Astrasi Empire

The Astrasi Empire is a panharadrim empire streching across most of the Harad subcontinent. It is the largest empire that has ever existed on the server, comprising of Near Harad, the Moredain, the Northern Tauredain, the Half-Trolls, and the Corsairs of Umbar.

Astrasi Empire
Capital	Astras al-Harad (former) Ajtiaz al-Harad (current)
Religion	Harpy Cult, Southron Mythology, Great Lion Religion, Morgoth Cult.
Government	Absolute Monarchy (former) Aristocratic Monarchy (current)
Ruler	Serpent-Empress Shamiir
Population	+/- 40
Culture	Panharadrim
Claimed Lands	Subcontinent of Harad
Preceded by	New City State
Succeeded by	None

Government

1. The Astrasi Empire (Early Empire)

After Karseius III. seized power in Near Harad he transformed the lands in the image of the Old Empire by Karseius II. Once more Near Harad became an absolutistic monarchy under one Serpentlord. Instead of rebuilding Ain al-Harad, Karseius III. chose Astras al-Harad to function as defacto capital of Near Harad. Unlike his predecessors Serpentlord Karseius III. chose the Harpy (haradrim "astrasi") as symbol of the empire instead of a snake for religious reasons.

The succession of the Astrasi Serpentlords in Near Harad is:

1. Serpentlord and Astrasi Emperor Karseius III.
2. Serpentlordess and Astrasi Empress shamiir

As Serpentlord Karseius III. convinced the Moredain under High Chieftain Gyldencat and the Cosairs of of Umbar under Haven Master Kvesir to join the Astrasi Empire, the size of the claimed lands more than doubled. Later on all Haradrim factions joined the Empire and created the biggest Empire in the history of the Server.

1. High Chieftain and Viper of the Savannahs Gyldencat [Moredain]
2. Queen and Viper of Mordor nox_sidere [Mordor]
3. Viper of Umbar Kvesir [Umbar] (until Numenorian Conquest)
4. Viper SexyDorrito [Rocky Coast]
5. Torogost and Viper Demon_26 [Half-Trolls]

The non-near haradrim members of the Astrasi Empire are equal to the Near Haradrim members. They have the same rights as well as seats at the Astrasi Council. The early Astrasi Empire was known for its aggressive expansion and absolutistic structure. The Astrasi Empire underwent a big transformation under Empress shamiir after the lost War of Conquest against Numenor.

2. The Astrasi Empire (Dark Era of the Empire)

After the lost War of Conquest Empress shamiir decided to transform the absolutistic structure of the Empire. She broke with the tradition of the Early Empire to have a monopoly of power in the realm and appointed ekans2012 of the Fertile Valley as Warlord to share her power. Although the late Astrasi Empire still claims to be a true Pan-Haradrim Empire like in its early era, under the reign of Empress shamiir it transformed again into a Near Haradrim Empire, similar to all Near Haradrim Empires before. This might also be due to the fact that the Astrasi influence in Harad had shrunk after the War of Conquest and the rise of the Tauredain. During this period the Astrasi Empire was more of a Union of Near Harad and large parts of the Moredain principalities instead of the original absolute Empire.

• Serpentlordess and second Astrasi Empress shamiir.
• Astrasi Warlord ekans2012.
• High Chieftain of the Moredain and Viper-Lord of the Savannahs Aglarion II.
• Havenmaster of Umbar and Viper-Lord of Umbar Dolgukhor.
• Viper-Lord of The Scourge Thbar.

3. The Astrasi Empire (Regenerated Era)

After the Dark Ages flew over, The Empire reconquered a lot of land that they lost in the last Era.

Emperor Ekans at his palace.

Due to Empress shamiir being busy and because of time zone difference, she appointed Warlord ekans2012 to be Emperor of The Astrasi Empire along shamiir. Aglarion_II of Umbar got leadership over the Moredain in this Era and decided to unite all tribes in the Savannahs under The Astrasi Empire. A lot of new players joined the Empire in this Era, and the Empire was once again considered an important faction in Middle-Earth.

