Qarshid Empire (KdM Map Game)

The Qarshid Empire was an Empire established following the collapse of the Second Daevite Empire, although wouldn't form officially until Azarkh Timur's Testimony in 1370. The nation would become one of the primary successor states to the afformed Daevite state, although after the death of Timur in 1406 the Empire would stagnate, declining in power before what remained of the Qarshid state would be conquered by Emperor Tulaani of the restored Daevite Empire.

History
In the 1360s, a Persian-Mongolian warlord named Timur al-Qars'hi would rise through the ranks of Persian aristocracy, establishing a myriad of localized alliances with Afghan and Farsi tribes and emroiling himself fully in the politics of the region. According to written sources, Timur envisioned himself as the great restorer of the Mongol Empire, and believed himself to be the rightful heir to Temujin Khan. Due to the degenerative period of the Daevite state, Timur would find himself supported by Daevite and Tuvan warlords that had migrated in Persia nearly a century earlier. With this support, by 1370, Timur would using the decline status of the Ilkhanate to his advantage by declaring the Qarshid Empire during his Testimony and initiating one of the greatest military campaigns of the late Middle Ages.

During Timur's early life, he had grown up in an Arzhamic environment from a young age. These religious influences would guide Timur to fashion his kingdom after an Azarkhate, instituting Zharia law under the Xunni school. Timur was an active Arzhamite, and much of the motivation for his military campaigns could be targetted towards the religious landscape that had ensued following the collapse of the Askari Azarkhate. The power-struggle between warlords in the region would ultimately decide the direction of which Arzham would be lead after having reached it's peak nearly five centuries earlier under the Hassannid dynasty.

After establishing the Qarshid Empire, Timur's infamous campaign would see rapid military expansion across much of Persia, becoming famous for his conquests of Parashawar, Kabul, Kandahar, Ghaffari, and Wadh, before conquering the Sinkhara Azarkhate that had existed in phases since the fall of the Hassanid Azarkhate. Following Timur's conquest of Sinkhara in 1374, he would declare himself Aesuit of Arzham, with his control over the holy cities emphasized further.

From 1375 to 1378, the Qarshid Empire would conquer the Keqi Khanate, Khorasan, Hormuz Azarkhate, Aenastan and Kandri, although would ultimately fail in occupying the latter due to mountainous terrain. During this time, the Urdek Khanate would become a tributary state of the Empire. Timur's goal for restoring the Mongolian Empire has been held in deep inclination that conquering the Indian peninsula would be vital to achieving his true goals. The Qarshid Empire makes another attempt at India. In 1380, they managed to conquer Kandri and Chouda, though suffering heavy losses due to the afformentioned mountainous terrain. Meanwhile, Timur personally led the Qarshids to take Turzmesistan and Khaledistan, with Saka, Luristan, and Mazandaran would fall shortly after. Timur would go onto invade Georgia and the Ahuric Empire, determined to reach Anatolia much like Bulijin Khatun. Upon hearing the Urdeks were housing the last Great Khans, Timur would send a raiding party to take them himself. After the fall of Bulibaliq to Qarshid forces, and the flight of the Great Khans, their whereabouts slowly disappeared along with their people, they moved to an unknown location around the Caucasus (probably south) after landing in the Golden Horde. Though, Dogar Khan, with his Sword of the East brought refugees south into OTL Azerbaijan (Orientia). Taihou Khatun, with her portable cannon, also followed sooner after. Both the Great Khans disappeared into legend, as that is how their whereabouts grew unknown.

The Qarshid Empire would conquer Georgia in 1392, defeating their armies and later going on conquer the region of Mesopotamia from the Ahuric Empire. In 1406, the Kingdom of Chaldea would surrender to the Qarshid Empire, gaining all of their territory in the south and establishing a trade network with Yin-Tsu. However, the rapid expansion of the Qarshid Empire would lead to the formation of the State of Arashena, ruled initially my a number of rogue military generals rebelling against the Empire in pursuit of capitalizing on Timur's expansion furthermore. This would lead to the western regions of the Empire being cut off from their territories in the former Chaldea. During the Battle of Alagadda in 1405, Timur would be killed by his own military general, leading to the Ahuric Empire and Isetium to take advantage of Timur's death by re-claiming lost territory. Timur would be succeeded by his eldest son, Tamasp, although Tamasp was not his father and would ultimately fail in a variety of counter-offensives in hopes of restoring their short-lived power. After years of conflict, the state of Arashena finally broke the Qarshid resistance and take over the Mesopotamian region, ending the war and any hopes of Qarshid dreams of western expansion. The Ahuric Empire continue their conquests, clearing out the remaining Qarshids in the Mesopotamian region and focusing heavily on the Hormuzian assault.

The Ahuric Empire didn't attempt to defeat the Qarshids or take their mountain cities, as their armies inexperienced to fight the Qarshids on their home turf. The Ahuric navy focused instead on raiding the Persian cities on the Indian ocean, razing large portions of Lahari and Patalena. The Ahuric armies marched on the coast of the Gulf, capturing Kithena, Aan and Elam. Peace was made at last between Qarshid Azarkh Tamasp and the Ahuric Emperor, with Muscat becoming an essential port along the Naval Silk Road and trade declining for the Qarshid Empire. A year later, an informal peace is made between the Qarshids and Isetians. Tamasp would abdicate the throne shortly after these loses, likely due to developing dementia. His brother, Xhahruhk, would succeed his reign in 1437.

Much of Persian history during the reign of Xhahruhk and later his son, Al-Qasim, was ultimately discarded due to the Qarshid dynasty adopting a more conservative branch of Arzham, and as a result conceived themselves to be the final empire before the return of Arzhang, discarding all historical data in the process of accepting this belief. Xhahruhk would die in 1461, being succeeded by his son Al-Qasim.

Upon the death of Azarkh Al-Qasim in 1495, the Qarshid Empire's stability would reach a breaking point, with numerous royal and aristocratic factions seeking to empower themselves, and with the Al-Qasim's successor, Azarkh Kharsis, being much weaker than his father, the stage was set for the collapse of the empire. A war with Arashena had found Qarshid's new borders pushed back to roughly around Hecatur, suffering the loss of the Urdek Khanate as a vassal state in doing so. The Qarshid Empire was partitioned into several Arzhakhates and Amirates between Kharsis' and Al-Qasim's lineal heirs and prominent nobles in the region.

Elsewhere, Empress Tulaani of the restored Daevite Empire decided that she would ensure her position in power remains by conquering the rump state of the Qarshid Empire, later going on to conquer Lakhani, Khorasan, and Urdek Khanate. The once mighty Qarshid Empire was now nothing more than a footnote in history.