I assume that Cucuteni-Tripolye people spoke a language carried over from Anatolia through what is now Greece, but of course altered over time. Germanic Substrate because of just what you mentioned; Greek Substrate not because i assume that the language spoken by cuc-trip was the same as those of pre-IE inhabitants of Greece, but because in the Formation of proto-Greek, influences from an indiegnous language stemming from the same Old Anatolian root may have shown.
The Book of the Holy Mountain - An Alternate Seminar in Alternate Pre- and Ancient History
- Thread starter Salvador79
- Start date
Isn't it essentially certain that Tyhrsenian resulted from Anatolian colonization of the Mediterranean? It comports both with genetics and the foundational myths of the Etruscans.
@Falecius gave a few reasons why Basque and Etruscan could be (relatively) late survivors of Old European languages. But does that mean that it was the same Old European language family which was spoken along the Danube? Again, I agree when @Falecius says it could rather not resemble any documented language. Which ties in with what @Skallagrim said yesterday about Old Europe likely being a rather diverse place.
Why I don`t think Danubian languages resembled Basque or a Tyrsenian language like Etruscan is because of this - the movements of agricultural groups into Europe in the 7th, 6th and 5th millennia BCE:
I expect, if anything (@Falecius is probably right here, too, that the farther West you move, agriculture probably was adapted without language shifts), then the people in the pink corridor (likely only its Eastern half and around it) to have spoken languages related to the Danubian ones, not in the orange parts. Now of course people could move around later on and reach Italy or the Pyrenees, replacing other indigenous languages there - still, it doesn`t look like a very good bet.
Sure. Quite a few symbols look a lot like numerals to me. In others, patterns are discernible, as you said. Also, quite a few show similarities to Linear A signs (which we don`t know much about, either, unfortunately, but I think the mere presence of such similarities is quite interesting and shouts for an explanatory theory).
I think that Linear A is more or less readable by now (though we do understand almost nothing of what little can be read, except some divine names). The most convincing theory I have read about suggests that Linear A derives from Cretan Hieroglyphic (an approach that also reasonably accounts for the Phaistos Disk, which would be a bonus if verifiable) which in turn is inspired by Egyptian Hieroglyphic with some Luwian Hieroglyphic influence. Now, resemblances of shape are often misleading (Hrozny famously tried to decipher the Indus Script on the basis of its similarities with Luwian Hieroglyphics, with predictably embarrassing results). A gap of about two millennia exists between earliest Linear A and latest Vinca. So, in absence of futher documents, (that may well appear) it's hard to see how the Vinca symbols could be related to Linear A. While I have never studied the topic in detail, I am tempted to suggest that in general similar sign shapes are the byproduct of convergence, similar partly pictographic origin (that also explains some resemblances between Cuneiform, Egyptian Hieroglyphic, and Luwian Hieroglyphic). If some Vinca-like symbols are found in the spatial and temporal gap between Old European Danube and Minoan Crete, that would change the picture.
Also, I found fascinating how the Greek letter Y, while clearly originating from Phoenician, has a strong similarity in shape with the U sign of the Cypriot syllabary (which emerges in the 8/7 c. BCE, while clearly deriving from Linear B, whose documents cease almost five centuries before; so it is possible to transmit a written/symbolic tradition for a long time without us getting notice, yeah).
This timeline is amazing. So much detail, and such an interesting point of divergence! I'm almost embarrassed at how poorly researched mine is in comparison. So cool how they mirror each other, however!
Thanks! And don't criticise yourself too much; compared to your research area, mine is well-covered (even though I'm always complaining about all the things we don't know).
Wow, a detailed, well-researched and thorough neolithic to bronze age timeline...Christmas came early. Do you see the Amaloxians undergoing the same sort of flux between fortified hillforts and lowland villages that later bronze age Europe would go through? Period of stress leading to concentration of power among warlords followed by period of prosperity and a expansion of population etc.?
There was also quite a lot of gold that shows up in early settlements in Bulgaria OTL (like Varna), I don't know if you have talked about that but is there trade between the Carpathians and the Black Sea coast to the southeast?
There was also quite a lot of gold that shows up in early settlements in Bulgaria OTL (like Varna), I don't know if you have talked about that but is there trade between the Carpathians and the Black Sea coast to the southeast?
Thanks for the compliment! Glad you like it!
Re: Gold, I was even considering having the kalazzan weapons be made of a copper-gold alloy, which would make a Holy Mountain in the Muntii Metaliferi more plausible, an alloy comparable to corinthian Bronze or egyptian black Bronze, but it is too weak, so I skipped to brass and the Valea Vinului.
There was trade with the Aegaen IOTL even before the chalcolithic, I expect this to intensify over the altered 4th millennium BCE.
As for such shifts as described, I expect peaceful and troubled times to alternate, yes, but at a different rhythm because the reasons for troubled times will sometimes be different and be tackled with differently. Settlement patterns will look greatly different, though. More maybe on monday.
A short addendum regarding trade:
At least for the 4th and maybe also the 3rd millennium BCE, this is really a challenging (but also fascinating) task, and I´m not sure I´ll be entirely up to it, so help is always welcome because of course I can figure out where certain scarce products can be obtained and which goods could be manufactured in greater quantities in which towns and cities and what they`d need for all that, and then I can look at geographical features which facilitate transportation (rivers, seas, valleys, in this order), and then I can see if I want to create or have created any political obstacles to the most plausible trade routes becoming reality, and if so, what would happen.
But the thing is: this is doable as long as we`re assuming known trade preferences / patterns. Which won`t make a lot of sense ITTL, unfortunately.
There is
a) the trade patterns of OTL`s Danubian and Balkan Bronze Age and
b) the trade patterns of OTL´s large and developed Bronze Age urban civilizations.
a) won`t fit TTL`s Danube because it´s large, urban, and developed, while IOTL, after Cucuteni-Tripolye fell apart, the whole region had much more scattered settlement patterns, a lot of pastoralist mobility and much less in the way of a civilization than TTL is going to have. OTL´s societies in what is today Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE partook in metal working and trade of the required raw materials and finished goods, and they partook in luxury goods trading, too, but they didn`t need the kind of movement of massive quantities of everything that Mesopotamian or Egyptian or Levantine civilizations needed.
b) won`t fit, either, because OTL´s Early and Middle Bronze Age civilizations were, mostly, in fertile spots amid arid and resource-poor territories. Sumerians and Egyptians had to import everything from ores over (great quantities of) wool to timber (hell, Sumerians didn`t even have proper solid natural stones!), and they geared parts of their production towards export in order to obtain what they needed. Our guys along the Danube and in the Carpathians sit on incredible amounts of copper, zinc, lead, and gold ores. They have all the building materials they need, from wood to stone; the lands around them yield enough food of all sorts, wool and other sources of textile are abundant...
I´m spending a lot of time trying to sort this out, but it´s a tough nut, so help is welcome.
At least for the 4th and maybe also the 3rd millennium BCE, this is really a challenging (but also fascinating) task, and I´m not sure I´ll be entirely up to it, so help is always welcome because of course I can figure out where certain scarce products can be obtained and which goods could be manufactured in greater quantities in which towns and cities and what they`d need for all that, and then I can look at geographical features which facilitate transportation (rivers, seas, valleys, in this order), and then I can see if I want to create or have created any political obstacles to the most plausible trade routes becoming reality, and if so, what would happen.
