Naram-Sin Azulpolassar
| Naram-Sin Azulpolassar | |
| Full name | Naram-Sin Azulpolassar |
|---|---|
| AKA | Praetor Naram-Sin I of The Hexarchy |
| Physical information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Hair color and style | Blonde hair |
| Eye color | Ice Blue |
| Skin color | Light |
| Other |
Issue: none (unmarried) |
| Biographical information | |
| Father |
Sargon Azulpolassar (Praetor of the Hexarchy) |
| Mother | Mako Himeji |
| Date of birth | 1716 AN |
| Place of birth | Azul'an, Arumen |
| Residence(s) | The Praetor's Palace, Marduk |
| Nationality | The Hexarchy |
| Allegiance(s) | The Hexarchy |
| Occupation | Praetor (1745-) |
Naram-Sin Dummu-Gilgamesh Azulpolassar, or Naram-Sin Azulpolassar, is the second son of the four children of Praetor Sargon Azulpolassar of The Hexarchy, by his wife Mako Himeji, a Ralgonese socialite from Kobol. Nram-Sin is also the grandson of Gilgamesh II, and a scion of the House of Arumen. He is the younger brother of Sargon Azulpolassar II, who was previously Praetor Sargon I's heir-presumptive (Ibila in the local custom). Sargon II maintained that honor as part of subsequent arrangements. The Praetor is 35 years old. The fourth Praetor of the Hexarchy, he has reigned for 6 years as of 1751.
Like his father and older brother, Naram-Sin was sent to study abroad, both in the Imperial Federation and elsewhere. He returned to the Hexarchy sometime later to take high-level posts. While Naram-Sin was never made Ibila, he did have his turn in high offices, his being in New South Caputia for a few years before retuning to Marduk. His career path then took him into the foreign service, as he did not expect to ever become Praetor. He subsequently rose through the ranks due to a combination of position and merit, and came to represent New South Caputia to the Council as a non-voting representative by 1743 AN.
Unexpectedly, Sargon II, the heir-presumptive, did not accept the Praetorship when Praetor Sargon Azulpolassar passed away suddenly at the age of 74 in the final days of 1744 AN. Instead, Sargon II arranged to provisionally continue as Ibila and conceded the election to Naram-Sin, who was considerably younger and nearly as close to the Council, as opposed to their other two brothers, who had already faded into political obscurity by this time. This was reflective of the rest of the Azulpolasser family. The country was still recovering from the prolonged aftermath of Lysstyrer's catastrophic loss, and the stagnation and frequent economic depressions lasted for over three decades. Worse still, the Praetor's own children were largely disinterested in politics (or largely incompetent), with the more competent of his relatives wisely not wishing to begin their own prospective reigns as Praetor during an active period of decline in the capital.
The Praetor's early reign would pass largely without incident, although political and military prestige would not recover to its peak at the beginning of his predecessor's reign. In addition, the Praetor contracted a serious illness early in his reign.
Reign
Regionalization of Power
The Praetor's reign would almost immediately see power slowly regionalizing again in favor of the southern realms to the pre-Praetorian period under Praetor Gilgamesh I. While the Hexarchy continued to experience explosive population growth during this time, the northern reaches of the country experienced little benefit, as many surplus young people made their way south for better economic opportunities. With forces from Cakaristan in Karnak and the Imperial Federation slowly returning to a presence in southern Eridu, Kanaloa, Eventide Islands, and the rest of the country's southeast, central military power was increasingly restricted to the interior and the largely listless north.
Unfortunately for Naram-Sin, his council spent much of their time wrapped up in internal disagreements, stunting the country's expansion completely by 1740 AN. This council was further consumed by regional interests, and largely favored southern interests due to the lopsided power dynamic resulting in only one member from northern territory. By 1750 AN, the Council's meetings was rarely attended in-person by said regional leaders, who instead either elected their councillor (if controlled by a bloc) or appointed a proxy (usually a member of their own family). This led to a general apathy within the Council.
The country's lopsided economic situation consequently continued apace throughout this time. While there were considerable population gains in the northern cities, there was little economic benefit as affluent people kept relocating south in search of ever greater opportunities, thanks to investments in the southwest from Cakaristan and the southeast by the Imperial Federation.
National Stagnation
The bad news continued for the Praetor, as early into his reign he was beset by a litany of naturally occurring health issues. Although congenital disorders were suspected that manifested in his middle age, it is also possible that the Praetor had contracted some rare disease from his many tours of the country's less developed, mostly forgotten interior regions. In either case, the public was not kept well-informed on the Praetor's condition -- only that it continued to worsen over time.
The Praetor spent his entire reign unmarried and childless, and thus produced no direct heirs of his own (at least, no legitimate ones). While rumors abounded that he had homosexual leanings, these were repeatedly rebuffed by the Praetor's own public statements. As he had not expected to become Praetor, he did not pursue romantic relationships with any true degree of seriousness. By the time romantic matters were a pressing issue he could otherwise afford to pursue, he had already fallen seriously ill and the matter of natural children became an impossibility. While he wished to solidify his elder brother Sargon II's position as Ibila (heir) in 1750 AN, this was no longer possible either, as his elder brother was already nearing his 50th birthday and thus ill-suited for the prolonged, stable Praetorship desperately needed by the country.
It was widely expected that the Praetor's reign would not last long past 1755 AN, or 1760 AN if he were a lucky man. This was due in large part to the constant stress of rule, the Praetor's long illness, and the resulting precarious position as he continued to balance increasingly fragile internal peace within the country.
Given the many troubles hanging over the sickly Praetor, it was fortunate that his tenure would still pass with a watchful peace, as no further territorial decline plagued his reign (although this was only narrowly averted continuously throughout his embattled reign). Given the problems encountered through finding a suitable heir to the Praetor's seat, it was thus that it was arranged that the Hexarchy would become an elective monarchy, with the new Praetor to be chosen by the Council of Six. This was to prevent prospective civil wars should the Praetor die without any competent heirs, or in the event of multiple claimants battling for military supremacy without the Council's ability to intervene and resolve the matter through entirely political means.
