The Sea People

[G.Bone]

...and another period of wasted oppertunities. One might as well call this period the "Dark Age". (Alas, I cannot find an adequet smiley for that connotated emotion.)

How strengthened is the Gidion army by now with the constant wars? Is it up to par with ...oh I don't know...the Roman Imperial army with it's structure and groups & what not? (By this I am meaning the usual brigade->company_> squad // captain-> major => lt.=> etc*)

*I mean Centurion, Prime Prelate, but I don't know Roman ranks beyond that.

 

[Tynnin]

I’d say Gidona is approaching an organizational level comparable to that of Rome but I wouldn’t say they are there just yet.

Both politically and militarily their system is a lot simpler than Rome – not that simple is bad. They only developed the concept of a professional army (paid, promotion through merit, as well as a more standardized equipment for each unit) and provinces (over that of tribal and city-state territories) during the Gidonim . And the position of Azar (governor) was just recently developed. Beyond Azar and the Mekoma there really aren’t any consistently filled political positions – everything is run through the ministers appointed by either the Mekoma or the Azar (so things like tax collection, public works, public sanitation, grain distribution, etc. is all done kind of ad hoc).

Now, militarily we have a system that is still based on the concept of the unit of 100. The ehun (ehunim) is a 100 member unit of cavalry, infantry, or ranged soldiers. Each ehun is commanded by a Ehun Commander (a title/rank I’ve never developed mainly due to my rather limited grasp of Aramaic Hebrew). Several ehun are overseen by a general (again a for lack of a more language appropriate title/rank). An overall army commander is appointed at times of war – and then sometimes not even then because the king will act as the field commander. Each ehun leader and soldier are trained to use their ehun as an army within the army – more or less acting of their own accord although in conjunction with the other units in the field. So, it is more the skill and training of the individual ehun soldiers and their leader that is the backbone of the Gidonan military machine rather than any high degree of organization. As far as tactically their military uses variation on two themes: ambush or swarm. Despite the usually high level of animosity towards the Celts it is from contact with these tribes that the Avramites adopted the concept of the ehun and their battle tactics.

So, in short you have your individual soldier (cavalry, infantry, ranged) and then you have your ehun commander, and then the general overseeing several ehun, and then the army commander or king. The navy is set up in much the same way with each ship/ship captain than the overall commander of the navy, and then the king.

Cyrene has more of a Roman-esc political and military system. More levels of official positions and an army acting more like one body and one mind (a variation on the phalanx system at the moment).

 

[Tynnin]

The years under Josef II, Melek Kol’malkuwim (958AE – 966AE):


It came in the time of Mekoma Josef II the final war between Gidona and Cyrenia. Betrayal and revenge would play the harbingers to this momentous confrontation.

All was peaceful in Gidona; though beloved, Avimeleh’s reign was turbulent, but all had been settled, or so was thought, in 951AE. The calm extended into the first three years of Josef’s rule. However, unbeknownst to the Mekoma, or any of important rank, was that Piran, Azar of Aquitania, who was in actuality Simeon ben Mal’ahi, festered under the weight of hatred and jealousy. Under cover of secret Piran/Simeon was in contact with Archon Awan II of Cyrenia. Fortune at first would seem not to have favored the resentful Azar but luck would be his ally in the end. Through the years between 956AE and 958AE letters were sent to Cyrene hidden in hollowed out statues and handed to the Archon by the hands of loyal servants. But these messages, either received and ignored or never received, would generate no response. Then, in 958 perhaps by chance, one of Piran/Simeon’s letters fell into the hands of the crown prince Menes. They, Piran/Simeon and Menes, would continue to correspond with each other over the next two years with increasing regularity.

In 960AE Archon Awan II died and his son Menes took the throne.

In 961 Gidona was invaded, first from the south by a Cyrenian army. A few weeks later when Piran crossed the Vaconnes with the army he had been able to raise Josef must have thought his loyal azar was coming to the his aide. It wasn’t long before the realization of betrayal took root in Josef’s mind – villages and cities fell to Piran who had now unshackled himself from his guise and called himself by his true linage of Simeon ben Mal’ahi.

Simeon had actually wasted little time after becoming azar of Aquitania. He had built up over the years a small army which, by all accounts, he had planned to use with or without the help from Cyrene. His army was made up of loyal soldiers and commanders from his days serving under Mekoma Avimeleh as well as a number of native Aquitanians and other Celts (those Celtic tribes and kingdoms subject to Gidona that weren’t helping him had promised their neutrality).

