Post by alxeu on Dec 14, 2020 21:59:38 GMT -5
The History of Lusatia is a weekly radio show in the Lusatian Commonwealth. Hosted by Professor Mikhail Duniec, the show promises to cover the entire history of Lusatia from the late tribal period to the Fifth Staol War. Sponsored by a grant from the Lusatian government (under the 1932 Promotion of the Arts Act), the show is one of the most listened to in the history of Lusatian radio and is responsible for a nation-wide uptick in the amount of people studying history.
Contained below are recordings of the episodes saved by Kazimierzgrad University's history department.
The Table of Contents:
Episode I - The Tribal Leagues (see below)
Episode II - Unification Wars (see second post)
Future Episodes to be made available soon
[OOC: As part of these posts, anyone interested can respond with questions for the radio show, which will be answered in the next post. Questions should stick to asking about events covered in already-released episodes.]
The History of Lusatia, Episode I - The Tribal Leagues
Intro plays. It's a relatively calm acoustic guitar piece. It fades out as the episode begins.
Hello and welcome to The History of Lusatia, an informative radio series sponsored by the Arts Act of 1932. My name is Mikhail Duniec, and I am a professor at Kazimierzgrad University, and for the coming weeks, I shall take you all through early Lusatian history, tracing our history from our tribal roots, to unification, colonization, and beyond. Without any further delay, let us begin.
Right away, we run into a snag. The tribal period of Lusatia predates any written source in the region, and, asides from Galra, there are little to no written sources in the entire region to base our histories off of. Therefore, the best we have to go off of is rough dates confirmed by archeologists, as well as scattered reports from neighbors who generally saw the early Lusatians as a tribal nuisance more than anything. Thus, what we know is that, around 575, the tribes that would become the early Lusatians ended their migrations in Northwestern Reseria, no doubt attracted to the fair climate and excellent farming lands. Whatever peoples were there before them, the Lusatians either destroyed or assimilated, and, by 650, it seems likely the Lusatian tribes had rid their lands of most of their rivals. Most.
In the highlands southeast of where Władysławowo is today, it seems that tribal factions of demi-humans continued their resistance against the Lusatians, who had probably driven them away from their previous homes along the southern coast. Lusatian expansion eventually found itself halted by Galran forces to the Southeast, tribal Nematos to the South, and the early Jzedians to the east, who likely filled the void the Lusatian migration had left behind. Thus, early on, the Lusatian tribes found themselves confined to their new homeland which, given the fertility of the lands they now inhabited, seemed not to bother them for the time being.
It isn't until 921 that we hear again from the Lusatian tribes, though they had certainly not been idle in the centuries since their settlement. Having spent the years on-again, off-again forming alliances and federations against any tribe that seemed to gain the upper-hand in the region, the ascension of a new leader of the demi-human highland tribes would upset the balance in the region, leading directly to the eventual unification over a century later. Galran sources report a demi-human chief by the name of Maksymilian who led the highlanders to reclaim their ancestral lands, and reclaim them, he did.
Rallying his levies, Maksymilian led his forces not on raids (as most demihuman chiefs before him had done), but instead on conquests, and, at a battle near the Brda River, he vanquished the forces of the Poles, a leading Lusatian tribe, and forced their chief to submit to his rule. A few pillagings later, Maksymilian had gotten the remaining leaders of the Poles to accept this submission, and, thusly, Maksymilian was now the strongest chief in the region. The other tribal chiefs wasted little time responding to the perceived upstart. What was a demi-human doing upstaging the previously proven superior Lusatians? He had to be stopped.
However, Maksymilian had something going for him that previous demi-human chiefs had not. If his name had not already keyed you in, Maksymilian's people had, to an extent, assimilated into the Lusatian culture over the years, and by 900, it seems that the previous demi-human culture had been subsumed into the more prevalent Lusatian one. Speaking the same language and worshipping the same god, Maksymilian had apparently managed to convince the defeated Poles to join his army, which meant that when the forces of the neighboring Lusatian tribes arrived to put Maksymilian in his place, it was, instead, the Lusatians who found their armies scattered and their power broken.
