Province: Combrogon
Traveller's Log:
North and west goes the traveller, towards the setting sun and into Combrogon. Combrogon is a land which differs in form as much as the flowers which burst from the soils in spring. In the south is a realm of mountains and forest, of terrain rugged as men who inhabit it, where winter snows land upon the hills like flocks of ice born birds, where magic haunts the hollows of trees and the gods smirk at men from within their watery realms. A land where one island, Mona, is known far and wide, where blood drips from the leaves and women, clad in shawls of night black cloth, scream up to the heavens in rage. This is the dark Combrogon, the Combrogon of the Ganganoi, the Dekeangloi and hammer wielding Ordouikes. To the north, in light Combrogen, among fields which roll like gentle waves, where ivy clad oaks stand guard against with the passing of the seasons, where ancient rivers roll into the ocean and their waters sail on to Iuverion, live others; the quiet Kornovoioi and, bowing their heads to their Brigantes overlords who rule this area, the recluse Karuetoioi and Setantoioi. In Combrogon the traveller will find no great towns, no great works to amaze the eyes. Dark Combrogon boasts no imperious state, although the Ordouikes are without doubt the dominant peoples, and even in light Combrogon, where the Brigantes dominate, it is hard to identify the trappings of power. Instead, Combrogon is home to one of the great sanctuaries of the gods. On Mona they assemble, the brooding, vapid, blessed, victory bringing, vengeful, benign gods, and gaze with pleasure at the sights they see before them.
Geography
Combrogon roughly equates to the modern regions of north Wales and Anglesey, Cheshire, Manchester, Merseyside, Lancashire and Cumbria. It is a land of varied geography. The core of Wales is composed of mountainous and upland terrain, which although rich in mineral deposits, is ill suited to arable farming. Along the coast and borders of Wales are lowland regions which can be used to grow crops. The regions of Combrogon which correspond to what is today Cheshire, Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire are less dramatic; with fewer uplands and more spaces suitable for arable agriculture, especially around the Mersey valley. In the east the land rises to form the Pennine hills. In the north of Combrogon exists the mountainous Lake District, a region with very few low lying areas and almost totally unsuitable for arable farming. By virtue of being on the Atlantic coast, Combrogon enjoys warmer climates than its neighbouring region, Lagambrion, in the east; the warming Gulf Stream which flows in from the Atlantic providing a welcome source of heat. As with any region of northern Albion, Combrogon also enjoys a reliable rain supply, although there is increased rainfall in the mountainous regions. Within the low lying regions of Combrogon it is likely that much of the ancient forests had been cleared by the time of the Iron Age, however in the upland regions of Wales and Cumbria large forests no doubt existed, as they do today. The clearance of forests would also have affected the fauna of this region. In those regions with forests and less accessible terrain, populations of wolves, deer, boar and possibly even bear would have continued to exist. The lowland regions, with their open landscape, would have supported a greater population of smaller animals, in particular rodents and birds, and the small and medium sized carnivores which prey upon them. The coastline, lakes of Cumbria and River Mersey would also have provided the inhabitants of Combrogon with the opportunity to catch a variety of marine species.
The People, Society and Government
The people who inhabited Combrogon lived in societies which, based on the archaeological record, were not subject to the sort of radical change which occurred in the south east of the island. Within north Wales many of the settlements appear to have been first occupied in the middle Iron Age, although some were occupied in the early Iron Age, and continued to be occupied after the Roman conquest. Settlements in this region typically took on the form of a defended homestead. Some, such as examples from Castell Odo and Dinas Emrys, resembled the raths of southern Wales; a family sized settlement with enclosing earthwork and, occasionally, palisade. Others, such as an example from Bryn Eryr and many others from Anglesey, were enclosed by a rectilinear bank and ditch and have been interpreted as elite residences. Furthermore some, such as Bryn Y Castell, employed surrounding stone walls around a single hut, whilst another type of settlement tended to involve two houses which were associated with a nearby field system. In addition to this hilltop enclosures also existed in north Wales. Examples from Garn Boduan, Tre'r Ceiri and the Conwy Mountains have been found to contain sufficient numbers of stone walled huts to house 100 to 400 individuals. Typically these hill top enclosures were surrounded by stone walls although they occasionally made use of cliff faces instead.
The thin lowland strip which exists between the mountains and sea in north Wales was heavily settled during the Iron Age. Spindle whorls, excavations such as those at the site of Dinorben, and a lack of mulivallate enclosures (multivallation typically occurs in areas where cattle dominate the economy) in northern Wales indicate that sheep were the preferred livestock. Grain was also grown in the region, as evidenced by saddle querns from Dinorben and the Conwy Mountains. On the isle of Anglesey, known as Mona to the Romans, emmer and spelt were grown, and extensive pasture existed. Although the settlements described above fit well within this model of mixed agriculture, it is unclear (due to a lack of excavation) what role the hill top enclosures played; they may have served as permanent residences, as seasonal gathering points or, less likely, as refuges in times of strife. An additional mystery is at what point the druidic sanctuary on Mona developed. As with so many aspects of Iron Age religion it is hard to detect in the archaeological record. However the sanctuary appears to have been important across much of Britain and, from inferences by Caesar, on the continent as well.