Josef II was not in the capital when it was put under siege in 962, he commanded his forces in the south against the Cyrenians.

It was around the year 962 that Tarasia, in response to Macedonian aggression along the contested border, formally annexes Illyrica. This angers a number of other Celtic kingdoms. However, the downfall of the Cimbri and the rise of the Vangiones have continued to destabilize the northern regions bringing the Vangiones and the Ambron finally into war and splintering the tribes as many sought to carve out their own territories outside the control of the ruling clans. These wars had spilled over into the lands of the civilized Celts leaving Boianna the only kingdom with a free hand with which to strike at Tarasia.

By 963 Josef’s armies had been overwhelmed and much of his remaining force had been ordered to take up defensive positions in the larger (walled) cities while other ehun were ordered to ambush where and whenever they could – hoping to prolong the war and force both Simeon and Menes to come to peace terms.

In 964 Boianna, who had, for all the blustering and outrage, had had been handling the war with Tarasia haphazardly, comes to peace terms with Taras.

Though El Min’ghedud remained under siege by Simeon’s forces in 965 the Cyrenian army (now led in the field by Archon Menes) who’s siege warfare was more effectual had managed to take a number of large cities and settlements (including Tartessos, Keceph Byia, Cether, and Saran).

Though Josef was able to liberate Cether late in the year of 965 by the following year he had been driven from the city once more.

Josef took up a defensive position around Nazrat but by 966 (214BC) there was no defense that was going to hold back both Menes and Simeon’s forces. Josef died during the Battle of Nazrat (it is said it rained non-stop for three days after the mekoma’s death).

Josef’s body war brought to El Min’ghedud where it was displayed for all to see. Archon Menes proclaimed Simeon with the title of Melek Kol’malkuwim and with their combined armies brought down the walls of the capital two weeks later.

 

[Tynnin]

The map c.966AE (214BC)

Though not indicated on the map Gidona has become a vassal of Cyrenia (or at the very least subject to Cyrenian influence and control).

 

[G.Bone]

*sigh

On one hand it's nice to see an uber-empire...
but on the other... well ... I hope some measure of independence comes back for Gidona.

 

[JP_Morgan]

Great stuff, please continue! But it doesn't seem like Simeon ben Mala'hai would want to be a puppet for long. But the way things stand, it doesn't look like he has much choice. But Cyrene will surely get in a major war with some one else.

 

[Tynnin]

*sigh

On one hand it's nice to see an uber-empire...
but on the other... well ... I hope some measure of independence comes back for Gidona.

Uh…well, eventually – a certain measure of independence.

Great stuff, please continue! But it doesn't seem like Simeon ben Mala'hai would want to be a puppet for long. But the way things stand, it doesn't look like he has much choice. But Cyrene will surely get in a major war with some one else.

Thanks and yes, Cyrene isn’t finished with war just yet – and as they say, while the cat’s away…

 

[Silent Cal]

Good to see this up and running Tynnin.

What about Babylonia, how much of a thorn are they in the Cyreneans' side as of now?

 

[Tynnin]

Many thanks.

Babylonia is keeping a “You leave me alone, I’ll leave you alone” stance with Cyrenia at the moment. Babylon has more immediate problems with Medea, the Parthians, and the Bactrians – I’ll touch on that in the next segment.

 

[Tynnin]

The years under Simeon (ii), Melek Kol’malkuwim (966AE – 981AE):

The reign of Simeon ben Mal’ahi, a man who thought of himself as another Gid’on but was more often referred to in history as the Puppet Simeon, the Traitor Simeon, who sold the independence of Gidona for revenge and a chance to rule over the Avramite people, he was the first to take the throne without the populous accepting it as divinely inspired.

It was a dark time for believers. With the death of Mekoma Josef II it was widely believed by the Levites that God was punishing the Avramites and that He wouldn’t send a new king until they had suffered appropriately (though what the Avramite people had done to disserve such a punishment is argued even today). There was a renewed vigor into the examination of omens and prophecies. No prophecy was more widely examined and talked about than the Great Prophecy written by Tobit the Mad in 796AE (even among the Levites who virtually ignored the interpretations from the Nazrat Mikra and the Mishnah). At this time each new day seemed to bring another wandering priest out of the woods claiming to be the Masiah. The sect of Tsalmawuthees (~flagellants), which had remained a small and ignored aspect of Avramism since c.940AE, grew in numbers until there was hardly a corner of Gidona that didn’t have a congregation performing public displays of pain and self-deformation and shouting about the fire from the heavens and death at the hand of God.

