Kordillus Drakon, prince of the Ciriane tribes
The Ciriane, also known as the Cirean,[1] were an ancient and loosely defined tribe that flourished in the fertile crescent of what is now central Orlais, and thus the tribal ancestors of modern Orlesians.
History[]
The Ciriane date back millennia. They were contemporaries of other human tribes such as the Inghirsh, the Neromenians and the Alamarri, though they stayed mostly isolated from them, therefore remaining a strong, distinct people. After the Inghirsh were defeated by the Neromenians around -1595 Ancient,[2] many of the survivors were absorbed into the Ciriane tribes.[3]
In -203 Ancient, Ciriane forces made up a large part of the armies gathered by the Grey Wardens to fight the final battle of the First Blight, known as the Battle of the Silent Plains.[4] That same year, Brona of the Ciriane, who had married the leader of the northernmost Alamarri tribes to secure an alliance between their clans, gave birth to Andraste.[5] Andraste was then married to Maferath to form a unified Alamarri border from the Planasene, through the Fertile Crescent and the Bannorn. Eventually, Andraste waged war against the Tevinter Imperium. For betraying his wife to the Imperium, Maferath was given the lands of southern Thedas, which he divided between his three sons at the conclusion of the Exalted March in -165 Ancient.[6] The lands of the Ciriane went to his eldest son, Isorath, whom he tasked with building a nation to rival Tevinter.
While his adopted mother had been half-Ciriane, Isorath himself was Alamarri, and disliked on that account by the Ciriane tribes. To bolster his power and influence among the tribes, he married a local woman, Jeshavis, proud and well-connected. In -155 Ancient, in a moment known as the Grand Unification,[7] Isorath used that power to forcibly consolidate the scattered Ciriane tribes through sweeping changes in trade, forced relocations to break local allegiances, and the destruction of existing cities to make way for a new capital. Though power was united, cultures were less so.[8] Angered by the upheaval caused by the Grand Unification, Jeshavis plotted against her husband, inviting his brother Verald, who had barely escaped his own court with his life after the revelation of Maferath's betrayal, and setting them against one another. Verald killed Isorath and his descendants then married Jeshavis to grant his reign legitimacy. Jeshavis was no more happy under his rule than she had been under Isorath's; within a decade of their marriage, she had seeded rebellion against him, and was eventually named the first gyðja (female chieftain) of the unified Ciriane tribes, which she went on to rule for forty-two years.[1][9]
After Jeshavis' death, the Ciriane were ruled by a gothi (queen) chosen by the clans of Ciriane and Alamarri. In -36 Ancient, Castana, the daughter of a prominent Ciriane chieftain, was chosen as gothi thanks to the expertise of her Tevinter husband, Septimus Drakon, in cutthroat politics. Their son Kordillus was born soon after. He was raised knowing that his mother's throne would only be his if he had the strength to claim it. Starting at the age of sixteen, Kordillus launched military campaigns to unify the disparate cults of the Maker and the Ciriane tribes, with the support of his wife, Area Montlaures, the daughter of a lord of Val Chevin. By -3 Ancient, Kordillus has turned the squabbling clans into the empire of Orlais, of which he was named the first emperor.[10][11][12]
Culture[]
The rich Ciriane culture has largely disappeared,[3] though traces of it remain in contemporary Orlesian culture.[13] The oldest families of Orlais still trace their lineage back to Ciriane war chiefs.[14]
Language[]
The Ciriane language was still the primary language spoken in Orlais towards the end of the Ancient Age. At least two of the canticles of the Chant of Light were written in Ciriane around that period. The version of the Canticle of Threnodies attributed to Divine Justinia I was first written in Ciriane between -31 and -11 Ancient, though it is now believed to have been a translation of an older work of oral tradition–likely a song in Tevene.[15] The Canticle of Exaltations, written by then-prince Kordillus Drakon I in -12 Ancient, was also written in Ciriane. Its final draft is kept in a vault in the Grand Cathedral's archives.[16]
There are very few known words of Ciriane. "Oer Gyðja Jethvis" is the title of an account of Jeshavis, the first gyðja (female chieftain) of the unified Ciriane tribes of Orlais.[9] Gothi is another Ciriane title which means "queen."[11]
Beliefs[]
Before the advent of Andrastianism, the Ciriane had their own deities. Though not much is known about their gods, it seems that they shared some with other human tribes such as the Alamarri and the Avvar. For example, it is said that the ancient Alamarri and Ciriane people believed that the constellation Visus was the eye of the Lady of the Skies, which she had opened so that the light from her gaze could lead her people across the Frostback Mountains.[17] Some versions of the ancient Ciriane tale of Arrowwood also make mention of the Lady.[18]
Like many other human tribes, the Ciriane also had animist beliefs.[19] They believed that varghests were spirits made manifest in the world, hunting those who had wronged their own kin then dragging them in front of the gods to submit to their judgment,[20] while Arrowwood was said to be an archer who had traded his heart to the spirit of an oak grove to become the greatest archer in the world.[21]
Around -20 Ancient, Prince Kordillus Drakon I started military campaigns to stamp out lingering worship of the Ciriane deities.[12]
Politics[]
The Ciriane tribes were divided into myriads of clans, each with its own war chieftain and its grudges against other clans. Sometime after the Grand Unification of -155 Ancient, the Ciriane tribes unified under a gyðja, Jeshavis, who ruled for forty-two years. After her, the unified tribes were ruled by a gothi, chosen by the clans of Ciriane and Alamarri. Though bloodlines played a part in the selection process, strength seemed to be the primary criterion. The process grew bloodier and bloodier, until Kordillus Drakon, son of the gothi Castana, eventually united all the clans by the sword and formed the Orlesian Empire in -3 Ancient.[11][22]
Known Ciriane[]
- Area Montlaures – wife of Kordillus Drakon I
- Brona – mother of Andraste
- Castana – gothi of the Ciriane in -36 Ancient; mother of Kordillus Drakon I
- Jeshavis – the "Mother of Orlais"
- Kordillus Drakon I – founder of the empire of Orlais and of the Chantry; son of Castana
- Olessa of Montsimmard – a general in Drakon's armies; first Divine of the Chantry
Codex entries[]
Codex entry: Constellation: Visus- Codex entry: Council of Heralds
- Codex entry: Jeshavis, Mother of Orlais
- Codex entry: Not of Heroes: The Death of Diversity
- Codex entry: Not of Heroes: United in Hatred
- Codex entry: Varghest
