Timeline of the Danubian region

4800 BC : The Shirz Culture arrives in the plateau surrounded by the Skwarpiz Mountains (OTL Transylvanian Plateau surrounded by the Carpathians). The culture is based on the Danube in the area beetween OTL Budapest and Belgrade. It is thought they originated from Anatolia but the evidence is not conclusive.

4500 BC : The Vicaz Culture emerges in the Lower Danube Basin. The development of farming technology fuelled a population boom that made Vicaz settlements among the largest in prehistoric Europe. They practised a mixed subsistence economy where agriculture, animal husbandry and hunting and foraging all contributed to the diet of the growing Vicaz population. The Vicaz agriculture introduced wheat, oat, flax and barley. Because of this, they manufactered clothes made from plant textiles as well as animal products. They also exploited the cattle driven plough and the practice of transhumance. Hunting, fishing and foraging was part of their subsistence economy but in a much smaller scale than their predecessors, the Shirz Culture. The Vicaz also improved their pottery using a two-stage method to produce it with a polished, multi-coloured finish. They were based in OTL Serbia, south-western and southern Romania, Bulgaria and The FYR of Macedonia

4300 BC : A new culture emerges in the area between the Danube and the Black Sea (OTL Dobrogea). Also linked to the Anatolian early cultures, they are called the Hazmanka Culture. They appear to use the agricultural methods of the Vicaz. The first small vessels are used in the Black Sea by the Hamankas for fishing.

4000 BC : North of the Danube Delta in the basin of the rivers Prut, Dniestr and Dniepr another culture flourishes. Named the Kozkotan Culture, their main difference is the fact that after every second generation they burn their entire village and build the new one on top of the old one. It is unknown to us why they used this practice. They domesticated the aurochs wich became their sacred animal.

In terms of religion all of the 4 cultures are linked to each other by representation of one diety. Ussualy pottery figurines that represent a bearded man sitting on a chair in a contemplating position.

3600 BC : A wave of migrations from the Northern Black Sea Steppe brings a new culture in the area. Calling themselves Weskozi (basically meaning children of the wolf). They bring to the area the cult of the wolf (the wolf-god Skozi), the domesticated horse and wine.

3000 BC : The early Danubian cultures are assimilated by the invaders giving birth to the Kozi civilization.

2800 BC : The Kozi adopt the sailing techniques of the old Hazmankas.

2600 BC : First forms of writng.

2400 BC : The Kozi become divided. Different tribes live in the Transylvanian Plateau, the Dniestr Basin, Dobrudja and the Wallachian Plain. South of the Danube their close relatives the Wraki are considered by now a different culture.

2000 BC : Considered the toughest of the Kozians a tribe from the Skwarpiz Mountains makes a bid at uniting the area between the mountains and the Danube. Their Chieftain Vercelop gains a mythological dimension in the following campaign.

1990 BC : The Kozian of the plains between the mountains and the Danube are united under the warlord Vercelop. During this period Vercelop adopts a relgion of the plain Kozians. Unlike the conservative highlander Kozians who still worshiped the Wolf God as the supreme God among other Gods the lowlander Kozians practiced a henotheistic religion based on a Trinity consisting of the White Bearded Man, the Wolf and the Aurochs as incarnations of the same one and only God.

1985 BC : Mostly a rural population the Kozians lack any real cities.

1980 BC : A refugee from Ilakaztowr (Xnyraxes’ city) Sperioqux Noorskolav (meaning architect in Lroz), arrives at the court of Vercelop somewhere in OTL Bucegi Mountains. The Sperioqux Noorskolav has knowlenge of mathemathics and architecture. Impressed by the tales of the Lroz cities, Vercelop orders that a new modern capital to be built in the plains south of the mountains. The Volgan refugee will be the lead architect of the project.

Meanwhile in the south of the Danube (named Zarpak River by the Kozians, meaning Serpent River) the Wraki are a more peacefull population. They are divided in different tribes. Their main religion is the worship of the Great Knight, an mounted warrior armed with a long spear and a bow. He is a heroic figure who in his quests to achieve immoratlity had slain a great serpent with no more than three heads.

1950 BC : The great Kozian capital is completed. Neither Vercelop or the Volgan refugee Sperioqux Noorskolav are alive to whitness it, but Vercelop’s son, Varnaz names the city after his father, Verceldaza (Daza meaning city).

1800 BC : The different Kozian population become very distinct to each other, but retain the sense of belonging to the same civilization. The Transylvanian Kozians are named the Halkoz, the Kozians between the mountains and the Danube are named the Vercians (after their first King Vercelop) and the Dobrudjan Kozians are named the Valkozians after the name of the Black Sea, Valk maa (Valk meaning calm and maa meaning sea). Several Kozian tribes live in the OTL Hungary, Czecho-Slovakia and Austria, but they are more different because of the mixing with the OTL Celt-like populations of central Europe. Also Kozian populations live in southern Poland and Ukraine ( the Krakow-Lvov area) and between the Dniestr and the Dniepr but those are very small in numbers and also very backward compared to the other Kozians.

1600 BC : Wrakian tribes start migrating South, into mainland Greece. They give birth to the so called Suruz culture, a mixed culture of native Irakani and Wrakian.

1500 BC : The seafaring Dobrudjan Kozians, the Valkozians begin raiding the shores of the Black Sea.

1450 BC : The Vercians Kingdom still is the only centralized kingdom of the Kozians, the rest of them living in small chiefdoms.

1400 BC : The second centralized Kozian kingdom is founded. A local chieftain from Dobrudja, Orek unites the area between the Danube Delta and OTL Varna.

1300 BC : The Vercian Kingdom launches an invasion in Transilvania in order to subdue the Halkozians.

1250 BC : After years of fighting a descendant of Vercelop, Braz conquers the Halkozians and builds his new capital in the OTL Orastie Mountains, naming it Brazdaza.

During this campaign a new belief finds place in the minds of the Kozians. The belief of the immortality of the soul glorified by death in combat. This makes the Vercians incredible warriors who throw themselves happily in a battle. In this belief the bravest Kozian who dies in a battle becomes the new messenger to their God, Selnoz (the old wise man, the wolf and the aurochs Trinity). From now on Kozian will go to war praying for a glorious death, although if a Kozian will end his life intentionally by letting the enemy to kill him would bring a most shameful death to that Kozian and he will not even receive a proper burial, but his body will be tied to a pole in the ground and left for the ravens.

1228 BC : A peaceful period without any major wars brings a new practice to the Vercians. The practice of sports. But there was something special to the Vercian sports. The athletes would compete in running, wrestling, swimming, horse riding, archery and sword fighting not for material gains or something similar but for their deaths. These athletes would constitute a new social class, just below the nobility and the priesthood. They will compete every year in Brazdaza for the honor of becoming the Kings messenger to God. They would also serve in the army in case of a conflict, not as common soldiers but as captains of different regiments.

1200 BC : The main rival of the Vercians, the Valkozians expand their Kingdom to the south reaching the Bosphorus under the King Fordik.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/9541/thetwokingdoms.png[/IMG]

The Two Kingdoms

1100 BC : As the two only powers in the area tensions rise between the two kingdoms, each of them trying to expand their influence over the Kozians from the Prut-Dniestr area and the Wrakians.