With the capture of most of the royal family (Simeon’s own relatives) it was feared that the new mekoma would, as had been done in the past, bloody the family tree. But instead, perhaps thinking it was a kinder sentence, beginning in 970AE, he sold every male into slavery (to lands too far away to imagine) and to the noble women…prostitution, many of them forced to perform such acts in the palace.

In 971 Simeon relaxed the laws forbidding the practice of native religions in the Celtic territories.

It was in the year 971 that Archon Menes began his assault on Macedonia. He called upon the family Mal’ahi to provide a great deal to this war. Simeon readily agreed, perhaps perceiving a way to rid his kingdom of less loyal ehunim, generals, and citizens.

The year 971 held trouble for Medea, Babylonia, and Carthaginia as well. The Parthians, beginning in this year and continuing for the next three, began to once again raid cities as far west as Carthage itself. Perhaps the only fact saving those kingdoms, and Cyrenia too, from a full invasion were the periodic conflicts the Parni had with the Bactrians (who themselves occasional raided Medea and Babylonia but were, too, often embroiled in skirmishes with the Parthians). It was a shifting balance of power in the region that kept either the Parthians or the Bactrians from mounting any serious threat.

In 972AE Simeon held the first of many gluttonous affairs where all manner of unspeakable acts were undertaken (willingly and unwillingly).

It was in 974AE that Simeon conducted himself in a heinous act which according to accounts was a “New Year” religious rite said to have involved nakedness, animal costumes, and public coupling.

In 974AE Simeon sent his eldest son Gid’on to Cyrenia to meet with Archon Menes (as per the agreement that Menes needed to approve the next mekoma as well as to distance the heir from the brewing trouble in Gidona). Gid’on would spend two years in the foreign land.

In 974 there was a rare combined military campaign between Babylonia and Medea to end the Parthian raids. Trade had been significantly disrupted, farmland had been destroyed, and several nobles had been burned out of their homes – problems that supersede the dislike and competition between the two kingdoms.

In 975AE Qirya Kahan revolted with the Pharisees calling for all to unite against the rule of the Azazel, Mekoma Simeon. Simeon’s personal army (many of which, and certainly all generals and ehun commanders, were now of Celtic origins) was swift however and the rebellion never became widely known. By the following year the city had been captured, the inhabitants and the Pharisees tortured and slaughtered.

The military alliance between Babylonia and Medea collapses in 975 bringing them to war with each other (a brief conflict of less than a year).

The death of the Pharisees could not so easily be hidden and by 978 Simeon was faced with ever growing pressure from his people demanding the restoration of the most High Holy Council. Despite his efforts to put the Pharisees rebellion in the light of usurpers and spreading all manner of lies about the inhabitants of Qiyra Kahan Simeon had little choice, and so he did, filling the vacant seats with his own supporters – and those that paid well.

For Simeon the death of the old Pharisees and the reappointment of a new one was a blessing in disguise. For it was through their edicts to the people that calmed much of the unsettled population making Simeon’s last remaining years relatively peaceful – allowing him to toil in his pleasures without disturbance.

In 979 Archon Menes claimed victory over the Macedonians. Simeon had the Pharisees write to the Avramites and leaders of that land to encourage them to accept Cyrene for surely, “…God acts in mysterious ways.”

Simeon ben Mal’ahi died in 981AE (199BC) – there was little hope as the nation held its collective breath and waited for Simeon’s son Gid’on to take the throne.

 

[Silent Cal]

Things seem pretty bleak for the Gidonim. I hope the son is nothing like the father, so he might at least secure independence (after Menes dies) from Cyrenia... or not.

 

[Tynnin]

The years under Gid’on II, Melek Kol’malkuwim (981AE – 996AE):

Gid’on II was not as willing to play the part of subject as his father had been. In fact, Gid’on notes in some of his letters to various Azarim that he resented his father for taking the kingdom back to the days of Philistia. His plans as mekoma, which he had set in motion several years before taking the throne, were to expand his kingdom and shake off the chains of Cyrene – the actual events of his reign were far from his plans.