But the thing is: this is doable as long as we`re assuming known trade preferences / patterns. Which won`t make a lot of sense ITTL, unfortunately.
There is
a) the trade patterns of OTL`s Danubian and Balkan Bronze Age and
b) the trade patterns of OTL´s large and developed Bronze Age urban civilizations.
a) won`t fit TTL`s Danube because it´s large, urban, and developed, while IOTL, after Cucuteni-Tripolye fell apart, the whole region had much more scattered settlement patterns, a lot of pastoralist mobility and much less in the way of a civilization than TTL is going to have. OTL´s societies in what is today Romania, Bulgaria, and Serbia during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE partook in metal working and trade of the required raw materials and finished goods, and they partook in luxury goods trading, too, but they didn`t need the kind of movement of massive quantities of everything that Mesopotamian or Egyptian or Levantine civilizations needed.
b) won`t fit, either, because OTL´s Early and Middle Bronze Age civilizations were, mostly, in fertile spots amid arid and resource-poor territories. Sumerians and Egyptians had to import everything from ores over (great quantities of) wool to timber (hell, Sumerians didn`t even have proper solid natural stones!), and they geared parts of their production towards export in order to obtain what they needed. Our guys along the Danube and in the Carpathians sit on incredible amounts of copper, zinc, lead, and gold ores. They have all the building materials they need, from wood to stone; the lands around them yield enough food of all sorts, wool and other sources of textile are abundant...
I´m spending a lot of time trying to sort this out, but it´s a tough nut, so help is welcome.
Well, a large part of the trade networks of the urbanized near east was the palatial system, where you needed absolute state control top-down of wealth to distribute it through tribute and gifts, with state-controlled centralized storehouses. So trade was a extension of the state, as much as a bronze age state could enforce that.
A state like a ATL post-Cucuteni state, I think you have to decide how close it is as a state to something like a Mycenaean city-state (even though that is obviously quite a while later than where you are at rn). Even in a highly fertile area there is going to be a uneven distribution of resources and individual statelets could grow in power that way. Also, if they have all that wealth, then they are likely going to be a major source of resources for Palatial states to the south. OTL there was a lot of trade and cultural communication from the Carpathians to Greece so I would see that as the most likely avenue for trade south. You could have raw ores, wool, timber head south to Greece and then manufactured goods like weaponry get traded north, or olive oil for example. Also maritime goods like shells, salt, or corals. Plus, trade through Greece would link the Amaloxians to the larger Near Eastern trade network. Basically a trade in luxury goods and status symbols that would encourage centralization and resource exploitation.
Yes you are dealing with a society that has much greater natural resources than the traditional near eastern states, but don't forget that there were other near eastern states besides Egypt and Sumer. My area is definitely late bronze age so not nearly as early, but there were sizable forests in Lebanon (some still are there today), and certainly in Anatolia. A good place to look for inspiration might be Anatolian civilization actually.
Regardless, I think even though they have a different geographical situation from other near eastern civilizations, they will develop some sort of palatial system, or maybe something closer to a oppida of later celtic europe, just a few millenium early, and I think their principle trade route will be north-south along the amber trail to greece, with some influx from the steppe from time to time.
just my two cents.
A state like a ATL post-Cucuteni state, I think you have to decide how close it is as a state to something like a Mycenaean city-state (even though that is obviously quite a while later than where you are at rn). Even in a highly fertile area there is going to be a uneven distribution of resources and individual statelets could grow in power that way. Also, if they have all that wealth, then they are likely going to be a major source of resources for Palatial states to the south. OTL there was a lot of trade and cultural communication from the Carpathians to Greece so I would see that as the most likely avenue for trade south. You could have raw ores, wool, timber head south to Greece and then manufactured goods like weaponry get traded north, or olive oil for example. Also maritime goods like shells, salt, or corals. Plus, trade through Greece would link the Amaloxians to the larger Near Eastern trade network. Basically a trade in luxury goods and status symbols that would encourage centralization and resource exploitation.
Yes you are dealing with a society that has much greater natural resources than the traditional near eastern states, but don't forget that there were other near eastern states besides Egypt and Sumer. My area is definitely late bronze age so not nearly as early, but there were sizable forests in Lebanon (some still are there today), and certainly in Anatolia. A good place to look for inspiration might be Anatolian civilization actually.
Regardless, I think even though they have a different geographical situation from other near eastern civilizations, they will develop some sort of palatial system, or maybe something closer to a oppida of later celtic europe, just a few millenium early, and I think their principle trade route will be north-south along the amber trail to greece, with some influx from the steppe from time to time.
just my two cents.
Thanks for your input, that is very much valued!
Amber? Hm. While I could principally see it being used both as jewellery and as incense, amber trade required IOTL the space-filling and comparatively mobile Globular Amphora Culture. Without cultural influences from steppe horse people, these same regions are likely to simply remain a part of the less mobile Funnelbeaker culture. Now that is without taking into account the influence exerted by emerging Danubian statehood. Without spoiling too much, I think it´s safe to say that South-Eastern Funnelbeaker is going to absorb a great amount of Amaloxian influence and maybe not only that, and enter a relationship that is similarly close and permeative with Amaloxians than their OTL equivalents were with the Indo-Europeanised Baden and late Cernavoda cultures as well as the still-Danubian late Cucuteni-Tripolye and Coţofeni cultures. But will that bring amber into the game? I tend to think not.
Neither tin, nor arsenic really in their own lands. Traces of tin - but a lot more upriver on the Danube. That's going to make the river an even more important trade artery, but I gather not before tin bronze from the Levante is known and understood on the Danube.
Amber? Hm. While I could principally see it being used both as jewellery and as incense, amber trade required IOTL the space-filling and comparatively mobile Globular Amphora Culture. Without cultural influences from steppe horse people, these same regions are likely to simply remain a part of the less mobile Funnelbeaker culture. Now that is without taking into account the influence exerted by emerging Danubian statehood. Without spoiling too much, I think it´s safe to say that South-Eastern Funnelbeaker is going to absorb a great amount of Amaloxian influence and maybe not only that, and enter a relationship that is similarly close and permeative with Amaloxians than their OTL equivalents were with the Indo-Europeanised Baden and late Cernavoda cultures as well as the still-Danubian late Cucuteni-Tripolye and Coţofeni cultures. But will that bring amber into the game? I tend to think not.
That´s going to depend on the time frame. In the 3rd and even more so in the 2nd millennium BCE, this could make a lot of sense. (Although, until then, a lot has happened, and maybe we`re no longer talking about a Carpato-Danubian focus anymore?) Right now, though, in the first half of the 4th millennium BCE, the first emerging temple state(s) may undertake their first attempts at centralizing production and distribution, accumulating more land etc., but it´s going to be really limited. Everything required for a Late Bronze Age state, from administrative traditions over professional martial skills, means of transportation, to greater population densities, has to develop yet. Some of it is beginning right now. People with specialised skills are about the first to become sucked into this web, as the next update, which is currently undergoing editing, shall allude to. The ordinary farmer is still not affected to a great degree from what goes on in Kalazza, as distances are cumbersome to bridge and there is still a lot of underused (although not quite ideal) land around, still a lot of forests to fell, and a lot of space to extend into in the North and West. After all, I believe, with Prof Hadjeamin, that the rarity of weapon finds in preceding millennia had little to do with matriarchy and a lot with abundance and sparse population at first. As population density increases and technology develops, we are currently witnessing a stage of proto-state formation, but it´s still rather a marginal phenomenon, not an all-encompassing one like in the hydraulic societies.
