Gatekeepers of India - A Zunist Megacampaign

[Killcrazy13]

A Brief History of Zunism

Before the advent of Islam in Afghanistan, people followed different religions, some widely known like Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while others not so well known but were locally very popular and zealously followed. One such indigenous religion, with a large following in Zabulistan during the 7th to 9th centuries, was the cult of Žun.

Xuanzang, the famous Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, had visited Zabul in 644, who described, in Da Tang Xiu Jee, the shrine of Suna or Zhuna in some detail, but he neither mentioned its origin nor the identity of its followers:

As a custom of this country, people worship a deity of dubious character. On Mount Congling is its statue called Zhun. The ceremonial institution is extremely gorgeous. The shrine is roofed with both gold and silver plates and paved with silver on the floor. More than one thousand people visit this shrine everyday. In front of the shrine is a back bone of fish. At the center is a hole through which a mounted horseman can pass freely.

According to local tradition, the deity Zhuna first came from far to this mountain desiring to dwell on it, but the original deity of the mountain trembled with anger and shook the valleys. Zhuna said, "As having no wish to live together, you might be thus trembling. If you only entertained me as a guest, I would confer on you great riches and treasure. Now I go to Mount Zhunahira in Zabul. Whenever the king and his ministers may offer me their tributes every year, then you shall stand face to face with me"

There are several dozen 'deva' temples, and the sectarians of various denominations dwell together. Among those counted, the Tirthakas are many in number and very powerful. They follow Zhuna). In the past this deva came from Mount Aruna of Kapisi to live on Mount Zhunahira on the southern border of this country. He showed dignity and gave the people happiness, or perpetrated violence and evil. Those who believed in this deity attained their wishes, whereas those who looked down on him received misfortune. Therefore all people, both from far and near, worshipped him; and all people, both from the upper and lower classes, held him in reverence. People from neighbouring countries and of different manners and customs, kings and courtiers assemble together every year on an auspicious day of that year, and sincerely devote themselves by presenting gold and silver as well as rare treasures, or by competitively dedicating cattle and horses as well as domestic animals. Accordingly, the floors were full of gold and silver, while the valleys were full of sheep and horses. Nobody has any intention to steal them, but solely tries to offer such objects. The heretics who intently serve the deva practice asceticism, and then the deva gives them magical power in return. The heretics effectively perform magic to treat illness, by which many recover completely.

The Coming of Islam

Arab Muslims appeared in Sistan in 652-53CE as part of the last stage of claiming Iran and after the death of Yazdagird III, the last Sassanid king in 651. A year later, the Arab forces advanced against the Hindu Kush and the lands of Zabulistan and Kabulistan. The new Arab Governor of Sistan, 'Abd al-Rahman bin Samurah launched an offensive against these rulers and reduced both kingdoms during 664-65. He surrounded the holy mountain on which the temple of Zun was located. He “went into the temple of Zur (Žun), an idol of gold with two rubies for eyes, he cut off a hand and took out the rubies. Then he said to the Satrap, ‘keep the gold and gems. I only wanted to show that it had no power to harm or help.’”. However, Abd al-Rahman was relieved of his governorship in 666 which led to the loss of these kingdoms as quickly as they had been captured.

Barha Tegin appears in history following the capture of Kabul by the Arabs under Abd al-Rahman circa 665 CE. The ruler of Kabul at that time was Ghar-ilchi of the Nezak Huns. The Arab conquest mortally weakened the Nezak Dynasty. The Shahis under Barha Tegin, who were already ruling in Zabulistan, were then able to take control of Kabulistan. Some authors attribute the rise of Barha Tegin precisely to the weakening of the last Nezak Hun ruler Ghar-ilchi, after the successful Arab invasion under Abd al-Rahman ibn Samura. Around the time the first ruler of the Turk Shahis Barha Tegin died, his dynasty split into two kingdoms. From 680 AD, Tegin Shah became the king of the Turk Shahis, and ruled the area from Kabulistan to Gandhara. His title was "Khorasan Tegin Shah" (meaning "Tegin, King of the East"), and he was known in Chinese sources as Wusan Teqin Sa. His grand title probably refers to his resistance to the peril of the Umayyad caliph from the west.

