A Storm from the West: a Sunset Invasion AAR

[Kazanov]

Chapter 1. The Travel. BCE 200.

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Zinnridi Yujnegi, the leader of the ishfani exiles who were hiding in Kowx'kje for more than two centuries in what would be later known as the Canary Islands , had been strictly following the advice of the council of elders who had teached him everything he knew, and was preparing with a lot of caution the great travel across the sea that would save his people from all their enemies, and more important than that, that will gave his people a new start to become stronger and maybe, in the future, come back to the lands that once were Ishfania so his descendants could reclaim his birthright.​

He planned to take some animals along with his people to the other side of the world, which was a complicated decision because, due to the duration of the trip, the risks that this entailed, the limited resources of the expedition itself, they could not transport a great variety of them, so he ordered that only horses, chickens and goats were shipped together alongside with food for them. The horses because the Hannonia, old colonists of the western lands known only to the ishfani as the “Islands of Tanit”, had reported that they had not seen that the natives had domesticated some type of larger animal, chickens and goats because they occupied little space on the vessels, and unlike larger animals consumed few resources, and produced food that could be consumed during the trip by the exiles, such as eggs and milk.

As for food, they transported onions and garlic, wonders of the east that the Ishfani consumed because of their early trade with Egypt and because of their medicinal properties. And of course, olives, a staple in the Phoenician diet. They also carried large amounts of salt to preserve the cured meats and fish they brought with them. As for fruits, they brought apples and citrus since they had been told that they had not found them in the other side of the world.

The large vessels that would transport them, were the result of centuries of constant innovation by the Hannonia, and with the accumulated resources of the Yujnegi family, they had built a large fleet to transport the nearly three thousand Ishfani who were now preparing for the trip of their lives, a lunar month was the time they would be on the high seas ... and they hoped that the long journey would not be as dangerous as was for the first settlers who crossed the great sea.

220 years ago, when the first Yujnegi exiles took refuge in these islands after losing the civil war against the Mago usurpers, the Hannonia talked to Dido, the deposed queen, about settling into the western colonies, but she didn’t wanted to abandon her right to the ishfani throne and so did her successors, but after the fall of the Kingdom and the dissolution of it after the Turdetani takeover, nearly 90 years ago, the Yujnegi decided to look west. But, the gathering of resources and planning took a lot of time. And was now, in the year 200 BCE when they were ready to go.

Ishfania, the fallen kingdom.​

So, in June of that year, and taking advantage of the good climate of that particular year, they sailed west, and the travel itself was done in 4 stages.

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1.- Kowx'kje - 2.- Kir Chares, After leaving Kowx'kje, the fleet of exiles went south, to the Carthaginian commercial settlement abandoned some decades ago called Kir Chares and that for some time it had been occupied by a few Ishfani, there they were supplied with salted meats and the mollusks used to create the Tyrian Purple, one of the signature trade goods of the ishfani, after also stocking their ships with drinking water, they continued the journey to the south. This part of the trip took two days.

2.- Kir Chares - 3.- Mquhoex '. From Kir Chares they arrived at the small Ishfani settlement of Mquhoex ', a small town from which contact had been made with the natives of the region and that had been built at least ten years ago with the sole purpose of this travel. This part of the trip lasted five days.

3.- Mquhoex’- 4.- Oq Ykayo. Oq Ykayo was established as a trade post some centuries ago so they could get some fresh wáter before doing the long sea voyage to Hann, and after the fall of the Yujnegi was mostly inhabited. After three days of navigation the exiles reached this point and got more fresh water and food that a scouting party had gathered there.

4.- Oq Ykayo - 5.- Hann. It was a 12-day trip across the sea, and thanks to the Hannonia's experience and the skill of their navigators, the fleet arrived more or less unscathed to Hann, with a dozen of casualties, mostly old people who did not endured the harsh trip.

So, after 22 days of travel, the fleet of the exiles was now in the bay of Hann, the travelers had expected a big city, because for years they had speculated about Hann as a paradise on earth that would make Gadir itself look as a tiny coastal town, but the reality was other, because Hann was nothing more than a ruined fishing village, with a lot of destroyed buildings and the dockyard was not even big enough for the ships to dock. There was a few peoples at the shore, looking amazed at the big ships, as they had never seen one of their own ships before...

After seeing the disappointment in the faces of his people, Zinnridi decided that they would not disembark until he personally inspected Hann, and after he spoke with the leader of the Hannonia about the fate of his people.

​

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 2: Misery. 200 BCE

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The ishfani fleet was anchored at the bay of Hann, and the state of the settlement impressed Zinnridi, who never expected it to be so small, the inhabitants, most of them being of Phoenician descent rushed to the shore to see the great fleet that had arrived…. after 132 years of waiting for it.

In the past, the Hannonia ruled over a series of islands that they lost one by one against the Kalinago, a warlike people who lived in the south that also were good sailors, as good as the technology let them in this part of the world. The constant state of war against them had impoverished the colonist until the point that they wanted to flee their settlements and return to their ancestral homeland in Ishfania, but they hadn’t got any news from the motherland since many generations ago…and the secrets of sea travel were lost to the Kalinago onslaught when the last navigators were killed in a raid two generations ago.

Zinnridi and his guards were the first old worlders to set foot on these strange lands after more than three hundred years, when the Ishfani arrived here for the first time. The leader of the exiles was happy to see how the hannonians, his own kin, were receiving him, but he was disturbed with the bad living conditions in which his brothers were living, even his people, who were refugees and had traveled across the sea for a month or so, looked less poor and mistreated by life than the inhabitants of Hann.

The Hannonia buildings were similar to the ones were lived the natives of the region at the time.​

So, he commanded some of his guards to remain vigilant of the cargo of his fleet, the hannonians were allies, but one cannot truly trust any human beings living in this conditions, he thought, and ordered that no one of the exiles could set foot on these islands, at least not for now, so his own people would remain as prisoners inside their own vessels. As Zinnridi walked by the streets of Hann, he also noticed that were some natives among the colonists, and that they were living as equals. He also observed that in Hann, because of the small size of the inhabited area could not live more than 300 people.

Zinnridi was right, famine and war hit the hannonians hard in the recent years, and even if Hann was the biggest of all the Phoenician settlement in this side of the world, it was small compared with even the smallest of the fishing villages of the ishfani in the good years before the fall of the Kingdom.


Finally, he arrived at the wooden hut, "the palace" of his host, where Yaamil Hannonia were expecting him with a great feast, crab, fish, strange plants from this new world were in the table, Zinnridi observed his counterpart, he was dressed in the fashion of the old days of Ishfania, with some trinkets made of gold and jade and a necklace made of copper and beautiful colored feathers. The ruler of this place was the only one that was well dressed, at least according to the customs of the east.

After eating together and talking about what had happened in both sides of the world both leaders had a discussion regarding the expedition, the colonists expected a military one to finally deal with the Kalinago, not ships full with refugees looking for a new home, and the Yujnegi expected a great colony, were their people could live in peace and with some decency, not a ruined and poor fishing town. As they discussed, one of the servants of Yaamil arrived with news about a Taino merchant canoe that had arrived recently in their coast. Zinnridi was impatient, but the Hannonia looked quiet.

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- I’m happy that you enjoyed our food, my dear Yujnegi, we, the Hannonia, are humble people, isolated from the world and victims of the caprices of our enemies. I do not know about your distant lands and their strange politics, but if you want to learn about the politics of this side of the world, you can come with me and meet the Taino, as they know more than i, and they can inform you better about lands were you can settle, if you …don’t like my island. - Said Yaamil with a sad but calculated tone.


Zinnridi was offended by the notion of an ishfani leader not knowing the state of politics near his own dominion, and was bewildered by the idea of not exploring the surrounding area to get more supplies for his people to control the regional trade, but understood that having an argument against his host was useless, so he changed the subject.


-Well, I will go with you to meet these foreigners, but in the meantime, I will make camp outside of your settlement and we will have a celebration, because our people will rise again from the ashes and your people will see the end to their suffering, lets drink tomorrow together and talk about the trade with the natives and the state of your lands, I have come here not as a King, but as a brother- said Zinnridi raising his hand to call his guards to get out of this so called “palace” and back to his fleet.

