Guha-Hashuru Wars

For much of its existence, the Guha Dynasty faced a formidable foe in its south, in the form of the State of Hashuru. While the two states had periods of peaceful and stable relations, they were often hostile, and the wars between north and south have since acquired nearly legendary status.

Ironically, the net effect of the wars was really to push the two civilisations much closer together, such that by the time of the Omé Dynasty, Hashuru saw itself increasingly as a component of - and a contender for leadership within - the Empire itself.

Background
The Guha Dynasty was founded around the same time as the State of Hashuru, and in similar fashion. While the Guha, who originally dwelled in the lands now known as Cuin in the northwest of the Empire, launched a revolt and destroyed the Damu Dynasty's four century rule, the grouping of tribes that would come to rule Hashuru were beginning to consolidate their political structures and launch wars of conquest from their base in the north of Hashuru, striking to the south and east.

At the time of the Guha conquest of Tagansaré, which was the capital of the previous dynasty and would serve as their capital as well, the lands to their south had yet to come under a single ruler. While the Hashuru, or 'Ashor', ruled much of the northeast and east, the northwestern and central lands - down to Lake Murandova - came under the rule of Urik, which was also a powerful state. Given the proximity of Urik to the western heartland of the Empire, the founding rulers of Guha decided to ally themselves with Hashuru, with the objective of destroying Urik. The result of this campaign, however, would provide a casus belli for many subsequent wars.

The Conquest of Urik (1 - 5 Guha)
While the plan for a joint campaign against Urik was stipulated in the treaty, which was signed in the second year of the Guha's founding, Imperial preparations suffered a serious setback when the Revolt of Meiron broke out, forcing them to redirect their efforts eastwards.

At the same time, the Guha badly underestimated the readiness or willingness of Hashuru to fight its regional rival. While they believed that their military support would be essential for any upcoming campaign, and that Hashuru was evenly matched with Urik in terms of military strength, the fact was that Urik had suffered bad harvests in its southern regions and was a lot weaker than it appeared. Kancévan, the King of Hashuru at the time who was privy to Urik's weakness, intended the treaty to be nothing more than a promise by the Empire not to interfere; once assured of this, Hashuru prepared its troops without waiting for the northerners.

The assault on Urik proved to be a great success. Instead of attacking the well fortified north, anchored on the headwaters of the Urekmis and the foothills of the Elm Mountains, they struck unexpectedly into the southern hinterland; much of the southern territories - with the garrisons scattered and the peasants suffering from hunger - swiftly fell to the control of Hashuru, leaving the armies of Urik in their northern cities. This move also stunned the Empire; they extricated armies from the east as quickly as they could, and then led the troops in assaults on the north, where they suffered heavy casualties but managed to push south eventually. After nearly a year of ferocious resistance, Urik was eventually destroyed when the armies of the Empire and Hashuru captured the capital of Maturik and the ruler committed suicide.

While the campaign was successful, however, the Imperials were riled by the situation. In exchange for severe losses from attacking the Urikél army head-on, they were handed about a quarter of the Red Plain in exchange, where they expected to gain a foothold in the centre of Hashuru itself. About five-sixths of Urik's territory, as well as some three-quarters of its population, went instead to Hashuru, which in the process doubled in size.

The tension from this apportioning of spoils nearly broke out into open warfare, but the exhausted state of the Imperial armies forced them to accept this situation for the moment and return north.

Armed Peace (5 - 65 Guha)
The needs of consolidation and stabilisation consumed the attentions of both states during this period, and despite occasional calls in the Empire for expeditions to destroy Hashuru, the border eventually stabilised along the Red Plain. The Empire enfeoffed several of its formidable military commanders in the area as deterrence; Hashuru, for its part, set up its capital not in the north but in Renlékhdi to the east, indicating the direction of its ambitions.

The border region of the Red Plain quickly became heavily fortified, as both sides settled down to an armed peace. At the same time, though, the plain became a major conduit for trade as both sides set up markets and welcomed merchants. The Empire traded silks, precious stones, leather and medicinal herbs for the timber, bamboo, Comu (a sort of tisane) and spices of the south; it was during this period that foods like ginger, pepper and tamarind, and goods like rosewood were introduced into the north, where they became a sensation.

With the crises of their respective foundations and conquests dealt with, however, both states began to take more aggresive stances towards each other. Imperial penetration into the area of Ansa, on the east of Hashuru, and their attempts to established footholds with the Gékhalkasane on their west threatened Hashuru; on its part, the increasingly close ties between Hashuru and several powerful fiefdoms in the far east of the Empire recalled memories of the revolts and turbulance in the east which had troubled the Guha for its first years. In attempting to secure themselves against each other, the two major powers only increased their insecurity.

By the 40s Guha, temporary bans on trade were being used as a tool of coercion; this then escalated eventually to mutual raids on outposts and arrests of the traders and caravans themselves. Still, the call to open hostilities was successfully resisted throughout the reign of Tairazun Motisé (r. 21 - 63 Guha). His death, however, heralded a new era under his successor Kamané.

The First Guha-Hashuru War (65 - 82 Guha)
A leader who had advocated war against Hashuru long before he took the throne, Kamané had used his position as the prince and heir apparent to ramp up military preparations for decades, while carefully eliminating dissent from his stance. By the time he took the throne in 63 Guha, therefore, he had at his disposal an army ready for war.

This army, comprising mainly troops under the direct control of the Tairazun, undertook its first expedition against the south in 65 Guha, attacking several border towns and looting them, and carrying home some 2,000 prisoners. This strategy was repeated for the next three years, with each raid meeting with success; Hashuru, meanwhile, replied only weakly, by halting all trade and fortifying its towns.

In 72 Guha, Kamané moved south to personally lead an expedition; 75,000 Imperial soldiers moved through the borderlands with minimal resistance and laid siege to Bakhtomar, the key fortress of Hashuru on the eastern half of the Red Plain. This finally provoked Hashuru to respond properly; while Bakhtomar held back the attackers for five months, an army of 70,000, led by Tosuran of Hashuru, a prince and formidable commander, marched from Renlékhdi to relieve the city. While Kamané was forced to retreat as a result, he nonetheless considered the campaign a triumph, and began planning for another, more determined attempt.

Kamané envisioned an army of 200,000 which would lay siege fo Bakhtomar, draw out the armies of Hashuru, and then destroy them in a decisive battle. The problem with this, however, was that 200,000 men would require logistical support far in excess of what could easily be transported from the Imperial heartlands; as a result, the decision was taken to attack in summer, while the grain ripened, which would allow the Imperial army to forage and subsist on the resources of Hashuru. A series of delays and poor harvests pushed the plan back to 76 Guha, by which time the army was even larger than envisioned, reaching a total of some 235,000.

This army set off in the mid-spring of 76 Guha, and again met minimal resistance on its way to Bakhtomar. In the four years since the previous invasion, however, Bakhtomar itself had been heavily reinforced and fortified; seeing this, Kamané decided to split his army, leaving 80,000 to lay siege to the city while he led the remainder south to fulfil his plan of destroying Hashuru's armies.

Tosuran, seeing the size of the army, chose not to engage directly but to attack their supply lines while reserving the bulk of his armies. These attacks took their toll just as the summer thunderstorms, notorious in Hashuru, began coming; unequipped and unprepared for this, the Imperial army quickly got bogged down, while its logistics became ever more precarious. They managed to advance for another month and a half, but soon were forced to retreat as they faced starvation; it was then that Tosuran moved to confront them. The result was the Battle of Shattered Bamboo, a devastating defeat for the Empire, where it lost more than half of its men.