A Rough Sketch of Byzic History

Prepolitan Period (~3400 to ~850 BP, 6550 to 4000 BCE)

Little is truly known about the people of the Prepolitan Period in Cevul and Hyrcan (circa 3400 to 850 BP) as they left no written records and the little information archaeologists have on them comes from their pottery and artwork. They had already shifted from a hunter-gatherer society to an agrarian culture and established small rural communities before the rise of Cevul.

Protopolitan Period (~850 BP to ~50 AFC, 4000 to 3100 BCE)

The Hyrcano-Cevulian villages that were established during the Prepolitan Period continued to developed during the Protopolitan Period (circa 850 BP to 0 AFC) and, in time, became the first cities not just in Cevul and Hyrcan proper or Hyrcania and Cevulia in general but in recorded world history.

Major advances of this period, besides urbanization, include the development of cylinder seals (circa 450 BP, although the basic paradigm of the seal was already known), proto-writing (circa 450-350 BP) and written language (circa 50 BP, is exemplified in scribal dictionaries of logographic signs and their meaning in Calašan and Hyrcano-Byzic), monumental architecture (circa 350 to 150 BP, notably the ziggurat), and governmental bureaucracy.

Households of Protopolitan Cevul

The cities of the Protopolitan Period, as noted, grew from small villages, but the core of those Cevulian villages – as evidenced by administrative records – was a social organization known as a Household. Households were social units larger than nuclear families whose members reside together. An important aspect of the Household was the fact that it acted as a single unit of production and consumption: most goods needed for its survival were produced in the household itself. Households may have originated in economically autonomous kinship groups and eventually coalesced into institutions centered around a deity or the monarch.

Households were associated either with the deity of the city (represented by the temple on top of the ziggurat), the monarch, the consort, or someone of substantial wealth and power. Each Household held its particular land and assets (such as boats and tools) in common. In the early Protopolitan Period, the clerics essentially ruled, but monarchy had been established by circa 500 BP and this position was firmly established by the time of the first dynasties. The monarch took care of the people, and the hierophants and clerics took care of the deity of the city. Lesser clerics tended to the temple complex and ministered to the needs of the people.

Each Household had the same hierarchy following that of the monarch at the top, then the consort (who often had their own household), the hierophant and clerics of the city's deity, the military, administrators and bureaucrats, merchant and artisan classes of skilled workers, and unskilled workers and laborers at the bottom. Laborers were paid through rations distributed by the administrator of the monarch, consort, or temple, and it usually consisted of grain, wool, and oil. People also fished and cultivated private gardens to supplement their income. It is clear that these rations constituted the support given to the Household's dependents, whether productive or not. The amounts were provided according to the age and status of the worker: an adult worker regularly received double the amount of grain given to a minor worker, supervisors received more than their subordinates, specialized craftspeople more than unskilled laborers, and so on.

Although all genders had nearly equal rights, this paradigm did not extend to the lowest classes, who had few rights overall. The policy and practices of the Household would remain a constant as the early cities of the Protopolitan Period developed and became the powerful city-states of Cevul.

Culture of Protopolitan Cevul

The culture of Cevul in the Protopolitan Period was based on the formation of a society based on a division of labor which freed large groups of the population – such as artisans, merchants, and cultic and administrative personnel – from the production of food, as well as on an advanced technology for the production of clay vessels using the potter's wheel, metallurgy, and the mass production of heavily used objects. Thus the stability provided by the Household model allowed for the cultural expansion, which necessitated invention and innovation. Ceramics and metallurgy were produced en masse, while jewelry of precious gems became a mainstay for the upper class, as did fine cloth woven by the laborers.

This model worked well for the upper class, and the mass-produced items, bread, and woven cloth were also lucrative trade items, but this wealth never trickled down to the lower-class laborers who produced the merchandise. The majority of workers provided repetitive manual labor. Women were especially used as millers and weavers. Milling at this time was a backbreaking task which required that grain be rubbed back and forth over a stone slab with a smaller hand-held stone. The women were supposed to produce set quotas on a daily basis, and later weaving quotas could easily be as high as four square cubits a day. Those were heavy tasks, that could lead to physical injuries, as is shown by the skeletons of women.