The "Palace" of the Hannonia "King".​

The next week, the three peoples feasted together, and one of the Taino merchants was well learned into the old tongue of the ishfani merchants, and Zinnridi had a better time talking to Dagüao, leader of the foreign merchants, than talking to the ignorant leader of the Hannonia, and feasting and drinking he learned about this new world…

Feasting and drinking, you can make alliances, that's since the dawn of humanity.
​

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 3: The two worlds in 200 BCE

When the Hannonia arrived in these islands, they were inhabited by small villages of fishermen who lived simple and uneventful lives, so was easy to convince them to integrate into the hannonian society as equals, and settlements were built to mark sovereignty over them. Over time the Hannonia entered into contact with two peoples:

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The Kalinago of the south, at first traded peacefully with the hannonians when they arrived from Ishfania, they had such good relations, that the natives even allowed the exploration in their lands and the construction of a settlement in the landmass of the south, but then, after a few weeks things changed between the two peoples as a disease killed a big percentage of the native population, in desperation, the Kalinago chiefs begged for help to the Hannonia looking for a cure. And so them sent some healers to study it and cure the natives.

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But there was no known cure for the plague and strangely enough, the Hannonia envoys were immune to it, so the peaceful Kalinago started to kill the foreigners in their lands, blaming them for their disgrace. It is said that even some of the natives, in total desperation, started to eat the flesh of the Hannonia they killed to get cure from their disease, and it worked. Or maybe they believed it did because the plague ended afterwards.

More than 100 years have passed since then, and there were no good relations with the Kalinago, who from time to time used to raid the hannonian settlements to get human flesh to eat and get cures for different diseases.


The second group of peoples that the Hannonia encountered, were the Islanders, peaceful people that entered into contact with Hann while they were traveling across the sea nearly 100 years ago. They were traders, and farmers who lived on the coasts of the northern islands. As they hated the Kalinago too, both peoples became good trade partners and every full moon a great caravan of Islanders came to Hann to trade with the locals.


Over the years, the Hannonia learned that a big plague hit most civilizations in this side of the world at the time of the Kalinago incident happened, so the colonists avoided further exploration in fear that more peoples would begin to hunt them for “medicinal purposes”, and after generations of relative isolation, traveling outside of the area dominated by the Hannonia was a taboo among them.


But they heard the stories about other peoples that the traveling merchants tell them anyways, so the colonists waited with great anticipation every full moon to learn about the unknown Kingdoms of the West.


Farther west, from where the dominions of the islanders were located, there was a big landmass were the Maya, the most powerful peoples in these lands, lived, they also were known for their legends and myths, culture and science, but they had a darker side, after facing so many plagues centuries ago, so they also were known, when the times were bad, for sacrifice prisoners of war to their blood gods. Tales were told about how they also studied the stars and unlocked powerful magics that made them invincible in warfare. Their most powerful City-state was Kaminaljuyu, ruled by a god-king, who made the earth produce food for his kin, wielding magics that rivaled these of the god themselves.

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Far away, to the north-west, a strange and ancient civilization of men had built great stone pyramids and beautiful temples where they worshiped their ancient gods. They were ruled by an a legendary aristocracy half human, half jaguar, the Islanders called these the “Ajaw” or “the lords” in the language of the Maya. These legendary peoples were declining and were being replaced by the Maya in the last centuries, tales were told about how maybe the “Ajaw” enraged the gods, and were how because of that were abandoned by them, most of their old cities were in ruins as political power shifted to the south.

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The farthest peoples known by the merchants, were the Ben’zaa, or people of the clouds, not so much were known about them,tales were told about their religious beliefs on merciful rain gods and wars against the Maya peoples, the. The only known city-state ruled by them was Mitla, ruled by a caste of high priests.

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Meanwhile, in the east, a new era had begun in the Old World as the Etruscans has recently conquered the powerful Gauls and started to expand into the lands of the fierce Germanic warriors, their war was a preventive one, as they wanted to live in peace, and they know that this desire would be impossible while these barbaric peoples existed. So they started something like a crusade,to expand their civilization and way of life so they could live to these savage peoples

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In the greek world, Makedonia started to expand north, and following the same principles that were guiding the hands of the Etruscans, a new order was being created Hellenistic values and culture were expanding into every corner of their known world.

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The Old Kingdom of the Lydians were being overrun by the powerful Empire of Babylonians, and the Kingdom of Sparta were fighting alongside the Lydians for their survival, not so much because they were good allies, but because they didn’t want the Babylonians expanding into the Hellenistic world.

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Meanwhile, the Empire of Carthage were living a golden age, isolated from the conflicts of their age and trading with everyone on the Mediterranean Sea. Their lands were giving them good profits and they believed themselves to be at the center of the world, dominating trade.

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Meanwhile, the Turdetani, after defeating Ishfania, began their expansion into the lands of the Mauri, and were creating a great empire unopposed by any competition. Turdetani culture was now a mix of Phoenician and Iberian ones and they also were living good times.

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Big empires were being born in this age, with the Turdetani, Carthaginians, the Hellenics, the Etruscans and Babylonians dominating the world surrounding the Mediterranean Sea, and the Maya starting to rise as the great power in the West. Will the recently arrived phoenicians change everything in this new world? or they would end up like they did in the old?.....

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 4: Trade and war. 200-179 BCE.

After living with the Hannonia for two weeks, Zinnridi, the leader of the Exiles, concluded that his people would not remain stagnating in these tiny islands like the colonists had done, and after talking again to their leader, he decided to sail west with the Taino merchants to find a land where he could settle his people. The Hannonia didn’t wanted to follow them, disgusted by the idea of being forsaken by their peoples again and abandoning their lands after having fought so much for them, so they decided that they would fend against the Kalinago alone.

The Taino merchants had told him about the the trade routes used by most civilizations in the region, so Zinnridi ordered his better scribes to work with the natives to create a series of maps, so they could know this region better. But the Taino knowledge was limited and the differences in the language caused that gap to increase exponentially at least in what was related to technical knowledge.

So, after studying the few information gained from the relation with the Taino, they settled in an island near a key position in the local trade routes, between the Islanders and the Mayan peoples of the mainland, and they named the settlement New Gadir, in honor of the lost capital of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

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In the next ten years, they started to study the local languages, and their trade fleets traveled in all directions, increasing the influence the Yujnegi as they had the monopoly in horses and goats, new animal’s unknown to this new world and agricultural techniques, cemented the prominence of New Gadir as a center of trade. Zinnridi and his council were uncertain if they would trade iron tools and weapons to the natives, as that could destroy any military advantage over their neighbors. In turn they received new food and knowledge, cocoa, corn, potatoes, new woods, rubber, and the cultural traditions of the Mayan and late Olmecs like sports and poetry were the main goods received at the port of New Gadir.

In 189 BCE, following the council of his Taino advisors, Zinnridi Yujnegi received a delegation from Ajaw, led by Kujy u’id, prince of the Olmec Kingdom of Ajaw, who advised the leader of the Exiles to buy land in the Yucatan Peninsula, so the trade with the Maya world could be done easier, this was supported by Maktsil, his mayan concubine and one of his most reliable experts in local culture. The Exiles weren’t sure of this move, as could create tensions with the locals, but Zinnridi knew that if the Taino, his concubine, and a local prince were telling him to do something, at least he could try.

Two foreigners, two people with influence in the court of the Exiles.
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So he approached the mayan Tatich of Qaarave, K’inich K’ini and after a short negotiation, the Exiles brought the northern territory under K’inich, now named Oq Ykayo, or “The Crossing” by the Phoenicians. The territory was sacred to the local Maya and the only condition of the purchase was to respect the shrines of Ixchel, mayan goddess of abundance, that was easy as Tanit, their goddess, was somewhat similar to Ixchel.

A strange alliance, but a good one?
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What followed were some years of prosperity for the Exiles, the religious similarities between the Maya and the Phoenicians based in the new cult of Ixchel-Tanit forged strong bonds between the two peoples and it seemed that this great friendship could last forever.