Anatolia is not a bad analogy indeed. The first Hattic cities and temple states developed in the second half of the 3rd millennium, for example. That`s the age of carts and wagons, of fully developed bronze production networks, and of impending proto-Hittite and Luwian invasions. Still a long way to go from our Amaloxian situation. Before Hattush, we have large tell settlements in the agriculture-pioneering Southern Anatolian valleys, but rather scattered and not quite complex settlements in the forested North.
There are no Palatial states in the South yet. In what is today Greece, this is the time of the Rachmani and the Attika Kephala cultures. The South has reached its carrying capacity long ago (which is why it continues to send waves of people outward), so here is a reason for a faster development of palatial economic structures. On the other hand, ITTL it´s the North, the Danubian space, where new social structures emerge and which is technologically more advanced, too.
I, too, think that the Carpathians and Greece will remain closely linked ITTL, too. They share a common cultural and linguistic background and have long-standing traditions of trade which predate the Copper Age. Since I won`t elaborate on all of this in the myth-and-seminar updates, I might as well comment a little on proposed trade goods here. Greece would want its share of raw ores, for sure, although I´m not sure if domestic reserves in Thessaly aren`t sufficient. The Amaloxians might still be the ones forging the better weapons, at least initially, and also the more prestigious and refined gold ornaments. Shells and corals will continue to be sought after in Amaloxia, I´m sure. Olive oil is an excellent idea. For salt, they have other sources closer by. When timber is going to become a problem in *Greece, I´m not sure where they`d turn to. OTL Macedonia, Kosovo etc. might be closer.
I agree. The Near Eastern trade network is not quite as developed yet, though. And the Amaloxians will be an important factor shaping it ITTL.
TTL´s steppe is not going to be quite so influential without horses, for quite a while. The Danube flows from West to East, which is convenient for heavy raw materials to be shipped downriver from the less developed West (longer-lasting Lengyel cultures around this time) and light, skill-requiring goods like ornaments and other luxury travelling upriver, so I suppose Amaloxian trade is going to be predominantly along this West-East axis for a while. But the link to the South will remain important, too, and it will look quite different from OTL.
I think I've overplayed my hand as someone firmly in Late Bronze Age work
I will be very interested to see how the carpathian - greece corridor develops here as opposed to OTL. What might be interesting is seeing how the secondary cultures along that line, your proto-thracian cultures develop. Whether or not you see sun cults pop up like you do OTL.
One last thing, how are you planning on dealing with onagers as a pack animal? In the near east actually donkeys were the prestige animal and obviously there were donkey chariots to a extent. Oh, and in the near east for millenium they carried this perception of the horse as the 'barbarians animal', since it came from non-palatial peoples to the north and east. Would be interesting to see the way Amaloxians thought of horses and donkeys in a social sense..
I will be very interested to see how the carpathian - greece corridor develops here as opposed to OTL. What might be interesting is seeing how the secondary cultures along that line, your proto-thracian cultures develop. Whether or not you see sun cults pop up like you do OTL.
One last thing, how are you planning on dealing with onagers as a pack animal? In the near east actually donkeys were the prestige animal and obviously there were donkey chariots to a extent. Oh, and in the near east for millenium they carried this perception of the horse as the 'barbarians animal', since it came from non-palatial peoples to the north and east. Would be interesting to see the way Amaloxians thought of horses and donkeys in a social sense..
The Age of the First Holy Mountain
When the Amaloxians had built their first Holy Mountain, and the nine remained there in Apašuň's company, Life recovered, and the land returned to peace and prosperity [1]. The complete wisdom of Amalox was written down in the Holy Mountain, and many diligent daughters of Amalox worked day and night in this endeavor. They stayed with the nine in the sacred halls of the Holy Mountain. And when one of the nine died, the wisest and most respected of the temple servants would follow her in the duty of keeping Apašuň calm and confident. [2]
People from afar heard about the Holy Mountain and undertook long and difficult journeys to come and see it. Wise men from Lazza [3] came with salt and honey, and wise men from Araz [4] came with secret stones, and wise women from Wešeš [5] came with oil of the olive and mother of pearl, and they all sought advice, and soon the knowledge of the One and how she was and maintained Life was shared in all their lands.
The daughters and sons of Amalox lived pious and good lives for seven generations, and the land was peaceful and prosperous. And new wisdom was come upon every day from the Holy Mountain, for the best in all trades came and worked there and conversed among one another. Their newfound wisdom was written down, and those who left later swore oaths to preserve this wisdom and keep it secret from those who would use it irresponsibly. But, alas, oaths would be broken, and no guard of the Holy Mountain can chase after a thought once escaped and hope to catch and bring it back home to where it is safe!
Thus, in the eighth generation after the Founding of the First Holy Mountain, the Nine decided to send the craftsmen in the service of the Holy Mountain to other mountains where ores were extracted and metals worked and to erect holy places in the service of Čuwl there, after the model of Kalazza. But then the women and men of Ɵiňla [6] grew proud, and their mine-workers and coppersmiths would not sacrifice on Čuwl's altars and they would not pray to him.
The guards of the Holy Mountain had been sworn not to harm any child of Amalox who had not attacked another first, but the keepers of the First Holy Mountain could not tolerate such impiety. And so they called together the wise mothers of all other towns and those who bought and sold wares which they carried in many boats, and they all agreed that none of them would go to Ɵiňla and no woman from Ɵiňla would be received among them for the striking of bargains until the stubborn people of Ɵiňla saw the error of their ways. And so It happened, ere Byax had completed her full cycle, that the people of Ɵiňla repented and worked together in shaping their mountains so that Čuwl would come and watch over their wisdom and welfare.
Čuwl was mighty and a powerful guardian, but he was not aware of the shadow of his strength, and so his growing power unsettled the balance and the peace of the land. And troubled times began after the concordance had been impiously questioned by proud Ɵiňla. Men, obsessed with power given by Čuwl and envious of the thunderous glory of those who served Wotunkat, began to sacrifice to the bull god, and they lifted their weapons against one another, and town arose against town. And had it not been for the greatness of the Holy Mountain, whose wise women would not let the furor and madness reign, the country would have been ravaged by the men possessed by Wotunkat. But the Guards of the Nine assembled all the forces of peace, and they overcame those who had taken after the unholy and restless, and they took their weapons from them and forced them to serve Life instead of extinguishing it. And the Guards went beyond the arc of hills and into the great woodlands whither the sons of the blue sky had gone, to live among the savages of the wood, but they had taken their cattle thither and went on living in their old ways, and the Guards smote and captured them and had soon weakened Wotunkat.
And the lands of the daughters and sons of Amalox were peaceful again throughout all the lives of those who had wrestled down the spirit of Wotunkat, and the lives of their daughters and granddaughters, too, for the Holy Mountain stood firm, and the people were wise and pious.