The ruler of Zabulistan split from his brother, the Shahi of Kabul, and established the Zunbil dynasty. The title Zunbil can be traced back to the Middle-Persian original Zūn-dātbar, 'Zun the Justice-giver'. The geographical name Zamindawar would also reflect this, from Middle Persian 'Zamin-i dātbar' (Land of the Justice-giver). This dynasty, Rutbil or Ratbil in the Arab literature, became famous for their tenacious resistance to the Arab advance towards the east and northwards to Kabul. Both the rulers and their dynasties, which survived for about two centuries, were considered by the Arabs as Turkish. However, the opinion of modern scholars greatly differs with regard to their origin and identity, with some positing them to be of Kidarite or Hepthalite origin.

The petty kingdom of Zabulistan bordered Kabulistan in the northeast and in the south and west it included areas of al-Rukhkhaj, the modern Kandahar region, Zamindawar and area up to Bost on the confluence of Arghandab and Helmand rivers. The Sulaiman Mountains formed the eastern border. Ghazni was the winter capital of the kingdom while Zamindawar was the summer capital and religious and pilgrimage centre devoted to Žun.

The relationship between the two related families of Kabul and Zabul was at times antagonistic, but they fought together against Arab incursions. In 698 Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Bakra, governor of Sijistan and a military commander of the Umayyad Caliphate, led an 'Army of Destruction' against the Zunbils. He was defeated and was forced to offer a large tribute, give hostages including three of his sons, and take an oath not to invade the territory of the Zunbils again.

About 700, Al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf appointed Ibn al-Ash'ath as commander of a huge Iraqi army, the so-called "Peacock Army", to subdue the troublesome principality of Zabulistan. During the campaign, al-Hajjaj's overbearing behaviour caused Ibn al-Ash'ath and the army to rebel. After patching up an agreement with the Zunbils, the army started on its march back to Iraq. On the way, a mutiny against al-Hajjaj developed into a full-fledged anti-Umayyad rebellion.

The Arabs regularly claimed nominal overlordship over the Zunbils, and in 711 Qutayba ibn Muslim managed to force them to pay tribute. In 725–726, Yazid ibn al-Ghurayf, governor of Sistan failed to do so. The Arabs would not be able to again obtain tribute from the Zunbils until 769 CE, when Ma'n b. Za'ida al-Shaybanl defeated them near Ghazni.

Arabic sources recount that, after the Abbasids came to power in 750, the Zunbils made submissions to the third Abbasid Caliph al-Mahdi (r. 775–785), but these appear to have been nominal acts, and the people of the region continued to resist Muslim rule. The Muslim historian Ya'qubi in his Ta'rikh ("History"), recounts that al-Mahdi asked for, and apparently obtained, the submission of various Central Asian rulers, including that of the Zunbils.

Arab campaigns of destruction are documented around 795 CE, as the Muslim writer Kitāb al-buldān records the destruction of a Šāh Bahār (“Temple of the King”), though to be Tepe Sardar, at that time: he recounts that the Arabs attacked the Šāh Bahār, "in which were idols worshipped by the people. They destroyed and burnt them"

Current Era – 867CE
Zabulistan has been reduced to a rump state after repeated attacks by the Arabs with a distinct Hepthalite identity, though there has been some assimilation with the local Iranian populations. Firoz is the current Zunbil but is facing a grave threat – the ascendant Saffarids and their Amir-e Amiran Ya’qub al-Laith. Already, his cousin Hurmiz has bent the knee and surrendered Bost and Firuz is scrambling to pull together the native tribes of Pamiris, Afghanis and Turco-Hepthalites to defend the old ways against the wave of Islamification.

 

[Killcrazy13]

This is a more ambitious AAR, aiming to play out from the 9th century to the 19th century. It's ahistorical and play will generally be centred around the Hindu-Kush, Bactria and Punjab regions, the historical territories of the Hepthalites. It's going to be a slower paced game with more notes on the development of Zunism and the geo-politics of the region.

The save is heavily modded (mostly to make my life harder) and RICE is the main flavor mod that will be adding quite a bit to the story. Generally the primary goal will be the reformation of Zunism and restoration of the Hepthalite empire. Then the goals become more open ended. Some thoughts:
1) Pushing Islam out of Persia
2) A return to China, the conjectured origin of the Hepthalites
3) Messing around in India

I hope you will enjoy the story and lets see where we end up.

 

[Idhrendur]

Looking forward to it!

 

[HistoryDude]

This looks interesting. AARs with less known religions are always nice. Can you reform Zunism? Do you plan to?

 

[Killcrazy13]

This looks interesting. AARs with less known religions are always nice. Can you reform Zunism? Do you plan to?