Oq Ykayo, the new lands adquired, a religious center.
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In 185 BCE, a great number of Olmec refugees marched into the lands ruled by Zinnridi bringing sad news, the last Olmec Kingdom of Ajaw, had fallen after a mayan invasion. Kuiy u’id was the last survivor of the royal family and now was asking for a new home for his people, under the banner of the Exiles. Zinnridi, seeing an opportunity to have more subjects, good craftsmen and highly educated advisors, accepted the Olmec refugees to live in his lands. Soon the Olmec prince was promised to Dido, his daughter and future priestess of Ixchel-Tanit to create a biggest bond between the two peoples. The two peoples were different in ethnicity, religion, culture and language, There was one thing they had in common, both peoples had been expelled from their lands and they would start a new life, together.

A new world of trade and prosperity was being forged
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But then, in 179 BCE, a local confederation of minor mayan tribes led by K’inich K’ini declared war on the Exiles to kick them out of their lands, as they felt threatened by the prosperity of the newcomers, so, the first war against the mayan peoples started, nearly twenty years after the Ishfani peoples crossed the sea.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 5: The Goddess. (179 BC)

The gods made the first Maya-Quiche from mud. Little they lasted.

They were soft, without strength; They crumbled before walking.

Then they tried making them with wood. The wooden dolls talked and walked,

but they were dry: they had no blood or substance, memory or direction. They did not know

how to talk to the gods, or they did not find anything to tell them.

Then the gods made from corn the mothers and fathers. With

yellow and white corn kneaded their flesh.

The corn women and men saw as much as the gods. Their look

spread over the whole world.

The gods then created vapor and left their eyes clouded forever,

because they did not want people to see beyond the horizon.​

Eduardo Galeano, Memoria del Fuego ( 1982 ), p 34.
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Dido Yujnegi, the oldest daughter of Zinnridi, the leader of the Exiles, was walking to the biggest temple in Oq Ykayo escorted by the local priests, following the orders of his father she had been studying the Maya, Phoenician and Taino religion from a very young age. As a talented student, she had discovered that the three religion systems had something in common, and was the existence of a powerful female goddess.

The three Goddesses, Atabey, Ixchel and Tanit.​

Atabey was the female goddess of the Taino, she was the spirit of all the sources of freshwater, fertility and taught the Taino how to communicate with the spirits of nature. She had rule over the tidal waves and some aspects of war too.

Ixchel was the female goddess of the Maya, related with fertility, the rainbows and the moon, Oq Yqayo had a sacred precipice where a rainbow was formed every day so the people could bring statues of the goddess to adore her. She could give life to the living beings and was capable of healing the sick and take care of pregnant women, but when enraged she could turn violent and send torments and floods to damage those who did wrong to her, and she had a war aspect represented by the snake. As the agriculture was related to the cycles of the moon, Ixchel was responsible for the fertility of the land and the good harvests, the basis of the Mayan way of life, and therefore, at least in the region where the Exiles lived, her cult was great and powerful.

Tanit was the female goddess of the Phoenicians and the most important in the Ishfani pantheon under El, the supreme god. She was associated with fertility and the moon, and had the same characteristics than the other two goddesses. She had too a war aspect, represented by statues of her with the head of a lion, this was the aspect more revered by the Ishfani, who had learned the hard way that war, in this time and age, was as important as trade.

After abandoning the temple, the priests were conducting a ceremony in front of all the exiles armies in the old language of the ishfani merchants that was now the official language under the rule of Zinnridi Yujnegi. He, as the great leader, was sitting on a throne on top of a grand stage, with Kuiy u’id at his side, as his co-ruler, both could see the troops from there, more than three thousand men kneeling before their two monarchs, and behind them, a large statue of the triple goddess who represented all the characteristics of the feminine deities of the three peoples, Maya-Olmec, Taino and Phoenician.

Dido was young, but she understood the importance of the ritual that was taking place, a war was to be fought against the Maya tribes, so a big offering was being presented to the female goddess. The Olmec had their own gods too, in their old times, but now they were kneeling before this foreign female representation of prosperity, as they had been forsaken by their gods long time ago.

Legends were told on the old days, about the peoples who would come from beyond the horizon, from where the Exiles had arrived in their big ships, so this had a sacred significance for the locals, and Zinnridi wanted to use that to create cohesion between his people.

He saw how his daughter was blessing his troops and felt proud of her, a young woman who had cemented the alliance with the Olmec and now was starting to be seen as the divine avatar of the triple goddess by the peasants, and as an example of purity and diligence. In that precise moment, he swore that his daughter would have an important role in the religion that was beginning to be created, so he would entrust her with more diligence in her studies and religious duties, while at the same time she had to fulfill her duties as a wife.

Two worlds together​

Kuiy u’id, the Olmec prince, and husband of Dido, was thinking to himself if this moment could be the starting point of his fights to recover his throne, and as much as he loved his young and beautiful wife, he too was seeing her as a tool of dominance over the Exiles, the Maya, the Taino and his own people. He was happy having her there blessing the troops, and he planned a future with her as his Queen…but first they needed to win this war.

So, the armies marched south, and faced their enemies in the battle of the Qaarave Tribe, were the numeric superiority of the Exiles won the day.

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In this short but important conflict Kuiy u’id demonstrated his skills as a general and leader, which made Zinnridi feel satisfied with his son-in law. The war had been won and Tatich K’inich surrendered afterwards.

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The Exiles had won their first war, and after seeing the weakness of their enemies, now wanted more.

Little they know about the dangers of the west, were the great city-states of the Maya received the news with distrust and were sending spies to Oq Ykayo, to learn more of this new menace.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 6: Maya Warfare, 177- 175 BCE

The war against the Mayan confederation was short, as the defenders could manage to kick out the Mayan invaders and push into their lands quickly enough to make them surrender. This war was followed by an attack by the Exiles to gain the territories of their enemies, this provided more farmland to the Exiles, who were already enjoying good economic times.

The first steps of expansion​

The quick victory over their enemies made the council ask Zinnridi Yujnegi for an attack on the Kingdom of Ajaw, as Kujy u’id was the rightful heir to that throne, the Exiles believed themselves superior to the Maya and with the help and knowledge of the Olmecs that war could be easily won in less than a month. Things were made easy when the usurpers from Ajaw declared a war of conquest over the Ben’zaa of the Kingdom of Edrolik, based on Mitla, this was the opportunity that the Olmec prince was awaiting for.

So in 177 BCE the fleet of the Exiles went into Ajaw with thousand of warriors from diferent origins, Taino, Maya, Olmec and the Phoenician themselves went to restore Kujy u’id to his throne and they believed that after the victory over Mo’ the mayan chieftain that usurped the Olmec throne they could conquer the entire peninsula of Yucatan if they wanted, the superiority of iron weapons over the wooden ones of their enemies were to be the decisive factor here.


But the Mayans had spies amongst the combined armies of the Exiles, so, while the fleet sailed from Oq Ykayo to Ajaw, a mayan army went from Ajaw to the lands occupied by the Exiles. The complexity of mayan politics was an alien thing to Zinnriddi, who never expected a strike from Ajaw trespassing the kingdoms and chiefdoms between his enemies and himself. Then, and because of this mistake, Bomilcar Yujnegi, his favorite son, chancellor and heir, was sacrificed to the gods of his enemies after being captured in the raid on Oq Ykayo in 176 BCE.

A great loss
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Zinnridi was shocked when we learned about this, and ordered a retreat from Ajaw, but it was too late, as the victorious mayan army that had recently conquered the Ben’zaa of the north, now were marching into the capital of the enemy Kingdom, and while the Exiles were retreating into their ships, the mayans took the city and the port, more than 800 of his people died in the battle of Ajaw that preceded the retreat from the old Olmec lands.

The first battle lost to the maya peoples
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He knew that he could not afford more losses, so he ordered all his people to flee to New Gadir. He and his entire army would be waiting for their enemies to come to them in Oq Ykayo, defenses were being prepared.

While they waited for their enemies to come, Zinnridi Yujnegi and Kujy u’id were co-ruling over the Exiles, Olmec and Phoenicians alike, taino and maya peasants. They had developed mutual respect between them, as both had ancient royal blood and were “kings” in exile, and ruled over what they considered the last of their kind.

Mayan warfare was limited by the agricultural cycles and limited food supplies, so, the enemy armies took their time to prepare their time to attack the Exiles.