• Serpentlordess and second Astrasi Empress shamiir.
• Serpentlord and third Astrasi Emperor ekans2012.
• High Chieftain of the Moredain and Viper-Lord of the Savannahs Aglarion II.
• Havenmaster of Umbar and Viper-Lord of Umbar Dolgukhor.
• Viper-Lord of The Scourge Thbar.

4. The Astrasi Empire (Golden Era)'​'

​A new Era emerged when the Haradrim saw the importance and value of working closely together again; in the last two Eras, the factions had seemed to become more independent, but that turned around in this Era, and the Viperlords of the factions came together for council meetings again. In one of these meetings it was decided to invite the Tauredain to join the Empire. Aglarion of the Moredain found Gingilipho fitting for this job and he and Emperor Ekans invited him to meet at the Counci Tower at the Gardens of Beruthiel. Gingilipho was offered the position of king of the Tauredain if he in return swore loyalty to the Empire. He gladly accepted the offer and with his choice the Empire gained the last unclaimed part of Harad. All of Harad was now united under the Astrasi banner and Lords and Ladies of other factions awed at the sight of their power.

• Serpentlordess and second Astrasi Empress shamiir.
• Serpentlord and third Astrasi Emperor ekans2012.
• High Chieftain of the Moredain, and Viper-Lord of the Savannahs Aglarion II.
• King of the Tauredain , and Viper-Lord of the Jungles Gingilipho.
• Havenmaster of Umbar,  and Viper-Lord of Umbar Dolgukhor.
• Viper-Lord of The Scourge Thbar.

5. The Astrasi Empire (Tension Era) ​

When the Tauredain under Gingilipho joined the Empire, tension started between other factions good and evil. The Empire now controlled an entire continent; no Empire had ever been this grand. But in the East of Harad lay the abandoned lands of the Half-Trolls: this land started to play a big role in faction relations. The Easterling Khaganate, under Sebrom's choice, seized Pertorogwaith. This was misunderstood and seen as an act of war by many. Empress Shamiir and Viper-Lord Aglarion had quickly started negotiations with The Khaganate to forecome a needless evil vs. evil war. At the end, the Khaganate just meant to do good by blowing new life in the Half Troll Faction by putting a new leader at its head, Yoeki. Since Shamiir made the Empire less absolute than in Karseius's time, the choice was Yoeki's and Yoeki chose to join the Khaganate yet remain closely allied with the Empire. So Pertorogwaith left the Empire and Harad was not completely unified by the Empire anymore. *Serpentlordess and second Astrasi Empress shamiir.

• Serpentlord and third Astrasi Emperor ekans2012.
• High Chieftain of the Moredain, and Viper-Lord of the Savannahs Aglarion II.
• King of the Tauredain , and Viper-Lord of the Jungles Gingilipho.
• Havenmaster of Umbar,  and Viper-Lord of Umbar Dolgukhor.
• Viper-Lord of The Scourge Thbar.

6. The Astrasi Empire (Renewed Era)

Following the disappearance of Emperor Ekans, the Empire saw multiple changes in leadership. Shamiir remained Empress, with Obsidian_Fox appointed as her second-in-command. However, Fox was soon banned from the server, leading to stevethebuffalo being appointed as Warlord of Harad and, shortly after, Serpentlord of Near Harad. Gingilipho parted for the Golden Woods of Lothlorien, leaving his heir, Mr_Manveru, as King of the Northern Tauredain. The long-dormant Half-Trolls found a new leader in Moon_Planet, who soon proved to be a loyal and hard-working player. In this period the Moredain underwent a reformation that would greatly help in the growth and governing of the factio: the former tribal chieftainship transformed into a Feudalistic Kingdom. A rapid influx of new members and lack of external threats made the the Empire stronger than it ever had been, ushering in a new period of prosperity and security.