1090 BC : Seeing the increased pressure from the Kozian Kingdoms, eight Wrakian Chieftains from Northern Wrakia decide to form a league of tribes. They elect Waxaz, a Chief of a Wrakian Tribe from the OTL Balkan Mountains as High Chief. The Union consists only from tribes between the Balkan Mountains and the Danube.

1090 BC – 1080 BC : Skirmishes between the Vercians and the Valkozians over the area of OTL Moldavia and Bessarabia, but no open conflict starts.

1078 BC : The two kings, Loxavz of Vercia and Qazduk of Valkozia, each one fearing the other, agree to a truce dividing the contested area. Vercia would expand their border to the Noalt River (Prut being “Parz” meaning The Closest River in Kozian, the Dniestr and Dniepr being called Noalt and Dirpat meaning Middle River and Distant River) and Valkozia would add the litoral area between the Danube Delta and Dinestr to their Kingdom. 1075 BC : Three years of peace had passed. Tensions are still high but the fighting consists only by isolated raids in enemy territory.

1070 BC : During this last decade Wrakian tribes flocked to join the Wrakian League, expanding it on both sides of the Balkan Mountains, from the Danube to the Maritsa River.

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/3955/thetwokingdomsandthewra.png[/IMG]

The Two Kozian Kingdoms and the Wrakian League (yellow).

1069 BC : After 9 years of peace, in which the two kings tried to win the upper hand over the othe just like in a chess hame, King Loxavz dies. He was a wise and calculated King who avoided a long war with the Valkozians. Not the same can be said about his son, the new king Vorlax, a reckless young man who’s hate of Wrakians and Walkozians knew no limits.

Winter, 1068 BC : In a reckless move the Vercian King crosses the frozen Danube with his army and enters the Wrakian League with the ambition to conquer it and reach the Aegean in the south.

After the death of her husband, the first Wrakian High Chief Waxaz, in 1080 BC, Boznida assumed the power as “Queen Mother” in some kind of regency for her son Barzak 8 years of age at that time. Despite the coming of age of her son she kept the real power, controlling the young man who officially was the new High Chief of the Wrakians.

After hearing that the Vercians are marching towards the Wrakian capital Wraxvolod, situated in the Balkans Mountains, the Queen sent word to the Vercian King, even offering to marry him in order to preserve her League. When Vorlax refused the Queen then asked him “Then tell me what do you want to turn back and leave my Wrakian lands ?” and the King replied “You want to be my wife, you want me to give me your children as slaves ? I say to you I will take all of this myself You offer me your gold but all I want is your blood, all the Wrakian blood so that I will spill it over your mountains making them red ! I will cut your sons throat and give his body to the noble wolfs of my mountains and I will rape you until your death in the temple of your fake God ! Now bring your army in front of me so I can finish this here and don’t hide in your mountains and make me chase you !”

Hearing the king’s threats, the Queen turned to the bitter rivals of the Vercians, the Valkozians, and promised to be the wife of the old King Qazduk and to supply him with gold and other goods in exchange for the Valkozian support in the coming war. Qazduk accepted and so the great war that was lurking for the last decade was upon the lands of the Kozians.

The Valkozians muster their armies and by February arrive Wrakian territory.

The Wrakinas retreat to the mountains, with the Vercians advancing towards the capital. The Vercians defeat very Wrakian army thrown against them.

Wanting to prove he has what it takes to be High Chief the 20 year old Barzak decides behind his mothers back, to give battle to the Vercians in the hills just north of the mountains.

He assumes command of the Wrakian army and leaves the capital without consulting with his mother. She begs him to wait for the Valkozian allies but he doesn’t listen. Then she orders the Wrakian nobles in command of the army to disobey Barzak and remain in the capital. Most of the nobles decide to support the young High Chief, who they proclaim King of the Wrakians deposing his mother from power. A small part of the army still loyal to the Queen remains with her refusing to leave the city.

By the mid of March Barzak and his army are facing the mighty Vercian Army. At the sight of their foes, the morale of the Wrakians drops drastically, realizing that the Queen’s warnings were true.

The Wrakian Army is crushed, all of the soldiers and commanders being killed or taken as prisoners. Barzak himself is taken while routing back to the mountains. The Vercians bring him in front of King Vorlax. Barzak begs for mercy but the blood thirsty king kills him, dismembers his body and gives the parts to be eaten by three wolfs which always accompanied the Vercian Army as a form of symbol of the Vercians.

Even the most loyal Vercian Nobles are shocked by the cruelty of the king, true Vercian culture putting accent on honor, mercy and justice, but they don’t dare to challenge the king. Many of them believe they will be punished by their God Selnoz for this act of cruelty, by losing the war. This belief takes its toll on the Vercian morale.

Queen Boznida is torned by pain at hearing the details of his son’s death, and flees the capital with the remaining army to meet with the Valkozians.

May 1068 BC : The Vercians take the Wrakian capital unopposed. Confident, the king leaves a garrison to hold the city and leaves to meet the Wrako-Valkozian army.

Summer 1068 BC : The two armies meet near OTL Lovech. This time the odds are more balanced, but the Vercians still hold an advantage in their numbers and discipline.

The battle begins with a series of volleys from the archers and skirmishers. Then the Vercian Cavalry charges, led by the king himself. The charge doesn’t break the enemy line and the king orders a retreat. The Vercian King takes the initiative once again ordering his infantry to advance and start a hand to hand battle in the left flank of the enemy army, where the Wrakian remaining soldiers were positioned. The Vercian infantry advances through heavy fire from the Valkozian archers. They engage in battle with the enemy left flank. The Vercians are not having big difficulties slashing their way through the Wrako-Valkozian lines. The Valkozian king senses the danger and orders the rest of his infantry to reinforce the left flank. Still the Vercians are having the upper hand in what have turned into a messy unorganized battle.

The Winzals (Athletes) and the Argazi (Warrior Slaves) are winning the battle for the Vercians, when at one sign the Valkozian army turns and runs from the battlefield encouraging the Vercian Cavalry to initiate a pursuit. Although there was something strange about the fleeing Valkozians, who didn’t seem to rout, it was more of a disciplined retreat, the Vercian King driven by his pride, didn’t noticed the trap that he was falling in. After passing a small forest Vorlax was shocked to finally realize he was just like a wild boar being forced into a trap. Out of the forest thousands of arrows darkened the sky before bringing death to the proud Vercians. The fleeing army also halted their rout and turned to face the Vercians once agains, only this time the Valkozians had the upper hand. The King ordered a retreat but their heavy horses couldn’t match the speed of the steppe horses of the Uralsk Mercenaries hired by the Valkozians. It was a disaster for the Vercians. Seeing their king in danger the main Vercian army rushed to the place where the Vercian nobility was fighting for it’s life.

The despaired Vorlax, deflecting a sword that would have stopped in his chest and countering with a lightning blow the unlucky Valkozian soldier, realized his horse was severely wounded. He soon was swarmed by enemy soldiers. The horse collapses under Vorlax, who falls to the ground facing the blue, cloudless sky. In less than a second he feels the cold bronze piercing his body in dozens of places. It seemed like every Valkozian and Wrakian soldier wanted to apply the fatal blow to the warmonger king.