But in the last years of Kalazza [7], the servants in the temple forgot of their duties, and they became corrupt and indulged in all manner of improper pleasures, and even the Nine forgot about their oaths of chastity and they celebrated public orgies and falsely invoked the name of the One. Apašuň was revolted, and she fled from Kalazza and could not be found.
She wandered for many years in her labyrinth under the earth until until Lašutax, Ɵiňnis, Daulaz, Inakhrat, Moňlulwan, Biršax, Čiňtu, Xelraz and Šukhtupiň found her on the other side of the Middle River, and they built a Second Holy Mountain, and they were able to convince Apašuň to come up to the surface again.
[1] Temperature and rainfall increased after the slump again during the 39th century BCE, although they would never reach their pre-4200 levels again. In the Carpathians, that has less tragic implications than, say, in North Africa, though.
[2] The story is of course much more complicated. See seminar discussion.
[3] An Old Amaloxian geographical term with rather vague boundaries, referring to a mainly forested land to their North-West, at this time referring to Funnelbeaker culture groups.
[4] Another Old Amaloxian geographical term which referred to a mountainous region in the West North of the Danube, perhaps part of the Lengyel culture.
[5] Alt-Egyptian for a part of the Aegaean.
[6] Picture it somewhere in the Transilvanian Ore Mountains. https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munții_Metaliferi#/media/File:Muntii_Metaliferi.JPG
[7] Somewhere around the middle of the 36th millennium BCE.
Seminar discussion – week five:
Prof Hadjeamin: “As you will have noticed I’ve changed the seating arrangement for today's session, the first before the season of our local festivities [8], because I thought it would be a good idea for you to try and do the kinds of verification and discussion that we've done together in the seminar so far without my being there to guide you. And so I’ve divided our seminar into three groups. On your tables you will find different kinds of source materials and questions which link that material to a section of the myth you've read for today. Take about [half an hour] to discuss, and then present your hypotheses to the class.
Any questions?”
(Nobody asks questions, students start shuffling through the source materials and commenting to each other on them and on their tasks as well as conducting the usual personal small-talk. Prof Hadjeamin looks at the situation for a few moments, then relaxes a little.
Group 1 is faced with the question: “What was the historical background of the unrest related to the bull god Wotunkat in the myth and the campaign against him?” They receive pictures of and data about anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines and altar-carvings, where they were found, and which animal bones were also found in the proximity.
Group 2 is faced with the task: “Explain the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar.” They are given pictures of inscriptions on clay tablets, scribblings on stones, and inscriptions on memorial stelae, together with indicators stating whether they were found in the arc of the Zeforic Mountains, on the left or the right bank of the Middle River, on the Western plains, or in the Mevter Mountains [9].
Group 3 is only given a replica of a figurine which looks like an obese woman with very large breasts in a squatting position, and the task: “Explain the myth's reference to the celibacy of the Amaloxian high priestesses.”
When 30 minutes are over, two of the three groups haven't finished and ask for a little more time so that they can be ready to present. Prof Hadjeamin sighs and agrees to [five more minutes].
Prof Hadjeamin: “OK everyone, let's have some silence again, and can we please listen to the results of Group 1’s discussion? Oh, and could you start by stating your question or task first?”
…
Student A from Group 1: “Alright, we were given the question of what the historical background of the unrest related to Wotunkat was and of the campaign against those who served him. And we were given a few pictures and charts, and it was rather puzzling because we couldn't find any surge in the depiction of bulls, or cattle in general…”
Student B from Group 1: “Yeah, and also no surge in bovine bones in places where they should have been sacrificed.”
Student A from Group 1: “Yes. So, apparently there was no wave of a cattle cult in Amaloxia, or at least we couldn't find any traces of it in the data that we were given. To the contrary, cattle depictions and sacrifices seem to have been in decline from before the time that Prof Hadjeamin has given as the probable foundation of Kalazza, and it continued to decline throughout the time period we were given.
So we asked ourselves: Why were they making such a fuss about a cattle cult that was dying anyway?”
Student C from Group 1: “Mhm, and we've tried to come up with an explanation, but we're not sure really.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Don't worry, just go ahead.”
Student C from Group 1: “Soooooo…. We were thinking, maybe… They just needed to cover something up when they had completely different motives altogether, like propaganda or something…”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Who are 'they'?”
Student D from Group 1: “Or maybe it was about discrimination towards some minority group which was attacked just when it was weak enough not to be a danger anymore?”
Prof Hadjeamin: “OK, a number of possible explanations which may be compatible with one another, but which need some sorting out. Did you try to test your hypotheses?”
Student A from Group 1: “Well, no, not really. I mean, we looked at the myth again, and the myth is speaking about Ɵiňla and about new slaves, so maybe…”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Yes…?”
Student A from Group 1: “I don't know. It could have been something along those lines, but we don't know how to decide.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Fair enough. Thank you. So, as the group has sorted out, the stories about warriors obsessed with Wotunkat causing havoc in Amaloxia are just that: Stories. The cattle cult was diminished in the Kalazza period, with no signs of resurgence, and it all but disappeared towards the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar. It was certainly no threat that orthodox Amaloxians needed to unite against. But there was a background to it, and it is related both to Ɵiňla and to slave raids. Does anyone from the other groups have an idea?”
(Silence.)
Prof Hadjeamin: “OK, then I’ll give you my theory on the matter. When we look at weapon finds, at fortified and less fortified dwellings across different stages of the Kalazza period, and even when we date layers of destruction by fire, although we cannot be very certain due to the insecurities of [radiocarbon-dating], we are inclined to believe that Ɵiňla is representative of a more widespread phenomenon. A while after the alliance of the Amaloxian tribes or towns was concluded – we don't know how long that while lasted – the central authority of Kalazza was challenged by other towns. While the temple state may have been able to solve some of these conflicts with economic sanctions and pressure, as the myth hints at, others escalated into warfare. Our author's general tendency towards idealizing the Old Amaloxians to the detriment of, as we're going to say, the “dark ages” of foreign rule both past and in her present, compels her not to openly speak about this but to resort to the propaganda which may have been used at the times of those conflicts. We don't know about the latter. So the conflict is interpreted in religious terms as one concerning orthodoxy and orthopraxy, as befits a theocratic state. The enemies of the temple state are not just Amaloxian groups who want more power – no, they're worshippers of the wrong deity. And the wrong deity is of course one associated with the big inimical Other from beyond, the steppe pastoralist – thus, the bull god. While the decay of cattle cults may have been a spontaneous development in earlier centuries in a society which did not emphasize herding, it was being virtually outlawed and demonized in the later Kalazza period. But the military campaign conducted by the temple state likely had other rationales: crushing rebellions in the territory, and gaining new slaves from warfare conducted against their pastoralist neighbors.
