King Douhhsúl's Declaration

Location and content

King Douhhsúl was the ninth king of the Old Duiniken. His reign lasted from the year 86 of the Era of the Earth until the year 97 of that era. He was the second king during the war with the Mdûlûn to the south and won the part of Tebrina west of the Sévo Mountains his predecessor lost back. On this event he commissioned a stone carving, placed on the southern slope of the southernmost mountain, the Cauva, which is now known as the famous 'King Douhhsúl's Declaration'. It has been translated by several Tarrabaenian scholars in slightly varying ways. One possible translation is this:

King Douhhsúl in the 79th year of the Duiniken Kingdom:

This shall be known, that this land has been taken again.

We fought again and again and repelled the dreadful Len.

Know well, Man who sees this, that this land is ours.

Know well, Len who sees this, that you have been beaten.

This shall be known, that this marks our border.

Men and Len shall respect it for the time coming.

I, King Douhhsúl, have successfully made war.

Now this land is ours again. This shall be known.

And we will go to war again, should the Len forget.

We will successfully make war again, every time our land is violated.

Alternative translations:

Line 3: We fought for a long time and repelled the dreadful Len.

Line 8: I, King Douhhsúl, engaged in war.

Line 10: We will win the war again, should the Len violate/ignore [e.g. the border or this land]

Line 11: We will go to war again, every time our land is violated.

Historical context and significance

King Douhhsúl took the Coronet of the Airhhídsélen when he was elected the new king of the Duiniken after his predecessor King Fhíthhum was killed in a fight against the Mdûlûn in the year 86 of the Era of the Earth. He thus became the leader of the Duiniken. He ruled for a relatively long time, although he was constantly at war with the Mdûlûn in the west as well as the south. After King Fhíthhum had lost the coastal area of what is today the state of Tebrina in the Confederation of Tarrabaenia, Douhhsúl swore to reclaim that land and give his people access to the Grey Sea again. It took him three years to drive the Mdûlûn back south. To mark his success and as a warning he commisioned the stone carving called 'King Douhhsúl's Declaration'. It was likewise meant as a memorial of their win for the Duiniken as it was a warning for the Mdûlûn, hence its position facing south towards the settlement area of the Mdûlûn.

The carving's language is archaic, as it is one of the older carvings that survived. Interestingly its content held true insofar as the Mdûlûn - despite at least two known attempts - were able to push past this point again. Later on they were less aggressive on the southern front, probably because of the Moiyeli Swamplands stretching further and further west, blocking of the landway. The Mdûlûn from the south, being excellent seafarers though, continued to harass the Duiniken by the sea.

King Douhhsúl also fought in the west against another state of the Mdûlûn. There too he was partly successful. His commisioned another declaration to be carved in stone there, sometimes called 'King Douhhsúl's Second Declaration'. This carving is not preserved and its original location and content are unknown, as the Mdûlûn from the west destroyed it during a conquest of parts of the western coast in the year 561 of the Era of the Earth. We only know about it from another carving of which fragments are preserved. These probably are King Douhhsúl's Res Gestae, though that is still disputed.

The Duiniken were ultimately driven out of the area by the early Tarrabaenians during the late ninth century. They viewed the numerous inscriptions the Duiniken left as a peculiarity and had no interest in destroying them. They were also far more successful in their fights against the Mdûlûn to the west, pushing them far back to where the Central Erana Mountain Range meets the Grey Sea, preventing them from destroying more cultural heritage of their former bitter enemies.

Type

Statement, Political (Manifesto)