Laksmanavati summary

[Kaiser Kirk]

Laksmanavati
Current Ruler :   Ramchandra Singa Dev (b1884)
Government :  1850s United Kingdom.
Government Model : Constitutional Monarchy.
Historical Departure Point(s) : 1554, 1700, 1751
Historical Countries : India, Bangladesh, Burma
Friendly Power(s) : Parthia, Byzantine, China, Thailand, Ethiopia, Rome
Hostile Powers(s) : Rajasthan, Deccan Sultanates

Current outlook : The old desires to keep the Deccans from unifying, and stoking passions in Rajasthan to lead to war Decca remain. The sudden expansion of many powers to occupy the minor states from the Swahili coast to the Phillipines in the North and Sunda islands in the South have considerably upset the Kaksmanavati state.

Military outlook : Primarily focused on it's land borders, where Rajasthan and the Deccan Sultanates concern them. The Eastern border with the Empire of Thailand is of less concern due to it's ruggedness and the Thai inability to fight a major war without being vulnerable to Chinese expansion.

Naval outlook: For five hundred years, traders from Laskmanavati have roamed as far as the Swahili coast, China, the Philippines, the Spice islands, the Sunda islands, and western Australia. The Deccan navy is their true adversary, and they maintain a cruiser force capable of countering it.

Laksmanavati is named for an idea, founded on a myth of a city since destroyed.  A National hero, Vijaya Sena, the second of the Sena Dynasty, formed the empire and in 1054 founded a capital city, Laksamavati. Vijaya's reign of 60 years ushered in a golden period for Laksamavati. A hub of trade, the stability brought by his army and fleet allowed the Empire to prosper. Art and literature blossomed, and it became far and wide, the name of the city becoming that of the land. The Empire flourished for 300 years, until in 1327 the last great invasion of the Chagatai Mongols swept as far as the Laksamavati Empire, drawn by the wealth. The Laksmanavati army was destroyed and the city sacked and burned.  When the Chagatai withdrew, the Delhi Sultanate invaded and created a puppet state, the Bengali Sultanate, and founded a new capital at Gaur.

This domination by Delhi continued until the Delhi Sultanate was defeated by the Mughal Empire in 1526. The Bengali Sultanate fell in 1529 after the battle of Gahgara. Sher Shah Suri captured the Mughal throne in 1538, and in 7 short years revitalized the Empire.  Among his achievements was restoring the grand trunk road from the Eastern boundary of Bengal to Kabul. After his death, a period of 10 years of struggle resulted in the restoration of the Mughal emperor.  In this period of unrest, Bengal rose in revolt, behind the banners of a minor noble family known as Deva.  The rebels seized Guar and proclaimed it their capital of the new Laksmanavati Kingdom.  In 1554, they formed a treaty with the Mughal Emperor Humayan, sending troops and tributes to help him to the throne, in return for a promise of independence.

Since 1555, the Deva Dynasty has led the Laksmanvati state in a period of prosperity.  When the Maratha Empire shattered the Mughals at the 1700 Battle of Satara, they tore Laksmanavati free. Reclaiming it's role as a rich state, central to the trade routes, it has prospered as a trading hub. At one time it's capital of Guar was the 5th largest city in the world and maintained contacts from the Swahili Coast to China and the state was called the 'Paradise of Nations' for it's vibrant trade and wealth.

The period of 1741-1751 saw six invasions by the Maratha empire which devastated Laksmanavati, killed nearly a half million, looted the nation and has left a scar on the national psyche. The Maratha defeat by Rajasthan in 1761 was met with celebration. The Kingdom has been recovering since then, aided by it's natural location.

The fertile lands of Northern India and east to Burma have long led it to battles with it's neighboring states. To the East there were three wars in 1824-1826, 1852-1853 and the final victory over the Konbaung dynasty in 1885 saw the complete conquest of Burma, and reaching the borders of the Siamese Empire.  To the west, the border with Rajasthan is reset with every minor war. The Sultanates find some cause of war every generation,

Laksmanavati has a large immigrant population both from trade partners and from the interior. The base population is a mixture of different peoples. The native Bengali tongue has many dialects, and the Empire has expanded to include other areas, adopting Parthian as the administrative and commercial language (oddly that part was historical), chosen so as not to favor one local language over the others.  The religions practiced are also a mix of all those found in India and Southeast Asia, with Hindi, Muslim, Buddhist being prominent, Zorastorian and Jainism are also common.