Argozil ('ar go ,zIl Dnalaka, Arogesu - a ro 'gE su Old Dnalak) is a major city in the Northeastern Naklab Peninsula and the capital city of Argozil, the dominant nation on the Peninsula today. Modern Argozil sits atop millennia of history, and was one of the first recorded cities of the Dnalak people.
History[]
Origins[]
Arogesu was the original name of the city, which was founded some time around -4000 along the northeastern coast of the Naklab Peninsula. By the -3500s the city was one of the three prominent early cities of the City State era along with Dlamanad and Inek. As trade with early Peroatlan colonies grew, fruits grown along the rainy eastern slope of the Naklab Mountains were traded from Arogesu to the Apolak tribes, who in turn traded to the Peroatlans. It is the value of trade and consistency of agricultural goods which solidified the cities as the dominant society over the pastoral tribes still roaming the hill country around this time.
The First Dnalak Kingdom[]
Around -3400, The chief Dorad rose to power in Arogesu, the first recorded name of a Dnalak chieftain. Early in his rule, he made alliances with many of the eastern pastoral tribes, bringing his influence beyond the city and into the hinterland of the region. With this newfound strength and the growing value of trade with Peroatlans, he created an army of herdsmen and city dwellers and marched on the neighboring cities of Labanad and Doresu, taking them quickly as they had no walls and only a few defenders.
According to the earliest Dnalak histories, Dorad then laid seige to Dlamanad in -3392, which had a 10 foot wooden wall and sat along the Dnala River. After a year-long siege, The army of Dorad was able to set fire to enough of the wall for the defenders to fail to extinguish the blaze, falling back to the houses, where they eventually surrendered.
After Dlamanad, Dorad consolidated his hold on the Northern peninsula, forcibly bringing more herdsmen under his control and treating any uprisings or dissenters with brutal punishment. In -3384 He raised a new army (reportedly 10,000 men, though scholars think it was likely about 4,000) and marched on the Peroatlan colony of Nalakalha. Nalakalha had a stone wall and access to the sea, so Dnalak siege tactics of the time were all but ineffective against the city. Dnalak histories claim that Dorad held the siege at Nalakalha for 25 years, though this is almost surely an exaggeration. It is likely that some minor exchanges were made, but seeing the Peroatlans content to remain in their city supplied by sea, Dorad broke the siege after only a year or two. To the Dnalak, this presented the Peroatlans as a nearly invincible foe. For this reason, and continued pressure on shared territory and population growth, the Apolak tribes migrated out of the area around this time.
Dorad continued to try to unite the Dnalak people, launching a campaign southwards against the cities there (led by Inek) in -3358. Several bloody battles were fought, and Inek itself was briefly besieged in -3455, but Dorad was killed in battle in -3454, resulting in the immediate retreat of his forces back to their homeland. Dorad's kingdom dissolved quickly, and by -3350 all of the northern cities were once again independent.
Peroth and Atlass[]
The following 2 millennia were characterized by an ebb and flow of Peroatlan control over the Naklab Peninsula. In -2720, the Perothin Empire had signed peace with The Altans of Diraham and sent their first expedition to the Peninsula. After quickly subduing or allying with the Peroatlan cities in the east, Perothan forces marched on Dlamanad, taking it quickly in -2716. Continuing to march east, The Perothans were met by the army of Arogesu, who turned them back at a river crossing along the Doren River. The Perothan campaign continued for two more years, but many of their initial gains were lost, except Dlamanad and surrounding lands in the Northwest.
It was another 50 years before the Perothans again invaded Dnalak lands in -2658. After a major defeat west of the Doren River, Arogesu was besieged and then captured in -2652. It became the easternmost city in the Perothin Empire and though initial treatment was harsh, the city soon flourished under the flow of merchants obtaining fruits, wool, and whale oils.
Conflict continued for centuries, with the first Dnaldla coalition being formed by the central cities in -2435 to fight off a new Perothan campaign. After achieving success against the Perothans, the coalition set out to reconquer the northern cities in -2432.
Arogesu was besieged by coalition forces after an approach to Dlamanad was beaten back in -2430. Catapults brought by the Dnalak were able to hinder a relief force of ships sent by Peroth and prevent the city from holding out for more than a year. The city surrendered in -2429 and the Dnaldla coalition began to roll back Perothan control of the northeast.
In the Second Battle of the Doren River, however, Peroth shattered the coalition army