Hi again HistoryDude! Yes, the plan is to reform Zunism or it will prove to be impossible to convert counties when you're surrounded by the established faiths of Islam and Hinduism. So far, this AAR is proving to be a lot more challenging than the Kuzarite campaign but we got the reformation off early to keep the faith alive.

 

[Killcrazy13]

Firuz Zunbil

The Shahdom of Zamindawar was the last holdout of Zunism after the Samanid attacks. The dynasty of Barha Tegin had fractured between the Shahis of Kabul and the Zunbils of Zabulistan. Even within the house of Zunbil, there were breaks as Hurmiz kurê Jimofuta had opened the gates of Bost after the defeat to Samanids and had been rewarded with the governorship of the province after reciting the Shahadah. Firuz himself had been captured after the death of his father Kabak and the lost of Sistan.

Escaping one night in January 867, he made his way back to the mountains of Zamindawar and rallied what meagre troops he had to resist the next invasion. At 19 years of age and able to call on less than a 1,000 men, all he hoped for was a heroic last stand and that the chroniclers would not forget the brave house of Zunbil. The much feared invasion never came as the Samanids focused on Iranian supremacy against the Tahirids. In turn, the Zunbil, would look Northeast, hoping to move the centre of his power deeper into the Hindu-Kush, pressing his House’s claim on Ghazna and Kabul. The mountain warfare was brutal but over the next decade, he would push the Shahi’s out of the highlands and into the foothills of Gandhara. The vacated fortress of Bālā Hissār (High Fort) would be the new capital, hopefully far out of reach of Muslim invaders.

Bālā Hissār
Bālā Hissār sits to the south of the modern city centre at the tail end of the Kuh-e-Sherdarwaza Mountain. The Walls of Kabul, which are 20 feet (6.1 m) high and 12 feet (3.7 m) thick, start at the fortress and follow the mountain ridge in a sweeping curve down to the river. It sports a set of gates for access to the fortress. The Kōh-e Shēr Darwāzah (lion door) mountain is behind the fort. Bala Hissar was originally divided into two parts: The lower fortress, containing the stables, barracks and royal palaces, and the upper fortress (the actual fort with the name Bala Hissar) housing the armory and the dungeon of Kabul, known as the "Black Pit" (the Siyah Chal). When looking at the outer wall of the main fortress, it is possible to see layers of building materials from years of destruction and re-fortification. Much of the hillside is built up on tunnels and underground storage.

Family and Later Reign

Breaking with Zunist tradition, Firuz would not enter into a divine marriage with either of his sisters. Nîsan would be married off to the heir of the throne of Pratihara in the name of an alliance while Xêlîcan would be wedded to a nomad chieftain in return for his service. He himself married a Tibetan noble’s daughter who would bear him three daughters but no sons for the first 12 years of their marriage. Perhaps this contributed to his wandering gaze as he would become infamous for his affairs. His wife kept her silence about his many lovers but the husbands he cuckolded would not take it so easily, causing a blood feud with the lord of Chitral after the birth of a boy, Hormuze, who’s parentage was disputed, as well as other scandals within Firuz’s own court. Chitral owed fealty to Khalas, the Kabulshah, whose home, Bālā Hissār, Firurz had captured. When Firuz went to war to claim his alleged son, Hormuze, both men aimed for revenge but Firuz outmaneuvered them, striking for Khalas’ fort and capturing his family while the nominal Kabulshah’s army marched to Chitral. When they finally met in battle, Firuz would taunt Khalas by parading Khalas’ wife before his army and using her as a footstool to mount his horse. Firuz would triumph and the humiliating peace treaty would see Firuz capture Chitral, have Hormuze raised in his court, have immense amounts of treasure handed over by Khalas for the return of his wife and children and the formal renunciation of Khalas as the Kabulshah.

However, Firuz would not formally adopt Hormuze as a Zunbil. The boy was now five years old and in that intervening period, Firuz had taken a second wife, a hostage taken from a raid, who bore him a boy and his first wife had finally delivered a son. Assured the succession was safe, Firuz saw no need to allow another to dilute the inheritance but he ensured Hormuze was brought up alongside the other princes and enjoyed an equal education.

