Dāryuš of the Suren
| Dāryuš of the Suren | |
|---|---|
| |
| 1st Surenšāh of the Suren Confederacy | |
| In office 1686 AN – 1694 AN | |
| Monarch | Himself |
| Prime Minister | Bānū Aspadanadoḵt |
| Preceded by | Position Established |
| Succeeded by | Mitradokht of Suren |
| Born | 1658 AN Arg-e Suren, Zjandaria |
| Died | 24.VII.1694 AN Port Tablot |
| Nationality |  Suren
|
| Political party | |
| Occupation | Surenšāh of the Suren Confederacy |
Dāryuš of the Suren, son of Lord Shahrukh, brother of Mitradokht. Sardar of the Division of Suren. Flag bearer & pentathlete with the Raspurid team at the Daocheng Micras Games. Participant in the rebellion against Raspur that presaged the Second Euran War. Exiled to the Zjandarian steppe at the conclusion of that conflict. Pledged to vengeance against Kalkul Sahib for the shaming of his sister in a forced marriage officiated over by the Khan in 1677.
Wedded to the Bānū Aspadanadoḵt, daughter of the Lady of Aspadana, in 1680 AN, in a fruitful union that produced two sets of twin daughters (born 1681 AN & 1683 AN respectively) and a son (born 1686 AN). As a token of the important role this dynastic marriage played in revitalising the fortunes of Azad Eura in the aftermath of the Second Euran War, as well as representing a token of the extent of his personal regard for her acumen, the Bānū Aspadanadoḵt swiftly became a trusted confidant, adviser, and latterly a de-facto Grand Vizier in all but name.
Proclaimed Surenšāh of the Suren Confederacy following the passing of the last Ostandar of the Suren, his father the Lord Shahrukh, in 1686 AN.
The character of Dāryuš was called into question by his decision to crucify the delegates of the Majles-e Suren on 13.X.1690 AN. His motives for ordering the extermination remained a state secret, and even the act of discussing the slain or the time in which they had sat together as delegates was proclaimed to be an act of treason which would be punished by the execution of the offender along with his extended family. The unfathomably extreme action had the inevitable consequence of casting the Surenšāh's relations with the khans and beys of his realm into doubt.
Desirous of improving his international standing the Surenšāh consented to the Fontainebleau Accords and took Suren into the Raspur Pact in 1692 AN. He subsequently followed up by lifting the last of the restrictions placed upon the Honourable Company and by organising his courtiers, harem and bodyguards, into the Nationalist & Humanist Party of Suren whilst sending out firmans to his vassals in the wider Confederacy instructing them that they were to do likewise with their own retainers. For this dedication he was subsequently acclaimed as Archon of the Surenid National Sector Party on 10.I.1694 AN. Engagement with the N&H would ultimately prove fatal for the Surenšāh, as his participation in the 1694 Humanist Convention (13.VII.1694 AN – 24.VII.1694 AN) would bring him into close proximity with a significant number of the scions of the House of Osman, many of whom still harboured grudges dating back to the Second Euran War.
It might be said that the Surenšāh perished miserably, blasted at close range with a fire-lance by Daniyal al-Osman. The duel, fought at Port Tablot on the night of 24.VII.1694, being directly occasioned by the Surenšāh's own foolhardy challenge, which saw Humanist factionalism suddenly mapped onto the longstanding Osman-Surenid vendetta.
The outcome was scandalous, certainly it occasioned the collapse of the coalition government in Hurmu and obliged Daniyal, the victor in the duel, to endure the indignities of an election where his decision to kill a man was a discussion point. As the discussion point in question however, the mortal consequences for Dāryuš of the Suren had proven to be more immediate. In spite of the best efforts of a team of medics provided by the Honourable Company, death, a consequence of blood-loss and trauma derived from the grievous wound delivered to his upper right-arm, had proven inexorable.
The void left by his demise had been swiftly filled however. His sister, Mitradokht, had been swiftly brought from Raspur to Surenshahr via a road convoy led by Alexios Melas, a Colonel of the Constancian Imperial Guard. Palace courtiers, officials, and potential claimants to the throne, were sufficiently overawed by the deployment of the Constancian Foreign Legion, and sufficiently terrified by the alternative prospect of a Zeedic takeover as to meekly acquiesce to the orderly transfer of power. The wives, concubines, and burgeoning brood of the late Surenšāh were confined to the gilded cage of the harem quarters of the Outer Palace, their fate only to be wondered at, whilst Mitradokht was installed upon the throne.