A normal chief might've, at this point, secured the new borders he had won for his people, and gladly retired as the premier chief in the region, wielding great influence over the other tribes and resolving disputes to ensure his own tribe's primacy. Maksymilian, as you've no doubt gathered, was no normal chief. Pressing his advantage, he once again subjugated the defeated tribes, and added their forces to his army, which now contained more human Lusatians than the demi-human highlanders. Despite this, his levies would remain loyal, either in deference to their chiefs, who seemed willing to accept Maksymilian as overlord once beaten, or out of a newly won respect forged in the audacity of the chief's conquests.
Whatever the case, Maksymilian forged the tribes under his command into the Brda League, centered around the river where he had beaten the Poles, and where his new capital was being constructed. This having been done, he took his army and began moving north and west, securing control of all of Southern Lusatia, and settling for a moment to consolidate his gains. A few years passed, and, soon, Maksymilian was ready to finish his conquest of Lusatia. This time, however, he faced resistance. The northern tribes had watched with alarm at the growing realm Maksymilian was forging, and, determined not to fall to his arms, formed their own tribal league called the Białowieża League, after the sacred forest the tribal leaders formed their League in, swearing to work together in alliance until Maksymilian was dead, or all their armies were shattered. Their forces raised, and with Maksymilian unwilling to stop at this last hurdle, the final confrontation was joined.
While the results of the conflict are lost (the library in Galra holding the records having burned down suddenly a long time ago), the fact that Galran sources report the construction of defenses against Maksymilian's League, in addition to attempts at diplomacy with Maksymilian, it seems likely that the demi-human chief had won, or, at least, had not been decisively defeated as the Białowieża League had hoped. Whatever the case, Maksymilian would rule Southern and Central Lusatia for the next thirty-four years of his life, dying in 959, at the reported age of fifty-eight. The chiefs of his league, consisting of the lowland Lusatians and the highland demi-humans, decided to follow through with Maksymilian's will, and nominated his son, Marceli, as high chief, perhaps hoping for further glory at the hands of Maksymilian's dynasty.
Tune in next time, where Marceli proves his might, and provides us with the first primary source from within Lusatia, acclaiming him "King" of the Brda League. Taking advantage of the power base his father left him, Marceli would greatly centralize power around him, diminishing the power of the chiefs. This course of action would prove decisive in his final confrontation with the Białowieża League, though it would all fall apart when an obscure, weak tribe in the far north of his new "kingdom" continued to defy him.
Outro plays, it's the same as the intro, though quieter, and fading out to silence.
Contained below are recordings of the episodes saved by Kazimierzgrad University's history department.
The Table of Contents:
Episode I - The Tribal Leagues (see below)
Episode II - Unification Wars (see second post)
Future Episodes to be made available soon
[OOC: As part of these posts, anyone interested can respond with questions for the radio show, which will be answered in the next post. Questions should stick to asking about events covered in already-released episodes.]
The History of Lusatia, Episode I - The Tribal Leagues
Intro plays. It's a relatively calm acoustic guitar piece. It fades out as the episode begins.
Hello and welcome to The History of Lusatia, an informative radio series sponsored by the Arts Act of 1932. My name is Mikhail Duniec, and I am a professor at Kazimierzgrad University, and for the coming weeks, I shall take you all through early Lusatian history, tracing our history from our tribal roots, to unification, colonization, and beyond. Without any further delay, let us begin.
Right away, we run into a snag. The tribal period of Lusatia predates any written source in the region, and, asides from Galra, there are little to no written sources in the entire region to base our histories off of. Therefore, the best we have to go off of is rough dates confirmed by archeologists, as well as scattered reports from neighbors who generally saw the early Lusatians as a tribal nuisance more than anything. Thus, what we know is that, around 575, the tribes that would become the early Lusatians ended their migrations in Northwestern Reseria, no doubt attracted to the fair climate and excellent farming lands. Whatever peoples were there before them, the Lusatians either destroyed or assimilated, and, by 650, it seems likely the Lusatian tribes had rid their lands of most of their rivals. Most.
In the highlands southeast of where Władysławowo is today, it seems that tribal factions of demi-humans continued their resistance against the Lusatians, who had probably driven them away from their previous homes along the southern coast. Lusatian expansion eventually found itself halted by Galran forces to the Southeast, tribal Nematos to the South, and the early Jzedians to the east, who likely filled the void the Lusatian migration had left behind. Thus, early on, the Lusatian tribes found themselves confined to their new homeland which, given the fertility of the lands they now inhabited, seemed not to bother them for the time being.