Also, note that the pastoralist groups are described as dwelling in the North now. This is confirmed by archeological findings: the Dyuh disappear in the Hatumaua Delta [in the 40th or 39th century BCE], and groups related in pottery styles and burial rituals, for example covering corpses with red ochre, seem to have moved from their steppe homelands up the Ettheshed River [10] and Westwards along the Bessya [11] marshes, as well as North-Westwards along the Zevyet River [12]. We don't know if this Westward expansion of pastoralist economy was a threat to the Kalazza state or whether they were just welcome targets and victims, but it is likely that even after internal turmoil, in the interest of restoring unity and widespread support for the temple state, new slaves were needed to corroborate the temple’s power in the times of such challenges, and they were made not from among Amaloxians, but from the demonized Others, the foreigners who were the raison d´être of the Kalazzan state.
OK, Group 2, what did you find out?”
Student E from Group 2: “Yes. So. We were supposed to explain the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar which the myth describes. And we were given a lot of inscriptions from places which were both in Kalazza's territory and beyond its boundaries. We didn't have anyone in the group who could read Old Amaloxian, but it appeared to us as if all of these inscriptions were in Old Amaloxian. Prof Hadjeamin wrote that most of these inscriptions were from the Kalazza period, so before the temple moved to Šukhtitar.
Therefore, we deduced that maybe Kalazza had been establishing outposts, or colonies, or something, and maybe at some later point one of these revolted against the mother town and acquired hegemony.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Thank you. That is an interesting theory and at least in part quite plausible: Apašuň's walk across the labyrinthine caves really stands for a power struggle, at the end of which Kalazza obviously lost and Šukhtitar became the new capital – now of an even greater Amaloxian temple state. There is a layer of destruction in Kalazza which can be dated to the [36th century BCE], so that coincides, although Kalazza appears to have served as a minor temple site later on, too, and the distinctive brass weapons of Kalazza continued to be used in the Northern Zeforic mountains well into the [32nd century BCE], when they had fallen out of use in the Šukhtitar state. So perhaps it was not a complete transition and replacement, but rather the Šukhtitar state winning a power struggle and then eclipsing Kalazza, which was reduced to a sort of minor, local temple state.
But your explanation of colonies, although plausible at first sight… We have to look more closely at that. And here it's slightly unfortunate that none of you are able to read Old Amaloxian. Is there anyone in this class who can?”
(Very awkward silence, everybody is quite busy looking into their bags and examining the floor.)
Prof Hadjeamin: “Well, if you could read Old Amaloxian, you would have observed that those inscriptions which stem from outside of Kalazza's territory before the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar feature a number of symbols we cannot decipher. Those closer to Kalazza, and also those from the Šukhtitar period we can read. What do you make of that?”
Student F from Group 2: “The script was harmonized later on, during the Šukhtitar period.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Obviously it was. What does this suggest?”
Student G from Group 2: “Maybe some of the people who made up the temple state of Kalazza moved to Šukhtitar?”
Prof Hadjeamin: “I think so, too. Now, there are various possible explanations both for the divergent symbols pre - Šukhtitar and for the harmonization and the Kalazzan influence later on. As for the Kalazza period itself, I think colonization is less likely – why would the colonists begin to use different symbols? No, in that early period, I believe that neighboring communities began to emulate Kalazza – in many ways, from building their own temple complexes to formalizing their own alliances to using full logographic scripts based on the symbols which were circulating in the entire Hatumauan region for over a millennium already. Maybe they came up with different fully-functioning symbol systems, or maybe they merely aped the Kalazzan practice. We can’t know for sure.
But the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar was not a complete break. It wasn't an entirely different group conquering Kalazza and forcing it into submission. What it really was we cannot say with certainty, but there could have been internal conflicts between factions at Kalazza, and one of them jumped ship. Or maybe various tribes or towns from across the Kalazzan territory built a new alliance around Šukhtitar, and when they had achieved hegemony, they invited experts from Kalazza to run their new temple state. Or maybe both: one temple faction sides with or forges a rebel alliance, but is not strong enough to succeed in Kalazza itself, so they call in aid from outside, and those who come to support them become the new rulers, including their Kalazzan allies into their new power structures.
Now, for the last group… what did you find out?”
Student H from Group 3: “We had this figurine here and a question about the chastity of the high priestesses which the myth mentions. We must say that we were rather puzzled at first. When we had read the myth, we didn't think too much about chaste priests or priestesses, that's not too uncommon, but the figurine reminded us of how the myth makes Amaloxian religion sound very centered on female life-giving features, on fertility and all that, and we thought, hey, how does that fit with chaste high priestesses?”
Student I from Group 3: “But then we realized why priests or priestesses are supposed to be chaste elsewhere, in other cultures that we know of. And it's mostly because they are in positions of power, but their power is not supposed to be hereditary. We based our hypothesis on this assumption: That Amaloxian priestly chastity was designed to keep sacerdotal authority and power non-hereditary. From there, the leap was not so large anymore… so here is our hypothesis:
The high priestesses of Kalazza wanted to make their power hereditary, to have their daughters inherit their positions, to keep the power 'in the family’, as it were. And others didn't like this, maybe there were other groups who were participating in the election or selection or whatever of priestesses, and for them, that must have been important in controlling this temple state, and when the high priestesses began to marry and have kids these kids were a threat to their power.”
Prof Hadjeamin claps his hands: “Excellent. That was good work indeed, and I didn't make it easy for you. Very good! Just one minor comment: The high priestesses, in all likelihood, did not marry. Much rather, they celebrated hierogamy, which was a common feature in better-documented periods of Amaloxian history, and which to critics resembled very improper orgies. Now, this hypothesis ties in very well with what we've said about the results of the previous group. Now we have a theory regarding the end of the Kalazza state and the rise of the Šukhtitar state:
The Kalazzan elites, especially the nine high priestesses, attempted to centralize power, both by transforming it into hereditary power, and by turning the power of selection around: Instead of territorial groups elevating some of their own to high priestesses, the high priestesses themselves now chose with whom they would unite in ceremonial hierogamy (and maybe beyond, just to make sure) and so produce possible female heirs.
Local groups disenfranchised by these transformations allied with a minority in Kalazza critical of these reforms, and they found a somewhat powerful outside ally in Šukhtitar who supported them. Now, Šukhtitarite power was nothing to sneeze at, they controlled the Iron Gates [13] and a lot of the trade along the Hatumaua. So, Šukhtitar soon took over control in the rebel alliance which defeated the Kalazzan centralizers, and they included the latter’s opponents into their new hierocracy.
Great work everyone. Now, after the break, we'll continue with a slightly different chapter which deals with the journeys of one very interesting character. Please read and prepare the next chapter – and have a nice holiday season!”
[8] No idea what contemporary alt-Egyptians could celebrate, but it's convenient for me, as I won't be able to write updates until January.
[9] Alt-Egyptian for the Balkan mountain range.
[10] Alt-Egyptian for Dnieper
[11] Alt-Egyptian for Pripyat
[12] Alt-Egyptian for Dniester
[13] Why not call them like IOTL for once.
Once again thanks to @Betelgeuse for editing! I am going to be relatively offline and unable to write over the holiday season, too, so this timeline takes a short break and hopefully resumes by mid-January. I’ll try to reply to questions and comments to the best of my abilities nevertheless. And I can only join our good professor Hadjeamin in wishing all my readers great holidays, too!