Then, in the autumn of 175 BCE, the enemy appeared outside Oq Ykayo.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 7: The Battle of Oq Ykayo, 174 BCE

The Olmec (1) were an ancient and proud people, they were the first civilization to exist in Yucatan and from them the Mayans learned the basics about city building, religion and culture. Now, after the fall of the Kingdom of Ajaw in 186 BCE at the hands of the Maya, the last Olmecs were allied with the Phoenician exiles that had recently arrived in Yucatan, and were fighting their last battle against being erased from history.

The defenses were ready, and the troops motivated to fight the Mayan usurpers.
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The Battle of Oq Ykayo started at dawn, with the mayans charging violently against the position defended by the Exiles. Zinnridi Yujnegi was surprised about the Mayan ability to fight, he knew that these peoples were more worried about religion, trade and cultural brilliance than about warfare, so the fact that they excelled in this area too, and that his advisors didn’t told him about this before starting this war bothered him. This situation was a trap tended to him by his Mayan and Taino allies? Was the war against the weak tribes who inhabited the territories near Oq Ykayo part of it? He didn’t knew the answers at the time, but he was still worried about being betrayed by his recently acquired allies… but at least he knew that the Olmec were fighting for the same he was. Survival. At least he knew that he could trust Kujy u’id, their leader.

The leader of the Phoenicians was in the rear, commanding his men to fight against the Mayans and trying to use the terrain to his advantage, his Olmec friend and son in law, Kujy u’id , was defending the base of the hill that was the principal line of defense of Oq Ykayo. The battle was to be won, as they were defending a good position and the invaders were apparently fighting like a rabble of disorderly and barbaric peoples. Zinnridi was observing from a tower, and ordered the Taino infantry to flank their enemies as the opportunity presented, he had no cavalry, as he sent all the horses (as they were the most valuable possession of the Exiles) to New Gadir in the case they were overrun by their enemies, and he didn’t expected the Mayans adopting horses for warfare so early.

He realized too late that this was a mistake.

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As the Taino infantry were charging against the unprotected flank of the Mayan army, a sound of galloping horses came from the jungle. The newly adopted Maya cavalry charged violently against the Taino, who now were running in terror to the forests where another Mayan group was expecting them with spears and clubs to finish the job.

The war was now in favor of the Mayans as most of the Phoenician troops, seeing their Taino friends being annihilated fled to Oq Ykayo, and seeing the situation lost, Zinnridi sounded the retreat, he could not allow himself to lost more people. Kujy u’id commanded his people to follow the Phoenicians but then, the Mayan cavalry ran to Kujy u’id position and captured him. Most of the Exiles troops successfully entered the city and fortified their positions there, preparing for the inevitable siege.

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But even with supplies being transported by the Exiles fleet across the sea, Zinnridi knew that this siege could mean the end of his people, so, he asked for a parley and it was conceded, there, he surrendered to his enemies trying to save his son in law from being executed.

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And to his surprise, Mo’, the New King of Ajaw, didn’t asked for more territory, he only wanted the promise that the Exiles would never attack Ajaw again, some monetary concessions to pay his troops and a trade deal. The leader of the exiles was happy about this treaty, as he was more accustomed to the ways of the old world , with his people becoming slaves and their lands taken away…. but this was not all, the Mayans wanted one more thing , and, according to them, was the most important of them all.

They wanted to keep Kujy u’id as a prisoner…and that was not negotiable.

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1. To this day, we don't know how the "Olmecs" called themselves, this is an exonym used by their successors to describe the ancient civilization that "disappeared" in this timeframe. Modern scholars think that they spoke in a zoque-mixe proto language and i did not find anything, even in spanish, that contradicts this claim.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 8: The last of the Olmecs, 174 BCE

After the end of the war, Zinnridi was invited to Ajaw, the city founded by the ancestors of his son in law, Kujy u’id, there, he wanted to negotiate the release of the husband of his daughter, not just because he was a friend of the Olmec, but also because he had a lot of his subjects living now in his lands, and having their leader executed was not a good idea for stability.

Walking through the streets of the old city made Zinnridi envy in a certain way and the lost greatness of the Olmecs made him remember his own people, expelled from their lands by civil wars and the Iberian invasion. As Leader of the Exiles, his mission now was to sign a good peace treaty with the Mayans so that the rest of the city-states of the region would have respect for the defeated newcomers.

Because in this world, everything was based on the respect and prestige of the ruling class.

The Olmec for centuries had been the source of knowledge and power in this part of the world and their rulers had invented a myth about their supernatural origin, the rulers were half human, half jaguar, and this made the rest of the inhabitants of the the region look at them with respect and even with some fear.

​

The Maya nobility, in turn, deformed the skulls of their newborn to look different to the commoners, as they were blessed by the gods themselves to rule over them. Good harvests, success in wars, and the general prosperity of city-states depended on the relationship that the ruling class had with the gods.

​

Zinnridi thought about these differentiations, and that he would have to think about some form of exercising power through symbolism in order to rule over his people ... the diversity between Phoenicians, Olmecs, Tainos and Maya was so big, that could destroy his Kingdom in a matter of years if he could not elaborate some way to consolidate his power over them.

Also, the way in which Zinnridi faced this defeat was what would make the Exiles strong,or destroy them completely. He felt as if he were in a historical juncture, the decisions he took in these critical days would decide the centuries to come. It was a heavy task and the goddesses had put this weight on their shoulders, he could not fail this task.

---

After signing the peace treaty, which declared the friendship between the two peoples in conflict and the end of the Olmecs, Zinnridi was invited to a ceremony at the top of the main pyramid of the city.

He climbed the stairs with the greatest dignity, each step, meant an effort, and behind his back, the Mayan people of Ajaw watched closely what happened, Zinnridi tried to maintain the solemnity of the moment despite his fatigue, but seeing his friend tied on an altar of stone as if it were an animal soon to be sacrificed, made anger fill his mind, fortunately he knew how to maintain his composure.

Then, the last of the Olmecs, Kujy u’id, was sacrificed like an animal on the top of the altar, the people below shouted with religious fervor and Zinnridi Yujnegi, the leader of the Exiles, understood the message.

​

That was the price of defeat.

And he remembered, that this was what his son, Bomilcar, suffered some years ago because he let the mayans sack his capital, when he was far away, invading this city at the start of the war.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 9: The Odiq’e. 171 BCE

After the wars against the Maya, Zinnridi Yujnegi had become the ruler over a diversity of peoples, the last olmecs from Ajaw, the Taino from New Gadir and the allied tribes, the Maya from the recently conquered lands, and the Phoenicians that have followed him from the old world. This diversity of cultures and interest proved a difficult gap to fill, even with all the wealth that the Phoenicians had accumulated for the last 30 years, but Zinnridi was sure that these differences could be eliminated if he worked hard to do that, so he ordered all his priest to go to teach all his subjects about the culture of the Exiles, with the religion of the triple Goddess at the center of everything.

Dido Yujnegi, his daughter, was busy raising her first child, Mathos, born briefly after the death of her husband, sacrificed by the Mayans of Ajaw some years ago.

​

Following orders from his father, she, for the last 3 years traveled to every village, city or town under the banner of his father, reinforcing the sovereignty of the Exiles over these lands, using the religion to unite them as a people, teaching the nobles the language of the Exiles and about the triple Goddess. As a holy woman, the role of Dido was of vital importance for the survival of the Kingdom that Zinnridi was building, and she knew that. So, she was also preparing his son to be the King of the Exiles someday, as Mathos had the blood of the ancient Olmecs and the blood of the ancient Ishfani, she believed that he would have a big role in the future, even against her own brothers who had better claims to the throne.

After three years doing her missionary duty, Dido was summoned to the capital city of Oq Yqayo because his father had arranged her new marriage, this time, to a Ben’zaa prince, another old kingdom in the region that had fallen against the might of the mayans.

​

The ceremony was short, because Zinnridi had organized an ever greater ceremony, he had summoned all the important people on his kingdom and invited the nobles of the mayan tribes nearby, because he would host a ceremony to crown himself as the Great Jawoh of the Great Republic of the Odiq’e.