The next few years would see Firuz consolidate his control of the realm that now covered the entire Hindu-Kush and dip into the Punjab lowlands of Ghandara while fending off assassination attempts from Khalas and other angry lords he had displaced in his conquests of the mountains. Most troubling of all was finding out his sister Nîsan, the now Queen of Pratihara, was behind one of the assassination attempts. Aware of how tenuous his grip on power was, Firuz would militarize his land, instituting a requirement for all settlements to be fortified, these Kalas or Qalas could be quickly reinforced in times of foreign invasions. In court, he would place spies among his courtiers to discover threats to him and his family.

However, there was one enemy he could not defend against – disease. Smallpox had been making its deadly way across the Indian subcontinent ravaging poor and rich alike. It even struck down Nîsan in Delhi, putting to rest one of the many threats to Firuz. When it finally reached Kabul, the disease would decimate the commoners and nobles alike. Kabul became a ghost town as the population dropped from 10,000 to slightly more than 6,000. In Bālā Hissār, Firuz would witness the death of his first-born son, Amur, his ‘adopted son’ Hormuze, and the spouse of his eldest daughter, Mand among the many casualties. Mand was married to the son of the Chieftain of Zend, and this would trigger another blood feud as the Chieftain blamed the Zunbil for taking inadequate precautions. By the time the disease had completed its destruction, Firuz had lost two sons and his youngest daughter alongside many faris and ladies of court.

His only surviving son, Yeshouah, would be sole heir to the throne of Zunbil. He would not have to wait long, four years after the plague and shortly after Jouiskah attained manhood, Firuz would strike out into remaining free Damas of Ghandara, intent on solidifying his control of the region and more importantly repopulating his empty lands with new serfs – he was already straining the limits of his land’s manpower and taxation to maintain his modest army and forts. The capture of Bannu went smoothly but on campaign in Udaphanda, he would fall ill after drinking poisoned mead and pass on within the night. So ended the reign of Firuz Zunbil, the great preserver of Zunism.

 

[Killcrazy13]

The Iranian Intermezzo and the Zunbil


The term Iranian Intermezzo, or Persian Renaissance, represents a period in history which saw the rise of various native Iranian Muslim dynasties in the Iranian Plateau after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Iran and the fall of Sasanian Empire. The term is noteworthy since it was an interlude between the decline of Abbāsid rule and power by Arabs and the "Sunni Revival" with the 11th-century emergence of the Seljuq Turks. The Iranian revival consisted of Iranian support based on Iranian territory and most significantly a revived Iranian national spirit and culture in an Islamic form. The Iranian dynasties and entities which comprise the Iranian Intermezzo are the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Ziyarids.

Statue of Amir e-Amiran Ya'qub in Zabol, Iran

The Saffarids were the main threat to the Zunbil, having broken the power of Zabulistan in the 860s. Their founder, Ya'qub bin Laith as-Saffar, an Ayyar, literally vagabond warrior, under Salih ibn al-Nadr in opposition to Abbasid power. Known for his ascetic lifestyle due to his humble origins as a saffar or coppersmith. In 867 he sent a poem written by himself to the Abbasid caliph Al-Mu'tazz. The poem said: "With me is the Derafsh Kaviani, through which I hope to rule the nations." The Derafsh Kaviani is the legendary royal standard of Iran and the old Sassanian Empire. The poem laid bare his ambitions and the Zunbils were fortunate that the Hindu-Kush was considered a backwater of Iran. His armies would be marching westward. The other important factor in the survival of Zunism was the splintering of Islam in Persia. Amir e-Amiran Ya’qub was said to be an adherent of the party of A’li and the Ismaili sect and his enemies were the Sunni Tahirids and Arabs of Baghdad.

The other great power was the Maturidi Samanids of Transoxiana and in between, Khorasani Tahirid. Caliphal power would collapse in 879 and Iran would be divided up among the warlords. Doctrinal differences between the three factions would see them focus on each other and abandoning the Habbari Sultanate of Sindh to the mercy of the Hindu Kings.

The Zunbils were still too weak to capitalize on this respite, as their domain was riven by internal dissent and still vulnerable to Muslim raiders. While the Shahdom would pass on intact to Jouiskah, his noble were restless and fiesty. Amidst these internal tensions, Jouiskah was also unsure of who to trust. His father's murderer was still at large and he struggled to command the loyalty of his soldiers like his father had. The one blessing was the end of the other line of Zunbil in Bost. Smallpox had struck the land hard and both his uncle and cousin would pass on. The people of Bost still held to the faith of Zunism and invited Yeshouah to take charge of the city. He would post his father's most loyal faris, Shabur, as governor of the region and guard against Saffarid attacks.