The Vercian nobles seeing their king slain, rout, and just like them the rest of the Vercian army. Now the ones pursuing are the Valkozians who don’t spare any the exhausted soldiers that can’t run quick enough.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Wrakian Queen, watching the battlefield from a hilltop orders a Vercian prisoner to show her Vorlax’s body. The field was littered with thousand of bodies, so the second day the Wrakian Queen and her new husband, the Valkozian King are told that Vorlax’s body was identified. Two Valkozian Sea Raiders come carrying with great effort the huge body of Vorlax. They throw him on the ground in front of the Queens feet. To the amazement of those present, she draws her husband’s sword, lifts Vorlax’s head by his long hair, cuts his head off and after filling a bucket full of the kings blood throws his head in it, saying loud and clear with a grave feel in her voice : “You wanted blood, now feast on it, you beast !”

( This last passage is inspired by the actions of Queen Tomiris of the Massagetaes after her victory over Cyrus the Great)

Details of the war are known to us thanks to the work of a Kozian historian who wrote around 800 BC the book “The History of the Kozian Golden Age”.

1067 BC : In the absence of a heir of Vorlax, the surviving Vercian nobles fail to elect a new king fracturing the mighty Vercian Kingdom in dozens of independent tribes and city-states.

Queen Boznida and King Qazduk cross the Danube bringing the local Vercian tribes under their rule.

1066 BC : The Wrako-Valkozian army is conquering tribe after tribe in the Wallachian Plain.

1065 BC : A few weeks short of arriving in front of the Vercian old capital, Verceldaza, in the north of the Vercian Plain ( Wallachian Plain OTL ), the aging King Qazduk dies. He had a son with Boznida, Axazad, but he is only a few months old. Queen Boznida attempts to install her infant son as King of the Valkozians, so that she would be Queen over both the Wrakians and the Valkozians. The Valkozian nobles, having a tradition of electing one of them as the new king, don’t accept Boznida’s claims. They slaughter the small Wrakian force that fought alongside them against the Vercians, and try to capture Boznida and her son. She manages to escape and heads for Wrakia, but she is caught up and killed by the Valkozians.

The Wrakian League collapses, and the Valkozians abandon the conquest of Vercia, returning home to elect a new King.

1064 BC : The Valkozian nobles hadn’t yet managed to elect a new king, two generals from the war against the Vercians being the main pretenders, Talaxaz and Gorta. Talaxaz power base is the area of OTL Dobrogea while Gorta draws his support from the OTL Bulgarian coast. Lacking any important nobles the Northern and Southern parts of the Kingdom, which not a long time ago suffered greatly from the raids of their current overlords, are hoping to break away and govern themselves.

1063 BC : As consequences of the Kozian War and the unrest that followed it, the Kozian lands are thrown in a dark age. Cultural activities are halted and the Athletic practice dies in both Vercia and Halkozia ( OTL Wallachia and Transylivania ). Even the Selnozian monotheistic religion loses ground. Kozian begin worshiping different Gods, among them the three incarnations of Selnoz, the Wolf, the Aurochs and the Wise Old Man, but instead of representing the same God, the three become different deities. The Wrakian cult of the great Kinight spreads through Vercia.

1060 BC : Civil war erupts in Valkozia. Talaxaz and Gorta muster their armies, while the cities of Fordikdaza and Noaltdaza declare their independence, reducing the Valkozian Kingdom to it’s initial borders, from the Danube Delta to OTL Burgas.

1050 BC : The Valkozian civil war rages on with no clear winner emerging.

1048 BC : With nothing left to plunder in Valkozia, and with the two pretenders unable to pay their followers, the Gorta’s army is the first to disband, the chieftain fleeing Valkozia.

1047 BC : Talaxaz attempts to impose his rule over the whole Valkozia, and promises his followers incredible wealth if they continue to fight for him. Some of the nobles don’t believe in Talaxaz’s promises and leave the army, but the majority of the army blinded by the prospect of serving the new ruler of all the Vaskozia and the wealth that this would bring, remain under arms.

1045 BC : Lots of men deserted from the army in the past two years, wekeaning it considerably. Talaxaz lays siege to the city of Vazdaza, the biggest Valkozian city, now under the rule of a council of learned men ( an early form of democracy ).

1044 BC : The siege fails miserably, Talaxaz’s army disbands and the prospect of a new united Valkozian Kingdom dies with Talaxaz, murdered by the survivors of his own army.

http://img862.imageshack.us/img862/1213/koziancitystates.png[/IMG]

The main Kozian and Wrakian city-states of the Kozian Dark Age.

1030 BC : The Valkozian successor states return to the practice of raiding the Black Sea coast. 1000 BC : Fordikdaza is the only Valkozian city state which doesn’t resort to raiding. They thrive as a trading city, having contacts with Greece and Anatolia. 978 BC : Zarpakdaza is conquered by Wrakian tribes. The new rulers of the city rename it Boznidvol in the honor of the old Wrakian queen Boznida.

917 BC : Brazdaza is still ruled by the descendants of the Vercian nobility. After a revolt of the Halkozian population ended in blood by the rulers of the city, the Halkozian survivors leave the city looking for a new place to call home.

893 BC : After 24 years of wandering, the Halkozians settle on the Dalmatian Coast, founding the city of Devaza ( meaning “New Home” ). The natives, called Balarians, are also descendants of the first Weskozi, but the two millenniums in which they only had few contacts with the Wrakians and Kozians, had estranged the Balarians from their roots. They live a peaceful life, wandering continuously the Dinaric Alps with their sheeps.

806 BC : Horazax, a Kozian historian from Fordikdaza finishes his work “The History of the Kozian Golden Age”, glorifying the deeds of the old Vercian and Valkozian Kings.

800 BC : The intensity of Valkozian raids grows, as the new inhabitants of the northern Black Sea, the Uralsk are thriving in the area.

780 BC : The unification of the Uralsk under Ju Ofzan brings a new threat for the Valkozians. Their raids become more and more barbaric disrupting the trade of the Uralsk ports. As a retaliation the Uralskians cross the Dniestr and burn the cities of Noaltdaza, the Northern outpost of the Valkozian Sea Raiders, and Nopokdoza, a strong inland naval base on the Sinoe Lake (the Nopokdazians have cleared the sand bank that which made the city decline from its initial power). Several other raids are conducted even deeper in Valkozian territory but they are not as fearsome as the burning of Noaltdaza and Nopokdaza.

758 BC : The conflict between the Uralsk and the River Republic gives a great opportunity to the Valkozian city of Valdaza. The former capital of the Valkozian Kings, now governed as a republic. They move in and reclaim the destroyed cities, founding small colonies on top of their ruins.

756 BC : The Uralskian-River Republic war ends, with the defeat of the Uralskians. Although the two cultures still hate each other, the Valdazian Republic chooses to stop the raids on the Uralskian coasts, fearing a new conflict that would rob them of the newly acquired land in the North.

750 BC : The naval technology of the Valdazian Republic and the city of Fordikdaza, allows them to navigate farther in the Black Sea and the Aegean. The Valdazians start trading with the states in the Eastern Black Sea, while the Fordikdazians build colonies on the Macedonian Coast and the Aegean Islands, their trading ships reaching as far as Crete and Egypt. This brings a new era of prosperity to the Valkozian lands.

742 BC : The danger of a new Uralskian invasion from the north forces the two cities to sign a treaty of non-agression and mutual assistance in the case of an attack.