When the Amaloxians had built their first Holy Mountain, and the nine remained there in Apašuň's company, Life recovered, and the land returned to peace and prosperity [1]. The complete wisdom of Amalox was written down in the Holy Mountain, and many diligent daughters of Amalox worked day and night in this endeavor. They stayed with the nine in the sacred halls of the Holy Mountain. And when one of the nine died, the wisest and most respected of the temple servants would follow her in the duty of keeping Apašuň calm and confident. [2]
People from afar heard about the Holy Mountain and undertook long and difficult journeys to come and see it. Wise men from Lazza [3] came with salt and honey, and wise men from Araz [4] came with secret stones, and wise women from Wešeš [5] came with oil of the olive and mother of pearl, and they all sought advice, and soon the knowledge of the One and how she was and maintained Life was shared in all their lands.
The daughters and sons of Amalox lived pious and good lives for seven generations, and the land was peaceful and prosperous. And new wisdom was come upon every day from the Holy Mountain, for the best in all trades came and worked there and conversed among one another. Their newfound wisdom was written down, and those who left later swore oaths to preserve this wisdom and keep it secret from those who would use it irresponsibly. But, alas, oaths would be broken, and no guard of the Holy Mountain can chase after a thought once escaped and hope to catch and bring it back home to where it is safe!
Thus, in the eighth generation after the Founding of the First Holy Mountain, the Nine decided to send the craftsmen in the service of the Holy Mountain to other mountains where ores were extracted and metals worked and to erect holy places in the service of Čuwl there, after the model of Kalazza. But then the women and men of Ɵiňla [6] grew proud, and their mine-workers and coppersmiths would not sacrifice on Čuwl's altars and they would not pray to him.
The guards of the Holy Mountain had been sworn not to harm any child of Amalox who had not attacked another first, but the keepers of the First Holy Mountain could not tolerate such impiety. And so they called together the wise mothers of all other towns and those who bought and sold wares which they carried in many boats, and they all agreed that none of them would go to Ɵiňla and no woman from Ɵiňla would be received among them for the striking of bargains until the stubborn people of Ɵiňla saw the error of their ways. And so It happened, ere Byax had completed her full cycle, that the people of Ɵiňla repented and worked together in shaping their mountains so that Čuwl would come and watch over their wisdom and welfare.
Čuwl was mighty and a powerful guardian, but he was not aware of the shadow of his strength, and so his growing power unsettled the balance and the peace of the land. And troubled times began after the concordance had been impiously questioned by proud Ɵiňla. Men, obsessed with power given by Čuwl and envious of the thunderous glory of those who served Wotunkat, began to sacrifice to the bull god, and they lifted their weapons against one another, and town arose against town. And had it not been for the greatness of the Holy Mountain, whose wise women would not let the furor and madness reign, the country would have been ravaged by the men possessed by Wotunkat. But the Guards of the Nine assembled all the forces of peace, and they overcame those who had taken after the unholy and restless, and they took their weapons from them and forced them to serve Life instead of extinguishing it. And the Guards went beyond the arc of hills and into the great woodlands whither the sons of the blue sky had gone, to live among the savages of the wood, but they had taken their cattle thither and went on living in their old ways, and the Guards smote and captured them and had soon weakened Wotunkat.
And the lands of the daughters and sons of Amalox were peaceful again throughout all the lives of those who had wrestled down the spirit of Wotunkat, and the lives of their daughters and granddaughters, too, for the Holy Mountain stood firm, and the people were wise and pious.
But in the last years of Kalazza [7], the servants in the temple forgot of their duties, and they became corrupt and indulged in all manner of improper pleasures, and even the Nine forgot about their oaths of chastity and they celebrated public orgies and falsely invoked the name of the One. Apašuň was revolted, and she fled from Kalazza and could not be found.
She wandered for many years in her labyrinth under the earth until until Lašutax, Ɵiňnis, Daulaz, Inakhrat, Moňlulwan, Biršax, Čiňtu, Xelraz and Šukhtupiň found her on the other side of the Middle River, and they built a Second Holy Mountain, and they were able to convince Apašuň to come up to the surface again.
[1] Temperature and rainfall increased after the slump again during the 39th century BCE, although they would never reach their pre-4200 levels again. In the Carpathians, that has less tragic implications than, say, in North Africa, though.
[2] The story is of course much more complicated. See seminar discussion.
[3] An Old Amaloxian geographical term with rather vague boundaries, referring to a mainly forested land to their North-West, at this time referring to Funnelbeaker culture groups.
[4] Another Old Amaloxian geographical term which referred to a mountainous region in the West North of the Danube, perhaps part of the Lengyel culture.
[5] Alt-Egyptian for a part of the Aegaean.
[6] Picture it somewhere in the Transilvanian Ore Mountains. https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munții_Metaliferi#/media/File:Muntii_Metaliferi.JPG
[7] Somewhere around the middle of the 36th millennium BCE.
Seminar discussion – week five:
Prof Hadjeamin: “As you will have noticed I’ve changed the seating arrangement for today's session, the first before the season of our local festivities [8], because I thought it would be a good idea for you to try and do the kinds of verification and discussion that we've done together in the seminar so far without my being there to guide you. And so I’ve divided our seminar into three groups. On your tables you will find different kinds of source materials and questions which link that material to a section of the myth you've read for today. Take about [half an hour] to discuss, and then present your hypotheses to the class.
Any questions?”
(Nobody asks questions, students start shuffling through the source materials and commenting to each other on them and on their tasks as well as conducting the usual personal small-talk. Prof Hadjeamin looks at the situation for a few moments, then relaxes a little.
Group 1 is faced with the question: “What was the historical background of the unrest related to the bull god Wotunkat in the myth and the campaign against him?” They receive pictures of and data about anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines and altar-carvings, where they were found, and which animal bones were also found in the proximity.
Group 2 is faced with the task: “Explain the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar.” They are given pictures of inscriptions on clay tablets, scribblings on stones, and inscriptions on memorial stelae, together with indicators stating whether they were found in the arc of the Zeforic Mountains, on the left or the right bank of the Middle River, on the Western plains, or in the Mevter Mountains [9].
Group 3 is only given a replica of a figurine which looks like an obese woman with very large breasts in a squatting position, and the task: “Explain the myth's reference to the celibacy of the Amaloxian high priestesses.”
When 30 minutes are over, two of the three groups haven't finished and ask for a little more time so that they can be ready to present. Prof Hadjeamin sighs and agrees to [five more minutes].
Prof Hadjeamin: “OK everyone, let's have some silence again, and can we please listen to the results of Group 1’s discussion? Oh, and could you start by stating your question or task first?”
…
Student A from Group 1: “Alright, we were given the question of what the historical background of the unrest related to Wotunkat was and of the campaign against those who served him. And we were given a few pictures and charts, and it was rather puzzling because we couldn't find any surge in the depiction of bulls, or cattle in general…”
Student B from Group 1: “Yeah, and also no surge in bovine bones in places where they should have been sacrificed.”
Student A from Group 1: “Yes. So, apparently there was no wave of a cattle cult in Amaloxia, or at least we couldn't find any traces of it in the data that we were given. To the contrary, cattle depictions and sacrifices seem to have been in decline from before the time that Prof Hadjeamin has given as the probable foundation of Kalazza, and it continued to decline throughout the time period we were given.
