Cortryn was a militaristic duchy of the post-Shoon Imperium period that sought to attain imperial glory between the 5th–8th centuries DR.[1]
Geography[]
Cortryn controlled a wide area of land east of Lake Esmel, ranging from the Troll Mountains in the north to the Tejarn Hills in the south. Eshpurta was its northernmost city.[2][1]
History[]
The northern frontier of Calimshan was long known as the Ralamnish Ridings, as part of the greater Calishar Emirates. As the Emirate of Amin developed on the western coast, the interior region was left mostly unsettled. The kingdom of Valashar was founded in 361 DR[note 1] by Lord Ashar Tornamn of Tethyr, who attempted an ambitious campaign of conquest and colonization. This resulted in the disastrous war with Cormyr in 376 DR, his own execution, and the abandonment of the realm.[3][2]
Following the dissolution of the Shoon Imperium in 450 DR, Cortryn was founded on the former lands of Valashar in the Year of Faltering Fires, 491 DR, resettled by people from Tethyr and Calimshan led by the noble Kadar el Aktorral. Kadar claimed an obscure imperial title that gave him the right to the land, and marched with an army of hired mercenaries. The new duchy took control of a wide swathe of land stretching from the Troll Mountains to the Tejarn Hills, including the brutal conquest of the halfling realm of Meiritin.[2][1][4]
The expansionist realm came into conflict with Amn in 520 DR, and King Imnel Torlath I died in battle with the forces of Cortryn.[5]
After decades of abuse and enslavement by the domineering rulership of Cortryn, Bellabar Huntinghorn of Meiritin led an exodus of halflings away in the Year of the Elk, 514 DR. They traveled far to the north and settled around Secomber with their kin, then joined with the realm of Phalorm. The remaining halflings of Meiritin mostly abandoned the province in 523 DR, leaving it empty.[1][4][6][7]
At some point, the ruling lord Bevedaur went on a serpent hunt in the swamps at the mouth of the Winding Water, the future site of Lathtarl's Lantern. His party was attacked by an army of lizardfolk and the whole company wiped out.[8]
Cortryn was overtaken in 731 DR by the Ring of Eyes, a cabal of five beholders and their minions. The ruling family of Cortryn was destroyed and lands conquered, and the beholders waged an ongoing war against the elves of Shilmista and King Strohm III of Tethyr. This lasted until the Year of Lost Wayfarers, 757 DR when the mage Tashara of the Seven Skulls slew the beholders and shattered their domain.[1][9][10][11]
The former realm was finally absorbed by Amn in the Year of Drifting Stars, 760 DR, with Eshpurta going on to become Amn's eastern capital and major military base.[1][9]
A conspiracy to recreate Cortryn emerged in 1370 DR, organized by the Knights of the Shield. They sought to restore the old monarchy of Amn via the installation of Pehllus Tanislove, and return Meiritin and Cortryn as independent realms once more. Under this scheme, the rebellious city of Riatavin would become the seat of the duchy with Mundal Krimmevol as leader.[12]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The chronology around the founding of Valashar, Ashar's March, the war with Cormyr, the forging of Ilbratha, and associated events is rather confused, with various sources giving no less than three different dates, twenty to forty years apart. That is, Lands of Intrigue places these events over 321–336 DR; Empires of the Shining Sea and Sea of Fallen Stars choose 361–376 DR. The Grand History of the Realms uses a mixture of both dating schemes and also introduces 356 DR as another key date. These errors have been attributed by author Steven E. Schend as confusion between Cormyr Reckoning and Dale Reckoning in his works, and by George Krashos as a missed editorial deadline for the fix in the Grand History, and Brian R. James says the 356 date in Grand History is an unexplained error, all as discussed here. This article adopts the agreed 361–376 DR date, which is supported by all associated lore.
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 21. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 20. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 30. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), pp. 88–91. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 74. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (November 1998). Demihuman Deities. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 164. ISBN 0-7869-1239-1.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 138. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ Ed Greenwood (1994). Volo's Guide to the Sword Coast. (TSR, Inc), p. 49. ISBN 1-5607-6940-1.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 101. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (August 1997). “Book Two: Amn”. In Roger E. Moore ed. Lands of Intrigue (TSR, Inc.), p. 31. ISBN 0-7869-0697-9.
- ↑ Eric L. Boyd (July/August 1998). “Sleep of Ages”. In Christopher Perkins ed. Dungeon #69 (Wizards of the Coast) (69)., p. 69.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend, Sean K. Reynolds and Eric L. Boyd (June 2000). Cloak & Dagger. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 19. ISBN 0-7869-1627-3.