Meanwhile the realms of the Vercians, Halkozians and Wrakians still struggle in their Dark Age.

On the Adriatic Coast

722 BC : The Halkozian upper class of Devaza and the native Balarians, after almost two centuries of mixed marriages, give birth to a new culture. They keep the name of the Balarian culture, transformed by the Kozian language in “Blazian Culture”.

720 BC : The Blazians thrive on the Adriatic Coast, trading with Italy and Greece. The city of Devaza (OTL Split), founded trading outposts in the Istria Peninsula and on Corfu Island.

708 BC : Dorzak, a descendant of the Balarian natives, becomes the first Devazan ruler not descending from the Halkozian founders. He declares himself King of all the Blazians, claiming to be a descendant of the Great Knight, worshiped in Balaria before the arrival of the Halkozian, who imposed the religion of the Wolf God. He asks the Balarian native tribes still living in the Dinaric Alps to recognize him as King. Some of the chieftains impressed by the godly ancestor of Dorkaz accept his rule, but most of them are claiming that the Great Knight didn’t had any descendants.

704 BC : Lhazon, a Wrakian theologian, a priest of the Great Knight, is named High Priest of the Great Knight by Dorzak. Lhazon backs the king’s claims, saying that Morz ( The Great Knight ) had two sons with the Queen of a tribe of warrior women. After exiling his elder brother, Tozar on an island in the Adriatic, the younger brother Welzex, became the King of the Weskozi. In his studies Lhazon shows that Dorzak is a direct descendant of Tozar, while the old Vercian Kings, from Vercelop to Vorlax were descendants of Welzex.

703 BC : With the great wealth generated by trade the Blazian King, forms a great army. At first he unites the area around his capital Devaza and his outpost in the Istria Peninsula.

701 BC : The conquest is complete, Dorzak now planning an invasion south of the capital.

701 BC : The unexpected death of Dorzak, makes his only son, Prezon king at the young age of 16. Prezon rules under the guidance of the wise High Priest Lhazon.

700 BC : The plans of expanding the Kingdom to the South are abandoned for now, the High Priest and the King focusing on expanding the almost inexistent infrastructure of the Kingdom. Roads that link the Capital with the northern colonies are built. The ports are also expanded to allow more trade to flow.

698 BC : The construction of a great temple of Morz begins in Devaza, by now the religious centre of the worshipers of the Great Knight Morz.

690 BC : The construction is finished. Inside the temple stands an equestrian statue of Morz. The statue, 10 meters tall, is made from gold and ivory.

687 BC : With the treasury almost depleted by the recent constructions, the Devazans receive another blow to their economy, when their most southern colony on Corfu is destroyed by pirates, who transform the island in their base. They disrupt the Devazan trade with the Mediteranean world, raiding every ship passing through the Strait of Otranto. Foreign states refuse to trade with the Devazans until the pirates are defeated.

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/823/600bc.png[/IMG]

Situation of 687 BC : The Two Maritime Republics, the Blazian Kingdom, and the area controlled by the Egyptian Pirates.

686 BC : Prezon takes command of the great army he inherited from his father and plans a campaign to the south, in order to conquer the independent Balarian tribes and retake the control over the Straits of Otranto from the Egyptian Pirates. The initiative is saluted by the Blazian veterans, idle for the past 14 years.

685 BC : Prezon and his army begin their march southwards. The unorganized Balarian shepherd communities fall one after another. Although defeating some mobs of shepherds is not a great achievement for the well trained Blazian army, the victories are celebrated with great ostentation in the Capital.

683 BC : All the Balarian tribes are brought under the Kingdom’s rule. Prezon enters OTL Albania with the goal of defeating the Egyptian pirates plaguing the Strait of Otranto.

682 BC : With a false sense of superiority gained by the easy victories over the Balarians, Prezon suffers an embarrassing defeat, inflicted by the pirates near OTL Durres, Albania. He has to retreat, but refuses to end his campaign and face a shameful return to Devaza.

681 BC : While Prezon is reorganizing his army in Northern Albania, High Priest Lhazon gains by the minute more power over the Devazan politics.

680 BC : Reinforced by recently subdued Balarians from OTL Montenegro, Prezon, still commanding a strong force, starts a new offensive in Albania.

678 BC : After a couple of small victories that raised the morale of the Blazian Army, Prezon manages to push the pirates deeper than the first time. The main pirate force manages to cut him off near OTL Viore, in the hills east of the Narta Lagoon. Prezon chooses his terrain more carefully this time and manages to score a victory over the pirates, but not a decisive one.

677 BC : With the Blazians close on their footsteps the pirates retreat to the south, taking refuge on their base island of Corfu. Prezon attempts to cross over the narrow strait separating his army from the pirate base, but the pirate ships block the strait. Lacking a proper navy, Prezon is forced to abandon his quest, by now transformed in a personal grudge against the Egyptian Pirates.

676 BC : Alarmed by some of his loyal supporters from Devaza, that Lhazon is attempting to usurp the power, Prezon starts a forced march back to Devaza.

675 BC :Prezon arrives at the gates of Devaza. Lhazon refuses to open the gates, saying that “No army should enter the Holy City of Morz” and that he will open the gates only for the King alone. Fearing that entering inside the city without his loyal veterans, he will be killed, Prezon orders his army to lay siege to the city. Lhazon plans to hold on to the city situated on the Split Peninsula, and supply it by sea. But after 3 days from the beginning of the siege, a group of only 12 loyalists inside the city, manage to open the gates for their king, by bribing the guards. The King enters retakes his capital, while the High Priest and his followers retreat on the Sacred Hill of Morz ( OTL Marjan Hill), on which the religious complex, including the Great Temple hosting the 10 meter tall statue of Morz, was situated. After a short but hard battle, just outside the Great Temple of Morz, all the followers of the High Priest are killed and captured. Lhazon is captured before committing suicide.

674 BC : After a show trial, conducted more for the amusement of the Devazans, instead of the purpose of justice, the King declares Lhazon a traitor of Morz and his descendants (ironically Lhazon himself helped to legitimate this claim), and in a symbolic act he takes of the Cap of Morz from Lhazons head (conical cap, with the top pulled forward, made from felt, like the OTL Phrygian Cap). The former High Priest is sentences to death by being shut up in a hollow, bronze wisent, with a door in one side. Fire being set under the wisent, heating the metal until it became yellow hot will cause Lhazon to roast to death.

Prezon takes upon himself the title of High Priest, declaring himself Morz Vixar (Sent by Morz, in translation). This title will be used from now on by all Blazian Kings as theire main title. Also the Blazian Kings will wear a golden Cap of Morz as symbol of both King and High Priest of Morz. An inscription from this period reads : “Yez eq Prezon, We Dorzak, Morz Vixar, Brez eq Blasiaz …”. Found on a clay tablet, followed by a set of 27 laws, the inscription means : “Ordered by Prezon, son of Dorzak, Sent by Morz, King of the Blazians …”

672 BC : Prezon starts once again planning a new campaign against the pirates. He learns from the mistakes of the last campaign and orders the construction of a stron fleet.

669 BC : Prezon’s fleet is completed. He embarks in April and sets sail for the Straits of Otranto. Another army commanded by his son, Weprez will attack from land.

668 BC : Weprez wins a couple of battles in OTL Albania and pushes South towards Corfu.

Prezons also defeats the pirate fleet in September.

