believe it or not, this was also made as a break from a different project.
Cultural Study and Brief History of the Ancient Sedacenes
The first era of Sedacene Antiquity also represents the longest period in Sedacene history, spanning from the founding of the first Sedacene cities in the 11th century B.C., to the adoption of Zoroastrianism as the state religion of the first Sedacene Empire in 108 A.D.
It is not known from where the Sedacene people originated, as there are no known documents which can be used to translate their language, leaving all knowledge of their culture in the form of Greek and Roman accounts. Not only that, but the later migration of Germanic, Turkic, and Slavic peoples into the regions that had been inhabited by the Sedacene people, and the following assimilation or destruction of Sedacene tribes has left any and all Sedacene blood which might be found in the modern Russian and Ukrainian peoples so heavily diluted that it is impossible to know for certain just what they were. With that in mind though, similarities between the Sedacene pantheon and the religions of neighboring cultures leads most mainstream historians to believe the Sedacene people were likely Indo-European.
The first Sedacene cities emerged as settlements along the eastern coast of the sea of Azov in the 11th century. These were mostly minor fishing villages, though they would quickly grow to become major and important city states within Sedacene civilization, using the position along with wealth brought in from trading with Caucasus peoples to the south to quickly spread out and encompass large swaths of territory on the coast of the Sea of Azov. It was during this time that many settlers began to move inland and establish the first major settlements on the Don River. It was from these settlement that Sedacene people would begin to spread out into the northern Caucasus's, eventually reaching the Volga River and the Caspian Sea.
By the 10th century, the Sedacene people had spread west, settling within the Crimea peninsula and the eastern banks of Dnieper River, from which they would spread north and east to the Donets River, and by the 9th century it was known that Sedacene settlements had been established east of the Volga River.
Not much is known in regard to what major events had occurred among the Sedacene people throughout the 8th and 7th centuries, but what is known is that various greek naval fleets had attempted to attack and capture the Sedacene city of Josteza, though none ever succeeded in doing more than occasional skirmishes on the beaches of the taman Peninsula, only to be later pushed back through the employment of flames, cavalry, and guerrilla warfare. An unknown Greek historian had once written in regards to the battle:
"These northern men fought with a ferocity that could rival even that of the Spartans! They made frequent use of flame in their attacks, whether it be arrows set ablaze to set light to our ships and camps, or spears bundled in thatch and set ablaze, to then be plunged into shields, rending them unusable. All of that wouldn't be so unbearable if it were not for the cowardly methods by which the would often attack when not employing horses, slaughtering our men in their sleep and taking whatever supplies we had gathered for ourselves. Truly these beings we face are less men and more dogs."
By the 6th century, Most of the major city states had organized themselves into a loose confederation, wherein a council of elders would select from a group of military generals to act as head of a military force to defend the borders of the city states. This council would also meet to discuss matters of trade and expansion, often relying on the study of the stars and animal bones to reach a final conclusion on many matters.
It was during this time that the Sedacene religion had fully developed from a collection of loosely connected beliefs into one true pantheon composed of five chief deities;
Synathet - The God of Fire and Life, chief deity of the pantheon, and represented by birds, the sun, and lightning.
Dorothet - The God of Warfare, brother of Synathet and represented by wolves, horses, and the spear.
Talithet - The Goddess of Water and Agriculture, sister of Synather and Dorothet, and represented by dolphins, rain, and the sickle.
Cathuthet - The God of Earth and Metal, Husband of Talithet, and represented by ants, the forge, and the hammer.
Morsuthet - The God of the Afterlife and Winter, antithesis of Synathet, and represented by crows, ice, and the grave.
Legends and stories pertaining to the deities are scarce, but what is known is that it was believed that at the end of time, the five deities would come together*, sacrificing their individual selves to become a being powerful enough to destroy Synatheg, the consumer of worlds, and usher in a new world free of the dark ones corruption.
It was known that by the 4th century, the confederation had become corrupted by incompetent elders who would often give into their desires for wealth and excess, leaving many people in both the military and daily life severely over taxed. This would all come to a head when, in 332 B.C. a coalition of generals had overthrown the elders, and the general Fetodoro to declare himself the supreme leader of all Sedacene people's. The Greek historian Aetius, who was present in Josteza at the time, had written this in regards to these events:
"It was amazing how quickly the common people were to accept such a drastic and sudden change in rule. Not only that, but the ferocity by which they tore done many of institutions and set ablaze those which they blamed for the strife; the tax collectors and priests, the elders and officers, and senators and all who supported the old government. All of them were seized, humiliated and defiled, made to act like the lowliest of slaves, and then finally, thrown into a humongous pit and left to burn throughout the night."