So we asked ourselves: Why were they making such a fuss about a cattle cult that was dying anyway?”
Student C from Group 1: “Mhm, and we've tried to come up with an explanation, but we're not sure really.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Don't worry, just go ahead.”
Student C from Group 1: “Soooooo…. We were thinking, maybe… They just needed to cover something up when they had completely different motives altogether, like propaganda or something…”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Who are 'they'?”
Student D from Group 1: “Or maybe it was about discrimination towards some minority group which was attacked just when it was weak enough not to be a danger anymore?”
Prof Hadjeamin: “OK, a number of possible explanations which may be compatible with one another, but which need some sorting out. Did you try to test your hypotheses?”
Student A from Group 1: “Well, no, not really. I mean, we looked at the myth again, and the myth is speaking about Ɵiňla and about new slaves, so maybe…”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Yes…?”
Student A from Group 1: “I don't know. It could have been something along those lines, but we don't know how to decide.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Fair enough. Thank you. So, as the group has sorted out, the stories about warriors obsessed with Wotunkat causing havoc in Amaloxia are just that: Stories. The cattle cult was diminished in the Kalazza period, with no signs of resurgence, and it all but disappeared towards the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar. It was certainly no threat that orthodox Amaloxians needed to unite against. But there was a background to it, and it is related both to Ɵiňla and to slave raids. Does anyone from the other groups have an idea?”
(Silence.)
Prof Hadjeamin: “OK, then I’ll give you my theory on the matter. When we look at weapon finds, at fortified and less fortified dwellings across different stages of the Kalazza period, and even when we date layers of destruction by fire, although we cannot be very certain due to the insecurities of [radiocarbon-dating], we are inclined to believe that Ɵiňla is representative of a more widespread phenomenon. A while after the alliance of the Amaloxian tribes or towns was concluded – we don't know how long that while lasted – the central authority of Kalazza was challenged by other towns. While the temple state may have been able to solve some of these conflicts with economic sanctions and pressure, as the myth hints at, others escalated into warfare. Our author's general tendency towards idealizing the Old Amaloxians to the detriment of, as we're going to say, the “dark ages” of foreign rule both past and in her present, compels her not to openly speak about this but to resort to the propaganda which may have been used at the times of those conflicts. We don't know about the latter. So the conflict is interpreted in religious terms as one concerning orthodoxy and orthopraxy, as befits a theocratic state. The enemies of the temple state are not just Amaloxian groups who want more power – no, they're worshippers of the wrong deity. And the wrong deity is of course one associated with the big inimical Other from beyond, the steppe pastoralist – thus, the bull god. While the decay of cattle cults may have been a spontaneous development in earlier centuries in a society which did not emphasize herding, it was being virtually outlawed and demonized in the later Kalazza period. But the military campaign conducted by the temple state likely had other rationales: crushing rebellions in the territory, and gaining new slaves from warfare conducted against their pastoralist neighbors.
Also, note that the pastoralist groups are described as dwelling in the North now. This is confirmed by archeological findings: the Dyuh disappear in the Hatumaua Delta [in the 40th or 39th century BCE], and groups related in pottery styles and burial rituals, for example covering corpses with red ochre, seem to have moved from their steppe homelands up the Ettheshed River [10] and Westwards along the Bessya [11] marshes, as well as North-Westwards along the Zevyet River [12]. We don't know if this Westward expansion of pastoralist economy was a threat to the Kalazza state or whether they were just welcome targets and victims, but it is likely that even after internal turmoil, in the interest of restoring unity and widespread support for the temple state, new slaves were needed to corroborate the temple’s power in the times of such challenges, and they were made not from among Amaloxians, but from the demonized Others, the foreigners who were the raison d´être of the Kalazzan state.
OK, Group 2, what did you find out?”
Student E from Group 2: “Yes. So. We were supposed to explain the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar which the myth describes. And we were given a lot of inscriptions from places which were both in Kalazza's territory and beyond its boundaries. We didn't have anyone in the group who could read Old Amaloxian, but it appeared to us as if all of these inscriptions were in Old Amaloxian. Prof Hadjeamin wrote that most of these inscriptions were from the Kalazza period, so before the temple moved to Šukhtitar.
Therefore, we deduced that maybe Kalazza had been establishing outposts, or colonies, or something, and maybe at some later point one of these revolted against the mother town and acquired hegemony.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Thank you. That is an interesting theory and at least in part quite plausible: Apašuň's walk across the labyrinthine caves really stands for a power struggle, at the end of which Kalazza obviously lost and Šukhtitar became the new capital – now of an even greater Amaloxian temple state. There is a layer of destruction in Kalazza which can be dated to the [36th century BCE], so that coincides, although Kalazza appears to have served as a minor temple site later on, too, and the distinctive brass weapons of Kalazza continued to be used in the Northern Zeforic mountains well into the [32nd century BCE], when they had fallen out of use in the Šukhtitar state. So perhaps it was not a complete transition and replacement, but rather the Šukhtitar state winning a power struggle and then eclipsing Kalazza, which was reduced to a sort of minor, local temple state.
But your explanation of colonies, although plausible at first sight… We have to look more closely at that. And here it's slightly unfortunate that none of you are able to read Old Amaloxian. Is there anyone in this class who can?”
(Very awkward silence, everybody is quite busy looking into their bags and examining the floor.)
Prof Hadjeamin: “Well, if you could read Old Amaloxian, you would have observed that those inscriptions which stem from outside of Kalazza's territory before the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar feature a number of symbols we cannot decipher. Those closer to Kalazza, and also those from the Šukhtitar period we can read. What do you make of that?”
Student F from Group 2: “The script was harmonized later on, during the Šukhtitar period.”
Prof Hadjeamin: “Obviously it was. What does this suggest?”
Student G from Group 2: “Maybe some of the people who made up the temple state of Kalazza moved to Šukhtitar?”
Prof Hadjeamin: “I think so, too. Now, there are various possible explanations both for the divergent symbols pre - Šukhtitar and for the harmonization and the Kalazzan influence later on. As for the Kalazza period itself, I think colonization is less likely – why would the colonists begin to use different symbols? No, in that early period, I believe that neighboring communities began to emulate Kalazza – in many ways, from building their own temple complexes to formalizing their own alliances to using full logographic scripts based on the symbols which were circulating in the entire Hatumauan region for over a millennium already. Maybe they came up with different fully-functioning symbol systems, or maybe they merely aped the Kalazzan practice. We can’t know for sure.
But the shift from Kalazza to Šukhtitar was not a complete break. It wasn't an entirely different group conquering Kalazza and forcing it into submission. What it really was we cannot say with certainty, but there could have been internal conflicts between factions at Kalazza, and one of them jumped ship. Or maybe various tribes or towns from across the Kalazzan territory built a new alliance around Šukhtitar, and when they had achieved hegemony, they invited experts from Kalazza to run their new temple state. Or maybe both: one temple faction sides with or forges a rebel alliance, but is not strong enough to succeed in Kalazza itself, so they call in aid from outside, and those who come to support them become the new rulers, including their Kalazzan allies into their new power structures.
Now, for the last group… what did you find out?”