Hardly weeks into his first year Gid’on II is given news that ships from the north had been raiding the Amaluri coast (Bay of Biscay) and that his navy out of Menahema (a chief military and trading center) had been defeated by the pirates. Gid’on II had the military and navy commanders of Menahema put to death and most of the crews from the ships defeated by the pirates ushered off into slavery.

In 982 the pirates stuck the Amaluri coast once again meeting little resistance.

This was also the year that Archon Menes ordered his armies into Babylonia.

Finally, in the year 983, a small fleet of 12 ships is able to turn back the advancing pirates – though several deaths are noted and there was some fire damage to ships of both sides no vessels were lost.

The good news from the Amaluri coast was made less triumphant than what it could have been when news from the Aquitani border reached El Min’ghedud. The continued warfare in the Northern Wood Country had driven several tribes into Gidona seeking new lands. Several towns had already been raided and a number of smaller villages had been taken over or burned outright.

In 984 Gid’on II marched north to put an end to the Celtic invasion. In his first engagement at the Battle of Jialg Tor Gid’on was defeated, losing more than 6000 soldiers. His loss was made worse by news that a major revolt in Macedonia had erupted, under the watch of several Gidonan ehunim. An angry letter from Archon Menes would eventually find Gid’on on his retreat to Qirya Kahan. From his letters to his most loyal Azarim before and after he took the throne we know that Gid’on had little intention of following through on any request from Cyrene – his losses to the Celts and their continued pressure gave him the excuse he didn’t otherwise have.

In 986 Gid’on was ready again to battle the Celts. Joining him on his campaign however were three Cyrenian Senators sent to investigate Gid’on’s claim that he had no soldiers to spare.

This year also marks another year of pirate raids – though there were several successful battles which drove back the pirates. A number of enemy ships and crew were captured during this year. Information gathered from these trophies pointed to Armorica as having backed these rebel tribes from the Tin Islands in a move towards independence.

Late in the year of 987, emboldened by several successes, Gid’on split his army. He sent a small force into Armorica assured that a simple show of strength would settle any plans for rebellion.

In 988 Armorica rebelled against Gidona.

In 988 Archon Menes agreed to an alliance with the Galatians (Tylisians) – in return for peace, trade rights, and an established border they would join the fight against the rebellious Macedonians.

In 989 Archon Menes celebrated his victory over Babylonia – he enthroned a new royal house and turned his full attention to Macedonia.

In 991, before Archon Menes had set foot in Macedonia, the war was over. His forces, with the help of the Galatians and what remained of the Ehunim stationed therein had managed to bring order back into the region.

In 992 Mekoma Gid’on II received a notice and a summons from Archon Menes: the letter read, in part: “Victory or Peace, Gid’on of the Avramites, settle your little wars or I shall settle them for you…you will join me for my triumph for I have conquered the world. I will save a place for you at my table…”

Gid’on II never visited Cyrene.

For Gid’on there was little to worry about. By the time the letter had reached him he had driven back or pacified the Celtic tribes and only Armorica remained.

In 995 Armorica had been silenced. Its status as an independent kingdom was revoked and an Azar was appointed (Gid’on’s own son Yizhaq, said to have been a brilliant strategist but only a fair warrior). In a final show of strength he marched his army down through the new border territories, straight into Lugodunon – which was given little choice but to accept the annexation.

Several Senators awaited Gid’on in El Min’ghedud. They presented Gid’on with a choice; abdicate or Gidona will suffer.

Gid’on made every attempt to raise a new army or to pull existing forces away from other postings but not without facing stiff resistance from the population or troubles along the frontier. In 996AE (184BC), rather than see Gidona ravaged and lose even more standing among the other kingdoms – and probably to avoid his own self from death, or worse, capture – Gid’on II abdicated in favor of his son Ezekias (pending the approval of Archon Menes).

 

[G.Bone]

Seems a shame that Gidonim Kingdom are subject to Cyrenian Senators...who may or may not be on their own laurels...

The question is on if they can summon their own strength to support their own kingdom and therein become free..

Too long perhaps?

Too short?

Great update!

 

[JP_Morgan]

The best that can be hoped for is that Gidona's rulers slowly and covertly start raising popular support to expel Cyrenian influence from their land.

 

[Tynnin]

The best that can be hoped for is that Gidona's rulers slowly and covertly start raising popular support to expel Cyrenian influence from their land.

