienus entering Berulum following Otto’s Revolution, circa 4241 Yinli (1544 AD)
After the defeat of the Capetian Empire in the Capetian War, the Germanic Empire (called the Holy Roman Empire by Native Ouzhouans) laid right in front of the young Mayan colonial empire. Tensions between the Germanic Emperor and Papacy had kept the Germanics out of the Capetian War, however, a conflict between Maya and the Germanics appeared inevitable. In fact, the Capetian War hadn’t even concluded when Mayan aristocrats and colonial leaders managed to win the support for an invasion of the Germanics from Tikal and in 3744 the invasion of the Germanic Empire began.
In comparison to the invasion of the Capetians and their allies, the war against the Germanics was substantially slower. While the Capetian War had been an endeavor directly funded by Tikal, the Germanic Wars were primarily funded by nobles hoping to make a fortune out of a colonial expedition and local colonial officers who sought to strengthen their wealth and authority in Ouzhou. The Germanic Wars were centered around capturing territory for new colonies, and rather than seeking to straight-out defeat the Germanic Empire, Mayan iikacallis (13) would patrol the Germanic skies and deploy bombs onto nearby Germanic settlements to push out the Native Ouzhouans and keep the Germanic Empire at bay.
Due to the slow pace of the Germanic Wars, conflict over the Germanikab region would last for approximately three decades. Even once the Capetian War ended, the Mayan Imperial Batab would choose not to directly intervene in the Germanic Wars, and colonial militias were the primary force in the conflict instead. However, the Germanic Wars would finally come to an end in 3478 Yinli, when the last remnants of the Germanic Empire (which at this points was just a collection of city-states) were conquered by Mayan colonial forces. From this point on, the region that became known as Germanikab by the Antisuyuans would remain firmly within the control of the Mayan Empire and become distant backwater of Antisuyuan Ouzhou.
However, Germanikab would not always be a completely loyal and passive region of the Mayan Empire. As the easternmost region of Mayan holdings in Ouzhou, the Germanikabic region became the primary destination for deported Native Ouzhouans, and outside of coastal and western settlements, would be predominantly made up of backwater colonies where local Native Ouzhouans would be forced to be subservient to Mayan colonial masters, however, were allowed to practice their religions and cultures as long as they didn’t cause much trouble. These backwater territories, called lakinates, were administered via feudalism, a concept Antisuyu had borrowed from the west centuries prior that happened to be practiced in Ouzhou. Lakinates were governed by Mayan nohchils, who would exploit their territory for profit and would have Native Ouzhouan leaders below them somewhere along the line of command.
As the Mayan Empire grew into a global power, one with a superpower status greater than even the long-gone Wari Empire, Imperial territory remained relatively peaceful for decades. From the loyal warlords of Zhongguo to the wealthy nohchils of Ouzhou and Popali, Maya truly became the greatest power on Pinyin. However, the constant expensive and deadly wars against Maya’s neighbors had to be financed somehow, and this burden typically fell upon the Zhongguoan baohus (14), which were not only heavily industrialized, but also the frontlines of many Mayan colonial incursions. Eventually, an economic crisis in Zhongguo sparked a rebellion amongst the oppressed masses of the region in 4176 Yinli as the people of Zhongguo turned towards a radical ideology called cankamism (15), in which the people would govern themselves both politically and economically through decentralized masyncist (16) unions.
The Zhongguoan people would unite under the banner of the Dageming Lianming, an alliance of the unions that formed the basis for the cankamist ideology. The Dageming War would be incredibly bloody, however, against all odds the Dageming managed to secure their independence and in 4181 Yinli a ceasefire was declared in accordance to the Treaty of Edo. Within just a few years a revolutionary state the likes of which had never before seen had been declared, which would have a ripple effect around the world. In the Mayan Empire, however, the Dageming War was impactful because it proved that Maya was not the invincible state Pinyin thought it was.
One ambitious Germanic aristocrat from the Nordmark Lakinate in eastern Germanikab under the name of Hohenzollern Otto saw the Dageming War as proof that the oppressed masses of the Mayan Empire, including those in Ouzhou, could rise up and break the chains of Mayan imperialism. After winning the support of numerous other Native Ouzhouan aristocrats in Germanikab, Hohenzollern would call his alliance of Germanics to arms, and became recognized as the head of state of the Germanic Suyusuyu, as well as the senior officer of its armed forces. From 4230 Yinli to 4242 Yinli, the Germanic Suyusuyu would fight a war of independence in the outermost territories of the Mayan Empire while Hohenzollern Otto fended off the most powerful nation the world had ever seen.