​

Odiq’e was the term used to describe the Exiles in the old language of the Ishfani merchants, and Zinnridi thought that was a good idea to stop calling themselves the Exiles in all the local languages if they wanted to remain in this side of the world and be accepted not as foreign invaders but as friendly neighbors, now, they would have an identity based in shared cultural and religious values. He took to himself the title of “Great Jawoh” because he will be the Judge of all his people from now on, not a King, not a Chieftain, but their Great Judge, the embodiment of the law itself. And he would rule over a Republic (a great one), because all the titles under him would be elected between the nobility, so his successors would have to hear all the demands of their subjects and would not be tyrants over them. Even the charge of the Great Jawoh would be subject to election between the members of his family, to prevent to repeat the fate of the old Yujnegi dynasty of Ishfania. This, was the only way, Zinnridi believed, that his people could persist over time as rulers of different peoples, and the cultural assimilation of everyone under the banner of the Odiq’e, would be the central task of the government for the years to come.

Now the Odiq’e were part of this world, but they would endure with their new Great Republic in an age where the supremacy of the Maya was indisputable?

​

 

[Kazanov]

(after taking a short vacation -its summer here-, i return to write this)
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Chapter 10: The New Order, 171-160 BCE

Zinnridi Yujnegi, 1° Great Jawoh of the Great Republic of the Odiq’e, founder of the Great Republic, leader of the Exiles and 4° Exiled King of Ishfania

Spoiler: Genealogy

Son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

After he crowned himself as Great Jawoh, Zinnridi Yujnegi started building defenses in his new domain, and for the next nine years, his rule was characterized by the continued work of his people to build walls where once there were forests, and great fortresses where before there were only small towns. That's how thanks to the wealth obtained trading animals from the old world and technology to the mayan kingdoms, the Odiq’e strengthened their position at the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula.

Literally building a Kingdom from scratch
​

But this work wasn’t without problems, because there were still differences between the ways his subject communicated between themselves and how they perceived the world around them, so his daughter, Dido, continued her mission to teach the natives the ways of the Odiq’e, so, as the great priestess and with the help of the priests of her holy order, she taught them the language of the old Ishfani merchants, the techniques to build the great ships who were now reaching every corner of this new world to trade with different people, and the divine importance of the tools made with the metal bought by the ishfani to this part of the world. But the most important mission of Dido was to teach them about her new religion, about how the exiles that crossed the sea from where the sun starts to rise, where here to be one people with the natives and how everyone would become divine beings after death just accepting that fact.

​

Following the example of their Ishfanian antecessors, Zinnridi wanted to create alliances and good relations with his neighbors, s over the years he sent diplomatic and merchants to the different city-states of the region, so he could secure the borders of his dominion and also, prepare the intelligence required for the inevitable expansion of the Odiq’e inwards, into the very heart of the Mayan lands.

​

As the Odiq’e were creating their new nation, the Mayan aristocracy started to see them as an example of government culture, so the old system of city-states started to slowly fade, to be replaced with the idea of a nation, something unthinkable in this part of the world until now, and maybe, in the next centuries Kingdoms and Empires would rose to challenge the very existence of the Odiq’e…

In 160 BCE, and at the old age of 67 years, Zinnridi Yujnegi, the first Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, died from natural causes, and just as he decided years ago when he founded the Great Republic of the Odiq’e, the nobles gathered to elect his successor, and Baalhaan Yujnegi, one of his sons, was elected as the next Great Jawoh.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 11: The Wicked. 160 - 156 BCE

Baalhaan Yujnegi “The wicked”, 2° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 5° Exiled King of Ishfania.

Spoiler: Genealogy

Son of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

Before ascending the throne, Baalhaan Yujnegi was the leader of the merchants under the command of his father, the Great Jawoh, and now, as he replaced his father on the throne, he started to strengthen the commercial dominance of the Odiq’e in the region even further with the knowledge gained during his years of training, he was successful at doing this, and the people enjoyed some degree of prosperity under his rule.

But as the prosperity of his people increased, so did the problems, as he, even as the Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e faced great opposition from his oldest sister, Dido Yujnegi, the Great Priestess of the Triple Goddess, a woman with great political and spiritual power over his people.

​

In the past, Baalhaan ordered the murder of his own brother, Zaracas Yujnegi, because he threatened his position as the probable winner of the election of the successor of his father, he was proved innocent at the time according to the laws of the realm, but his sister would never forgive him for his sins.

​

The relation between the brothers worsened shortly after Baalhaan ascended to Great Jawoh because he ordered the release of a heretic who was imprisoned by the priests of Dido and after that, he appointed him as his court physician.

​

Baalhaan tried to counter the power of his sister in every opportunity, and he tried to convince the nobles to depose her as the Great Priestess, but his father, Zinnridi, had stipulated that the Great Jawoh’s powers were of earthly nature and could not interfere with the clergy, and that, in the eyes of the nobles, rendered Dido immune from any attempt by the Great Jawoh to depose her. However, Baalhaan managed to get her not to be named his successor, because if the earthly power could not interfere with the spiritual one, it could not be the other way around, his argument was also based on the fact that in Ishfania they had mostly female rulers and it was the time for men to rule, the Odiq'e could not afford to fall as their ancestors did. Many of the nobles agreed with this statement, mostly the natives. But all the clergy stood their ground with Dido, and because of that, the common people, who interacted more with the priesthood than with the nobles, did that as well.

The crisis inside the Yujnegi family was reaching its peak, confronting the great religious apparatus created by Zinnridi with the government headed by the Great Jawoh, and that would have provoked a violent response on both sides if a great plague of smallpox had not been unleashed in the territories of the Odiq'e in 156 BCE.

The plague struck first in the rural villages of the natives, and after a few months, hundreds of peasants were dying because of it and the food supply to Oq Ykayo was interrupted. This caused the nobles supporting Baalhaan to ask him to stop the conflict with the clergy, as they feared the peasants would revolt in short time if this situation continued. He agreed, mainly because he feared the consequences of not doing it.

​

Even if the conflict between the two power softened for a time, the plague continued in the villages of the interior, and the rift between the priesthood and the government continued as the plague itself was viewed as a punishment to the realm because of the wickedness of the Great Jawoh who earned the sobriquet of “the wicked” as he would be remembered centuries after his death.

If the Great Jawoh was incapable of saving the life of his wife, he was considered to be incapable to help his people.
​

The nobles started to give more support to the priesthood, as they didn’t wanted revolts in their lands instigated by the holy men, this made Baalhaan fear for his life, and he began to search for an alternative to remain in power regardless of the loyalties of the nobles and the enmity with his sister.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 12: The Cursed Leader. 156-151 BCE

After a year, more and more people viewed the Great Jawoh as the source of the Great Plague that asolated the realm, and as more and more nobles flocked to the cause of Dido, Baalhaan looked for an alliance with a mayan city-state to remain in power, so in 156 BCE he married Jekankil Bahlamid, daughter of the Halach winik Jan Bahlamid of Dzibilchaltun, the leader of his most powerful neighbors in the region.

​

The alliance with Dzibilchaltun guaranteed the internal peace that Baalhaan needed to rule over a realm in turmoil because of the Plague, and also because of the problems between the powers of the Great Republic.

​

But as the gods were against Baalhaan because of his past, everyone around the Great Jawoh started to die because of the plague, his wife died weeks after his marriage with him, and with Jekankil, Princess of Dzibilchaltun, died the alliance he made with that mayan Kingdom, then, his own mother and daughter died in the same day because of the illness that had already killed his two wives.

​

This only increased the rumors about the curse of Baalhaan, and made Dido even more powerful in the court, were she began to plot to replace the disgraced Great Jawoh with Admago, their more popular brother.

Of all the siblings of Dido, only Admago survived well into adulthood, as Bomilcar and Hanno Yujnegi, the oldest brothers, were sacrificed by the mayans in the war against Ajaw, Zaracas was “murdered” in a hunting accident by Baalhaan some years ago and Hannibal, the youngest brother, had died some months ago because of the plague, as so many did in these dark times.

​

The faction headed by Dido wanted Baalhaan to abdicate. But then, a more lethal outbreak of the plague struck Oq Ykayo, and killed most of the nobles who opposed his rule, and Dido didn’t had all the votes needed to depose his brother, she retreated into her temple in the capital. Seeing the change of the situation, Baalhaan exiled his sister to New Gadir, the most faraway island in the domains of the Great Republic and started to plan his next move. Everything would be easier now, he believed.

Few years later, in 151 BCE, Baalhaan went with some merchants to Takalik Abaj, another of the mayan city-states of the west, there, and after two days of negotiations, he tried to intervene in a heated debate between one of the priests of Dido who accompanied the Odiq’e merchants and the locals, when they were dining with Léembal, the Halach winik of the city.