667 BC : Prezon’s fleet reaches Corfu and blockades the pirates on the island while waiting for his son.

666 BC : Weprez reaches the narrow strait of Corfu in March and Prezons orders an assault on the island. The battle proves harder than it was expected, but in the end Prezon and his son manages to take control over the island. All the pirates are killed and the prisoners are hanged from the trees of the island. Clearly exagerated reports speak about entire forrests being full of hanged pirates.

Prezon orders that the old colony destroyed by the pirates on Corfu to be restored.

665 BC : On the way back to Devaza Prezon and his son completes the conquest of the entire OTL Albania, by subduing the local Wrakian tribes. Now the kingdom spans from Istria to Corfu.

With the pirate threat eliminated, trade resumes in the Adriatic and a new golden era of Devaza begins. Now guarded by a strong fleet based on Corfu, the Straits of Otranto witness thousands of trading vessels entering and leaving the Adriatic Sea.

Back in The Carpathians :

702 BC : The news reach Wrakia and Kozia about Dorzak claiming to be the descended of Morz’s eldest son, while the old Vercian Kings were descendents of Morz’s youngest son. Seeing the opportunity, Rawax, the ruler of Brazdaza, a descendant of the old Vercian royal family adopts this claim, although his ancestors did not pressed this claim (they didn’t even worshiped Morz or acknowledged him as a true god). He forces his subjects to embrace the religion of the Great Knight Morz and to quit their old religions splintered from the old Selnozian cult.

700 BC : The different Selnozian cults were not practised in temples, but in the wild forrests of the Carpathians. Rawax orders that temples of Morz to be built in Brazdaza and in every dependant village.

700 BC – 690 BC : The Halkozians inside Brazdaza’s sphere of influence (Brazdaza and some villages around the city) who reject the religion of Morz are persecuted in this decade.

687 BC : Finally, Rawax brings his subjects to worship Morz. But he feels his work is not done yet embarking on a quest to bring all the Halkozians under his rule and under the word of Morz.

687 BC – 678 BC : The conquest of the Transylvanian Plateau. Uniting the Halkozians for the first time, Rawax lays the foundations of a new kingdom, the Halkozian Kingdom.

670 BC : Large scale gold mining begins in the Halkozian controlled Western Carpathians (OTL Apuseni Mountains). This brings great wealth and prestige to the Halkozian Kingdom.

And now on the Black Sea (and the Aegean) :

720 BC : Iron is introduced from the Eastern Black Sea in the two maritime republics.

711 BC : The Two Republics launch a joint attack against the Uralskian Empire. The justification of this war, is found in the fact that the Uralskians had denied acces in the Azow Sea to the Vazdazans.

711 BC – 703 BC : The fighting takes place mostly on the shores of the Black Sea between OTL Odessa and the Dniepr and in Crimea. The Two Republics seem to have the upper hand, but the Uralskians are defending exemplary their territory.

702 BC : The Vazdazan General, Rhizar sees the opportunity of inflicting the first decisive blow to the Uralskians, but the Fordikdazan general, Astaz receives orders to return home, because the Gardites had attacked several colonies in the Aegean. As part of the alliance the Vazdazans are required to help the Fordikdazans in this new conflict, but against the orders of the Senate, Rhizar refuses to leave Uralskia. This marks the end of the Alliance of the Two Republics.

700 BC : Rhizar still roams around Uralskia, raiding the country side and out maneuverring the Uralskian main army, that is out to get him.

699 BC : Weakened by mass desertion, Rhizar’s army is defeated by the Uralskians. On his arrival in Vazdaza, Rhizar is arrested and executed for disobeying the Senate.

692 BC : In the Aegean the Fordikdazans manage to defend their colonies driving back the Gardites on the Anatolian coast.

690 BC : The two republics renew their alliance.

688 BC : A new faction appears in the politics of the two republics, the supporters of an unified League. The movement is suported mainly by the upstart class of merchants, while the old noble families and the senatorial families are against it, wanting to protect their influence over politics.

686 BC : Some nobles start supporting in secret the Unification Movement. The wealthy merchants gain more and more influence in the politics of the two republics.

685 BC : The internal stability of the two republics is shattered. The two rival factions are very close to open conflict, but for now the disputes are taking place on the floor of the Senate.

682 BC : Taking advantage of the lack of stability in the two Republics, Vercian and Wrakian tribes begin raiding into Republican territory, inflaming at the highest point the situation of the republics.

679 BC : Uralskians plunder the city of Noaltdaza. The city is not destroyed like it was more than 100 years ago, but it is stripped by most of it’s riches.

676 BC : The situation explodes in the two republics. A merchant named Zarix, the leader of the Unification Movement from Vazdaza, is murdered on the stairs in front of the Senate. The Pan Valkozian movement from Vazdaza starts a rebellion against the nobles and the senators.

675 BC : The Unification Movement of Fordikdaza also rises up in revolt.

672 BC : After several battles lost, the Vazdazian Senate, facing total defeat, asks for Fordikdazan assistance, but the Fordikdazans have their own rebellion on their hands.

671 BC : The Vazdazian Senate falls. The rebels proclaim the Valkozian Republic, and turn their attention to Fordikdaza, where the rebels aren’t so successful as the Vazdazian Rebels.

670 BC : The Fordikdazans rebels are forced to retreat to the North, by the Senatorial forces.

669 BC : The two rebel forces join forces near OTL Edirne, and start marching towards Fordikdaza. 668 BC : The Senatorial forces are defeated outside Fordikdaza by the Vazdazan and Fordikdazan rebels. The former Fordikdazan lands join the Valkozian Republic, replacing the plutarchy of the Two Republics with a meritocracy of the New Republic.

667 BC : The Fordikdazans and Vazdazans can’t agree on the problem of the new capital. Both groups want their own city as capital. As a comporomise a new capital will be built on an old Valkozian settlement near OTL Burgas. Named Plazdaza, after Plaz, a mythical figure, said to be the first of the old Weskozi who settled with his family on the shores of the Black Sea, and was learned by the Gods the ways of sailing.

Now that we have all three Kozian regions in sync let’s abbandon the three timelines format, and return to only one timeline that follows the events from all three regions.

670 BC – 660 BC : A large system of fortifications is built in the mountains surrounding Brazdaza, making the capital almost unpregnable.

662 BC : The wealthy and ambitious Halkozian King starts thinking about expanding his kingdom. He considers two options, both targeting the Danube as a final goal. The first option is to cross the Carpathians to the South and conquer the unorganized Vercians and their main city of Verceldaza, making the Danube his Southern Border. The second option is to invade the scarcely populated Panonian Plain to the East and making the Danube his Western border.

659 BC : After almost 600 years of anarchy, a Suruz (Irakano-Wrakian culture) city-state manages to conquer the Pelopones. The city is named Sarizol, and it quicly shows, expansionist intentions.

656-648 BC : The old Rawax conquers his way to the Danube in the West, founding two cities on OTL Budapest and Szeged.

644 BC : The Suruz city of Sarizol conquers Attica,Euboea and the Cyclades, and comes in conflict with the Valkozian Republic, because of the raiding of a Valkozian colony in the Cyclades. The Valkozian colonies on Thasos, Lemnos and Lesbos retaliate with several attacks on Sarizolian land.