However, in the end Hohenzollern and his Germanic Suyusuyu was no match against the mighty Mayan Empire. As Germanikab was starved off by Mayan blockades and bombarded by aerial attacks, Hohenzollern Otto was slowly pushed back. By 4241 Yinli, it was more or less guaranteed that the Germanic Suyusuyu would lose Otto’s Revolution and it was in this year that Berulum, one of the greatest cities of Germanikab, fell back into the hands of the Mayan Empire. However, Hohenzollern Otto and what remained of his most loyal allies would continue to fight on in a guerrilla war against the Mayans for another year before Hohenzollern was captured and executed in 4242 Yinli.
After Otto’s Revolution, Germanikab was reformed in a way that would brutally suppress the Native Ouzhouan cultures of the region. The majority of lakinates were dissolved and in their place were colonies administered by former members of the Mayan Batab.Thousands of Native Ouzhouans were deported from their homelands to either new lakinates or to condensed ghettos scattered across colonies that were opened up to Mayan colonization. Laws were implemented that prohibited the construction of public places of Christian worship, and many local leaders would straight out ban public practices of Christianity, which became a criminal offense throughout much of the Mayan Empire, even to the present day. Today, Germanikab is just another region of the Ka’ajawate of Frankab, and is predominantly Antisuyuan, while Hohenzollern Otto has become a martyr of the distant past for the suppressed Native Ouzhoun people of Germanikab.
Only known saaluhul of Hohenzollern Otto
Born in 4196 Yinli to the Hohenzollern Clan (many of whom were Germanic aristocrats), Hohenzollern Otto grew up in the shadow of Mayan subjugation, just like millions of other Native Ouzhouans distributed across Ouzhou. Hohenzollern’s primary language was the ancient dialect of the Germanic people that was commonplace throughout Maya’s easternmost lakinates, however, like all of the members of the Hohenzollern Clan, Hohenzollern Otto would have to also learn the language of the Mayan if he was to ever cooperate with his superiors, which was necessary, considering that Hohenzollern Otto would one day administer a small swath of territory in accordance to the feudalist system that governed the lakinates.
Throughout his life, Hohenzollern Otto would have a first hand experience of the suppression of the Native Ouzhouan people by the Mayan Empire. Even once he became the vassal of a small swath of territory in Nordmark at the age of twenty-nine, Hohenzollern was ignored by his Mayan superiors, would could care less when Hohenzollern implored for their aid to end an ongoing Native Ouzhouan famine. A few decades prior, the Dageming War had been won by the Zhongguoans, proving that the Mayan Empire was not a truly invincible regime. While Hohenzollern Otto did not subscribe to the cankamist ideology, which he deemed to egalitarian and inefficient in comparison to autocratic principles, he did admire the their fight for freedom against the Mayan Empire.
Soon enough, Hohenzollern Otto was frustrated enough to in fact conclude that waging a war against the Mayans was the only was to liberate the Native Ouzhouans from imperialism once and for all. Hohenzollern would spent the next few years assembling a militia and alliance of anti-Mayan Germanikabic vassals in preparation for a war against the Mayan Empire. And in 4230, the time for war against the Mayans came. After a regiment of the Batab uncovered a Germanic weapons supply, which was violently defended by local Native Ouzhouans, Hohenzollern Otto managed to convince his alliance that the time for revolution was upon them, and the Germanic Suyusuyu was declared.
Hohenzollern Otto was an astonishingly competent commander, and managed to hold out against the technologically superior Mayan forces. Swift guerrilla tactics and deadly raids became the prized strategies of Hohenzollern Otto, and for twelve years he would manage to fight the once-undefeatable Mayan Empire. However, throughout the majority of Otto’s Revolution the Mayans were blockading Germanikab, and in 4236 Yinli, Mayan tactics became much more deadly and cruel. While at first, aerial bombardments had not been utilized for fear that loyal Native Ouzhouans would be killed in the process, the Mayan high command grew desperate and resorted to aerial attacks.
Over time, the blockade and aerial bombardments began to deplete the Germanic Suyusuyu. Thousands of innocents died in the process, however, in the end Otto’s Revolution would fail. However, Hohenzollern Otto would continue to fight until the end, well after the vast majority of his army and the Germanic Suyusuyu itself had fallen apart. Hohenzollern Otto would make his last stand at Dresdany (17) in 4242 Yinli. The Battle of Dresdany was a decisive Mayan victory, however, a bloody and long fight that lasted many days before Hohenzollern Otto was found unconscious after he failed to kill himself with poison. One day later, Hohenzollern Otto was executed by a firing squad, with the last words a ever said being, “You may have won today, but we will not wear these shackles forever. One day, an individual more skilled than I could ever dream of becoming, will inherit my crusade and liberate the Germanic people once and for all. Es lebe Germania! Es lebe die Freiheit!”