It was known that during this time, many Sedacene people living in the Caucasus would begin to adopt Zoroastrianism, believing that Ahura Mazda was the foretold coming together of the five deities, and that by adopting the faith of their Persian neighbors to the south, it would bring them closer to paradise. This would have a different effect however, as many of the minor kingdoms and tribes would instead choose to actively suppress and persecute those who adopted what they perceived to be a hostile foreigner from unknown lands to be the work of Synatheg, believing that this false faith was an attempt by the consumer to sway the Sedacene people away from future salvation.
The 3rd century would be largely defined by continued centralization of the Sedacene empire, and large swaths of people migrating to its borders, leaving many lands and territories to be claimed and inhabited by various outside tribes. The result of this would be the funding of various military states in the north to defend against and in many cases wipe out non Sedacene tribes, and this warfare would eventually extend to the purging of many Sedacene territories of people who have been assimilated into these foreign cultures, sparking a belief among many surrounding peoples that the Sedacene's were barbarians who thrived in death and chaos.
These practices would continue in varying capacities throughout the 2nd century and much of the 1st century as well. What would change this however would be when, in 12 B.C., an oracle would come to the Emperor and deliver to him a prediction that the first signs of the final battle against Synatheg would come from beyond the great mountains which marked the eastern** borders of the world. The Emperor himself did not believe these claims, and would have the oracle executed for "treacherous" claims, this did not stop many of his advisers and other government figures from interpreting her claims that the Zoroastrian faith was in fact the true faith which would lead to salvation after the final battle.
This would begin a process that would see many of the Caucus kingdoms begin to either retract policies which aimed to suppress the Zoroastrian faith, or in some case even adopt it as their official faith. Such a trend would spark what would become known as the the Sedacene Civil Wars***, a series of conflicts between the northern tribes lead by the Sedacene Empire and the southern tribes. This conflict would encompass much of the first half of the 1st century A.D. with many people on both sides feeling that the conflict would only end with the submission of one faith to the other. In the end,the conflict would end when the Emperor declared that the Zoroastrian faith was in fact a faith on par with the traditional Sedacene faith, and that it had become just as much a part of the Sedacene people's identity as the traditional faith****.
The religious state of the Sadecene peoples would remain a source of tension, with many believing that Zoroastrianism's monotheistic nature was a sign of the final battle, and others believing that the position of Emperor had come to be dominated by puppets of Synatheg. The Roman historian Cicero had provided incite on this cultural disunity:
"It sickens me to see that so many of these people have succumb to the poison that is Persian influence, but at the same time, I feel reassured that many seek to resist and carry on their old ways. In spite of that, I cannot deny that the Sedacene faith is within the twilight of its influence."
In the year 106 A.D. the Emperor Taliyeg the Great would come to power, and what would make his rise to power remarkable in the long term was that Taliyeg was a Zoroastrian, which normally would have killed any and all hope for a political career in the Empire. With his ascension, a newfound interest in Zoroastrianism would take hold in the Empire*****. Not only that, but many of the northern tribes, would begin to adopt Zoroastrianism as well. By the year 108, Zoroastrianism had overtaken the traditional Sedacene faith as the dominate faith of not only the Empire, but Sedacene civilization as a whole. As such, emperor Taliyeg issued a decree declaring Zoroastrianism as the official faith of the Empire.
With this, the first era of Sedacene antiquity would come to an end, and the Golden age of Sedacene culture would begin.
* This aspect of their faith was believed by many to be a sign of the faith transitioning from a polytheistic faith to a monotheistic faith, though this is an unproven theory, with no credible evidence in regards to whether it is true.
** The Sedacene people believed that the top of the world was where the sun rose in the morning.
*** This is a title that would be applied to the conflict by later historians an account of the fairly centralized nature of Sedacene culture, though many feel that it is not in fact an accurate term.
**** In actuality, the conflict was declared over when the emperor was informed that many within the military had been defecting to the southern tribes due to uncertainty in regards to their actual religious loyalties.
***** Or at least, an open interest.