As a child, Jouiskah was educated in the classics of Persian history, and he would wrap these stories around his rule and actions – primarily Kāveh the Blacksmith. Kāveh was, according to ancient legends, a blacksmith who launched a national uprising against the evil foreign tyrant Zahāk, after losing two of his children to serpents of Zahāk. Kāveh expelled the foreigners and re-established the rule of Iranians. Chroniclers in Jouiskah's court would write of how his uncle, the Satrap of Bost was struck down by Zun and the Bostian people called out for the return of the Zunbil, uniting the Zabulistan of his grandfather’s day. His father's many wars had forged his small army into an elite force, specialized in mountain warfare and the Hindu-Kush became an area of dread for foreign armies for the immediate future, giving the young Kabulshah time to plan his future moves out.

Petroglyphs

One of Yeshouah’s hobbies was to explore the mountains of his realm and he would collect etching of the many petroglyphs found on rocks and in caves. The carvings were left by invaders, traders, and pilgrims who passed along the trade route, as well as by locals. The earliest date back to between 5000 and 1000 BCE, showing single animals, triangular men and hunting scenes in which the animals are larger than the hunters. These carvings were pecked into the rock with stone tools and are covered with a thick patina that proves their age.

 

[HistoryDude]

It looks like the Iranians are fighting each other. Let's hope that the Zunbils can take a realm secure from conquest with this respite.

I wonder if tradition will return or if Realpolitik will prove too powerful.

 

[Killcrazy13]

Iranians fighting each other is a sun-sent blessing for the Zunbils and it continues for a while more but things on the other side of the mountains are heating up. The HIndus are eager to expand eastwards to reclaim Sindh and Punjab from the Muslim invaders so things are feeling very tight right now.

I'm taking a short break from this AAR right now but intend to come back to it later on. The playthrough has been quite grueling with shortages in manpower and gold with limited opportunities to expand making life in this Zun-scorched land pretty hard. Some very unfortunate deaths as well.

I'll recap Khalas' life in the next few days then put this AAR on hold for a few weeks. Appreciate your patience in the meantime.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Sign me up. Looks like fun.

 

[Crimson Lionheart]

Praise the Zun! Subbed

 

[Killcrazy13]

A Portrait of the Hindu-Kush

The Hindu Kush is an 800-kilometre-long (500 mi) mountain range. To the north, the Hindu Kush buttresses the Pamir Mountains while the eastern end of the Hindu Kush in the north merges with the Karakoram Range. Towards its southern end, it connects with the White Mountains near the Kabul River. It divides the valley of the Amu Darya (the ancient Oxus) to the north from the Indus River valley to the south. The range has numerous high snow-capped peaks, with the highest point being Tirich Mir or Terichmir at 7,708 metres.

Modern era Pamirites celebrating Chaumos. There are only a few thousand of them left, mostly in the province of Chitral and they have held on to many practices of what we call Old Zunism. The most important Pamiri festival is the Chaumos, which is celebrated for two weeks at winter solstice (c. 7–22 December), at the beginning of the month chawmos mastruk. It marks the end of the year's fieldwork and harvest and the time of rest for Zun. It involves much music, dancing, and goats killed for consumption as food. At Chaumos, impure and uninitiated persons are not admitted; they must be purified by waving a fire brand over women and children and by a special fire ritual for men, involving a priest waving juniper brands over the men.

The geology of the area played a part in the shaping of local culture. The Turco-Hephtalites were dominant among the tribes but there were significant communities of Afghanis of Iranian descent and Punjabis who were forced out of the riverlands by invaders. Mixed in were Pamiri herdsmen who moved between the mountain passes as the seasons changed and as their flocks needed fresh pastures. Geographically isolated tribes would live much of their lives with little contact with the outside world beyond the villages in neighbouring valleys. It did allow Zunism to survive but it also meant that there was little standardisation of the Zunist faith as each village venerated local animist spirits alongside the great Zun high in the sky in Zamindawar. Mixed into this cultural melting pot were strains of Hindu and Buddhist believers and a few scattered resented Muslim clans.

Cattle raids were common occurrences in summer months and would escalate to persistent family feuds between neighbors that could last generations. Certain peculiarities of this clannish culture shaped the practice of Zunism – the tribal wars would require large families to replace lost members and the insular culture bred a preference for marrying within the clan or family.

