Dannu Warriors

Three Dannu warriors of the last decades of the Middle Dannu Empire

Danubae Faction, Early Danubae Legionnaire, Middle Danubae Legionnaire, Danubae Thearokorpoii Late Infantry of Marine

DANNU

The ancient Dannu, ancient Unlic Dounà, Dumin: Danubae, know as well as Danuvki, Dannuphe, Dannupku were a group of Carutes Kanov tribes inhabiting a large area in western Hieyoks, in the area of the Karkaz sea before they conformed an ancient empire that extended in south-western Hieyoks. They spoke the Dannuian language, a language of the branch of the Caru-hieyokian language family.

One of their more common names of Danubae is a later Dumian duminization of their original name.

HISTORY:

Little is know about the Early Dannu, aside that is thought the Carutes tribes that will conform the Dannu migrated to Hieyoks, to the steppes to the north of the Karkaz Sea, during the third century After the Apparition of the Human, a.a.H.

During the Early Human Age or Age of Invasions These Caru-Hieyoks Kanov peoples, while considered barbarian and rural by their refined and urbanized elven neighbors, had developed advanced forms of music, poetry, industry, and artistic crafts. Aligning themselves in kingdoms and tribes, they never achieved any form of national unity beyond short in this early period. Similar to the Carutes and other Kanov tribes, most people are thought to have lived simply in small fortified villages, usually on hilltops.

During the V century of the Age of Invasions, the Dannu migrated to the south, to the north of the Karkaz Sea, settling in a land they called Zeleuka (or Seleuca in Dumian texts). There, they fall under the influence of the Empire of Sakhon (Sakhonia in Dumian texts). According to the Dannu historians, the Sakhon make them vassals, treating them cruelly, which caused a revolt in Zeleuka in the year 547-554 a.a.H

The revolt was lead by Queen Budakhii (Budaccius for the dumian) , who is depicted in Dannu tapestries as a tall, slender woman with flaming red hair.

The rebellion lasted for seven years, until Queen Budaccius was slain at the battle of Calcucian Field, her army crushed, following a campaign of terror by the Sakhonian, which make the surviving Dannu under the rule of the Queen's twin sons, Princes Mard'Auk (Marcus in Dumian texts) to decide to migrate to the south, crossing the Karkaz sea and settling to the southern shores of it after a serie of guerrilla actions and battles -such as the Dannu defeat of Prince Tristram at the Seven Vales-

The Dannu settled then on the southern shores of the Karkaz sea in the year 560 a.a.H, founding a first capital city, which Dannu name is lost, but is called by the Dumian texts as Fort Pangeous, from where they began to extend their rule, fighting Zuleis Dark elves, taking the kanov Dannu control of all the southern shores of the Karkaz, founding a capital, Heliphiki (Heliopolis for the Unlic authors, who had ambassadors with the Dannu). The land was carved up between lords and powerfull families, and then the Empire of Danubae had begun.

Early Dannu Empire, 560-705 a.a.H

After King Marcus died in the 583 a.a.H, wars began between the powerful households and families for control of the throne. These series of wars are known as the 'household wars', and plunged Dannu into a dark age where kings were overthrown again and again, sometimes several times each month.
At last, after 50 years of fighting amongst themselves, one true leader arose and united the warring factions at the 633 a.a.H.

His name was King K’ahr Mann (called Charlimane by the Dumian), and he expanded Dannu territory to the south, to the northern mountains of Farsia, as the next kings pressed into the eastern shores of the Karkaz sea, building the cities that Unlic ambassadors call Tripolis and Hadrianople on the way ending.

However, they expansion make the Dannu enter in Conflict with the Farsian Empire during the 697-705, when defeated in the war against the Farsian, they became a vassal state, ending the early Dannu empire and beginning the first interim period.

First Interim Period, Farsian and Unlic dominion, 706-910 a.a.H

As vassals of the Farsian, they sended continegnts of troops and ships during the Farsian-Uslen wars of the 710 a.a.H., that will last until the 740. a.a.H.

With the Farsian defeat, while the Dannu didn't achieved independence, but gained an important autonomy from the Farsian.

When in the 864 a.a.H Carol III of Uslen invaded the Farsian Empire and their provinces and vassal states, the Dannu fight against along the armies of the Farsian empire, suffering the same defeats as the rest of the farsian armies due the military tactics of the Unlic, being conquered Danubae by the Unlic the 873 a.a.H.

However, After the dead of Carol III of Uslen at the 878 a.a.H, the generals of Carol divided the large Empire of Uslen, and only two years later at the 880 began the War of the Generals, a serie of Sucession wars for the empire of Carol III of Uslen.