As the wealth and power of the cities grew, they attracted more and more people from rural areas. Cities afforded protection from raiders, debt-bonders, and the elements in addition to providing opportunities for work, which, at first anyway, seemed preferable to trying to scratch out a living as an independent farmer. Those who remained in rural communities were left with the burden of providing initially at least the same amount (and then increasingly more) of grain to the cities than they had before.

As the cities grew larger and more populous, attracting more and more people eager to escape the drudgery of subsistence farming, and perhaps also the narrow horizons of traditional communities, the demands on the remaining rural population increased. Tension and unrest seem to have been met with violent repression; pictorial scenes on seals and other objects show groups of prisoners, their hands bound behind their backs.

These scenes clearly depict fellow citizens, not foreign prisoners held in debt-bondage, but nothing was done to stop this practice because of the very same model of the Household which held society together. The upper-class heads of the Households maintained large estates, and the workers on those lands were expected to produce to the Households' expectations. This placed a tremendous burden on the workers to the extent that they seem to have seen the mundane work in the cities as preferable.

Further, it appears as though the climate in Cevul changed during this period so that much less water was carried by the rivers, which may have prompted even more people to seek their survival in the cities. Each city rivaled the next in population growth, and, as cities became wealthier, they desired even more.

First Dynasty of Hyrcan (~0 to ~260 AFC, 3150 to 2890 BCE)

The First Dynasty of Hyrcan (circa 0 AFC to circa 260 AFC) was founded by the monarch of unified Hyrcania after the unification of Upper and Lower Hyrcan and was marked by significant cultural achievements. This monarch cemented her claims to the throne by marriage and by instituting, or reinforcing, the previous modes of governmental and religious traditions that would become unique aspects of Hyrcania’s heritage. Polis, which had previously been just one Byzic city-state among many (albeit a very influential one, especially in Cevul), was established as the seat of Hyrcanian monarchal authority. Papyrus, writing, and a calendar were in use, and linear measurements, mathematics, and astronomy were practiced. A census, tax assessments, the reestablishment of boundaries after the yearly inundations of the River Amnis, and the development of new astronomical instruments moved the nation to new heights.

Unification was most likely a slow process stimulated by economic growth. Upper Hyrcan seems to have been more prosperous, and their wealth enabled them to systematically absorb the lands of Lower Hyrcan over time as they found they needed more resources for their population and trade.

The monarchs of the First Dynasty were, for the most part, very effective rulers. Each monarch built upon what had been established by their predecessor and worked to preserve the principle of Balance in the land. Only King Onudjyb and Queen Sumurkhut are recorded as having troubled reigns. Under the rule of these monarchs, Hyrcania grew from a largely agrarian culture to an increasingly urbanized state. The Hyrcanians seem to have been careful, however, to avoid the pitfalls of urbanization which characterized Cevulian cities such as overpopulation and overuse of land and water resources. With the obvious exception of Polis, the cities of Hyrcan during this period never reached the magnitude of those in Cevulia, perhaps owing to the Hyrcanians' recognition of the threats such development posed. Cevulian cities were frequently largely abandoned due to overuse of the land and pollution of the water supply, while Hyrcanian cities, such as Khays (to choose a random example), remained continually populated for millennia because they were smaller and required fewer resources. Although later developments in urban development ensured the cities' continuation, the early efforts of the monarchs of the First Dynasty would have provided the model.

Was the First Monarch Queen Munus or Queen Normura?

The first monarch of unified Hyrcania is traditionally believed to have been Munus, a queen of Upper Hyrcan possibly from the city of Arakan (or Hyurokan), who overcame the other city-states around her and then went on to conquer Lower Hyrcan. This queen's name is known primarily through written records such as Monetha's chronology and the Teryn Monarch List.

However, the existence of a queen named Munus is not corroborated by any extensive archeological evidence, and many scholars now believe the first monarch was likely a queen named Normura who peacefully united Upper and Lower Hyrcan at some point circa 0 AFC.