• Astrasi Empress shamiir
• Serpentlord of Near Harad stevethebuffalo
• King of the Moredain and Viperlord of the Savannahs Aglarion II
• King of the Tauredain and Viperlord of the Jungles Mr_Manveru
• Queen of the Half-Trolls and Viperlord of Pertorogwaith Moon_Planet
• Kings of the Corsairs Kvesir and Dolguzagar

History of the Empire

Rise of the Astrasi Empire

With the appearence of Karseius III. in Astras al-Harad the political landscape in Near Harad started to change. With the cities growing influence over the region Karseius III. was seeing an possible candidate to reunite Near Harad. After he struck a deal with the King of Gondor Atanvarno and reclaimed Harandor peacefully back as a Near Haradrim province the remaining Near Haradrim lords swore allegiance to him.

The "To be" Empire

As new Serpentlord Karseius III. exclaimed the Astrasi Empire and reestablished an abolute monarchy in Near Harad. In an attempt to exceed all previous Serpentlords he aimed to unite not only Near Harad but also most of the Haradrim factions. The first faction to join the Astrasi Empire were the Moredain under High Chieftain Glydencat. Soon after the new founded Umbar faction under Kvesir joined as well. With those factions united, the Astrasi Empire became the biggest empire in area until this point in Middle-earth. Impressed by the size and power of the empire the queen of Mordor nox_sidere accepted the offer of Emperor Karseius III. to join the Empire as well. Later on the Half-Trolls under Demon_26 joined as well. With the South of Middle-Earth united by one Empire the Astrasi Emperor Karseius III. continued to strenghen the bond between the united factions and founed a new institution called the "Imperial Council" in which the Emperor as well as all Viperlords meet to discuss important matters. The former Near Haradrim Council Tower was there for rebuilt and used for this purpose.

The First Astrasi Golden Age

With the establishment of the vast Astrasi Empire soon conflict emerged. With the incoperation of Mordor a power struggle imearged between the Astrasi Empire and the Northern Orc Realms, especially with the powerhouse of Isengard. While the Astrasi supported nox_sidere as ruling Queen of Mordor the Northern Orc Realms of Isengard, Angmar and Dol Guldur wanted to see chris800 on the throne who would break Mordor out of the Empire if in power.

Golden age of the Empire

This conflict heated up as after a disputed vote in the Misty Mountains ended with Astrasi Emperor Karseius III. threatend with war supported by Gundabad if the Northern Orc realms should continue to influence Mordor internal issues. A war was avoided after the Northern Orc realms backed away and left Mordor untouched. After the borders of the Astrasi Empire were secured, Emperor Karseius III. decided to step down from his position and coronated his heir shamiir on an imperial frigate at Poros. With the coronation a new chapter had began for the Empire under the rule of second Serpentlordess and Astrasi Empress shamiir. Soon after Karseius III. perished [left the server] and was buried in a tomb at Astras al-Harad. The mausoleum is build in an mountain and can only be accessed by climbing.

The Astrasi Reformation

With the new Astrasi Empress shamiir the imperial politics started slowly to change. Empress shamiir pursued a more gentle style of ruling over her lands and vassals compared to her predecessor Karseius. She halted the previous urge of the Empire to expand and decleared the Empire as being in full size. She also improved the relations between the Astrasi Empire and the Black Council in a great manner, which were rather cold after a war nearly broke out between Evil under Emperor Karseius III. and the dispute over Mordor. During her reign the Empress focused on the economic growth of the empire as a whole while also giving her vassals much more autonomy than before. Especially the Astrasi provinces of Umbar, Perogowaith and Mordor benefited from the autonomy while attracting new players to join these factions and by doing so the Astrasi Empire. In this period the province of Umbar, which started as a small and unimportant Near Haradrim Colony developped into one of the strongest subfactions of the Astrasi Empire after Near Harad. The far reaching autonomy of some of these factions were also seen as a sign of weakness by other factions.