Seems a shame that Gidonim Kingdom are subject to Cyrenian Senators...who may or may not be on their own laurels...

The question is on if they can summon their own strength to support their own kingdom and therein become free..

Too long perhaps?

Too short?

Great update!

Things seem pretty bleak for the Gidonim. I hope the son is nothing like the father, so he might at least secure independence (after Menes dies) from Cyrenia... or not.

Not all stories have a happy ending.

 

[Tynnin]

The map c.996AE (c.184BC)


That light-blue blob in the "Germany" area represents the region still most affected by the ongoing Celtic wars - no clan has an upper hand at the moment.


Remember: Both Gidona and Babylonia are part of the greater Cyrenian Empire.

 

[Tynnin]

The years under Ezekias (ii), Melek Kol’malkuwim (996AE – 1013AE):


The coronation of Ezekias was the first to be presided over by Cyrenian officials and the first sitting Avramite king since the days of Philistia to have foreign soldiers and ministers working within the capital.

Ezekias was hardly seen in public – he was not a king of the Avramite people, by all accounts he wasn’t even a practicing Avramite. He grew up in Aquitania or on the road accompanying his father on military campaigns. He addressed the people through the voice of his Ranan (the king’s messenger) – the cry of whom would draw a large crowed with his first pronouncement on behalf the Mekoma.

In 996, soon after taking the throne, Ezekias commissioned the arrest of every member of the Tsalmawuthees. He cited their perversion of body and soul and the word of God as the reason for the Gidonan dark times. It was easy to twist the minds of the people as the Tsalmawuthees were already feared (and for a time it was forgotten that Ezekias was never out of sight or earshot of the three Cyrenian senators).

There is in fact some great conjecture as to the validity of Ezekias’s proclamation against the Tsalmawuthees. There is a wider belief that this was in fact Archon Menes manipulating a rancorous population.

Two years later in 998 the persecution that had begun in El Min’ghedud had spread to the entire of Gidona (although north of the Vaconess the edict met with far fewer supporters). In 998, however, the persecution had grown to include Nazrites as well as Tsalmawuthees.

The plan to give his people direction and an place to focus their anger was slowly spinning out of control.

In 999 Ezekias ordered two ehunim to the city of Cether when a crowd surrounded the house of the Azar under suspicion that he was a Nazrite. A riot would erupt calling for an additional two ehunim to be summoned. Nearly a thousand would lay dead at the end of two days of fighting (and this is but one example of such events that were unfolding across Gidona).

The year 1000AE. It was a year of celebration. Avramites boisterously held festivals in Carthaginia and parts of Tarasia. Recognition of this momentous year was marked with less overt enthusiasm in lands controlled by Cyrene (in the cities of the Nile there were no recorded festivals at all). In Gidona, it was not a time of celebration (though Ezekias had ordered several festivals to be held). The storm of anger had grown to engulf all worshipers of pagan gods – which brought nearly half of all citizens within Gidona under scrutiny as, since the rise of the Mal’ahim, the laws forbidding such practices had been virtually done away with.

The year 1000AE was also Archon Menes 40th year as ruler. In a long and often interrupted speech (coughing fits) Menes spoke to the Senate in length about his great deeds (referring to himself as another Ramesses II several times). At the end of his speech he spoke of a dream he had had the night before; the god Horus had come before him and called him son. Menes took it as a sign that it was time to claim his place alongside other great leaders of the past and have his divinity recognized. There was little debate – Menes was deified.

As word spread throughout Cyrenia there were certain segments of the population whom were not pleased by this event – some of them voiced this and were never heard from again.

In 1001AE a Cyrenian trade ship was sunk in the Ya’ar harbor and its crew stoned to death when a mob, led by several priests, stormed the harbor.

Fearing that he would be forced to abdicate like his father Ezekias moved to quell the violence. He ordered garrisons into the streets arresting any peoples in groups of larger than three. He shut down taverns and theaters. People were still allowed to go to temple but priests were not allowed to speak.

The brutality would certainly have continued but not for the defection of several ehunim. In 1002AE, under what they must have assumed was a death sentence, several ehunim commanders and at least one army general issued letters to Ezekias that their soldiers would no longer slaughter helpless citizens.