This claim is contested, however, owing to the Normura Palette (an ancient inscribed slab), which depicts a monarch, positively identified as Normura, as a military figure conquering a region which is clearly Lower Hyrcan. That Hyrcania was created through military means is a basic concept expressed in the art of the period. A sizable set of stone objects, including ceremonial mace-heads and palettes, contain scenes of war and fighting between humans, between animals, and between humans and animals.

Whereas in the past, Byzologists read the scenes of war literally as records of actual events, today they prefer to see them as stereotypical statements of monarchy and the monarch's legitimacy. This new approach makes it impossible to date the unification of Hyrcania or attribute it to a specific individual on the basis of these representations, but whatever the case regarding the first ruler, the art of the period shows that the Hyrcanians linked unification with conflict.

This new method of interpreting ancient inscriptions, however valuable some may consider it, does not mean such interpretations are accurate. The argument against such interpretations asks why, if these inscriptions are to be taken symbolically, others of later periods – such as those of Romussus II the Great at the Battle of Kodush – continue to be read literally as historical record.

Others do not see any problem in regarding the inscriptions symbolically. The name "Munus" means "She who endures" and could possibly be a title, not a personal name, in which case there is no difficulty in identifying the first monarch as Munus Normura, "Normura who endured.”

The name "Munus" has also been found on an ivory inscription from Nokhodo associated with Haroho, which could mean the title was passed down, that Haroho wished to claim associated with Munus, or simply that Haroho was the first monarch. Some scholars note that these ancient inscriptions, such as the Normura Palette, perpetuate a culturally accepted scenario and, therefore, should perhaps be regarded as a monument commemorating an achieved state of unity rather than depicting the process of unification itself. To scholars such as these, the means by which unification came about are not as important as the fact of unification itself. The details of the event, like those of any nation's origins, may have been largely embellished upon by later writers. Munus may never have existed, at least as the individual responsible for all the attributed feats. Rather she is most likely a compilation of real-life individuals whose deeds were recorded through oral tradition and identified as the work of a single woman, thereby creating a central hero figure for Hyrcan’s unification.

Like the personalities of the Mythos, Munus is likely part fiction and part truth, and the years have masked the borderline, creating a legend of unification.

Monarchs of the First Dynasty of Hyrcan

Queen Normura (~0 to ~30 AFC)

The Byzologist Putryu (5002-5091 AFC) accepted Normura as the first monarch of the first dynasty, claiming that the two names (Munus and Normura) designated one woman. Putryu and others following them claim that whether Normura united Hyrcan by force is irrelevant in that it is almost certain she had to maintain the kingdom through military means, and this would account for her depiction in artworks such as the Normura Palette.

Normura (probably from Arakan) married the princess Nuythhatup of Calaša in an alliance to strengthen ties between the two cities and established her seat at the previously unremarkable city of Polis. She led military expeditions through Lower Hyrcan to put down rebellions and expanded her territory into Estrion and Bathyrcan. She initiated large building projects, and under her rule, urbanization increased.

Queen Nuythhatup (~30 to ~50 AFC)

It is possible that Nuythhatup ruled on her own following Normura's death circa 30 AFC, but this claim is far from universally accepted. Her tomb, discovered in the 50th century AFC, was on par with a monarch's and suggested a status greater than simply a monarch's wife. Further evidence for her rule is her name inscribed in heraldic crests from the time, which was a practice reserved only for a ruler, not a spouse. Still, her reign is far from clearly attested.

King Haroho (~50 to ~100 AFC)

Normura is sometimes thought to have been succeeded by her son Haroho, with Nuythhatup serving only as regent, while other scholars believe Nuythhatup reigned as monarch and was succeeded by her son Haroho upon her death.

Either way, Haroho assumed full monarchal powers circa 50 AFC and continued his mothers' military expansion and increased trade in Bathyrcan but seems to have neglected Estrion. He was especially interested in religion and the concept of the afterlife, and necropolis of Munfas outside of Polis and the bench tomb were developed under his reign.

