Mazderah

Mazderah is a small country, located in northwestern Levea, immediately south of the Caspian Sea. United under king Bardiah in the middle Bronze Age, the country became a local power of some note, drawing possibly unwanted attention from nearby empires like Hyak. Its position between Levea and the nomads of Central Asia spurred the growth of a rising merchant community; trade also brought the faith of Kitabalism from Aramya into the little country.

= History =

The region had been one of numerous squabbling tribes, unable to gain purchase or power over each other for some time. This all changed with the accession of Bardiah to the "throne" of what was then Mazderah -- a tiny principality, centered around the minuscule settlement of Sherah. Bardiah's military genius served him well in the campaigns that immediately followed, as he cleverly crushed numerous opponents, uniting the tribes and establishing a small regional empire.

In more recent times, the growing state of Mazderah agreed to enter into the High-Kingdom of Hyak as one of numerous sub-kingdoms. As the most remote of these, it retained considerable independence despite the power of its overlord, and continued to expand around the nearby Caspian. Mazderah warriors, particularly their fearsome chariot force, participated in the Hyakkid-Egyptian War, scoring numerous successes. Various important Mazderah warriors were offered lands in the expanding southern Hyakkid provinces, quickly naturalizing into that landscape and providing important trade contacts for those who remained in the remote north.

= Culture =

Though strongly influenced by the Hyakkid tradition in many things, Mazderah has a peculiar faith all its own -- Arezdeh Kitabalism, which is an almost monotheistic faith centered around the omnibenevolent deity of Arezdeh. Retaining only a few trappings of the greater Kitabalistic faith, the priests of Mazderah mostly focus on their potent ritual sacrifices, which are said to lend strength to the deity, allowing him to fight the forces of darkness a little better -- that one day the earth might be entirely cleansed and man can live in paradise.