Radius Solis wrote:But I'm concerned that the Nitaze River won't be navigable even for a long stretch below the city. [...] It's not even a very big river, just long.
If, as I proposed a while ago, we place Aθáta (and later, E'át)
south of Rathedān, the southern river (which I suggest we call Mlir, or
MILĪR in Adāta) could actually be a good deal longer than shown on the current Rathedān map. This could turn it into a major tributary of the Ēza, navigable at least up to the confluence of the Nitazē river (now only the upper part coming from Nitazē). Which means that the waterworks would only have to cover a relatively short distance. Nitazē would then be as easily reached from the sea as is Khalanu. And it has two further advantages: Firstly, easy access to the Rādias pass, and secondly, the Milīr river route bypasses Lasomo at times when it is hostile.
Zhen Lin wrote:Radius Solis wrote:Perhaps this may explain the greater importance of Greater Tharas later on, which encompasses much of the land in between? It's notable that, in addition to being halfway between Athale and Akeladada, it controls a hefty stretch of the Eza river and a lot of adjacent rich agricultural land. Over time, then, it's really no wonder the political and linguistic focus shifts to Greater Tharas. It's all starting to click, isn't it...
Hmm, but if we were to set up Greater Tharās as controlling any significant stretch of Ēza, that would lead to the unusual situation I had mentioned before, where the capital/largest city is located far from the geographic centre and from access to transportation (the waterways).
The question is, does Thāras extend towards the Ēza, or towards Nitazē? Or both? In this case its location wouldn't be that bad, probably situated near the best crossing of the watershed between the high-mountain area and the forest in SW Lasomo. However, we should keep in mind that if Greater Thāras does indeed encompass both the middle Ēza and lower Nitazē valleys, this city controls
all the trade between the Rathedān and Lasomo, even if the Milīr valley stays out of its immediate reach. This strategic position could be used to explain why Uremas I. had to marry a Thārasian princess to secure his position.
All in all I imagine a situation in later times (say ~500) where Athalē is the nominal capital and religious center of the empire, but the strongest provinces in economic and military terms are Akeladada (the portion of Lasomo between the Ēza and Milīr rivers) and Greater Thāras (including Nitazē city to the south, and much of the middle Ēza to the north). Minor economic centres will be Radias (controlling trade with the Xšali), Khalanu (access to Lasomo only via Greater Thāras, but having the best connection to Xoron Eiel), and the Milīr province where Æðadě is spoken (halfway between Nitazē and Akeladada, having direct access to Kasca/Huyfárah and to the less important upper Milīr). When the empire falls apart, these five would certainly become the most important successor states.
Radius Solis wrote:Corumayas wrote:In light of this, it seems to me that Ndok Aiso is a problem: it's in a very prominent spot, and we don't have a single complete sentence or even a rough pronunciation guide. Southern Lasomo seems destined to become Adata-speaking; but right now we've got the north remaining independent, and then retaking Akeladada and bringing down the Athalean empire... which leaves us stuck with a daughter of Ndok Aiso spoken around 1000 that nobody is going to be able to derive. I can think of three solutions right now: 1. change the history so that northern Lasomo ends up part of one empire or the other; 2. have the northern Ndok adopt another language while retaining their independence; or 3. have them vanish forever shortly after this last exploit, so that their language has no lasting influence.
Barbarian hordes to the rescue!
Remember what the Martu did to Sumer? They didn't make war, really, they just moved in. En masse. The Sumerian language's greater prestige wasn't enough to withstand the sheer numerical superiority of the Martu, and was replaced within a few generations.
Barbarians could realistically come from two regions: from the upper Milīr (which I proposed earlier on to happen around ~2000, also explaining how E'át crosses the mountains into Xšali), or from the upper Ēza. If the Athalēans don't manage to conquer all of Xoron Eiel, there'll be wide stretches of land up there for nomads to roam, and they could well pour into Thāraspē and Lasomo when the empire becomes weak. Or else, if the Thārasians and Khalanese manage to ward them off, they could turn northeast and then attack Northern Lasomo from the mountains, coming down the Ziphē river.
Radius Solis wrote:Now we just need somebody - not me - to make up a language for northern Lasomo to adopt.
Maybe this language should be part of the Western family that Dewrad mentioned, being distantly related to Gezoro?
Or else, the invaders could be relatives of those northern barbarians that sack Ussor in Huyfárah in 886, which is around the right time period for such an attack. In which case their language would likely be part of the Faraghin family.