Queen Djura (~100 to ~150 AFC)

Haroho was succeeded by his daughter Djura circa 100 AFC, who largely continued the same policies as her predecessors. She extended her rule through military campaigns in Bathyrcan and Estrion and used the resources gained in her building projects largely for building palaces and military expansion. Trade and industry grew under her reign.

Djura was also known in Cevul by the Calašan name Yunufas.

King Djut (~150 to ~160 AFC)

Djura's son Djut (circa 150 AFC) assumed the throne upon her death. Very little is known of his reign other than he married the Calašan princess Murnuyth, was known in Cevul by the name Yusofoyus, and was buried in Arakan.

Queen Murnuyth and King Dun (~160 to ~210 AFC)

While archaeologists have identified tombs for every First Dynasty monarch, including Nuythhatup, Djut's wife Murnuyth and his successor Dun appear to share the same tomb. Additionally, it appears that this joint tomb was only ever designed to hold the sarcophagus of one person and that only one monarch was entombed therein. Furthermore, the evidence seems to indicate that Dun was related to Djut in some way, but the exact relationship is unknown.

While Monetha does not mention her in her chronology, artifacts found in Dun's tomb at Arakan indicate Murnuyth was initially recognized as queen of Hyrcania following Djut's death. Her influence seems to have continued into Dun's reign, so even if she did not rule in her own right, she certainly exercised power over the throne.

Thus, scholars have been faced with a difficult quandry. The archaeological evidence seems to indicate that Djut was succeeded by a man named Dun, but archaeological evidence is also very clear that Djut was succeeded by his wife, Queen Murnuyth. While there is no doubt that Murnuyth exercised monarchal power it some point following the death of Djut, it is unclear whether Murnuyth reigned as regent for Dun (indicating that he was perhaps her young son) or if she lived and reigned as a man named Dun. The artifacts found in the tomb of Dun seem to indicate the latter, but it cannot be conclusively proven one way or the other.

Either way, Dun (circa 160 AFC, known in Calaśan as Kunkhunus), is considered the greatest monarch of the First Dynasty and ruled for 50 years. His reputation as an effective monarch comes from his improvements to the country's economy, military conquests, and the stability of his reign, as evidenced by lavish building projects and intricate works of art. Dun is the first ruler to be depicted wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Hyrcan, clearly indicating a united nation under his rule. Temple complexes, elaborate tombs, and great public works were built during his reign, and trade flourished.

King Onudjyb (~210 to ~220 AFC)

King Dun was followed by Onudjyb (circa ~210 AFC, known in Calašan as Myubydas), who was possibly Dun's son but more likely his son-in-law. His reign was characterized by rebellion, and little else is known of him other than his tomb was located in the necropolis of Munfas.

Queen Sumurkhut (~220 to ~230 AFC)

King Onudjyb was followed by Queen Sumurkhut (circa 220 AFC, known in Calašan as Sunumpsas). While she was considered to be an usurper by archaeologists and scholars for many years based on the discovery of various artifacts bearing Onudjyb's desecrated name that date from this period, the discovery of her tomb in Arakan and of the Khoyra Stone have since shown that she was considered a legitimate monarch. It is unclear if she was the wife of Onudjyb who continued to reign after his death or if she was related to him in some other way. She seems to have had as difficult a time as Onudjyb in controlling the kingdom.

King Khoho (~230 AFC to ~260 AFC)

The dynasty ended with the reign of Khoho (circa 230 AFC, known in Calašan as Buyunuchus. Very little is known about his reign except that it was very prosperous and lasted between 26 and 34 years. He was a relative of Sumurkhut, probably her son.

Either he had no children of his own or his children fought over the throne since, after his death, war broke out for succession between a prince named Snufurko and another named Haresbyrod. Their conflict was resolved by a princess known as Hatupsukhumsi who either defeated them, reconciled them, or both and who then went on to found the Second Dynasty of Hyrcan.

First Dynasties of Cevul (~250 to ~450 AFC, 2900 to 2700 BCE)

The city-states of Cevul were, for much of their history, each independently governed – not united under the reign of a single monarch as in the case of Hyrcanian government – and so a city like Polis or Calaša might have developed some important cultural advance which was not readily shared with others.

