Kingdom of Syres (Origo Mundi Map Game)

The United Communes of Syres or Syres is an independent nation founded around the time of the Bronze Age Collapse, around Year One, according to the Syresian calendar. The nation was formed from the union of five independent communities, or communes, which signed the Compact of the Ages in Year 40 to unite into the present nation.

Foundation
The exact circumstances surrounding the founding of Syres is unknown, due to the records kept by the city being destroyed in the decades following. One of the earliest accounts of the foundation of the city is the Folansvos, or “Founding Saga”, which was written around Year 120. At this time the city commissioned one Omer den Bethal to (re)write the history of the city, however, after a year of work he was replaced by Osti aud Phos, as indicated by a brief chapter within the work detailing the events at the end of the Year 120. It is likely that this sacking was politically motivated, as the early chapters took a more neutral point of view, speaking of Erian and the initial settlers at Syres, while the ruling members at that time, who came from a separate branch of nobility, wished to have the story focus on themselves instead.

According to the Folansvos the city was founded by an ancient leader named Erian, who led the first settlement attempt in the area from the "homeland of the Darians", which was south of the city. Little is known about the legendary founder, other than that he was responsible for laying out the future development of the city and surrounding area. Around Year 10 Erian died and was likely succeeded by his brother Yiyis den Yiyis, or Yiyis I, and then their brother-in-law, Holanilefsana Cando, or Holan I. Little remains of these kings’ existence, but it is known that turmoil fell upon the city, leading to the Compact of the Ages and the ascension of Nephi.

The Compact of the Ages officially united the five towns of the island (Syres, Fensport, Maritis, Loreo, and Dolis) into one, and created the framework for the city’s odd political succession. It is likely that Holan I ruled from Maritis, while the Nephites were able to gain a majority with Nephi in Syres, and his brother, Niephan den Eron, who was also the father of Erian, as a chieftain of one of the other towns. Nephi ruled as the first overall leader of the region for the next twenty years, and was succeeded by his son Vandenhessana Tors, or Tors I.

It is believed that Tors I governed during the class struggle that seemingly uprooted the city. The rule of the Marani, the original settlers and their immediate descendants, was replaced by the Raphani, the class of new settlers. After the Marani return the city’s assembly, the Hensa, would henceforth elect the next ruler, although traditionally every ruler would remain related to the previous in some way. The branches of the Erianite family tree became competing dynasties for the governance of the city.

The Nephites remained a powerful force, producing one of the next leader to the restored government, Nephi II ans Cala, although they faced opposition from the Holani, namely Demi “the Ancient Pretender”, and his son, Zolon the Elder. Both houses were opposed by the descendants through Nephi’s sister Dane, whose grandson Vanden secured the throne after Nephi II. His house also included several other notable statesmen, such as Demi “the Young Pretender”, and Phiro den Vontis.

Early Expansion
Osti aud Phos' later chapters detail the political situation in the 120s, stating that the dynastic pretenders included the son of Nephi III, Akis aud Slon, from the Holani the statesman Zolon the Younger, the nephew of Vanden, Vanden aud Crosis (although the writer notes that he died of unknown causes a few years later), the descendants of Dane’s daughter Sene, Corior den Shul (who died of old age around the time of writing), and his son Herthomiscassa, along with other more distantly related claimants.

During this time the city launched its first ever foreign trade missions and expansion attempts, and it is likely that many of the early trade expeditions commissioned by the state were actually motivated by individual claimants requiring wealth in order to run a successful election campaign. It is known that the settlement of the nearby Acrissa Islands was spearheaded by Herthomiscassa’s clan, while around the city of Syres itself there was notable expansion into the many islands that surrounded the primary hill of the city, with individual clans sponsoring many of them. This is evident in the names that marked these areas, such as the main island of Zolonsgof, extending Zolon the Younger’s property line approximately twenty-five miles north.

It is unknown to what extend Nephi III was aware of these practices, as the records indicate that he spent the last decade-and-a-half of his reign campaigning on the remainder of the island. The small island of Ersgof, that the Syresians called home, was believed to be sparsely settled west of the settlement on the eastern tip, allowing the Syresians to stake claim to the remainder of the island with relative ease. Although it should be noted that in 125 the city’s attempts to tax the existing properties on the western edge of the island effectively caused a decade’s long rebellion, with Nephi III leading a periodic effort into the hinterlands to fully establish the Syresians there.

Despite the effort largely being a financial drain, the Hensa spearheaded an investment in a trade fleet, which by the time of the Nephite campaign in the west was making routine expeditions to the nearby coast in the north. “The coastline of a hundred rivers”, Zoramivera, became home to numerous trade posts along the coast. Similarly, around this time the Nephite camp on the western tip of the island formally became a town with the Hensa’s blessing, known as Vestibayan. At the end of 129 Nephi III and a proper mob of loyal noblemen and infantry departed from the town and crossed the narrow strait west of Ersgof. They arrived at the mouth of a river, and settled a camp known as Niephnaron, which functioned as a fortified position for trading with the western natives. Particularly crafty traders also used the camp as an outpost for scouting ahead along the coast, both north and south.

Family Trees

 * Vandensigilago (-80 - -5)
 * Niephan den Eron (-50 - 21)
 * Erian (-30 - 10)
 * Yiyis den Yiyis (-25 - 12)
 * Calafe (-22 - 20) --Holanilefsana Cando Holan (-30 - 12)
 * Demi “the Ancient Pretender” (-5 - 78)
 * Zolon “the Elder” (20 - 81)
 * Zolon the Younger (53 - 140)
 * Nephi (-40 - 33)
 * Vandenhessana Tors (-10 - 43)
 * Nephi II ans Cala (15 - 85)
 * Lavi den Yiyis II (-5 - 45)
 * Niephan den Nola (20 - 99)
 * Nephi III (51 - 135)
 * Akis aud Slon (75 - 159)
 * Cassinde (-2 - 90)
 * Dane (-38 - 20) --Drins aud Hontis (-40 - 29)
 * Seivi (-20 - 62)
 * Vanden (4 - 88)
 * Demi “the Young Pretender” (10 - 96)
 * Phiro den Vontis (33 - 101)
 * Vandenhessana den Sevs (64 - 130)
 * Drins aud Vensphanosa (96 - 171)
 * Vanden aud Crosis (48 - 125)
 * Noan (-18 - 70)
 * Sene (-16 - 66) ---Dansiphon (-20 - 41)
 * Emer aud Kon (5 - 87)
 * Corior den Shul (35 - 120)
 * Herthomiscassa (56 - 132)
 * Lavi den Tors II (88 - 149)

List of Rulers

 * Erian (1 - 10)
 * Yiyis den Yiyis (10 - 12)
 * Holanilefsana Cando Holan (12 - 12), Holanite
 * Nephi (12 - 33), Nephite
 * Vandenhessana Tors (33 - 43), Nephite
 * Lavi den Yiyis II (43 - 45), Nephite
 * Zolon "the Elder" (45 - 81), Holanite
 * Nephi II ans Nola (81 - 85), Nephite
 * Vanden (85 - 88), Hontian
 * Nephi III (88 - 135), Nephite
 * Lavi den Tors II (135 - 149), Dansophonite