Khaganate of Nicilia

The city of Nicilia was founded by human settlers from Dukhala some time in the First Century after the Discovery. Unlike most surrounding towns, which grew organically from smaller villages, Nicilia was a planned settlement, intended to be a fortified trade hub between the western and eastern coasts of the Middle Continent. It fulfilled this function adequately, growing wealthy in the process. However, in the early Second Century the nomadic tribes that inhabited the great savannah to the south united under a single Khan, who reportedly fulfilled an ancient prophecy by performing several supernatural feats. As the nomadic tribes believed this made him the prophesied Duntiv Khan - ruler of the continent - he began demanding the submission of all the cities surrounding the savannah. Most settlements at this time were relatively small, with poor defences, and so were conquered swiftly. Nicilia, however, held out against a nomad siege for nearly ten years, before the garrison surrendered in the winter of 136. Duntiv Khan was reportedly in awe at the majesty of the city, and made it his new seat of power. In spite of the prophecy that he was to subdue the entire continent, the Khagan contended himself with receiving tribute from the surrounding polities, and instead focused his efforts on stabilising his realm.   The rest of the Second Century saw a series of Khagans rule from Nicilia, with varying degrees of control over their nomad and tributary subjects. In 198, Imperator Zemim I of Colosse launched a campaign of conquest that marked the start of the 128 year-long Wars of Faith, as he sought to spread his newly established Pantheon of The Five across Colossia. In 214, one of his generals attacked a Nicilian tributary, drawing Nicilia into the conflict. While several Nicilian tributaries were captured or destroyed by the Colosseans during the wars, the Khaganate proved to be the only realm capable of holding its own against Colosse, as its mobile horse archers were able to wreak havoc on the Imperial infantry formations. By the 250s, many smaller polities had sworn fealty to the Nicilian Khagan for protection against the Colosseans, helping to solidify Nicilia's status as a major power. The Wars of Faith raged for over a century, but despite repeated attempts at invasion, Colosse was never able to subdue their northern rivals, and the Nicilian Savannah, as well as the Elves and Tabaxi of New Enoria, remained independent.   Nicilia has had a tense relationship with its southern neighbours ever since, even after the fall of the Imperium in the 750s. The Nicilians briefly occupied Lotium and attempted to invade Hagios in 820 in the Second Ciprosian War, and fought against Colosse in the Third Ciprosian War of 821. Since then, it has had strained relations with the The Ciprosian Regnum (particularly over the status of Colosse), though it joined the Colossian Union in 839, which has helped to ease tensions to an extent.