640 BC : The Valkozian Republic intervenes in the conflict between the Valkozian Colonies and the city of Sarizol.

638 BC : Rawax died, and his son becomes the new Halkozian King, descendant of Morz. The young and ambitious king is named Zarnek. He plans to invade further West, following the course of the Danube.

632 BC : The Suruzo-Valkozian conflict ends. The city of Sarizol accepts to grant safe passage to the Valkozian ships in the Aegean.

665 – 630 BC : The Blazian Kingdom have seen great progress. New cities are built, and roads to link them as well. Temples of Morz are also constructed in mass. The Blazians also adopt the old practice of sports of the Vercians. A great stadium is built in Devaza. Also the Blazians establish a colony on the other side of the Strait of Otranto.

628 BC : The Cilician colonies atacks the Cyclades. Sarizol asks for Valkozian help in the conflict.

620 BC : Sarizo-Valkozian forces are defeated by the Gardites. Valkozian efforts to colonise the Aegean are halted. The Gardites now control most of the Aegean. Valkozians are forced to trade only in the Black Sea.

619 BC : Zarnek starts his march to the West.

615 BC : Zarnek conquers OTL West Hungary and turns his attention to the North, attempting to secure his conquests by making the OTL Czecho-Slovakian Carpathians his border.

610 BC : The Blazian King Weprez (son of Prezon) dies and his peacefull reign ends. His nephew, Rozod, inherits the throne. Rozod a zealous follower of Morz, sets his sights on Wrakia, wanting to punnish the local population for mixing Vercian polytheistic practices in the cult of Morz.

603 BC : Zarnek reaches the Northern Carpathians and returns to Brazdaza were he is welcomed as the greatest king that had ever lived. He declares himself Emperor of Morzian Kozia and lays claim on the Vercian territories south of the Carpathians and on the old Kozian territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniestr (OTL Romanian Moldavia and Republic of Moldavia).

594 BC : The Valkozian Republic restricted only to trade in the Black Sea launches a new invasion into Uralskia with the goal of forcing the Uralskians to allow Valkozian ships to enter the Azow Sea and trade with the River Republic.

588 BC : The conflict ends with a narrow Valkozian victory. The Uralskian accept the Valkozian demands. Trade between Valkozia and the River Republic begins. To enforce the peace deal, the Valkozians build an outpost on OTL Zaporozhskaya.

590 – 580 BC : Zarnek expands the Kozian Empire South and East of the Carpathians reaching the Danube and the Dniestr. He imposes the cult of Morz to the Vercians.

582 BC : Enraged by the Halkozian king declaring himself Emperor of Morzian Kozia, challenging the similar imperial title of the Blazian Kings, Rozod also declares himself Emperor of Morzian Blazia. This marks the beginning of the period known to historians as the “Age of the Twin Empires”. Although both Empires are officially named “Morzian Empire” historians refer to them by their old names as a Kingdom, the “Blazian Empire” and the “Halkozian Empire”.

578 BC : Fearing that the Halkozian Emperor might lay claim on Wrakia next, Rozod subdues the last unconquered Balarian tribes on the other side of the Dinaric Alps and in June he launches the invasion of Wrakia, crossing the Morava River.

572 BC : Most of the Wrakian tribes are conquered, but Vraxvolod the main Wrakian city still holds. The Wrakian city of Boznidvol had been conquered by the Valkozians, who renamed the city Zarpakdaza (the old Valkozian name of the City).

570 BC : Rozod dies during the Siege of Vraxvolod, but his son Blezidal quickly takes command avoiding the army to disband.

565 BC : Vraxvolod falls. Blezidal adopts a new title, Emperor of Morzian Blazia and Wrakia, in order to gain the upper hand in the race against the Halkozian Emperor.

561 BC : In order to avoid a costly war, the two Emperors arange a meeting in the Blazian Capital. During an official ceremony in the Great Temple of Morz from Devaza, the two Emperors recognize each others claims of being descendants of Morz and Emperors of the Morzian followers. They declare the two Empires as “Twin Empires” and sign a treaty of non-agression between “the children of Morz”. From now on the two Emperors will adress the other one by the term “Brother. After the ceremony the Blazian Emperor invites the Halkozian Emperor to watch the sporting ceremony in the honor of the pact between the sons of Morz. The Halkozian King, Zarnek, recalls the stories about the Vercian Winzals (Athletes) and brings back the practice of sports in Halkozia.

560 BC : The first edition of the Morzian Games are held. Zarnek had build a great stadium in Brazdaza, similar to the one in Devaza, and invited his “Brother Emperor” Rozod and his best athletes to compete against the Halkozian Athletes. The two Emperors compete themselves at the end of the ceremony in a wrestling match. The two Emperors decide that all conflicts between the Twin Empires to be settled on the stadium ground instead of the battlefield from now on.

558 – 550 BC : The Blazian Empire invades Northern Italy, builds a new city on OTL Venice and establish the new border on the Adige River.

550 – 546 BC : The Blazians build three more colonies in the Italian Peninsula. The first one near OTL Ancona, the second on OTL Vieste and the third near OTL Otranto.

550 – 510 BC : The Halkozians build large fortifications (similar to the fortifications around Brazdaza, built around 670 BC – 660 BC) all around the Carpathians, especially in the passes and river valleys, securing the Halkozian centre of power, the Transylvanian Plateau.

540 BC : Unable to trade in the Aegean, the Valkozians abbandon their colony near OTL Salonic. The Suruzian Republic of Sarizol, quickly enters the area and expands the Sarizolian borders to the Strymon River.

530 -520 BC : The Suruzian Republic of Sarizol invades and conquers the old Irakani centre of power, the island of Crete.

'http://imageshack.us/shareable/?i=thebalkansaround520bcan.png&s=685' http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/2967/thebalkansaround520bcan.png

Political situation and the Valkozian trade routes around 520 BC.

516 - 512 BC : A new Valkozian-Gardite conflict. The Sarizolians join the Valkozians in 514 BC and the war ends with the Gardite defeat. The Valkozians reopen their trade routes in the Aegean, and start rebuilding some of their old colonies.

510 BC : Large Wrakian revolt in the Blazian Empire. The Wrakians refuse to adopt the Blazian view of the cult of Morz. The Blazians lose control over the whole OTL Bulgaria, Serbia and FYROM. Having his troops stationed in Northern Italy, the Blazian Emperor, Prezon II, asks his “Brother Emperor” Arnakaz of Halkozia to end the rebellion in blood. Arnakaz accepts and after conquering the Wrakian cities on the Danube (OTL Belgrade, Vidin, Nikopol and Ruse) starts his march on Vraxvolod (OTL Troyan, Bulgaria).

519 BC : The Halkozian army arrives under the walls of Vraxvolod. After a one week siege, the Wrakian governor of the city sends Arnakaz an interesting offer. He offers to grant Arnakaz the title of Emperor of Wrakia, in exchange of allowing the Wrakians to govern themselves under Halkozian rule. Arnakaz accepts and expands his rule over the former Blazian territory of Wrakia. The Blazian Emperor feels betrayed by his “Brother” and launches an invasion into the Halkozian Empire.