Jouiskah was brought up with a fervent regard for Zun and he would attempt to tie together these many divergent strands into a unified people and reforming the faith into what we recognize as medieval Zunism, locking in many tenets still practiced to this day.

 

[Killcrazy13]

A quick note that I've restarted this playthrough as I've made some mod changes to make this playthrough feel different from my last one. The biggest change is replacing Dynamic Trade Routes with Sinews of War.

Once again, I've used the Firuz Zunbil from RICE with his random stats - he's military trained this time and I've edited the previous posts to reflect the happenings of this playthrough. Please re-read the first two threadmarks for a refresher and to see what has changed in the story and I hope everyone enjoys where the rest of this adventure takes us.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thanks for giving me an understanding of the winter festival. Do they have a summer festival as well?

 

[Killcrazy13]

Thanks for giving me an understanding of the winter festival. Do they have a summer festival as well?

There are two other major festivals celebrated:

The Chilam Joshi in the middle of May reflect the end of the spring thaw and the opening of mountain passes to the higher altitude grazing grounds. During the four-day, men and women meet with the aim of finding a spouse. The festival provides an opportunity to celebrate the beginning of summer and to give a message of peace to the world. During Chilam Joshi, the Pamiri men and women of pray for the safety of their fields and animals and dance to traditional music and the beat of drums.

The Uchau festival is held in Autumn, asking Zun to protect the herds as winter arrives and the sun's warmth starts to weaken. The men are divided into two parties: the pure ones have to sing the well-honored songs of the past, but the impure sing wild, passionate, and obscene songs, with an altogether different rhythm. This is accompanied by a 'sex change': men dress as women, women as men (in older records, Zun is sometimes seen as female and can change between both forms at will). At this crucial moment the pure get weaker, and the impure try to take hold of the (very pure) boys, pretend to mount them "like a hornless ram", and proceed in snake procession. At this point, the impure men resist and fight back against this deviancy. At the climax of the song, all will give the response of "han sarias" or "we are all one", Zun showers his blessing and leaves.

At different points after the establishment of the formal Church of Zun, these practices, especially the Uchau has been declared heretical and rabidly oppressed but the nature of the Hindu Kush means that many isolated tribes are not as indoctrinated into orthodox Zunism as hoped for and many "old Zuni" practices has survived into the modern day.

 

[Levgar]

Thanking for letting us know about the changes to the beginning thread marks.

 

[Killcrazy13]

Shah Jouishka and the Zunist Reformation

Shah Jouishka was a product of his father’s court. Growing up paranoid facing all the threats to his father and their faith, he was slow to trust and quick to anger when. The importance of protecting the faith was ingrained into him by his teachers and it led to a streak of zealotry bordering on obsession. These traits would lead to maintaining a small inner circle, mostly made up of family members and him being on guard against his vassals.

The first thing he did was dig into the identity of his father’s murderer, eventually one of the captured assassins gave up the name of Jend, his sister’s father-in-law. His sister’s husband had died of smallpox in the court of Firuz and that seemed to be the inciting incident for the blood feud. Jouishka would hatch his own scheme to remove this threat. His assassins crossed Transoxiana and struck down the distant chieftain but were caught before they could make the escape. Now known as a murderer, Jouishka’s reputation fell even lower among his vassals. But he had avenged his father and as a knock-on effect, his nephew inherited half of Jend.

From left to right:
Marzoban Andez - Spymaster
Marzoban Zymt – Steward
The Zunbil, Jouishka
Marzoban Marulaganga – Chancellor
Marzoban Shabur – Marshal

His most powerful vassals were all his father’s men and they were a motley crew of upjumped sellswords and exiled nobles from Sogdia, India and Persia whose faithfulness to Zun was questionable at best. They were also growing increasingly rich, with most of them holding newly conquered territory in the Punjab or Bost. The Zunbil would squeeze them for taxation as much as possible with the goal to keep them weak while ensuring his soldiers were paid. Of course, this would breed much resentment and simmering rebellion would always be a threat to Jouishka and he never had his armies too far away while he encouraged his vassals to vent their anger on their foreign adventures – Shabur, Marzoban of Bost would be the most eager to conquer, pushing into Ghur and extending his domain significantly over a decade.