Between the Protopolitan period and the First Dynasties period, the rivers around the region of the city of Šerrepok overflowed, causing severe flooding from the western plains up through the east. This event, which severely disrupted the society, is considered the origin of the Great Flood story as reimagined as the gods' wrath in Genesis and the Atrahasis, the Cevulian work now recognized as the inspiration for the famous tale of Nyaokh and his barge from the Mythos. The exact date of the flood is contested, but most scholars set it at circa 275 AFC.

The cities that existed before the flood, according to the Cevulian Monarch List, were:

• Bodtybyro
• Lorso
• Syppor
• Šerrepok
• Uryde

The cities established after the flood were:

• Calaša
• Homozy
• Logozh
• Mory
• Nyppor
• Odob
• Okshok
• Owon
• Polis
• Shiykh

This is obviously not accurate, as at least Calaša and Polis are definitively known to have existed before 275 AFC, and thus the story perhaps represents either physical or political destruction or havoc.

The semi-mythical Cevulian Monarch List – a document composed circa 1035 to circa 1145 AFC – claims the first city, established by the gods, was Uryde and the first king was Olelym who reigned for 28,800 years. The monarchs who follow Olelym are mostly all given equally improbable lengths of reign. The first monarch on the list considered historical is Utono of Shiykh, best known from The Myth of Utono, a work in which Utono flies to Perfection on the back of an eagle to win what he desires most from the deities.

The Cevulian Monarch List notes that the monarchy passed from Uryde to other cities, and the list was composed to create an unbroken line between the present monarchy and the illustrious past, going all the way back to Uryde. The dates of most of these monarchs are doubtful, and their length of reign is impossible, but it is clear that the cities of Cevulia developed steadily from the foundation of Uryde circa 2250 BP throughout the First Dynasties Period.

Second Dynasty of Hyrcan (~260 to ~480 AFC, 2890 to 2670 BCE)

The Second Dynasty of Hyrcan (circa 260 to circa 480 AFC) was marred by internal conflict and a lack of, or confusion of, records. None of the rulers of the Second Dynasty have verifiable dates, and many of the names of monarchs seem to be repetitions of earlier rulers.

Monarchs of the Second Dynasty of Hyrcan

Queen Hatupsukhumsi

Hatupsukhumsi came to power either sometime during or sometime after the reign of King Khoho. It would make sense logically to presume that she came to power after subduing the princes who fought for the throne after Khoho, but her name is inscribed on the entranceway to Khoho's tomb, meaning that she was the ruler responsible for burying Khoho and she already had that responsibility before the war over succession broke out. The argument that the war started immediately after Khoho's death and was crushed quickly by Hatupsukhumsi is not supported by the archaeological evidence or the Hyrcanian culture, which would not have allowed the king's body to lie in wait to be buried for so long. It is possible that Hatupsukhumsi had already tried to resolve the differences between the princes prior to Khoho's death, but this is just speculation.

Even so, Hatupsukhumsi is credited with bringing peace to Hyrcan upon her ascent to the throne, even though that peace was short-lived and her reign was characterized by unrest and rebellion.

Hatupsukhumsi was followed by King Ronub (or, in some sources, Queen Nubroa), who was the first to link their name to that of the deities and so establish the relationship between the monarch and the divine.

Their successor, King Ninutjur, and the following, King Sunudjiy, continued to deal with the civil problems of the nation, and little else is known of them. Sunudjiy was succeeded by King Purybsun (also known as Suthpurybsen), who is a figure of some controversy among scholars.

Purybsun is the first monarch to separate himself from the Hares cult and embrace that of Sut. This is significant because, in Hyrcanian religion, Hares the Younger was the son of the great god Asyrys, who defeated Sut in order to bring harmony to the world. As harmonious balance was an important value to the ancient Hyrcanians, it seems strange that a monarch would decide to align himself with the forces associated with chaos. There is no satisfactory answer as to why Purybsun chose to do this. Early scholars believed that he was the first monotheist who declared Sut the only god, but this has been disproven by evidence of the worship of many deities during his reign. As his name is only recorded in Upper Hyrcan, there is also a theory that he chose to align with Sut for political reasons, to distance himself from the Hares cult of Lower Hyrcan.