It was time again to address the people (through his Ranan). Ezekias called for peace and an end to the persecutions – as a sign of good faith he lifted his restrictions on theaters, taverns, temples, and travel. In his statement he referred to every Avramite and non-Avramite as Children of God: A statement that would very nearly overthrow Ezekias. There was an outcry from the priests echoed by the people: As Protector of the Faithful (in theory) they questioned what the mekoma had convinced them to do in 996; why had Ezekias led them astray to attack fellow Children of God? Or was he lying – in 996 or in 1002 – at the behest of their overlord the Archon of Cyrene?

With the persecutions brought to an end the unrest within the population festered – never had there been such widespread crisis of faith (in God, the Mekoma, and the Pharisees). Late in the year of 1002 Ezekias wrote to the Pharisees ordering them to support his words of peace and calm the peoples worries. The High Holy Council issued their own edict which mostly mirrored the words of Ezekias. The population of Qiyra Kahan revolted. Already dismayed by the Pharisees soulless acquiescence of everything the Mal’ahim had done this latest act, combined with the sense of abandonment, anger at having what the Levites felt was a righteous purging aborted, angry at the rights and privileges granted to the Celtic lands, anger over having a Mekoma who seemed more Celt than Avramite, the citizens lashed out at the Pharisees. Few of the Holy Council would survive and the city itself would never fully recover from these riots (just 24 years after being reconstituted by Mekoma Simeon (ii) the Pharisees was once again disbanded).

The riots were actually started by an angry mob of priests which stormed the Sanctuary smashing the gilded icons of the Holy Council.

In 1004 Ezekias turned to Archon Menes for help; he pleaded for the right to levy a larger army or for Cyrene to send him soldiers.

In 1005 Ezekias fled El Min’ghedud for Ya’ar.

It was also in this year that the lands of the Bactrians were conquered by Mithridates of the Parni.

In 1006 Archon Menes sent an army to Gidona.

Ezekias returned to El Min’ghedud in 1007.

Most of the unrest had been stomped out by 1009 (the Cyrenian army commander left Mekoma Ezekias with a letter from Archon Menes – it stated that no other such outbursts would be tolerated). With the immediate unrest under control most of the Cyrenian army was sent to Babylonia.

Medea is ravaged by the Parni in the year 1009AE though the assault is repelled.

A tense peace would follow in the years after 1009AE. Although Ezekias would face seven attempts on his life – one attack (in 1011) would leave him with a limp for the rest of his life. In 1012 Ezekias went into semi-retirement and moved to Ya’ar to rule leaving his son Mal’ahi to watch over El Min’ghedud.

In 1012 Archon Menes died. His mausoleum is said to be greater even than the Pyramids of Giza. His son, by the same name, took up the crown with the same vigor his father had shown when he was named Archon. Menes II immediately ordered the building of a great temple complex dedicated to his father’s and his place among the gods (Menes I, although a vain man, represented his legacy in the lands he had conquered, the mausoleum he had built, and the towering statues he had carved of himself and placed next to every edifice of Horus).

The reign of Menes I, II, and III mark Cyrenia at its zenith. It was a golden age of might, it was a time when the kingdom was at its greatest size, and it was a time that saw advances in art, architecture, and discoveries.

In 1013 (167BC) Ezekias died – there could not have been a greater dichotomy between the celebration of Menes I a year earlier and the silence of Ezekias’s death a year later.

 

[G.Bone]

...and ulcer continues in the two lands...

Hope that rebellion grows stronger...

 

[Tynnin]

I’ll be out of town for the next few weeks so I thought I’d give this another bump to the top before I departed. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves – I found the slow cultural shift away from Greek (Helena) culture to a more prominent Egyptian culture in Cyrenia, and the fracturing of the Avramite society with everyone blaming each other instead of the King and the Cyrenians, very interesting.

Cheers.

 

[Tynnin]

The years under Mal’ahi (ii), Melek Kol’malkuwim (1013AE – 1029AE):


There had been widespread unrest under the reign of Mal’ahi’s father – events that he had taken to heart while serving in the military (it is largely due to pressure from him that Ezekias did not put to death the military leaders that openly refused orders to forcible control the population, c.1002AE).

Mal’ahi attended (against his father’s wishes) the funeral of Menes I in 1012AE.

