Galactic Noobs— The Matonikka Conquest of Thassala — Part 1
During the early stages of Matonikka supremacy, the territory established by Dhar the Far-seer absorbed the different tribes in which a strong, unified, and well-organized state power had developed. The social organization of the Drul was, however, characterized by trade, mercantilism and a decentralized filial system of tribes. Antagonism was prevalent between the Matonikka rule and the subjugated tribes, between a relatively small number of the Matonikka conquerors and the numerically strong but conquered population. In the early phases of conquest, the Matonikka usually attempted to impose the social structure of their tribe, which was Coleiodos dominant, upon their new Cephalophos subjects. Initially, It was customary for the Coleiodos to enslave a conquered tribe and to give whole communities to distinguished military generals as a sort of personal reward. These slaves became sooner or later an integral part of the Matonikka assimilation process. In the conquered areas a similar process was used. Groups of the settled population, usually those tribes living in a certain territory, became the personal property of Matonikka military leaders who exploited the local economic forces as they liked. No use was made of the existing tribal governments and state machinery, and the former political divisions were entirely disregarded. Nor was there any attempt to organize the numerous local Drul leaders who enjoyed a high degree of independence from the court of the Matonikkans. Ruthless exploitation under strong military & economic pressure was therefore characteristic of the early phase of Matonikka domination, which may be said to have shaped how the Drul would eventually expand into space.
The central power rested with Dharkaa, who was assisted by military and political councilors. No strong central administration was, however, established during the early stages of Dharkaa’s empire. The highly hierarchized military & economic organization of the Matonikkans had no political or administrative counterpart. The influence of the councilors, who were appointed by the Dharkaa regardless of their nationality, was nevertheless great. It was a former Oesipassus subject, Merruk of Anthoza, a Drul of high talents with a powerful and persuasive tongue, dissuaded Dharkaa from converting the whole of Oesipassus into Eelgrass Farmlands (The common staple found in Drul dishes). Other council members were the Parruns, and for some time the Parrun language was as much used in the court as Matonikkan. The Parrun script was also adopted for writing Matonikkan. The oldest known document in the Drul language was written in Parrun. Drul language is said to have been a mix of Matonikkan and Parrun, while additional regional dialects came from the conquest of the other tribes.
The economy of the conquered areas was not properly organized during this period of Matonikka conquest. The abolition of non-Matonikkan chiefdoms and transition to a centralized confederacy gave an opportunity for the exploitation of local production by the Matonikkan leaders who relied to a great extent on non-Matonikkan workers and their state taxes. There was no single financial & monetary system for the whole empire, relying mostly on bartering and other non-currency trading. The absence of strong civil organization at the top, the great cultural independence of the various tribes, and the powerful mercantile hold on the trade had a strongly disintegrating effect and were, at least in the early phases of Matonikka rule, detrimental to economic progress and prosperity. The Matonikka empire was, under Dharkaa and his successors, not yet a state nor even an empire in technical sense but a vast collection of widely different tribes and territories held together by military domination.
To be continued in part 2.
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About Galactic Noobs
Galactic Noobs are collectible pieces of generated alien art. They are ERC-721 Non-Fungible Tokens stored on the Ethereum blockchain. By buying a Galactic Noob, you have true ownership, meaning you can trade them and you will have the Commercial Rights. Galactic Noobs will covers several fictive alien races, with some of them having very rare attributes. Serie 1 — The Drul — will exist of 500 unique pieces.
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