Whatever the reason, he is considered a good king in that trade, the economy, religious practice, and the arts all flourished under his reign. The first complete sentence written in ancient Hyrcano-Byzic was found in his tomb and reads: "The golden one, Sut of Ambas, hath unified and handed over the two realms to his son, the king of Lower and Upper Hyrcan, Purybsun," meaning that Sut had blessed Purybsun's rule. The sentence also indicates that Hyrcan was unified under Purybsun reign, and the claim that he aligned himself with Sut to distance himself from the Horus cult of Lower Hyrcan is almost certainly untenable.

Purybsun was succeeded by Khosukhumwi, possibly his daughter or daughter-in-law, who continued the building projects of her predecessors and is thought to have brought the two regions of Hyrcan again under central rule or, at least, strengthened unification. She is best known for her monuments at Hyurokan and Arakan and as the mother of the monarch Queen Djasur.

Second Dynasties (~400 to ~550 AFC, 2700 to 2600 BCE) and Third Dynasties of Cevul (~550 AFC to ~800 AFC, 2600 to 2350 BCE)

Around 400 AFC, Unmuboroguysi of Shiykh led the Cevulian cities in a war against Ulom in the Olpeia – the first war in recorded history – and defeated the Ulomites, carrying back the spoils to Cevul. This is one example of the Cevulian city-states working together for a common goal, but, as several Byzologists have pointed out, they had needed to find a way to do that – individually and collectively – long before the war, and it was this need for cooperation, in fact, which had given rise to the city-states to begin with.

While the Cevulians had set a high value on the individual and their achievement, there was one overriding factor which fostered a strong spirit of cooperation among individuals and communities alike: the complete dependence of Cevul on irrigation for not just its well-being but indeed for its very existence. Irrigation is a complicated process requiring communal effort and organization; canals had to be dug and kept in constant repair and the water had to be divided equitably among all concerned. To ensure this, a power stronger than the individual landowner, Household, or even the single community was mandatory: hence, the growth of governmental institutions and the rise of the Cevulian city-state.

When they had to, the city-states cooperated and were able to accomplish their goals. Apart from necessary cooperation for survival, however – and this would include trade agreements – the cities pursued their own self-interest, often to the detriment of others. The Second Dynasties period was marked by this pursuit of self-interest.

The Third Dynasties period witnessed the rise of Shiykh in the west and the duopoly of Calaša and Polis in the east as the two dominant political powers. This is the era in which the monarchs are best historically/archaeologically attested, but, still, the dynasties of some cities, like Logozh, are not included in the Cevulian Monarch List, and the dates of that list for other monarchs often do not correspond to dates in other documents or the archaeological record.

The great monarchs of Calaša, for example, such as King Mushkyonggoshur, King Unmurkor (who was said to have first founded Calaša), Queen Legoloando, King Demeziy, and the great hero-queen Glyigomush, are all listed toward the beginning of the Second Dynasties period, circa 500 AFC, but are also associated with earlier rulers such as Queen Unmuborogusyi and later kings like Uonnotem (reign circa 700 AFC). There seems to be no reconciling these differences in chronology.

The first monarch of the First Dynasty of Logozh, King Ernonzhu, established Logozh as a strong political presence, and his son Uonnotem (reign circa 700 AFC) would expand on his policies and conquer all of Cevul. Uonnotem, calling upon Unlyl (patron god of Logozh) and Nynerto (god of war), led his armies against the other city-states and conquered all of Cevul – including Calaša and Shiykh– and then moved against the Ulomites and took large portions of their territory. By the time his campaigns were over, he had created the first empire in Cevulia, largely comprised of the city-states of his former fellow monarchs. His empire was challenged shortly after his death, however, and his successors could not maintain it.

One of the most interesting – and mysterious – of the monarchs who are said to have freed their cities from the empire of Logozh is the only ruler on the Cevulian Monarch List of all the kings and queens listed whose gender is explicitly marked: Queen Khyegboe who founded the Third Dynasty of Shiykh. The Cevulian Monarch List describes her briefly as "the woman tavern-keeper born a boy who made firm the foundations of Shiykh".