Priests from all over Gidona met in secret in Saran to discus maters of state. It is agreed here that several representatives would be sent to the Mekoma to present their demands (some of those demands: it would be in the best interest of Gidona to step away from Cyrene, that the people had lost their way and as Protector of the Faithful it was Mekoma’s job to lead the way, more should be done to promote Avraham’s teachings).

Though the envoy from the Council of Saran did have to wait a month while Mal’ahi returned from Cyrene they were eventually seen. The meeting is well documented – though there dosen’t seem to be any indication that Mekoma Ezekias ever knew about it. It is said that Mal’ahi thanked the priests and took their petition for what it was, a list of demands.

When he officially took the crown in 1013 Mal’ahi wrote to Menes II several times noting the troubles in the Far East and the need for Cyrenian soldiers elsewhere other than Gidona.

The Council of Menahema was held in 1014AE wherein it was discussed if another envoy should be sent to the Mekoma and the first mention of reconstituting the Pharisees is made since its demise in 1002AE.

Either Menes II believed Mal’ahi that Gidona was no longer a threat or the Archon felt the troubles with the Parthians was greater for in 1015 the last of the Cyrenian garrisons were withdrawn from Gidona (except for the small contingent in El Min’ghedud – primarily there to guard the ambassador).

In 1016 the Second Council of Menahema was held wherein they do decide on a new set of demands which included the right to reform the Pharisees, a stronger attempt to free Gidona from Cyrene, an abolishment of all worship except to that of the One God. A new envoy is commissioned and is dispatched to El Min’ghedud.

The second envoy was not received as well by Mekoma Mal’ahi; their demands were rejected although he was already making efforts to free Gidona (mainly by quietly building up his navy and allowing the autonomous Celtic kingdoms to begin building up their forces – which he had planned to use against Cyrene).

In 1017 Menes II was so taken by the Temple complex dedicated to his father that he ordered that all of Cyrenia should take up the worship of him and his father. Engineers, architects, soldiers, and two senators arrived in Gidona soon after this proclamation.

The first temple was begun in El Min’ghedud although the ground work for one in Cether, Nazrat, and Tartessos would soon follow.

At the Council of Cether in 1018 the Menes Temples were discussed. Attending this council was a priest by the name of Hoesh’a – as well as a prolific writer, he was also influential among the priests of the land. He spoke out against the Menes Temples, as well as against Cyrenians on Gidonan soil, and lastly about Mal’ahi’s “secret army” which he was convinced would be used against Avramites in the name of Cyrene.

How Hoesh’a knew about Mal’ahi’s army is debated. Though from the city of Menahema Hoesh’a was a "Priest of the Land" – one of the few who traveled preaching to small towns and villages – so although he could have guessed in his angry prose about the army he could just have easily heard about the military buildup in the Celtic kingdoms from his travels.

The Council of Cether would be called to a close by Mal’ahi. Many of the priests were arrested although attempts to capture Hoesh’a failed.

Hoesh’a journeyed to Cether first where it is said he rallied the mob that killed the Cyrenian engineers preparing the land for the Menes Temple. Once again, attempts to arrest him fail.

Though he vanishes for several months he appears again in El Min’ghedud where again he raised the population against the worship of the Cyrenian Archon. What work had been done on the temple was pulled down – several Cyrenian soldiers and a senator were killed. It would take over a month to quiet the unrest.

Though it is not known when Hoesh’a arrived back in Menahema by 1020 Hoesh’a had control of a large section of the northwest and was the cause of several additional insurrections across the kingdom. Mal’ahi was forced to call on his army to battle the uprisings – although many of these battles were little more than skirmishes (Hoesh’a left messages for Mal’ahi’s army wherever they battled – join us in our fight against the Cyrenians). Hoesh’a was perhaps hoping that Mal’ahi would exhaust himself running around putting out the small fires (or join with him against Cyrene) but this is not what happened.

In 1021 Mal’ahi had gathered the full force of his army, and had sent a smaller contingent to deal with the smaller pockets of unrest, while he marched for the heart of the rebellion and broke it by taking Menahema. The rebellion would continue for a short time more as Hoesh’a’s army broke up into bandit groups while he, several families, and his trusted inner circle of advisors went into hiding.

Late in the year of 1021 Hoesh’a was found. He controlled the web of bandit groups from a remote temple atop Tel Adiyr. A siege was begun but only lasted 9 days before it was discovered that all within Tel Adiyr had committed suicide.

