Feogh Empire (ɸeo̯ɣ / FĔŌGH)
The Feogh Empire (meaning "Sun Empire") was a nomadic empire which controlled much of the steppe during the Iron Age.
Structure
The Feogh Empire was a tribal empire. It comprised a number of tribes, ruled over by a high chief called the Feoghfeing.
During the Four Chieftains (or Four High Chiefs) period, the empire was split into four divisions, each ruled by one of the grandchildren of the first Feoghfeing, Ngour-Elthó. Each ruled their territory relatively independently of the others, though they cooperated politically, militarily, and economically. Though it remained a united empire in name, the Feogh Empire during this time blurred the line between a grand empire and a confederacy of smaller ones.
Public Agenda
The Feogh rulers were believed to be descended from the sun goddess and, as such, had the divine right to rule the steppe. How exactly this goal was pursued, and how doggedly, depended on the individual leader, though military conquest was a staple.
Internally, the primary goal of the Feogh Empire was peace between subject tribes. This peace was maintained without major incident from the founding of the empire until the Feogh Civil War nearly 70 years later.
History
According to legend, the empire's founder, Ngour-Elthó, was a child of the sun goddess sent to the earth to unite the tribes of the steppe. Her magical abilities were seen as proof of her divinity.
Ngour-Elthó united many tribes under her rule. At first, she won the respect and loyalty of tribal leaders through her divine status; later, with a sizable army under her command, she used force to subjugate those who refused to submit. When it came to managing her empire, her priority was peace and unity. She allowed tribal chiefs under her rule relative freedom to lead as they saw fit, provided that they did not enter into conflict with other tribes of the empire and that they lent her manpower in times of war. Also, imperial subjects were required to learn the imperial language and recognize the sovereignty of the sun goddess (speaking foreign languages and worshipping foreign gods were permitted, however).
Ngour-Elthó's daughter, Aud-Ngíbel, continued her mother's campaign of expansion across the steppe. Her favored expansion tactic was diplomacy, backed up with the threat of force. By the time of her death, the empire spanned the majority of the steppe and shared a border with settled civilizations to the east.
Aud-Ngíbel divided the empire between her four children, who formed a loose central government but primarily governed their respective regions independently of one another, each with their own philosophy. Cúeng continued to expand the empire westward as far as the Western Mountains, while Augháo invaded the lands to the south, pushing the imperial boundaries beyond the steppe. Meanwhile in the east, Daineibhaul worked to establish amicable relationships with neighboring cultures, believing trade and exchange of knowledge would benefit the empire. ((TODO: What about the north?))
Disbandment
Augháo's death during the Siege of Ttsaf Ttsar threw the Feogh Empire into a succession crisis. Since she died without an heir, her brother Daineibhaul asserted that his daughter Ngainà (then eleven years old) should succeed her. Their sister Éair objected, claiming that, as Augháo's twin, she was her closest relative and thus the rightful inheritor of her lands. Daineibhaul objected to this objection, citing Ngainà's magical prowess as a sign of divine favor and thus the right to rule.
Cúeng feared that Daineibhaul intended to claim Augháo's territory for himself, using the young Ngainà as a puppet. Afraid his tolerant stance toward other cultures would lead to cultural contamination of the empire, she backed Éair's claim to Augháo's land. Daineibhaul still refused to back down. The dispute culminated in the Feogh Civil War, which saw the empire split into three entirely separate nations.
Territories
At its height, the Feogh controlled nearly all of the steppe of the Old Continent, plus some territory beyond it.
Religion
A number of gods were worshipped in the Feogh Empire. The most important of these gods was the sun goddess Feogh, for whom the empire was named. All subjects of the empire were required to worship and offer sacrifices to Feogh and to recognize her as the supreme deity and the progenitor of the high chiefs. Worship of the other major gods of the imperial pantheon was encouraged but not mandated.
Foreign religious beliefs and practices were generally permitted so long as Feogh was recognized as supreme to foreign gods.
DISBANDED/DISSOLVED
Founding Date
Iron Age
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Feogh
Leader Title
Founders
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Related Ranks & Titles
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
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