​

That proved to be a great mistake, as Léembal was interested in the theological debate. The merchants and Baalhaan were expelled from the city and that ruined any chance to open a route from Oq Yqayo to Takalik Abaj. Something vital for the future Odiq’e plans of expansion.

​

Feeling betrayed by his own people, he ordered the troublemaker priest to be executed, and while he was returning to the capital, he stopped a plan to kill him that involved manure stockpiled in an inn.

​

After executing the innkeeper and anyone that he believed involved in this conspiracy and marched to Oq Ykayo, where he intended to personally imprison Dido, his old enemy, as he believed that she was involved in his failure in Takalik Abaj and in this failed attempt to assassinate him.

His biggest enemy, his sister.
​

But when he and his caravan were close to the border of Dzibilchaltun he was victim of another assassination attempt, this time successful.

​

The news of the death of Baalhaan quickly reached the capital, and after blaming the foreigners from Takalik Abaj for the assassination and sending a note of protest for this cruel act, Dido Yujnegi called for the election of the next Great Jawoh, and this time, Admago, her younger brother, was elected.
​

​

Everything went wrong for Baalhaan, the second Great Jawoh, maybe the goddess will be nicer to his successor. Meanwhile the plague are killing peasants and nobles alike, these cursed lands maybe will wipe out the Odiq'e from history...

 

[Kazanov]

After a long hiatus because of my vacations, i return with this:
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Chapter 13: The Wise 151-128 BCE

​

Admago Yujnegi, 3° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 6° King of Ishfania in exile.

Spoiler

Son of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

Admago was elected as the new Great Jawoh, his reign was promising as he was well respected by the nobility and backed by the priesthood, but the plague was killing natives and foreigners alike in Yucatan, and most local Kingdoms were weakened by the constant deaths of peasants, in some parts of the mayan world, entire villages were wiped out, so the plague was shortly followed by starvation, and the Odiq’e feared the worst, total extinction.

The new leader had great plans for his people, but the plague killed him too early. In these dark times, the nobles elected Mattos Yujnegi as the new Great Jawoh, the son of Dido Yujnegi.

__________________________________________________________________________

Mathos Yujnegi “The Wise”, 4° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 7° King of Ishfania in exile.​

Spoiler

Son of Dido, daughter of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

He was the son of Kuiy u’id, the last Olmec King and Dido Yujnegi, the daughter of Zinnridi Yujnegi, the last leader of the Phoenician exiles from Ishfania, because of this he was known as the first Odiq’e, as he was the child of two worlds that were united as one on himself.

Mathos passed great part of his childhood reading the old scrolls in the temples ran by his mother, the Great Priestess, and he never wanted to be the Great Jawoh, but his mother pressed him into accepting the charge. He was wildly popular with the peasants, as he was seen as the true heir of Zinnridi legacy.

As an Odiq’e he knew that the success of his people relied heavily on the success of trade, as that was the only way to expand the influence of his people in the region, currently dominated by mayan culture. So in 140 BCE he sent merchants to Kaminaljuyu, the most important Mayan Kingdom in the west, there he started good relations with the Ahau K’aak “The Dragon” of Kaminaljuyu and a great trade deal was made with the mayans.

​

This success was interrupted by the Great Plague of 137 BCE that claimed the life of his wife, Yahima, and the lives of hundreds of peasants.

After the death of his wife, his spymaster uncovered a complot to kill his son Malchus, so he sent him to New Gadir, far from the court, to the great temple that was being built there to host the great project of his mother, the Great Library of New Gadir.

​

He had a great reputation as a good ruler, so he earned the sobriquet “The Wise” and even with the plague claiming more and more lives with each passing year, he was loved by his people.

In 130 BCE another Great Plague started, and maybe following the trade to the west, reached Kaminaljuyu and every mayan city-state between Oq Ykayo and said Kingdom, killing thousands of natives.

​

In 128 BCE, Mathos Yujnegi died from Camp Fever in another plague, this time his mother, Dido Yujnegi, was elected as the new Great Jawoh.

​

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 15: The Prophecies 128-125 BCE

Dido Yujnegi , 5° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 8° Queen of Ishfania in exile.​

Spoiler: .

Daughter of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

Named after the last Queen of Ishfania from the Yujnegi family, Dido was the High Priestess most of her life, and after she dedicated her entire live to the realm, she was elected as the next Great Jawoh when her son, Mattos the Wise, died. She was 67 years old when she ascended to the throne, having served under Zinnridi, Baalhaan, Admago and Mattos, she was born in this new world.

In the years of the rule of his son with Kuiy u’id, Mattos, her antecessor as Great Jawoh, she started to build a Library in New Gadir, the first settlement from were her father started his project to create the Great Republic that she helped to build. The most important texts stored in New Gadir were the Prophecies, a collection of scrolls detailing the visions of all the diviners of the realm and the ones from herself about the future of her people. There, she also helped to raise Malchus, her grandson.

Zinnridi, her father, had a vision that in the future, after conquering the Mayans...the Odiq’e would return to the Old World to reconquer the old lands of Ishfania taken by the Turdetani, and that even the powerful leaders of Cartage would kneel before the might his descendants. The scrolls not only were a collection of prophesies, but also were the guidelines to her successors, so the dream of her father would be never be lost to time. And even if their descendants were fully assimilated into the mayan culture, their will not forget their origins, as she ordered the scrolls to be treated as sacred texts, her reputation as the First Great Priestess would ensure the survival of her work.

Her rule was short because of her old age, and after she died of Cancer, his grandchild Malchus, the son of Mattos, was elected as the next Great Jawoh.

And suddenly, as if a curse was lifted from the Odiq’e, the plague ceased.


___

PS: I created a new mod that do not crashes (at all) as this old one, so i would continue with this ARR more often.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 16: The Conquest of Cubanacan , 125- 121 BCE.

Malchus Yujnegi , 6° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 9° King of Ishfania in exile.​

Spoiler: .

Son of Mattos, son of Dido, daughter of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

“Our cultural influence in the the region can become our demise, as it did when Zinnridi did his war against the mayans of Ajaw, thank to our careless commerce with them, the mayans had access to horses and that cost us an entire Kingdom…we cannot afford that happening to us again…because next time that will cost us our very existence” (The Prophecies, scroll 2)

Oq Yqayo, 125 BCE

Malchus was raised in New Gadir under the direct tutelage of the Abdalon family, one of the remaining old ones from Phoenician origin, there, he was well protected from the plague and from the enemies of his family, when he was elected as the next Great Jawoh, the first thing he did was marrying with Sophoniba, the daughter of his mentor, Hampsicora Abdalon.

​

He summoned all members of his council to Oq Yqayo, not only because he needed them, but because he wanted to expand the influence of his Phoenician mentor in the Great Republic, and didn’t wanted that the Odiq’e were to be the only ones having political power during his reign…he planned to have two factions fighting between each other so he could rule in peace.

The first to speak was, of course, his beloved mentor and father in law, Hampsicora.

- My Great Jawoh, as your grandmother Dido wisely wrote in the Prophesies, we cannot tolerate the advancement of the Taino, as past generations needed their help to build our cities, they then proceeded to give that knowledge to their own kind, and now, while we are recovering from decades of plague, they are building a fleet that can rival ours, and can easily overpower our armies if we give them enough time to do so.- Hampsicora looked angry, but as he stopped talking, he looked into the eyes of the other members of the council, looking for support.

- We all know that the Taino can become a menace in the future, but our holy duty is to conquer the Mayans, not the islanders, who have been our allies since the times of Zinnridi, it is written in the Prophesies, my trusted Hampsicora. We must follow the wisdom of the Great Dido at all times, we cannot deviate from the path she saw for our people -At’nibl, the Great Priest of the Faith, talked using a calm, but convincing voice- We all know what happened to the Great Jawoh Baalhaan for ignoring the wisdom of Dido, my lords.

​

All the members of the councils remembered what happened to Baalhaan Yujnegi, presumably murdered by the priests for being a heretical tyrant. That was a direct threat to everyone at the table, as all knew the power that the Great Priest of the Faith had over the general populace, power that had increased after the end of the plague when Dido died –or ascended to the heavens, according to the priesthood-.