Centuries later, Germanikab continues to be under the control of the Mayan Empire, being integrated into the Ka’ajawate of Frankab approximately a century after the conclusion of Otto’s Revolution. However, Hohenzollern Otto continues to be a symbol of Ouzhouan liberation for countless groups in the shadows of the Western Continent. It is not uncommon for Germanic protestors to proclaim their support for Hohenzollern Otto, however, such declarations are met with violent retaliation from Mayan forces, for the Mayan Empire is keen on ensuring that a second revolution in Germanikab will never happen. After all, many across Pinyin believe that if such a revolution were to occur in the present day, Maya could not win yet again.
Ruins of a castle in the High Nohchilate of Irekab
For centuries, Uxmal Cadmael’s High Nohchilate of Irekab was little more than yet another colony of Maya. It was, however, a prized gem of the Mayan Empire and undoubtedly operated as though it was a kingdom within the greater Mayan Empire, which was unique in comparison to the colonies on the Ouzhouan mainland, which were typically administered as though they were large swaths of private property.
Irekab was also unique for its treatment of Native Ouzhouans. The High Nohchilate was forged decades before the establishment of the first lakinate, and therefore did not forcibly segregate its society based on ethnic makeup. Instead, Uxmal Cadmael and his successors would focus on the absolute eradication of Christianity in Irekab. Those who converted were typically rewarded, while those who continued to practice Christian teachings were thrown into the lowest possible tiers of society, a position not unlike slavery.
While the crackdown on Christianity in Irekab was undoubtedly brutal, it did have the effect of not permanently racial segregating Irekab, as was the eventual case in the Ka’ajawate of Frankab. Instead, the Christian religion quietly went extinct in Irekab after a few centuries, and in its place the Native Ouzhouan population of the High Nohchilate of Irekab was granted some semblance of equality with their Mayan counterparts. Many Native Ouzhouans would even intermarry with the Mayans, creating a unique fusion of Mayan and Native Ouzhouan culture the likes of which are practically unheard of everywhere else on Pinyin.
As a consequence, Irekab developed a unique cultural identity and would avert the atrocities of Mayan mainland colonial territory in Ouzhou. In fact, the High Nohchilate of Irekab would also become increasingly autonomous of the authority of Tikal, a process that was only really mimicked in Prydain, the larger island west of Irekab. Following the Era of Storms and the chaos that ensued, the Irekabic government would refuse to integrate into the recently established Ka’ajawate of Frankab. Instead, Irekab managed to become an independent nation, however, one that would still be loyal to Maya nonetheless. The High Nohchilate of Irekab became a muou, a nation in which the Mayans would dictate foreign policy and the ajaw of Irekab would still be the same as Maya.
By the present day, the High Nohchilate Irekab has become a thriving nation within Ouzhou. It still suffers from the authoritarianism found in other members of the Haudenosaunee sphere of influence, however, is not plagued by segregation that dominates much of Ouzhou. Instead, the Irekabic government is very much a stable regime and the standard of living of its average citizen is decent, especially in comparison to Frankab. The native cultures of Irekab have mostly been forgotten these days, however, the ancient and abandoned architecture that is scattered throughout Irekab has become a prominent tourist attraction.
While many ancient Irekabic castles have become museums of a world that has been destroyed and forgotten centuries ago, others remain stuck in the past. For example, the castle above has become overgrown with flora and is surrounded by a vast forest on all sides. Few tourists are willing to hike out to this ancient building and it therefore remains forgotten. This castle, and many other buildings like it, are a quiet monument to an ancient civilization, one that never saw an era of glory and became yet another footnote in history books as other societies rose to conquer it.
(1): The Chinese calendar is the dominant measurement of years ITTL.
(2): The Americas.
(3): Asia.
(4): China.
(5): Atlantic Ocean.
(6): A ka’ajawate is more or less a viceroyalty and a ka’ajaw is a viceroy.
(7): Mediterranean Sea.
(8): Italian Peninsula.
(9): Africa.
(10): Turns out that Guatemala is derived from the Nahuatl and Mayan word for “many trees,” so I thought it would work well for the name of a colony that contains the Congolese jungles.
(11): Uh is the Mayan word for the Moon, which is colonized by this highly technologically advanced world due to a much earlier Industrial Revolution ITTL.
(12): Cardiff.
(13): Airships.
(14): Protectorates.
(15): Imagine syndicalism, but with an emphasis on a balance between the unions that govern the economy and union-esque political entities that govern the state.
(16): Democracy.
(17): Dresden.