518 BC : When his armies reach the Carpathians, Prezon II receives a message from Arnakaz. Arnakaz reminds the Blazian Emperor of the promise made by their predecessors Zarnek and Rozod, that every conflict between the twin Emperors will be settled on the stadium ground, not on the battlefield. Arnakaz invites Prezon II to Brazdaza to settle the Wrakian argument. Prezon II fearing that if he dishonors this oath, his followers will be upset, accepts and takes his 12 best men and goes to Brazdaza. On the 17th of August 518 BC, after the different stages of the contest ending in a draw, the two Emperors enter the arena to settle the dispute in a wrestling match. After a close match, the Halkozian Emperor defeats his Blazian “Brother Emperor” and Prezon II is forced to recognize Arnakaz’s rule over Wrakia. Prezon II leaves the Halkozian Capital with his 12 men, and after their arrival in Devaza, he blames them for losing the contest and exiles them and their families to the Italian colonies. The Blazian Empire losing their inland Wrakian territories is limited to the Adriatic Coast.

518 BC – 504 BC : Blazo-Halkozian relations drop dramatically. Only one edition of the yearly Morzian Games is held in 510 BC in Brazdaza, but the competition ends after only two days, when Prezon II asks for a rematch of his first fight against Arnakaz over Wrakia. Arnakaz refuses and Prezon II, insulted, leaves the Halkozian capital with his delegation.

506 BC : Prezon II dies and his son, Nimzakal takes the Blazian throne.

504 BC : The young Blazian Emperor, challenges his “Brother Emperor” Arnakaz of Halkozia, to a new sporting competition for the Wrakian lands. Using sharp words, like “You took Wrakia by betraying your Brother Emperor” and “In your cowardice you refused all of my father’s proposals for a rematch”, Nimzakal manages to touch Arnakaz’s huge ego. The Halkozian Emperor accepts to come to Devaza the next year.

503 BC : Arnakaz arrives in Devaza and the second edition of the Morzian Games in 15 years starts. After the traditional contests between the Athletes from both states, the eagerly anticipated wrestling match between the two Emperors starts in the third day of the Games. With more than 10 years younger than his “Brother Emperor” and with the support of the entire stadium, the enthusiast Blazian Emperor gains the upper hand in the beginning of the fight. And he would have won the match, if his opponent was not as guileful as the Halkozian Emperor. It seemed like Arnakaz almost refused to fight, always evading and sneaking away from Nimzakal’s attacks. The Blazian Emperor gained more and more confidence, watching his opponent growing more tired with every minute that passed. But this was exactly what the Halkozian Emperor was trying to do. After almost two hours into the fight, the Blazian Emperor, tired of his unsuccessful attacks, throws himself at the Halkozian Emperor in an all or nothing charge. The old Halkozian Emperor, seeing the opportunity created, makes a quick move to his left and surprises his opponent with a lightning counter, putting the young Blazian Emperor down, to the consternation of the crowd. The referees declare Arnakaz winner, but when the victorious Halkozian Emperor asks the Blazian Emperor to give up his claims on Wrakia in front of his own subjects, the reckless Blazian Emperor refuses and accuses Arnakaz of “unsporting attitude, unfair fighting”. He also said to the Halkozian Emperor “The manner of your fighting is an insult to Morz. You “Brother Emperor” are a disgrace to Morz, not worthy of his Name ! I refuse to recognize you as Emperor of Wrakia because you took it from my father in an unjust way, just like you defeated me today.” Insulted the Halkozian Emperor leaves Devaza the same day, swearing that he will never forgive the Blazian Emperor for these insults. Reaching Brazadaza he shuts down all trade and diplomatic relations with the Blazians and stations all of his armies on the Blazo-Halkozian borders.

The political situation of the area in the 518 BC - 503 BC period :

[IMG]http://img819.imageshack.us/img819/1398/kozia500.png[/IMG]

Red : Blazian Empire Green : Halkozian Empire Blue : Valkozian Republic Purple : Suruzian Republic of Sarizol

501 BC : With trade in the Aegean reopened, the Valkozians view their former colony on OTL Salonic, now controlled by the Suruzian Republic, as part of their land. They send a messenger to the Suruzians in Sarizol, threatening them to abandon the colony willingly or they will take it by force. The Suruzians, who expanded the former Valkozian poor outpost, to a proper city, don’t accept to abandon “Memoztal” (Beautiful City in Suruzian).

500 BC : Two Valkozian forces attack the Suruzian Republic. One by land, quickly defeating the Suruzian forces stationed on the Strymon River and laying siege on Memoztal and the other army, is sent from the Aegean colonies to attack the Suruzian controlled islands of Euboea and Naxos.

498 BC : Memoztal falls after a 2 year siege. In spite of this success, the other Valkozian army, after conquering the importonat cities of Naxos and Euboea, attacks Attica and tries to cross into the Pelopones but is defeated in the Isthmus of Corinth. Almost all Valkozian forces are destroyed in this battle.

497 BC : The Suruzians retake Attica, Euboea and Naxos but Memoztal (OTL Salonic) remains in Valkozian control.

492 BC : The Valkozians receive disturbing reports. Valkozian merchants trading with the River Republic and the Lroz League come back with stories about barbarians attacking the lands East of the Lrozians. The merchants say that although the Lrozians have not been attacked yet, they are very concerned about the barbarians.

490 BC : The Valkozo-Suruzian War continues, as neither of the sides manage to inflict a heavy defeat over their enemies. Memeztal is still in Valkozian control.

489 BC : The Valkozians are caught off guard. Still in conflict with the Suruzians, the Valkozian colonies are attacked by the Gardites. Stirred by the Suruzians, the attack is fearsome and the Suruzians and the Gardites manage to destroy most of the Valkozian colonies in the Aegean Islands.

482 – 471 BC : The Valkozians are not able to conduct any other attacks in Greece or the Aegean, but they manage to hold their line on the Vardar (Axios) River.

503 - 480 BC : The Halkozian armies still stationed on the Blazo-Halkozian border, discourage any attempt of the Blazian Emperor to invade Halkozia and Wrakia.

477 BC : Valkozian trade with the River Republic shuts down because of the Anak Vrasi invasion of the Lrozian Republic.

476 BC : Because of the River Republic is unable to guarantee the safety of the Valkozian colony in the OTL Taman Peninsula, the Uralskian Empire crosses the Strait of Kerch and burns the Valkozian outpost.

475 BC : The Uralskians turn their attention to the Valkozian mainland on the Western Black Sea Coast. They cross the Dniestr, burn down Noaltdaza and advance southwards crossing the Danube Delta and reach Nopokdaza in 474 BC.

473 BC : Due to the last developments in the North, where the Uralskians have razed Noaltdaza and Nopokdaza and are dangerously approaching the important Valkozian city of Devaza, the Valkozian army defending the OTL Salonic region abandon the area and head to the threatened cities in Dobrudja. The Suruzians once again take the abandoned colony of Memeztal without a fight. But this time they aren’t satisfied and push towards the East with the goal of conquering Fordikdaza.

470 BC : The Blazians and Halkozians are still locked in their cat and mouse game along their borders.

467 BC : The Uralskians defeat a Valkozian army near Devaza and sack the former capital. They now set their sights on the new capital Plazdaza.

465 BC : The Suruzian take Fordikdaza. Weakly defended, the imposing city falls in 3 months. The Valkozians find themselves in a real mess. Their Republic is reduced to the area around Plazdaza, but the Uralskian armies are approaching even this last bastion of the Valkozian civilization.