- Calm down, At’nibl – said Malchus- we will never forget the wisdom of my Grandmother, but, as Hampsicora said, the biggest threat to our existence, right now, are the Taino. I have received reports that under the leadership of Guarionex of Cubanacan they are preparing for war… and if they expand into the other islands they will overpower us with ease, weakened like we are after decades of plague. I can promise you, and to everyone present, that after dealing with the islanders, we will declare war against the Mayans.

The worst enemy will be always a competent ruler.
​

- But my lord, the Taino are our historical allies, even myself have some of their blood running through my veins, and so do many of your subjects, this can be seen as treason against those who helped us settle in these lands! – said with concern, Mago, governor of Cancun.

- Do not worry Mago, I have a plan: we will send an expeditionary force to Cubanacan, then we will see if they are building a fleet, if that its true, and they are using our ships designs, they have stolen from us, and that will be our casus belli. If that is not true, we will just send our troops to New Gadir and claim that our soldiers…are just overly dressed pilgrims. – explained the Great Jawoh.

At’nibl, the Great Priest of the Odiq’e, was satisfied, not only he asserted his influence over the young Malchus, he secured that every member of the council recognized that, and even better, he had the promise of a war against the Mayans. Meanwhile, the Phoenicians of New Gadir were happy with their Great Jawoh, a preventive war against the Taino would secure their influence for the years to come.

Malchus ordered the council to prepare the Great Republic’s forces for war, then retired to his chambers, were his beloved wife awaited for him.

The council in 125 BCE
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Cubanacan, March, 123 BCE

The Odiq’e fleet had recently passed the Zinnridi Pass, the space of water that separated Oq Yqayo from Cubanacan, and while they were preparing to navigate on direction to New Gadir , they saw a big Taino fleet (with Phoenician ship design!) rapidly sailing in direction to Oq’Yqayo, the now undefended capital of the Great Republic. Quickly enough they diverted their course to Cancun, but was too late, the Taino were already disembarking at the capital of the Odiq’e.

___________________
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Oq Yqayo, 28 December, 123 BCE

The capital of the Great Republic was being sieged by their former allies. And Malchus was marching to relieve the city were his pregnant wife was being threatened by their enemies.

​

Trained from young age to be a commander, Malchus had been prepared during all his life for his first real battle, but he never expected to have his pregnant wife under the threat of his enemies, and now he was furious, so he ordered his troops to attack directly their enemies, and at the fastest speed they could possibly done. There will be no rest for him or his troops while his beloved Sophoniba was in danger.

​

As the Odiq’e charged into the Taino lines, Malchus identified the guards surrounding the enemy commander and led his men to victory, as Guarionex, the leader and commander of the Taino quickly ordered the disorderly retreat of the invading force, a mistake that could cost them the war, the Odiq’e pursued them, killing the slower ones in the act.

The Great Jawoh ran into the palace to see his wife, Malchus was happy to see that his beloved wife was fine, but was even more surprised to see her holding a small baby in her arms. His heir was born at the same time he won his first battle.

​

- I called her Tzun, from the word “x ts’unu’um” that the mayans use for the humming bird, according to their leyends, if a man dares to catch that bird, the gods will kill him, and I swore to kill any enemy who dared to even touch my little baby- said Sophoniba while kissing Tzun, who for her first time, smiled. Then she added - My beloved husband, make sure that this don’t happen again, I don’t want our kids to grow in a constantly besieged city.

Malchus smiled. He loved that woman, but now his love increased tenfold, as she not only took care of herself, but of his recently born daugther...and heir.
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Oq Yqayo, 121 BCE

The Odiq’e’s forces had occupied most of the Taino’s territories, and most of the enemy troops went to invade New Tyre, and the war was defined in the final battle of New Gadir, where the Taino finally surrendered, after fourth years of war.

Malchus was satisfied, because he will finally return to his palace with his beloved wife and his daughter, Tzun, born the year before. To secure the control of the subjugated Taino, he granted the Republic of Cubanacan to his father in law, Hampsicora. So now the Phoenician nobility would be busy controlling the islanders, and they will provide the necessary manpower to deal with the always dangerous mayans.

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The Great Jawoh was now in solitude, looking at his maps, planning the next move, his next victory...

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 17: Awaken! 116-100 BCE

Chichen Itza, 116 BCE

Malchus Yujnegi was laying siege to the city state of Chichen Itza in a campaign to take that important center of trade from the hands of the locals, suddenly, the general of the enemy forces, a big warrior called Oncan, charged against his position and after killing every member of his guard, challenged him to a duel.

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As if losing the duel was not enough, he was taken prisoner and forced to surrender his forces, Áakan Bahlamid, the ruler of Chichen Itza, made Malchus promise that he would respect the truce, or the next time he would be sacrificed alongside all his family, Oncan, the victorious general who defeated him, was treated like the hero he was by the citizens of the mayan city-state.

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Oq Yqayo, 114 BCE

Malchus felt humiliated, so for the past two years he trained rigorously to improve his skills as a duelist, he wanted to recover his honor and dignity, but first he had to deal with more important matters.

The Mayans of Tulum, a western Mayan city-state had been raiding the lands of the Odiq’e for the last two years and were quick enough so the armies of Malchus never got to catch them, because of that, the Great Jawoh declared war on Tulum and the enemies marched directly into Oq Yqayo, not knowing that they were marching into a trap.

The Odiq’e troops quickly surrounded the mayan positions, and after Malchus and his bodyguards charged into the position of the Halach Wiinik of Tulum, he challenged the enemy leader to a duel. He accepted.

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Malchus easily defeated Aj-Koo, the mayan leader of Tulum, and after taking him captive he pardoned his enemy and made him swear to not raid his lands again. Aj-Koo accepted the terms of the treaty, and the Odiq’e gained the province of Tulum as compensation.

The leader of the Odiq’e knew that the wars could make him impopular at the eyes of his subjects, but he didn’t cared, as the also knew that his people needed more land, and that the next generations would be grateful for the sacrifices made by Malchus and his warriors.

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Cubanacan, 108- 107 BCE

Hampsicora, the father in law of Malchus and ruler of Cubanacan, turned out to be a bad ruler, so the Odiq’e had to deal with…not one, not two, but four Taino revolts in two years. Malchus brutally suppressed each and every one of the revolts, arranging public executions for any Taino involved in the wars against his rule.

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The Great Jawoh planned to end once and for all with the unruly Taino, but Hampsicora died in 107 BCE and his son and successor, Hanno Abdalon, promised that he, as ruler of the Republic of Cubanacan, would restore peace to his domain.

Malchus was about to depose his brother in law because he didn’t trusted him, but then, the Mayans of Tulum raided again his domains, not even three years after the treaty.

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Cozumel, 105 BCE

This time the Great Jawoh didn’t wanted to act diplomatically, the Mayans would learn to respect the authority and superiority of his people the hard way. So after taking most of the lands of the Halachi of Tulum, he took the wife and one of the concubines of the enemy leader as his own concubines.

Aj-Koo, the Halach wiinick of Tulum was pissed off, not only was defeated two times by Malchus, now he was dishonored as the Odiq’e had taken his women to himself.

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Malchus knew about the pride and anger of his enemy, so he challenged Aj-Koo to a duel.​

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The 72 year old mayan leader accepted and died, and again he was no match for Malchus’s skill. But this victory was not complete, as some of the subjects of the Great Jawoh viewed the duel against a decrepit leader as dishonorable.

When he returned to Oq Yqayo, Malchus ordered the construction of a great statue to Zinnridi Yujnegi, his ancestor and founder of the Great Republic.

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Chichen Itzá, 102 BCE

14 years ago, Malchus suffered an humiliating defeat while laying siege to Chichen Itzá, now, he was attacking again the same mayan city state. His beloved wife had died the year before at the young age of 38 years, and as he wanted to avoid depression, he declared war against the mayans of Chichen Itza, the only ones that had defeated him. Revenge could make him forget the pain…

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Oncan, the same man who defeated him in the past, was commanding the mayan defense, hiding behind his lines, but Malchus charged anyways against him and then, challenged the mayan general to a duel.​

Malchus won this time, but didn’t wanted to show the same mercy that Oncan offered him in the past.

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Jun Kalan, Chief of Uxmal and general of Chichen Itza, then assumed command of the mayan forces and challenged Malchus to a duel, he expected the Odiq’e to be an easy target. He was wrong.​

Malchus killed him.