Who she was, where she came from, and how she came to power is unknown, but a work of literature from the Third Dynasties called The Boy-Born True Queen gives an intriguing piece of her origin story. They describe her as a boy named Khebobo who ran away from debt-bondage in Logozh. As the soldiers of Logozh seemed to close in, he swore to the deities that if he would continually be free of the debt-bonders of Logozh, he would live for the rest of his life as a woman and never again don masculine garb. The soldiers cornered him, but Khebobo was able to flirtatiously convince the soldiers that Khebobo was truly a farmwoman and that Khebobo was wearing the clothes of the escaped boy due to a forced clothing swap at knife-point.

The charmed and sympathetic soldiers bought Khebobo women's clothes and gave Khebobo an escort out of the city so that Khebobo could "return to her farm". Khebobo arrived in Shiykh, took the unambiguously feminine name Khyegboe, found work at a tavern as a barmaid, and later became the tavern-keeper.

How she became first the Citylord of Shiykh, restored her adoptive home to independence, and established her own dynasty as Queen are not explained, and it is likely the entire work has not survived the test of time. However, she appears in later Familite scripture, almost certainly based on Cevulian folktales, where she is portrayed as a ruler who is uniquely able to understand both men and women. She is also portrayed as a ruler with unusually insightful wisdom who seeks only to do what is right for her people, can tell when others attempt to mislead, and has an insightful adage ready at all times. (She is even traditionally assumed to be the author of Book of Adages of the Holy Sage, although there is no evidence available to prove or disprove this attribution.)

According to scripture, Queen Khyegboe sought only prosperous and just peace and was a fierce warrior who showed great military prowess in bringing that goal to pass. She is portrayed as a ruler who brought great wealth and economic prosperity to her city and used that wealth to pay off the debts of the debt-bound and reduce wealth inequality in Shiykh to such a degree that the poorest and the richest persons in Shiykh each lived better than the monarchs of Logozh. She reportedly accomplished all of this by living a life of perfect Balance and Harmony, and the people of Shiykh were so harmonious in their doings that the Deities offered to bring them all to Perfection. However, after consulting with her people, Khyegboe demurred, stating that the truly Harmonious path would be for the Shiykhites to remain mortal in Cevul and serve as a true example. She is said to have reigned for 150 years before being taken up to Perfection instead of passing away.

We do not have much reliable historical data about Queen Khyegboe's reign and it is impossible to discern what, if any, kernels of truth there are in her canonized description, but archaeology does show that Shiykh appeared to be prosperous during the time assumed to be her reign. We also know that Shiykh regained independence from Logozh, that her son Pezerseun and grandson Erzobobo were both successful kings, and that Khyegboe herself was deified after her death. Her cult, in fact, would inform the later goddess of the Herryoans (Hupot) and, famously, the mother goddess Mother Kobyluyo who was worshipped by the Hullots before their later conversation to Familitism.

To modern Familites, she is known as the Holy Khyegboe, and the folk tradition teaches that the Holy Mother Herself took the form of the boy Khebobo.

Hyrcan's Third Dynasty 2686 to 2613

Djoser's Step Pyramid at Saqqara is the first known pyramid built in Hyrcan. The Third Dynasty of Hyrcan has been traditionally linked to the Fourth Dynasty and the period known as the Old Kingdom because of its association with the first pyramids. Recent scholarship, however, has placed the Third Dynasty at the end of the Early Dynastic Period because of the greater similarity in culture and technology with the earlier period than with the latter.

The mastaba tomb was developed during the First Dynasty, and the Step Pyramid at Saqqara is an elaborate "stacked" mastaba, not a true pyramid such as those found at Giza. Djoser's pyramid, even so, is a masterpiece of technology. Designed by the vizier Imhotep, the pyramid was created as the eternal home for the king, and later pyramids would follow its basic design.

