The Erehnir Dynasty was the third of six dynasties of the Second Age of Calimshan.[1]
Organization[]
The leaders of the Erehnir Dynasty were bakkals, or high priests, of their people, like the in the dynasties before them.[1][2]
Base of Operations[]
The bakkal's palace was located in the city of Calimport.[3]
Activities[]
Beginning in −2375 DR, the Erehnirs reestablished the worship of genies in Calimshan[1][2][4] and revered those elemental beings exclusively, even though genies were incapable of granting divine magic.[1] (Enough time had passed since the Calim Empire and the enslavement of the Calishite people for the oppression of the genies to have been forgotten.)[1]
Correspondingly, the architecture, fashion, and fine arts of the day began to reflect this worship in the inclusion of genie imagery, and this dynasty—along with the Vahlen Dynasty that succeeded it—is remembered for its support of the arts and for its construction of many monuments and temples. Together, the Erehnir and Vahlen dynasties built over 200 temples and shrines. Many such temples were for the worship of genies, and many of these were located in the Calim Desert near some of the battles between humans and genies long ago. It was believed that being at such sites would increase the chances of their prayers being heard. Many of the monuments of the Erehnir Dynasty survived well into the late 14th century DR, though the majority of them were buried under the desert sands.[1]
The most famous of the monuments still surviving was perhaps the Eight Erehnirs in the city of Volothamp. The Eight Erehnirs were eight carvings in the cliff walls of one of the Erehnir bakkals, Pasha Nakkar IV. Each carving was a different representation of the dynastic ruler.[1][5]
Notable Members[]
- Pasha Nakkar el Erehnir IV, the fifth bakkal of the dynasty, whose image was memorialized in the Eight Erehnirs.[5]
History[]
The Erehnirs came to power in −2381 DR, the same year that three beholder colony ships crashed into the Alimir Mountains.[1][2][6] After the beholders had been defeated,[2][6] the last bakkal of the currently ruling Tavihr Dynasty held a victory celebration.[1][2] During this celebration, the bakkal and his twelve heirs were all simultaneously assassinated,[1] when the entire palace was set ablaze by the assassins.[3][6] The first Erehnir ruler then took the throne.[1][2][6]
Around the year −2280 DR, a decade-long period of rebuilding began in the city of Calimport, known as the Erehnir Restoration. During this period, many areas of the city destroyed by guild wars were rebuilt with artistic and religious flair, including murals upon the walls in two of Calimport's western neighborhoods that were still visible by the 14th century.[3][7]
The dynasty ended in −2100 DR, when the Vahlen Dynasty came to power.[1]
Trivia[]
Erehnir Sabban in Faiths Ward of Calimport was named for this dynasty and included many statues embedded in the brick sabban walls, which were carved in 911 DR in honor of the Erehnir bakkals.[8]
Appendix[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 40. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Steven E. Schend (October 1998). Calimport. (TSR, Inc), p. 14. ISBN 0-7869-1238-3.
- ↑ Richard Baker, Ed Bonny, Travis Stout (February 2005). Lost Empires of Faerûn. Edited by Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 108. ISBN 0-7869-3654-1.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Steven E. Schend, Dale Donovan (September 1998). Empires of the Shining Sea. Edited by Julia Martin. (TSR, Inc.), p. 120. ISBN 0-7869-1237-5.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Brian R. James, Ed Greenwood (September 2007). The Grand History of the Realms. Edited by Kim Mohan, Penny Williams. (Wizards of the Coast), p. 31. 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. 33. ISBN 978-0-7869-4731-7.
- ↑ Steven E. Schend (October 1998). Calimport. (TSR, Inc), pp. 32–33. ISBN 0-7869-1238-3.