It isn't until 921 that we hear again from the Lusatian tribes, though they had certainly not been idle in the centuries since their settlement. Having spent the years on-again, off-again forming alliances and federations against any tribe that seemed to gain the upper-hand in the region, the ascension of a new leader of the demi-human highland tribes would upset the balance in the region, leading directly to the eventual unification over a century later. Galran sources report a demi-human chief by the name of Maksymilian who led the highlanders to reclaim their ancestral lands, and reclaim them, he did.
Rallying his levies, Maksymilian led his forces not on raids (as most demihuman chiefs before him had done), but instead on conquests, and, at a battle near the Brda River, he vanquished the forces of the Poles, a leading Lusatian tribe, and forced their chief to submit to his rule. A few pillagings later, Maksymilian had gotten the remaining leaders of the Poles to accept this submission, and, thusly, Maksymilian was now the strongest chief in the region. The other tribal chiefs wasted little time responding to the perceived upstart. What was a demi-human doing upstaging the previously proven superior Lusatians? He had to be stopped.
However, Maksymilian had something going for him that previous demi-human chiefs had not. If his name had not already keyed you in, Maksymilian's people had, to an extent, assimilated into the Lusatian culture over the years, and by 900, it seems that the previous demi-human culture had been subsumed into the more prevalent Lusatian one. Speaking the same language and worshipping the same god, Maksymilian had apparently managed to convince the defeated Poles to join his army, which meant that when the forces of the neighboring Lusatian tribes arrived to put Maksymilian in his place, it was, instead, the Lusatians who found their armies scattered and their power broken.
A normal chief might've, at this point, secured the new borders he had won for his people, and gladly retired as the premier chief in the region, wielding great influence over the other tribes and resolving disputes to ensure his own tribe's primacy. Maksymilian, as you've no doubt gathered, was no normal chief. Pressing his advantage, he once again subjugated the defeated tribes, and added their forces to his army, which now contained more human Lusatians than the demi-human highlanders. Despite this, his levies would remain loyal, either in deference to their chiefs, who seemed willing to accept Maksymilian as overlord once beaten, or out of a newly won respect forged in the audacity of the chief's conquests.
Whatever the case, Maksymilian forged the tribes under his command into the Brda League, centered around the river where he had beaten the Poles, and where his new capital was being constructed. This having been done, he took his army and began moving north and west, securing control of all of Southern Lusatia, and settling for a moment to consolidate his gains. A few years passed, and, soon, Maksymilian was ready to finish his conquest of Lusatia. This time, however, he faced resistance. The northern tribes had watched with alarm at the growing realm Maksymilian was forging, and, determined not to fall to his arms, formed their own tribal league called the Białowieża League, after the sacred forest the tribal leaders formed their League in, swearing to work together in alliance until Maksymilian was dead, or all their armies were shattered. Their forces raised, and with Maksymilian unwilling to stop at this last hurdle, the final confrontation was joined.
While the results of the conflict are lost (the library in Galra holding the records having burned down suddenly a long time ago), the fact that Galran sources report the construction of defenses against Maksymilian's League, in addition to attempts at diplomacy with Maksymilian, it seems likely that the demi-human chief had won, or, at least, had not been decisively defeated as the Białowieża League had hoped. Whatever the case, Maksymilian would rule Southern and Central Lusatia for the next thirty-four years of his life, dying in 959, at the reported age of fifty-eight. The chiefs of his league, consisting of the lowland Lusatians and the highland demi-humans, decided to follow through with Maksymilian's will, and nominated his son, Marceli, as high chief, perhaps hoping for further glory at the hands of Maksymilian's dynasty.
Tune in next time, where Marceli proves his might, and provides us with the first primary source from within Lusatia, acclaiming him "King" of the Brda League. Taking advantage of the power base his father left him, Marceli would greatly centralize power around him, diminishing the power of the chiefs. This course of action would prove decisive in his final confrontation with the Białowieża League, though it would all fall apart when an obscure, weak tribe in the far north of his new "kingdom" continued to defy him.
Outro plays, it's the same as the intro, though quieter, and fading out to silence.