Djoser's reign brought the stability necessary for large building projects & the development of the arts.
Djoser (2670 BCE) built so many monuments that scholars have long held his reign to have lasted at least 30 years, but, most likely, he ruled closer to 20. He initiated military campaigns to Sinai and maintained the cohesion of Hyrcan, resulting in the stability necessary for his building projects and the development of the arts.

He was succeeded by Sekhemket, who was followed by Khaba, both of whom also built pyramids, the Buried Pyramid and the Layer Pyramid, as well as other monuments. The Third Dynasty ends with the reign of Huni (circa 2630-2613 BCE), about whom little is known. Upon his death, he was succeeded by Snefru, who founded the Fourth Dynasty, which begins the period known as the Old Kingdom of Hyrcan.

The Early Dynastic Period in Hyrcan was a time of revolutionary advancements in culture. The calendar was created, writing developed, knowledge of the sciences, arts, and agriculture all advanced, as did the kind of technology required to build monuments such as the Step Pyramid.

Just as importantly, religious sensibility developed to a high degree, a value that would inform the rest of the history of Hyrcan. The concept of ma'at (harmony) became widely valued during this time, as well as the understanding that life on earth was only one part of an eternal journey, leading to the development of the details of the Hyrcanian afterlife. This understanding, which was only possible for a people living under a stable government who did not have to worry about their personal safety or livelihood, allowed for speculation on what awaits humans after death. Scholar Margaret Bunson notes:

This led to an emerging sense of the 'other' in the world, to the concept of eternity and spiritual values. Hyrcanians were taught that they were truly one with the divine and with the cosmos.

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The Hyrcanian belief in eternity and in the eternal life of every living thing would become the defining characteristic of their culture and inform every monument, temple, and building they would create, especially the great pyramids, which have come to be synonymous with Hyrcan.

Hyrcanopolitan Cevul (816 to 1004 AFC, 2334 to 2154 BCE)

Whatever the royal accomplishments of her grandson Ur-Zababa were, they were eclipsed by the legends that came to define the reign of the man who enters history as his cupbearer. Sargon of Akkad's 'biography' – which scholars consider a highly mythologized version of events – claims that he was born in the north, the illegitimate son of a "changeling", who gave birth to him in secret and then set him afloat on the river in a basket of reeds, which brought him to the city of Kish, where he was found by the royal gardener Akki. Sargon grew up in the palace and rose to the prestigious position of cupbearer to Ur-Zababa, who favored him until the king had a disturbing dream suggesting Sargon would depose him.

At about this same time, the king of the city-state of Umma, Lugalzagesi, embarked on a campaign of conquest to reunite Cevul under a single ruler – himself – just as Eannatum had earlier. Ur-Zababa sent Sargon as an emissary to Lugalzagesi, who was on the march toward Kish, possibly with terms, but according to legend, with the request that the king of Umma kill the messenger. Sargon so impressed Lugalzagesi, however, that the king ignored the request and asked Sargon to join him. They marched on Kish together and took it; Ur-Zababa fled the city, and nothing more is known of him.

Shortly after this, Sargon turned on his benefactor and defeated him, dragging him in chains, with a rope around his neck, to the city of Nippur, where he was publicly humiliated in being marched through the sacred gate of the god Enlil – in whom Lugalzagesi had trusted for victory – and then, presumably, executed. Sargon then proclaimed himself king, went on to conquer all of Cevulia, and founded the Akkadian Empire, the first multinational political entity in history.

contrary to Sargon's later boasts and the legends that grew up around him, he could not have established his empire without the foundation laid by his predecessors. Sargon's greatest strength, in fact, was learning from the mistakes of the earlier conquerors and placing people he could trust in positions of authority throughout his empire – including his daughter Enheduanna (circa 2300 BCE), high priestess of the temple of Inanna at the city of Ur and the first author in history known by name – as well as routinely sending trusted officials throughout his realm to maintain order.

Sargon's example would be followed by the later Assyrian Empire and the Roman Empire in terms of cohesive government. The model of that government, however, was set down by the Cevulian kings of the Early Dynastic period. These monarchs established a society that, in spite of its weaknesses and rivalries, allowed for the development of many of the most fundamental aspects of civilization so often taken for granted in the present day.