The Numenorean Conquest

The economic rise of the Astrasi Empire as well as the new, more federal ruling system introduced by Empress shamiir led to an Numenorean interest to conquer imperial lands, especially the province of Umbar. The rather young Numenorean Empire [a Union between Arnor and Gondor]. The leaders of the Numenorean double kingdom Atanvarno and Skelesam decided that the Conquest of Umbar would consolidate their Empire in Middle-Earth. With the declaration of war by the Numenorean Empire the Astrasi Empress shamiir seeked help at the Black Council. The Evil forces made out of Astrasi and Black Council armies clashed multiple times with the Numenorean Invaders in Harandor and Umbar. The war developed into a protracted guerilla war which drained the energy of the Astrasi Empire and its allies. After a long state in war the Black Council decided to withdraw from Umbar and shift their armies to other fronts. After the withdraw the Astrasi Empire was not able to resist the Numenorean Invaders much longer and withdrew its own forces from Umbar while the Viper of Umbar Kvesir surrendered to the Invaders. Umbar was lost as an astrasi province and integrated into the Numenorean Empire. The Numenorean Conquest had devastating effects of the Astrasi Empire. The loss of Umbar, the economic war damages as well as rising tensions between the imperial subfactions developped into critical problems for the Astrasi.

Dark Ages of The Empire

The Numenorean Conquest left the Astrasi Empire in a weak position never seen before. The Empires power grip over Harad and southern Middle-Earth started to loosen. With its victory the Numenorean Empire established itself as the new dominant force in central and southern Middle-Earth thereby supersede the Astrasi Empire in this role. At the same time the Dark Council also won a lot of influence over the evil factions of Harad, which were not in the Councils influncial sphere in the golden age of the Astrasi Empire.

The Empire in the Dark Ages

Although the Empire continued to formally exist. Much of the former astrasi influence had been lost, but in Harad, the Astrasi tradition was still held high among the players. Although the Astrasi Empire lost most of its political importance in Middle-Earth, it shaped a new uniting culture among various Haradrim factions. The remains of the once biggest empire can still be found across its former borders. Today the Astrasi Culture is mostly alive in Near Harad, where Empress shamiir still holds her power but also other factions like Umbar and the Moredain still display their Astrasi heritage in their architecture, religion and culture.

Regeneration of The Empire

After some time the Dark Age flew over, and the Empire started to reclaim lost land.

The Empire nowadays.

New people joining everyday, the Empire quickly grew to something similar of the Golden Age. Large parts of Umbar were reclaimed, the Half-Trolls of Pertorogwaith joined, and the Empire reconquered territory that they had lost in the south. Making relations with The Dark Council better then ever before, and reuniting the Moredain under one ruler once again.

The Imperial Era of Unification

Astrasi Lands, all faction territory given.

When all the Tauredain leaders seemed to have vanished. Aglarion propose to Ekans to ask the one known remaining Tauredain to join the Empire. the deal was that the Empire would help the Tauredain in receiving new members, give the Tauredain suplies and help them in the wars to come, if the Tauredain gave their lands to the Astrasi Empire in return. Gingilipho the Tauredain accepted and through his decision, all of Harad was united under the banner of the Harpy.

The Astrasi Tension Era.​                   

When​ the Tauredain joined the Empire under Gingilipho, some factions disagreed on the matter, rumors being spread about the Astrasi fingers supposedly grasping to Middle-Earth now. Some factions, including the Khaganate of Rhun, took this rumor as real and started refusing to acknowledge Gingilipho's claim, saying the old leaders were not gone. And then, one day, minecraft_forevr, the former Tauredain ruler, returned, causing a rift between the Astrasi Empire, who supported Gingilipho, and the Khaganate, who wished to see minecraft_forevr returned to the throne. War nearly broke out between the two empires as the Khaganate declared that they would use violence to support their interests. However, this potential crisis was averted when Gingilipho publically declared that the Astrasi Empire would not fight a needless war against a former ally, regardless of how aggressive the Easterlings came to be. An agreement was reached to divide the Tauredain into two factions: the Northern Tauredain, loyal to Gingilipho and the Astrasi Empire. And the Southern Tauredain, loyal to minecraft_forevr.