The General Antok Zelekka, sucessor of Carol III of Uslen, was the one to get from the division Danubae, and to reinforce his situation and gain the loyalty and support of the Dannu, he married a Dannu prince, taking many of their customs -and while the language of the court still was Unlic, the Dannu where integrated.- Under his rule, the Dannu adapted the Unlic strategy of the Phalanx, before only used by small mercenary contingents and some Dannu cities militias.

When the grandson of King Antok I Zelekka, Antok III died, Antok IV abandoned the claims of Danubae being an Unlic Kingdom, embracing the Dannu culture instead, being the end of the Interim period the year 910 a.a.H

Middle Dannu Empire, 911-1.264 a.a.H

The Middle Dannu Empire will last between the 911 a.a.H until the 1.264 a.a.H, and this period is known as the Dannu Golden Age, or the Dannu age of Expansion.
Throughout a series of wars with the other Unlic sucessor states and the once again Farsian Empire, they, the Empire of Danubae stretched all over the northern shores of Farsia and the sea of Tok to the west, and to the east to the Ahrral Sea, being their southern limit the mountains of Tehan in Farsia, and to the north the cold steppes of Hieyoks.

they founded in their shores of the Sea of Tok the city the Unlic court called Halicarnassus, Halk’arnazzi for the Dannu.

At the height of the Danubae Empire, Danubae most of the Hieyokian shores of the Sea of Tok, advancing inland deep into Hieyoks, having defeated and conquered several High Elven colonies and kingdoms in Hieyoks -who had been weakened by the Doroz plague, who had hit them hardly in Hieyoks-, controlling as well Zeleuka and their old enemy of Sakhon.

But their expansion faced them with the Unlic States and Blazakhov, having many mayor wars for the control of the trade of the Sea of Tok: As well, their advance to the north was each time more difficult by the climate and their enemies, nortic Kanovs of the Holkokav and Othok, Ice elves, humans and Icea giants, while to the east they had to face numerous barbarian invasions of nations of riders -Kagastanos Kanov and Torkik human tribes-.

However, their mayor enemy in this time will be the Dumian Empire.

Since the 1.050 a.a.H, Dume had been advancing over the old sucessor states of Carol III, conquering the Unlic kingdoms one after other, being the end of the Unlic Period at the 1.169 a.a.H, with the conquest of Ighipus.

Dume, becoming an Empire at the 1.173 a.a.H, began then a serie of wars against the Dannu, pushing them eastward.

While the Dannu, having seen the sucessive Unlic defeats of their armies using the Phalanx against the Dumian legions, began to addopt the Dumian equipment and tactics, but to late:

After a serie of defeats, the Dannu where only defending their southern borders, needing to increasingly relieve in the use of cavalry -heavy and light- in tactics learned from the steppes tribes and other of their enemies against the Dumian.

While they could held the Dumian advance, with wars in all their borders, they were unable to keep their borders against invaders and enemies, so the Dannu emperors finally decided to divide their empire, at the 1.264 a.a.H.

Late Danubae Empire, 1.264-1.368

This year, emperor Aleksus IV divided the Danubae Empire in two, the south part becoming Danubae, and the north, Pharnacia.

However, by the 1.312 a.a.H, the Pharnacian Emperor Nikasiss II, having been able to expulse other invasion of the steppes become greedy, wanting to wear the two crowns of Pharnacia and Danubae, invading the southern half of the Empire.

The Civil war will last until the 1.368 a.a.H, and the Danubae's enemies, taking advantage of the civil war took revenge on the Danubae, and slowly but surely, Danubae lost most of it's empire.

Pharancia was destroyed completely and utterly, and The Danubae Empire was reduced only to their possetions surrounding the Karkaz Sea, surviving as an independent state until the 1.749 a.a.H, when advancing the Baziks -after invading and conquering the Farsian Empire- conquered Danubae, converting many of the Dannu to the Islam.

Later the region will become Dannustan, part of the Farsian Empire.

---

For SultanOfAwesomeness for my contest of the world of Aiers.

He designed for it a kingdom, Danubae, wich had strong relations to the Macedonian, Helenic and Roman empires... however, the problem was the location and that I already had a roman-like and greek-like empires... So I moved it eastwards, to the karkaz sea instead, making several changes to his history, to fit my world. :3

Ah! He never specified danubae to be human, so I make them Kanov instead!

Edit 23.11.2015: Sooooo art blocked : U

Update of an old pic!