Student H from Group 3: “We had this figurine here and a question about the chastity of the high priestesses which the myth mentions. We must say that we were rather puzzled at first. When we had read the myth, we didn't think too much about chaste priests or priestesses, that's not too uncommon, but the figurine reminded us of how the myth makes Amaloxian religion sound very centered on female life-giving features, on fertility and all that, and we thought, hey, how does that fit with chaste high priestesses?”
Student I from Group 3: “But then we realized why priests or priestesses are supposed to be chaste elsewhere, in other cultures that we know of. And it's mostly because they are in positions of power, but their power is not supposed to be hereditary. We based our hypothesis on this assumption: That Amaloxian priestly chastity was designed to keep sacerdotal authority and power non-hereditary. From there, the leap was not so large anymore… so here is our hypothesis:
The high priestesses of Kalazza wanted to make their power hereditary, to have their daughters inherit their positions, to keep the power 'in the family’, as it were. And others didn't like this, maybe there were other groups who were participating in the election or selection or whatever of priestesses, and for them, that must have been important in controlling this temple state, and when the high priestesses began to marry and have kids these kids were a threat to their power.”
Prof Hadjeamin claps his hands: “Excellent. That was good work indeed, and I didn't make it easy for you. Very good! Just one minor comment: The high priestesses, in all likelihood, did not marry. Much rather, they celebrated hierogamy, which was a common feature in better-documented periods of Amaloxian history, and which to critics resembled very improper orgies. Now, this hypothesis ties in very well with what we've said about the results of the previous group. Now we have a theory regarding the end of the Kalazza state and the rise of the Šukhtitar state:
The Kalazzan elites, especially the nine high priestesses, attempted to centralize power, both by transforming it into hereditary power, and by turning the power of selection around: Instead of territorial groups elevating some of their own to high priestesses, the high priestesses themselves now chose with whom they would unite in ceremonial hierogamy (and maybe beyond, just to make sure) and so produce possible female heirs.
Local groups disenfranchised by these transformations allied with a minority in Kalazza critical of these reforms, and they found a somewhat powerful outside ally in Šukhtitar who supported them. Now, Šukhtitarite power was nothing to sneeze at, they controlled the Iron Gates [13] and a lot of the trade along the Hatumaua. So, Šukhtitar soon took over control in the rebel alliance which defeated the Kalazzan centralizers, and they included the latter’s opponents into their new hierocracy.
Great work everyone. Now, after the break, we'll continue with a slightly different chapter which deals with the journeys of one very interesting character. Please read and prepare the next chapter – and have a nice holiday season!”
[8] No idea what contemporary alt-Egyptians could celebrate, but it's convenient for me, as I won't be able to write updates until January.
[9] Alt-Egyptian for the Balkan mountain range.
[10] Alt-Egyptian for Dnieper
[11] Alt-Egyptian for Pripyat
[12] Alt-Egyptian for Dniester
[13] Why not call them like IOTL for once.
Once again thanks to @Betelgeuse for editing! I am going to be relatively offline and unable to write over the holiday season, too, so this timeline takes a short break and hopefully resumes by mid-January. I’ll try to reply to questions and comments to the best of my abilities nevertheless. And I can only join our good professor Hadjeamin in wishing all my readers great holidays, too!
Since the ancestors of the Danubian groups, those agricultural pioneers who arrived at the Danube, had come from Anatolia through Thrace in a prolonged series of expansion waves, I expect people in *Thrace speaking a language related to Amaloxian, and I expect them to share a number of other cultural characteristics, too. Here, too, female figurines were found, and no elaborate burial rituals developed before Indo-European groups came. Now that doesn`t mean they`ll end up in a political union, too - they might just as well be bitter rivals, enemies, or whatever. But I expect our Amaloxians to see them as somewhat related, and not without reason. Will the cultural differences between them (e.g. no Vinca signs were found in Thrace IOTL) play out into deeper chasms of identity? Or will they Amaloxianise? Tme will tell ;-)I think I've overplayed my hand as someone firmly in Late Bronze Age work
I will be very interested to see how the carpathian - greece corridor develops here as opposed to OTL. What might be interesting is seeing how the secondary cultures along that line, your proto-thracian cultures develop. Whether or not you see sun cults pop up like you do OTL.
One last thing, how are you planning on dealing with onagers as a pack animal? In the near east actually donkeys were the prestige animal and obviously there were donkey chariots to a extent. Oh, and in the near east for millenium they carried this perception of the horse as the 'barbarians animal', since it came from non-palatial peoples to the north and east. Would be interesting to see the way Amaloxians thought of horses and donkeys in a social sense..
Onagers are going to be a big thing, and so are carts, wagons, chariots etc. - when they arrive. Not going to say more as that would be spoilering, but onagers and donkeys are going to be a huge thing, as would be expected in a world without horses. So far, there are neither donkeys, nor onagers on the Danube, and the Kalazzan temple elites haven`t even seen one of them in their whole lives. African domesticated donkeys are making their way through Egypt right now, and the Mesopotamian domesticated onagers haven`t reached the Mediterranean, either. Which is rather unfortunate for the Amaloxians, as they only have oxen as pack animals.
I'm kind of puzzled by Hadjeamin's theory. If this was really a rebellion born out of opposition to a doctrinal shift, rather than a will to escape the power of Kalazza, why would they move their main Temple? Certainly the Kalazzat Temple by this point has a lot of legitimacy, it seems odd that they would just move to another capital eventhough the importance of the Temple seems explicitly tied to its location (above these caverns the myth mentioned).
Skallagrim
Banned
Social and economic exclusion as a pressure tool instead of outright warfare. That is very interesting. The seminar actually downplays it, which is a bit surprising. It seems that prof. Hadjeamin is even more skeptical of the 'peaceful matriarchy' idea than I am! The suggestion that this (kind of) culture would be more inclined to use such methods instead of raw military power hardly seems implausible to me. It appears almost as if the professor is glossing it over by saying "While the temple state may have been able to solve some of these conflicts with economic sanctions and pressure, as the myth hints at, others escalated into warfare". Even reading the myth as a clearly biased text, it still apears to me that dimplomacy was noticably central to the way the Temple deals with breakaway communities and potential rivals.
I was absolutely covinced this was going to come back in a big way. It gives a clear hint at what Apašuň actually is, and what is evidently happening here. All the factors discussed in the seminar may be relevant, but what's left out (or what I think is left out) is way more important. The going theory here is: the Temple became corrupt, Apašuň left because of it, and this stands for a power struggle within society. But what is this temple culture based on? Mining.
Apašuň is the ore. Apašuň leaving is the mine becoming depleted. Apašuň being found on the other side of the Middle River is a new deposit being found. The 'corruption of the temple' may just be a case of 'blaming the priestesses'. The ore runs out, Apašuň is tied to the ore (may even be a deified notion of it, to some extent), so the ore running out must be the fault of the priestesses. This doesn't mean that the priestesses weren't doing exactly what the seminar suggests, of course. Perhaps they just had the bad luck that the ore ran out just as that struggle for power was ongoing, and it doomed them to lose. (So perhaps if the ore had stayed abundant, their play for hereditary positions would have succeeded.)
Maybe I'm reading far too much into two sentences, but as soon as I read them, that's how I interpreted it. (ETA: it would also answer @Pempelune's question!)