There was no keeping this event from spreading beyond into Gidona and while Mal’ahi finished rounding up the bandit groups the story of Tel Adiyr moved out into the kingdom.

By 1021 Archon Menes II had learned about the rebellion in Gidona – a rebellion which was seen by Menes as more of a revolt against Cyrene than one against Mal’ahi. There were also rumors floating about Cyrene that Gidona was in actuality rebuilding its military. Rather than go through the lengthy process of demanding Mal’ahi to disband Menes II sent his generals to take control of the situation.

Early in 1022 Menes II controlled both Tartessos and Cether and his armies were moving north towards Mal’ahi. Mal’ahi, his army hardly rested from dealing with the Menahema rebellion, moved south to face the Cyrenians. At Ze’eyr Har (a town just north of Nazrat) they would do battle. On the first day the Cyrenians would be driven back. On the second day great monsters were unleashed. Elephants had been sent on a wide arc around the area of combat and came in practically at the rear of Mal’ahi’s army (the first day proved to be a delaying action by the Cyrenian general, a man by the name of Myron). Men and cavalry ran in fear from the great beasts and by the time Mal’ahi was able to rally his forces it was too late.

From Ze’eyr Har Mal’ahi fled northeast back to El Min’ghedud, gathering recruits were he could. Town by town fell to the Cyrenians while Mal’ahi engaged them in skirmishes as he tried to rebuild his forces. By year’s end the Gidonan navy had struck a significant victory sinking many Cyrenian ships and turning back the fleet meant to resupply Menes’s army in Gidona.

During 1023 the war would enter several months of inactivity. It was during this time that Mekoma Mal’ahi decided on a new plan. Before the spring thaw Mal’ahi moved his flag to Ya’ar. He guarded and blocked the mountain passes and ordered his fleet into position to guard the new capital (while mercenaries and bribed pirates attacked Cyrenian shipping).

The war would become inactive, Cyrenian action within Gidona would continue. The events at Tel Adiyr had stirred a hornet’s nest and wherever the Cyrenians went trouble followed them – in turn, there was very little clemency shown to the Gidonans.

El Min’ghedud fell almost without a fight in 1023 – the city was burned to the ground.

It was also in this year that Armorica revolted against Mal’ahi – killing Azar Yehu (the king’s cousin) in the process. Rather than make a new enemy, and a potential ally for Cyrene, Mal’ahi granted them their victory.

Through 1024 Menes army, under the leadership of Myron, assaulted Mal’ahi’s defenses but with little gained. Gidona proper, however, finished falling to the Cyrenian sword. Temples were closed and gatherings were forbidden – though with the promise that once peace had settled on the land that such restrictions would be lifted.

In 1024 at the Battle of D’hab Bar (off the coast of Corsica) the Gidonan navy was once again victorious.

Through the rest of 1024 there were no significant gains made by either Cyrene or Gidona and what had looked like the curtain call for the Avramites of Gidona turned into a mere extended 3rd act.

No formal peace agreement is agree upon but little military action is taken between Gidona and Cyrene.

In 1024 the first shipments of Gidonan slaves arrived in Cyrene markets.

A new class of slave was created with the arrival of the Gidonans. Although usually mistreated and thought little of unless having improperly preformed their duties slaves in Cyrenia were often in the form of forced labor and unpaid house servants – often allowed to be educated, often allowed to make a certain amount of their own money, and sometimes, though still slaves, rising to levels of respect. The Gidonans however were thought of as nothing less than pure property – owners were encouraged to punish and work Gidonans harder than their other slaves.

About 90 generations after Da’ud led his people away from the Nile the decedents of those brave emigrants found themselves once again shackled to the pagan god Hapi.

By 1026 Archon Menes II had a growing unrest among his own Avramites. A cloud of anger was growing; there was discord because of how their brethren were being treated, and despite the calm that had been forced on that of Gidona Cyrene had conquered there was no easing of restrictions on Avramites in that land – and as many sights in Gidona were sacred even to Avramites in Cyrene this was not an acceptable situation.

In 1028 the first of several violent riots stormed through Cyrene.

The following year there was a failed slave revolt in the city of Memphis.

Gidona had been reduced to the province of Aquitania, Ya’ar, and a handful of semi-independent Celtic kingdoms. Through sheer will, Mal’ahi was able to keep his kingdom together during the remainder of his life. His death in 1029 (151BC) was greatly mourned by true Avramites of the land.