Lore of Ispar - The Empire of Roulea

The sounds of parchment unrolling and quills clicking in inkwells filled the Library of Tirethas. At least four dozen scholars from all over the Ironsea were poring over scrolls from the library's collection of thousands.

The somber atmosphere was suddenly shattered by the sound of a dozen scroll cases bounding across the time worn marble. The source of this interruption was a young page who had clearly tried to carry more scrolls than his thin arms could bear. Now he looked like he wished to vanish into thin air.

One of the library's scribes came to the page's aid, softly clucking like a chicken with its beak in cotton.

"Careful now, you do not want to damage the collection of ages. You know the Rouleans worked hundreds of years before the Gharu'ndim even came to this place to build such a collection. I do not think the ghosts of the scholars would be too pleased to find their works mishandled", he said in a voice just above a whisper.

The young page sheepishly nodded, as he collected the scrolls from the floor.

"These scrolls are still readable due to the Roulean foresight to create a common language and standard units of time and distance", the scribe continued to say as he lead the page through the stacks of scrolls and past ancient tablets of stone.

"Here are the scrolls you requested, m'lord", said the scribe, as he and the young page delivered the scrolls to a visiting scholar whose white chiton showed the trim of Roulean nobility.

"No need to be ashamed Nayt al-Yad. In time you will know all the scrolls within these walls and attain the title of scribe," said the scribe to the young lad as they walked. "Till then, just carry fewer scrolls."

The Distant Past

The Rouleans were one of the first empires to develop writing, a calendar, and, most importantly, navigation. Sailing around the Ironsea they established many of the trade routes, and the trading language, still in use to this day. The Rouleans were considered an educated people. Every ship captain and merchant trader was required to submit a log of their travels annually to the city of Tirethas, lest they face harsh taxes. Twas during this time that the scholar Archephoros of Tirethas wrote the Treatises. The Treatises is still considered one of the foremost writings of Ispar. Though over 2000 years old, the wisdom found therein has built the foundation of many kingdoms.

In time the wealth gathered by the Rouleans made them a lazy people, keen on pleasure. The hedonistic days of the Empire began. Arenas were built where man fought against beasts, or other men, for the entertainment of the populace. The popularity of these "gladiator sports" led to the creation of one of the wonders of Ispar, the Colluseum, which was so huge, legend has it, that mock water battles were fought there with 100 gladiators on a side.

Finally, from the desert of Naqut, nomads came, led by Malik Rakhil al-Khur. They laid waste to much of the Roulean Empire, absorbing half of its land. It was during the siege of Tirethas that the invasion ended, and the decline of Roulea began. With the loss of Tirethas, territory, many overland trade routes, and countless Roulean citizens, the Empire would never recover.

The Rouleans withdrew from outside contact, adopting a closed door policy. Though still maintaining trade relations with many countries, the Empire's influence has been in a steady decline.

The Present

Today the Roulean Empire still sails its merchant ships from its port cities, but the cultural influence it once exerted over the kingdoms and empires around the Ironsea is gone. The city of Tirethas is still visited by many scholars and remains the seat of lore in Ispar.

(Roulea seems to be a cross between Earth's Roman and Egyptian empires. The Library of Alexandria, famed in its time for being the repository of knowledge of both the Greeks and Egyptians, is surely the basis for Tirethas. The fact that Roulea invented a calendar, and bult arenas points to the Roman empire.)