That was another victory to Malchus. The Odiq’e had conquered Chichen Itza, one of the most importants city-states of the Mayan world, and Malchus was now a famous duelist and general.

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But as the armies of the Odiq’e experimented victory after victory, the world around them was changing…

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 18: The Two Worlds in 100 BCE

Yucatan

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After the arrival of the Phoenicians, the fall of the Olmecs and the rise of the Odiq’e, the exiles gained a foothold on the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula and started to wage war on the mayans, as Dido Yujnegi, the Great Priestess of the Odiq’e predicted years ago.

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But the small city-states of the mayans gave way to the first mayan Kingdoms, and now not only the mayans of Ajaw were controlling great extensions of lands, because Canek-Kalan the ruler of the city-state of Tikal, had conquered his neighbors and created the greatest mayan Kingdom until this point on history.

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Meanwhile, on the south, Kin of the Lencas founded the Kingdom of Nohol, the only political entity that could oppose Tikal.
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Central Europe

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100 years ago, the Etrurian League was expanding into the celtic heartlands, now, they have consolidated their dominion into central Europe, taking their place as the biggest empire to ever exist in the Mediterranean. They were now started to settle the Germanic lands, as the local tribes fled before the slow advance of the Etrurians, who for now seemed unstoppable.

The gallic nobility were absorbed into Etruscan society and were also allowed to continue to rule over their subjects, these who didn’t want to be under the foot of the italics fled into the last bastions of the Arverni, far in the fringes of the known lands.
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The East

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After 100 years of Macedonian supremacy, the small kingdom of Epirus rose to defy their northern rivals and now the Hellenic world was divided into the Spartan Kingdom of Hellas, the Epirotes, the Macedonians and the helleno-tracian Kingdom of Abdera.

Meanwhile, thanks to the Hellenic support, the Lydians managed to kick the babilonians out from their homeland and stopped the rise of the Mesopotamians, who in turn expanded into the Arabian lands. The Kingdom of Armenia had lost most of their territories but somehow managed to survive to the onslaught of the Babylonians and Lydians.

The ancient kingdom of Egypt stayed the same.
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Southern Mediterranean

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While in center Europe and the east great wars were fought in the last 100 years, in the southern Mediterranean everything stayed more or less the same, Carthaginian supremacy over the region was unquestioned so they enforced the peace on the region. The Phoenician Kingdom of Cartenna collapsed in 120 BCE and their lands were divided by Carthage and Masaesylia.
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Hispania

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The Turdetani continued to expand and converted themselves into a regional power that expanded even into Africa, but they still had the Celtiberian, other Iberian tribes and even the greek colony of Emporia as rivals to their supremacy. The Carthaginians were their greatest foes in this period of time.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 19: The Bastards 100-89 BCE

Oq Yqayo, 100 BCE

After his victories over Chichen Itza and Tulum, Malchus Yujnegi was informed about the bad behavior of one of his daughters who sired a bastard child from an unknown man, the rumors said that she became pregnant from an enemy general who was taken prisoner on the war against Chichén Itza, he didn’t want these rumors to spread and jeopardize the stability of his dynasty and government, so he gave money to his spymaster so he could deal with this problem.

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But after some time, he learned that the bastard child was alive and well, maybe because the kid was the result of an indiscretion between his daughter and his spymaster. He sent all of them exiled to New Gadir.

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Oq Yqayo, 94 BCE

As the construction of the Great Statue of Zinnridi Yujnegi was finished, a messenger entered the courtroom of Malchus and reported troubling news from the frontier, the Mayans of Tulum and Chichen Itza were raiding the border villages, even after all the bloodshed and wars between them and the Odiq’e.

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The Odiq’e didn’t wanted to wage war on their southern neighbors again, so Malchus proclaimed a raiding campaign on his southern neighbors, all the riches taken from them would be to the warriors who wanted to go with him to take retribution from the mayans.

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The campaign lasted four years, and great riches were obtained, the royal house got enough resources to launch years of military campaigns, a beautiful axe and a strange sealed chest.
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Oq Yqayo, 89 BCE

Ajy Yujnegi, his oldest daughter sired a bastard this time, and Malchus decided that the best course of action was to send she and her son exiled to New Gadir, were he had sent his another daughter and her bastard child too.

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He wanted to legitimate both bastards and recognize as his own sons, but he died before he could do that and his son Bomical was elected by the nobles as the next Great Jawoh.

 

[Kazanov]

Chapter 20: The Mayan invasions 89- 78 BCE

Bomical Yujnegi , 7° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 10° King of Ishfania in exile.

Spoiler: ...

Son of Malchus, son of Mattos, son of Dido, daughter of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

Bomical Yujnegi wanted to expand into the Mayan heartland, so he declared war to the remains of the old Kingdom of Chichen Itza and Tucum, they were raiding the borderlands and that was enough justification to launch a campaign, at least at the eyes of the noblemen under his rule.

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As a seasoned warrior, he was at the frontline leading his men to victory and died at the battle of Mayapan in 87 BCE. He was quickly succeeded by his sister, Tzun Yujnegi.

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Tzun Yujnegi , 8° Great Jawoh of the Odiq’e, 11° King of Ishfania in exile.

Spoiler: ...

Daughter of Malchus, son of Mattos, son of Dido, daughter of Zinnridi, son of Hanno, son of Hannibal, son of Dido, daughter of Ayzebel, daughter of Yzebel, daughter of Similce, daughter of Sophonisba, daughter of Sophonisiba, daughter of Mago, founder of the Kingdom of Ishfania.

Unlike her brother, she did not have great skills as a military leader, so the first thing she did was to join the great leaders of the Grand Republic in her council, Mayans, Phoenicians, Taino and Odiq'e.

Spoiler: ...

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The objective of her was to solidify her government in order to improve her economy, but shortly after her reign began, Kaan Pech's Ahau sent her men to raid the borderlands of the Great Republic, and for this reason she had to send her troops to drive the invaders away from their lands.

Spoiler: ...

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But while that happened, the Ahau of Ma’ya’ab declared war, the strength of the Great Republic would be put to the test.

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In the battles that continued, Tzun not only managed to defeat the powerful southern neighbors, but also declared war on Kaan Pech, capturing the enemy Ahau and taking possession of the territory.

Spoiler: ...

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Five years later, the enemy of the south returned to declare war on 78 BCE.

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It seemed that the mayans would not stop, war was something that was unavoidable, the enemy would not stop and diplomacy would not work, at least not with the Ma’ya’ab who were ruled by the best ruler of the time.

Spoiler: ...

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[Kazanov]

Chapter 22: Tzun’s Counterattack 78-70 BCE

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Meanwhile Tzun’s generals were defeating the mayan forces at the decisive battle of Popolango, the Odiq’e of Tucum were fighting a rivalry war against the Phoenicians of Cubanacan, weakening the islanders as the continental forces of the Odiq’e proved to be more effective on the battlefield.

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The internal war between the Phoenicians and the Odiq’e under the rule of the Great Republic made the Great Jawoh consider alliances with Kaminaljuyu and Nohol, two enemies of the Ma’ya’ab, her southern rival.

She was guaranteeing that the mayans of Kaminaljuyu would not intervene on her next action, that was declaring the invasion of the Ma’ya’ab.

To do this, she ordered the mobilization of all her subjects and the end of the Tucum-Abdalon rivalry war because he needed all her spears pointing to their mayan enemies and an internal war could benefit their common enemies. Something that she never expected was the Taino overthrowing their Phoenician overlords after 43 years under the rule of the Abdalon family who were weakened after that useless rivalry war against Tucum.

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Amanex Guamaíd, the leader of the Taino uprising and the new Jawoh’ of Cubanaban pledged his support to the Odiq’e war effort against the Ma’ya’ab, so nobody wanted to depose him in favor of the fallen Abdalon family.

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For the next eight years, the Odiq’e forces conquered nearly all the territories of the Ma’ya’ab after the battle of Mahahual, where most of the military strength of the mayans were defeated.

Tzun would not live to see the final victory of her people, because she died a natural death at the young age of 49 years old.

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Maybe some people are not meant to be remembered as conquerors, after all.

She was succeeded by Ri’gual, her oldest son.