461 BC : The Valkozians are given some breathing time when Anak Vrasi tribes make their appearance on the Uralskian borders with the former River Republic (destroyed by the Anak Vrasi). The Uralskian army in Valkozia receives orders to return home immediately to face this great threat.

460 BC : The Valkozians don’t have much time for resting though, as a Suruzian army leaves Fordikdaza with the goal of conquering Plazdaza. The Valkozians gather all their available forces and march out of the city to face the Suruzian invaders.

459 BC : The Valkozians win a narrow victory over the Suruzians near OTL Tsarevo, Bulgaria. The Suruzians are forced to retreat back to Fordikdaza but the Valkozians don’t have the strength to engage in a pursuit.

458 - 457 BC : The Valkozian misfortune doesn’t ends here though. Anak Vrasi tribes cross the Dniestr exactly like the Uralskians and pillage everything between the Dniestr and the Danube Delta. The nomads go even further, crossing the Danube Delta, and with a speed not seen in any of the armies of the known world pillage their way towards Plazdaza.

457 BC : Large waves of migrations of the Lroz and Uralsk populations fleeing the Anak Vrasi take the Halkozians by surprise. The majority of the Halkozian armies still at the Blazian borders can’t react fast enough and the refugees manage to overwhelm the Halkozian regions outside the Carpathian Range. The Halkozian Emperor, Nyozor (Arnakaz’s son) takes his armies to the East to face the invaders. But until he can reach OTL Moldavia, Anak Vrasi tribes enter and pillage the area and kill or drive off the refugees to the North. The Anak Vrasi attempt to breach the Carpathian defenses and enter the Halkozian Plateau, but the rough terrain fovours the Halkozians. The Halkozian Emperor reaches the Moldavian hills in the winter and fights heroically against the Anak Vrasi (called Ankvrazi by the Kozians). He manages to drive them back into Uralskia.

456 BC : The Anak Vrasi overwhelm the Valkozians and raze Plazdaza to the ground, ending the Valkozian Republic. The Halkozian Emperor fearing an Anak Vrasi invasion in the poorly defended Wrakia, decides to take the war into Valkozia. He enters and “conquers” the ruins of Noaltdaza, Nopokdaza and Zarpakdaza cutting the retreat of the Ankvrazi.

455 BC : Nyozor wins the battle of Vazdaza against the Anak Vrasi. Nyozor takes Valkozia under his protection, envisioning a great Halkozian Empire with access to the Black Sea. The Anak Vrasi army in Valkozia regroups near Nopokdaza and tries to make a final stand against the Halkozians. Nyozor, a great strategist, wins again but he recklessly engages in a pursuit of the Anak Vrasi into Uralskia.

453 BC : With the Halkozian army away in Uralskia, new waves of migrations overwhelm Black Halkozia (OTL Moldavia). Other waves of refugees take hold of the weakly defended Panonian Plain. The Blazians also attempt to profit from the mistake of the Halkozian Emperor. They enter Wrakoblaria (OTL Serbia and FYROM), conquer it, including the important city of Lezrad, located at the confluence of the Danube and the Sava rivers (OTL Belgrade). They establish their border on the Morava and Strymon rivers. Although The Blazian Emperor Doawek wanted to continue his conquests in Wrakia, he lacked the real strength to do this so he had to settle only for Wrakoblaria.

452 BC : Nyozor is defeaed in Uralskia by a combined Anak Vrasi - Uralskian army. The Halkozian army has to flee Uralskia, abandoning the idea of pushing the Anak Vrasi over the OTL Don. Emperor Nyozor is among the survivors. Crossing the Dniestr back in what is was supposed to be Halkozian lands, the Emperor is shocked to see the area totally overwhelmed by Lroz refugees. He has to retreat to the Halkozian centre of power, the Transylvanian Plateau, and organize a counter attack.

451 BC : Arriving in the capital, Nyozor finds his Empire, half the size of the Empire at the time he left for Uralskia. He abandons al thoughts of reconquering the lost territories and focuses on strengthening the defenses of Halkozia, Vercia, Wrakia and Valkozia.

450 BC – 440 BC : Anak Vrasi have settled in Uralskia. Their raids become a normal thing in the Halkozian province of Valkozia (the province consists only from the lands between the Danube Delta and Plazdaza. Often, the raiders enter in Vercia, Wrakia or the Suruzian controlled lands around Fordikdaza.

432 BC : Nyozor gathers a large army of Halkozians, Vercians, Wrakians and Valkozians. He even gets support from the Suruzians controlling Fordikdaza and Memeztal.

432 BC – 429 BC : In his last three years of life Nyozor takes his great army and sets his goal of defeating the Anak Vrasi from Uralskia. He defeats the Uralsko-Ankvrazi armies rampaging through Valkozia and crosses once again in Uralskia. Here the Uralskian Emperors have given the Anak Vrasi the right to settle in their lands. The Uralskian take this as an invasion of their homeland and fight alongside the Anak Vrasi against the Kozian Coalition. Nyozor wins the first couple of battles, but in 429 BC, he loses his life in a battle against a huge Uralsko-Ankvrazi army. The coalition of Halkozians, Vercians, Wrakians, Valkozians and Suruzians collapses.

429 BC - 419 BC : Although in these years Nyozor’s son, Qwertaz was proclaimed Emperor by the Halkozian priesthood and nobility, the other provinces of the Empire have drifted away from the rule of the Emperor. The Governors (which are named from the Halkozian nobility, they are not natives of the provinces they rule) have acquired more and more power and the first who declares independence is Gihozal, the governor of Valkozia (spared recently by Anak Vrasi raids, due to the damage inflicted to them by Nyozor’s campaign in Uralskia).

416 BC : Erfezan, the governor of Wrakia declares independence.

415 BC : The Emperors brother, Tyraz, the governor of Vercia declares independence. While the governors of Wrakia and Valkozia took the title of King when they declared independence, Tyraz declares himself Emperor of Vercia.

413 BC : The Halkozian Emperor doesn’t have the strength to defeat the rebellious governors and accepts to recognize all three of them as rightfull rulers over their countries. The new rulers are immediately accepted by the local populations, by the priesthood and by the local nobles.

410 BC - 400 BC : At the end of the century, the only regions spared by the Ankvrazi (Kozian for Anak Vrasi) are Suruzia (only the peninsular part, as OTL Northern Greece was raided at some point) and Blazia. Although not directly affected, the two regions are heavily influenced by the recent migrations. The Blazian Empire founds itself bordering large, aggressive populations of Lroz to their North. Also the Blazians are now cut of from their “Twin Empire” by a sea of Lroz refugees. The Blazians move in quick to their North, to seize control of both sides of the Sava River, in order to keep their acces to the Danube. They succed and drive the Lroz refugees beyond the Drava River. The Suruzians, however were not so negatively influenced. Quite the opposite. Because of the initial Anak Vrasi attack in Halkozia they were able to take Memoztal and Fordik Daza and because of the Anak Vrasi attack on the Gardites and their colonies, the Suruzian Republic of Sarizol was able to establish themselves as the only power in the Aegean, founding some colonies on top of the old Valkozian or Gardite colonies.

[IMG]http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/570/koziadanubika.png[/IMG]

The politcial map of the Danube Area in 400 BC (just ignore the OTL cities and countries)