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<h3>2310 — Holding actions</h3>
<i>Beginning with this map, names in the Caďinorian sphere will be given in Verdurian, Ismaîn, Sarroc, or Barakhinei rather than Caďinor, and those in Xengiman will be given in Xurnese and Ṭeôši rather than Axunašin.
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<p>From being an annoyance at the borders, the <b>barbarians</b> have developed into the major preoccupation of the civilized states. The initial results of this change in focus were arguably good. A strong central administration became once more desirable; and this in turn made possible a concerted counterattack. The <b>Caďinorians</b> pushed the Coruo out of the southeast and the southern part of Sarnáe in a series of campaigns between 2260 and 2280, and even managed some counter-raids into nomad territory.
<p>The Axunemi were even more successful: they managed to expel the Sainor from the Xengi, Rajjay, and Bolon by 2310. This good work was largely accomplished by the generals of <b>Axunai</b>; and indeed, for a time the unity and glory of Axunai were reestablished.
<p>Both realms had discovered the value of barbarian mercenaries in resisting invasions. A large portion of the Caďinorian army was now composed of Coruo and Naviu; while the Axunemi made use of Sainor, Bucair, and Sevisre. These barbarian auxiliaries generally had to be given land, gold, horses, and titles to keep them happy.
<p>A side-effect of the Axunemi surge was the reappearance of Bukanel. The nomads were also pressing the Čia-Ša, and as the eastern coast of Luduyn is largely tundra, they pushed into the interior instead.
<p>The nomad problem was by no means solved. There were new invasions to deal with: the <b>Somoyi</b> had invaded the middle Eärdur (and, back home, torn apart the kingdom of Metäro (<i>Metauro</i>), whose king found a refuge with the colonists on the Lernukh), while the <b>Meťelyi</b> had invaded Kinan (<i>Kenand</i>) and were pressuring the Naviu as well; the Naviu responded by invading the upper Eärdur. Facing these new threats, Ctesifon had no attention to spare for its eastern marches, <b>Visecra</b> and <b>Ruieta</b>, which became independent around 2295.
<p>Furthermore, the map understates the activities of the barbarians: for every permanent invasion, there were three or four raids, which reached as far as Zeir and Iďanieȟa (<i>Ilďaneas)</i> in the Caďinorian lands, and virtually everywhere in Axunai— only Čeiy, so far, had escaped barbarian incursions.
<h4>In the east</h4>
<p>The Kurundasti who ruled Skouras liked to pride themselves on their virile nomadic heritage; but they were now simply the aristocracy of an agricultural state, and the <b>Tokruji</b> liked to enrage them with the taunt that they no longer even knew how to ride horses. This was unfair, but a succession of defeats at the hands of the Tokruji certainly established that their riding skills had declined since the days of Kurund. By 2280 the Kurundasti were the masters of no more than the central plain of Skouras.
<p>The architect of the great Tokruji expansion was <b>Žigral</b>, who reigned from 2265 to 2304. Working at the union of the Jippirasti, he reduced the Lenani plateau in 2267-70, destroyed the Buručandi Tej in 2271-73, suppressed the elcari in 2275-79, and whittled down the Kurundasti from 2279-2280. He was then ready to take on the unbelievers: the Sevisre (2281-82), the Axunemi of the upper Xengi (2284), Pronel (2287-90). His capital, Žigralim on Lake Lenan, was filled with magnificent, half-empty palaces, and the treasures of his defeated opponents; the sight of his horsemen’s banners massing on the horizon caused trembling from Weinexi to Jippirim to Carhinnia.
<p>Though Jippirasti divisions were generally given a religious justification, these had always been viewed as regrettable disputes within Jippir’s overall <i>tej</i>. But the Lenani took their universalism farther than most, and actually declared the Tžuro to be infidels. This solidified into a <a href="Javascript:parent.al('Pitau');">schism</a> between the <b>Staji</b> (Lenani for ‘orthodox’) and <b>Sačutu</b> (Tžuro for ‘orthodox’), which has lasted to this day. As part of the schism, the Staji rejected all written religious authority save the <i>Baburkunim</i>. Both sides, of course, considered the other to have corrupted the truth with <i>istuja </i>(filth, sin).
<p>The Littoral peoples south of the Tžuro zone still called themselves Skourenes and dreamed of reconquering the homeland they had not ruled for six centuries. Their hopes were now vested in the empire of <b>Čisra</b>, declared in 2252, which had established a hegemony over the cities of Barmund and was now advancing slowly but surely up the coast toward Skouras.
<p>The<b> Tyellakhi</b> recaptured their eastern regions from the Carhinnoi.
<h4>Nan</h4>
<p>In the far north, the <b>Nanese</b> had spread southward to the Alfonine Coast (about 1500 km from Eretald).
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