The Second Astrasi Golden Age

After an Era of tension with good and evil factions alike the Empire settled its differences. The unconflicted peace gave way to the Empire to economically grow stronger than it had ever been since the first golden age. After some time of economical and military gro

Map of the Second Astrasi Golden Age

wth it once again moved against the severely weakened Gondor that still held its claim on Umbar. An organization of Assassins named the Lions Guild was formed under Moredain King Aglarion_II. The goal of the Guild was to force the Gondorians under King Tarixxiv into giving up Umbar by assassinating key Gondorian figures. Against all expectations Gondor remained idle even when dozens of 

Gondorian laid dead and looted on their marble floors.. Due to Gondor not responding to the Astrasi's actions at all the Empire annexed the island Tolfalas to get the King's attention, again Gondor remained silent.. Not long after the Empire also received the Northern and Gondorian part of the Mouths of the Anduin, again, Gondor remained silent.. Gondor holds on to its now extremely weak claim on Umbar, but after these events the Empire stopped recognizing their claim on Umbar and sees it as Absolute Imperial Territory while having gained Tolfalas and the northern half of the Mouths of the Anduin.

The Northern Tauredain Leader Mr_Manveru generously gifted the Waypoints Actun-Kaah and Pixan-Kaah to the Southern Tauredain as sign of goodwill during this period. In the meanwhile the Limwaith reappeared for the first time in centuries and joined the Empire, adding the mangroves to the Imperial territory. The Faction of Khand was also recognised in this time and so received the Deserts of Khand formerly owned by the Empire.

The Empire remains unopposed.

Factions and players in the Empire

The current factions the Empire are:

- Near Harad, The main faction of the Empire, home to the Near Haradrim.

- The Moredain, the ancient men from the Savannah's.

- The Half-Trolls, the giant Troll-men from Pertorogwaith.

- Umbar, the Corsairs and Black Numenorians of Umbar.

- The Astrasi Tauredain, meaning only those who are loyal to the Empire. They inhabit the Northern Jungle.

The Near Harad members are:

- Serpent-Empress shamiir, Empress of the Astrasi Empire.

- Serpentlord stevethebuffalo

- Vizier Herodain

- Vizier cpt_butterpants

- ekans2012

- EnderProphet

- VeryDarkDino

- Ar_Korthon

- ZombieBanner

- Comrade_Squealer

- Mattce_007

- woow262

- Dr_Roach

- EmeraldCake77

- modsognir62

- SharksBane

- Jty3

- Carpal_Tunnel

- Argentaviss

- Torcher

- _P1z4m4n_

- -TheHumanMan

- Eriol

- Clonehex

- ComanderWolfe

- RoyalDandy

- Cubodude

- Celestial_Gold

- rossadon

- RoisMamine

- Iwantchicken

- Dronewolf

- peperonigamez

- MAXIMOWY

- UltraViggo

- MandatoryPeanut

The Moredain members are:

- Aglarion_II the Black Numenorean, Ruler of all Moredain, and Viper to The Astrasi Empire.

- Sterrieperrie99 Second in Command of Aglarion and the Moredain Kingdom.

- Gyldencat Chieftain of the Southern Regions.

- KillieMiner Chieftain of the Northern Regions.

- Sir_Pandahead Warchief of the Moredain.

- Cow232 Chief-Slaver of the Moredain.

- Endershroom Chief-Architect of the Moredain.

- Smeagol9

- CaptainSwampfoot

The Half-Troll members are:

- Moon_Planet, King of the Half-Trolls

- ScoobieDoobies

The Umbar members are:

- King Kvesir, Viperlord of Umbar.

- King Dolgukhor, Viperlord of Umbar.

- Steward Aglarion_II. (Black Numenorean King of the Moredain)

The Astrasi Tauredain members are:

- Mr_Manveru, Chieftain of the Astrasi-Tauredain, Viper-lord of the northern parts of the jungle.

- Swagcrafter007

- Ailinion