The one major military campaign he engaged in was the conquest of rich and prosperous Multan. Jouishka eyed it as his preferred capital, far away from Muslim Iran and the holy site where Toramana of the old Hepthalite Kishan Empire had consecrated a temple to Zun (demolished by the Muslims in the 700s) and the supposed birthplace of the first Zunbil’s, Barha Tegin, first wife, Roxana. The Amir of Multan was a young boy of 17, facing pressure from Hindu Rajputs from the East and rebellious vassals. It meant the war was short and smooth for the Zunbil, and the Indian Rajputs were quick to make peace when they realized they had to face the tough mountain tribes, instead of a green boy.

Jouishka used the wealth captured from Multan to refurbish the statues of Zun in Zamindawar and Kabul and the irony of using Muslim wealth to restore the symbols of faith after the sacks a century ago was not lost on him. He also sponsored massive works in Zamindawar, Rukhaj and Kabul, literally moving statues and much finery to furnish the sun temples and shrines in the temples.

In 908 CE, he gathered his vassals, flamen (Zunist priests) and other notables to hear his vision of a reformed Zunism. A new head of faith would act as the earthly representative of Zun. This role would be taken up by one of the most notable flamens, Kalan. However, this new High Diviner would not exercise any temporal power. As a bone to his vassals who resisted conversion, he would give them the ability to manage the temples in their domains and tax the priesthood. On matters of theology, the flamen pushed for the purging of Vedic practices from Zunist beliefs. Moving forward Zunism would be One True Faith, unsullied by external ideas. The two most important tenets of Zunism were matters of great debate at this Council of Kabul (Kabul would be the home of all future religious councils).

Firstly, marriage would adopt Zoroastrian mores. Many of the flamens were exiles from Zoroastrian Iran and they had expanded on the scant literature of the Zunist faith. Kings or Shahs would be expected to practice Divine Marriage, their first marriage was to Zun who would bless their bloodline but their second marriage partner should be someone of close-kin, ideally a sister or brother to maintain the purity of Zun’s blessing. As part of the council, the Zunbil was anointed as Defender of the Faith and his bloodline recognized as divinely blessed. This principle of Xwedodah would become a point of contention in next few centuries but all at the Council accepted it as sun-blessed. The second was the institution of sacrifice. Zun was the final arbiter in Turco-Hephtalite culture with the practice of Sun-trials to judge the guilty. Jouishka personally pushed for this practice to be extended to the presentation of non-believers to Zun who would demand their conversion or extinguish their lives. Exposed to the glory of the sun, he believed most would recant their false faith and revert to the true solar faith.

Despite the haranguing from Jouishka and the flamens, the Zunbil’s vassals were resistant to conversion and it would be a slow process of bargaining and threats over the next few years to create the purified nation of Jouishka’s dreams. One notable incident was a riot among the Muslims of Multan who hung Chancellor Firyid to a tree for her faith. The Zunbil would put this mob down viciously and he clamped down on dissent across his realm in pursuit of his singular vision of the Church of Zun.

 

[HistoryDude]

The Zunist faith is reformed! Ripping off the Zoroastrian incest was an interesting decision - I wonder how closely it will be followed given the inevitable genetic results of it.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Putting the boot on the throat of the Muslims, must be satisfying for the Zunists. With the semi-closed world of mountain tribes, I understand the incest OK. Thank you for updating.

 

[Killcrazy13]

The Zunist faith is reformed! Ripping off the Zoroastrian incest was an interesting decision - I wonder how closely it will be followed given the inevitable genetic results of it.

Putting the boot on the throat of the Muslims, must be satisfying for the Zunists. With the semi-closed world of mountain tribes, I understand the incest OK. Thank you for updating.

I'm playing with a mod 'Traditional Tenets' which tweaks most of the unreformed religions's tenets to give them more oomph and to make religious syncretism a doctrine, not a tenet so you have more flexibility in flavoring your religion. For Zunist, they get the tenet "Dawnbringers" which forces you into polygamous Divine Marriage but lets you enjoy going on Crusades. I wanted Crusades or Great Purifications for the Zunists without relying on Warmonger so had to eat the Divine Marriage. I've also have another mod impacting the chance of passing on of traits so selective breeding/eugenics are also harder to pull off. Jouishka is devoted to his god first and foremost and old enough not to bother with sibling marriage but let's see what happens with his heirs.

The other two tenets are Sun Worshippers allowing you to sentence criminals to a Sun Trial, and Gruesome Festivals (The Asatru's Blot) as I wanted to play with something that would horrify neighbouring domains and really carry across the "old testament" nature of Zun worship.