Volume II: History — Chapter 3: The First Empire (Era of Flourishing)

"Verksaren united the clans not with the sword — he united them with law. The Imperial Code — the first bond that turned a people into a civilization." — From "The Chronicles of the First Empire"

Related sections: → see [Volume II, Ch.02, "Early Civilization"], → see [Volume II, Ch.04, "The Era of Crisis"], → see [Volume I, Ch.07, "History of Civilization"] Length: 35 pages Era: Era of Flourishing, −6,200 – −2,100 (4,100 years)

Introduction

The Era of Flourishing is the peak of the first chapter of Xha'Ruun civilization's history. Over four millennia the union begun by Verksaren I turned a network of Kharak city-states into the first planetary empire: with unified law, roads, metallurgy, seafaring, and science.

The era spans from the founding of the First Empire (−6,150) to its fall (−2,150) and opens more than a millennium before the Empire’s foundation — with the Code of Khar (≈−7,200), which prepared the legal ground. Within the era three phases stand out: formation and consolidation (−6,150 – −5,500), the Era of Great Discoveries (−5,500 – −4,000), and cultural flourishing with stagnation (−4,000 – −2,150).

3.1 Founding

−6,150 y.c. — a key date in the history of Théxar. Verksaren I, leader of the Thar Valley clan, united the scattered city-states under a single authority. Over two decades of strategically calculated campaigns he subdued the last independent enclaves and proclaimed the First Xha'Ruun Empire.

The Empire's territory at its founding — ~2.8 million km² within Kharak. By the end of the era, after the annexation of Rhuval, it covered two continents.

It is important to emphasize the nature of Verksaren's power: he united lands not only by military force but by a legal project. Already in the first years of his reign the Imperial Code was promulgated, offering the cities a common norm in place of divergent customs. It was law, not fear, that became the bond that held the Empire together for nine centuries.

3.1.1 Verksan Dynasty

The Verksan dynasty ruled the First Empire for nine centuries:

The dynasty's stability rested on a worked-out mechanism of succession: the high priest-heir underwent years of training in temple schools, and the transfer of power was recorded by the Imperial Council.

3.1.2 The Imperial Code

The first body of laws, created by Verksaren I. Originally 48 articles; 42 survive to the present day.

Principles of the Code:

1. Equal for equal — restoration of harm rather than vengeance (a softened form of talion);
2. Community responsibility for a crime committed by its member — collective suretyship;
3. Inviolability of envoys and merchants — the legal foundation of interregional trade;
4. Protection of the farmer from the arbitrariness of tax collectors;
5. The right of a slave to buy freedom and the freedom of slaves' children;
6. Freedom of religious cults — provided recognition of the imperial cult.

The Code of Khar (≈−7,200) was its direct predecessor; the Imperial Code systematized and extended this tradition, spreading a unified norm across all Kharak.

3.2 The Era of Great Discoveries

−5,500 — the beginning of the Era of Great Discoveries: a period of rapid development of astronomy, mathematics, and technology that defined the civilization's scientific foundation for millennia.

3.2.1 Technological Chronology

A note on copper: cold working of native copper began as early as the early civilization era (−9,200), but it was in −5,400 that mass smelting developed, making the metal accessible beyond elite consumption.

The era's key event — the first circumnavigation (−4,200), an expedition led by navigator Gharra-Vex, which proved the sphericity of Théxar (→ see [Volume I, Ch.28, "History of Exploration"]).

3.2.2 Settlement of Rhuval

−5,600 — the first permanent Xha'ri settlements on the continent of Rhuval. By −4,000 Rhuval became an integral part of the Empire, while retaining internal autonomy: local dynasties ruled their lands under the emperor's supreme authority.

The annexation of the second continent doubled the Empire's resource base and opened new trade routes, becoming one of the causes of the subsequent cultural flourishing.

3.3 Social Structure

3.3.1 The Imperial Hierarchy

The hierarchy was not rigid: a free farmer could rise into a guild, a guild master — into the nobility for merit. The social elevator worked through military service, temple schools, and merchant guilds.

3.3.2 Slavery

Slavery in the First Empire was restricted by the Imperial Code:

• A slave had the right to buy freedom (the accumulated sum was fixed);
• Inviolability of life — killing a slave was punished as killing a free person;
• Slaves' children were born free — slavery was not inherited;
• Term — debt slavery was limited to a maximum of ten years.

This model — "restricted slavery" — differed from harsher forms known in the history of other planets, and was later fully abolished in the Era of Unity (+1,500).

3.4 Cultural Flourishing

−4,500 – −3,000 — the Empire's cultural flourishing:

• Architecture: palaces and temples of basalt; monumental acoustic halls;
• Literature: poems about the deeds of Verksaren, the first chronicles;
• Science: six-base mathematics, astronomy (systematic observations of Serrin and Thel), medicine;
• Law: commentaries on the Imperial Code — the birth of the legal tradition.

The era's largest architectural monument — the Hall of the First (Council Hall) in Khar-Vexar, residence of the Imperial Council. Its acoustics, designed for collective singing, continued the tradition of resonator temples (→ see [Volume I, Ch.10, "Mythology and Religion"]).

3.5 End of the Era: Accumulation of Crisis

By −3,000 the Empire had reached its peak, but imbalances were accumulating within:

• Demographic pressure — overpopulation of Kharak with depleted agricultural resources;
• Bureaucratization — growth of the administrative apparatus;
• Regional autonomy of Rhuval — growing tension between center and periphery;
• Ecological footprint — large-scale deforestation and soil erosion.

The Empire's fall in −2,150 (ecocollapse combined with epidemic) is examined in detail in the next chapter. Here it is important to note: the Era of Flourishing ended not through external conquest but through the internal exhaustion of the resource model created at its founding.

Chapter Summary

1. The First Empire was founded −6,150 by Verksaren I.
2. The Imperial Code — the first empire-wide code of laws (42 of 48 articles survive).
3. The Verksan dynasty ruled for nine centuries.
4. The Era of Great Discoveries (−5,500) — metallurgy, wheel, plow, sail; the −4,200 circumnavigation proved Théxar's sphericity.
5. Rhuval was annexed by −4,000 with internal autonomy.
6. Restricted slavery (right of redemption, freedom of slaves' children) — a distinctive feature of the Empire.
7. The era ends with internal crisis and the Empire's fall (−2,150).