In northern Combrogon there has been only limited study of the archaeological record. One of the reasons for this is that the region was heavily industrialised in the 18th and 19th centuries, thus destroying much of the evidence. What little has been studied shows that hillforts were occupied from the early Iron Age until about the 4th century BC, after which time they fell out of use; a pattern mirrored in the lands to the east of the Pennines. Enclosures also existed across the lowlands, although our knowledge of these is still limited. Across the whole of Combrogon neither iron currency bars nor coinage were adopted and what limited pottery was produced is usually crude and of limited use in establishing chronologies.
History
At the point at which Combrogon entered history, in Tacitus' Agricola and Ptolemy's Geographica, the region was inhabited by a number of tribes. In what is today Wales there existed the Dekeangloi, Ganganoi and, most powerful among them, the Ordouikes. To the north, in modern day Cheshire and the Mersey valley, lived the Kornouoioi, whilst in Cumbria were the Setantoioi and Caruetoio, clients of the Brigantes. Having been little exposed to the urbanising or social changes which the south eastern tribes had experienced, as a result of their proximity to Roman Gaul, the tribes of Combrogon lacked the centralised society and desire for Mediterranean goods which would have made them easy to incorporate into the empire. Instead, the Romans initially intended to leave this region and its tribes outside of their new British province.
This all changed, however, when the leader of the British resistance to Roman rule, Karatakos, having fled from his own people, the Katuuellanoi, rallied first the Silures, in Belerion, and then the Ordouikes. Having waged a successful guerrilla campaign against the Roman governor, Publius Ostorius Scapula, Karatakos decided to gamble his success on a set piece battle at Caer Caradoc in AD 50, enlisting the assistance of the Ordouikes. Although the forces of Karatakos enjoyed an advantageous position, atop a hillfort which had recently been refortified, the Romans succeeded in routing the Britons after fierce fighting and moderate losses. Despite the defeat, and later capture of Karatakos, the Ordouikes remained openly opposed to Rome, no doubt encouraged by the successes enjoyed by the Silures against legions in the south of Wales.
The continued aggression of the Ordouikes and Silures caused the Romans to launch a new campaign in AD 58 under the command of Quintus Veranius. By AD 59 the Romans had fought their way into the lands of the Ordouikes, this time under the command of the brutal and determined Suetonius Paullinus. Having overcome the resistance of the Ordouikes, Paullinus attacked the sacred isle of Mona, arguably the most important druidic centre in all of Alba. Confronting the Romans as they prepared their assault on the island was a terrifying site as "The enemy lined the shore in a dense armed mass. Among them were black robed women with dishevelled hair like the Furies, brandishing torches. Nearby stood the Druids, raising their hands to heaven and screaming dreadful curses." as Tacitus described it. Despite this blood chilling sight, the Romans stormed the sanctuary and, as Tacitus puts it, destroyed "the groves devoted to Mona's barbarous superstitions". The campaign of Paullinus, however, did not destroy the ability of the Ordouikes to defy Roman rule and in c.AD 70 they rebelled against Roman occupation and destroyed a Roman cavalry squadron. Between AD 74 and 77 Julius Frontinus campaigned against both the Ordouikes and Silures and, despite many setbacks, enjoyed enough success that the following year Julius Agricola was able to decisively defeat the Ordouikes. Tacitus reports that Agricola exterminated the Ordouikes, although this seems unlikely considering the rugged terrain of northern Wales and the decentralised nature of Ordouikes settlement.
By contrast, throughout this period, there is no mention of the other tribes of Combrogon opposing Rome. The Dekeangloi and Ganganoi may have been clients of the Ordouikes, and thus served alongside them, or they may have been like the Demetae to the south and offered no resistance to the Romans. Likewise the Kornouoioi appear to have offered no resistance and the Romans adapted their tribal capital into the new settlement of Virconium whilst stationing a legion at Deva (modern day Chester). Further north the history of Setantoioi and Caruetoio is bound up with that of the Brigantes, and it is impossible to know if they were one of the pro-Roman or anti-Roman factions which existed in the great northern kingdom.
Strategy
Although this province is not the most profitable it's rugged landscape makes it easy to defend (and hard conquer). The main virtue of this region, however, is the existence of the druidic sanctuary on Mona, possession of which provides a player will some powerful benefits...
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