Who was he? - Qīpshakhūghul Pashty-ā
A sculpture of the Gūdyam praying on his throne.
[ID: A man with a bushy beard and turban praying with upside-down open hands, cross legged on top of a grand pillow inscribed with the Pachti character "yatsām" /.End ID]
The End of the Tallakhavi
As the sun set on the great Idan Khogekhti, the various Imuret peoples banded together in revolt against the poor administration and food shortages caused by the rule of the Bekh of Imu, a Jammub woman adherent to her local faith, unpopular with the Imuret. The great Khogen eventually gave into the demands of the people, replacing her with a different Qisim person who was an adherent of the Imuret faith (an early form of Ridume). Despite this, the entire realm suffered from instability and infighting under the weak Khogen, only being 13 years old at the time of his rule. The various Bekhtava eventually rallied together to dissolve the realm of their lord, overwhelmingly winning.
After the dissolution in 564 Pestaran, the Bekh of Imu reigned over most of the Imu basin before being reformed into one of the many emergent tribal polities (Tallakhavi) that dominated the region. Imu became Pashtek, and was one of the most prosperous and stable Tallakhavi, along with Qisim, Yē, and Aya. Outside of these realms, the political climate was much less stagnant, and saw the rise of many different clans over the period, known in Imuology as the 5 Tribes period. In 856 Pestaran, Qīpshakhūghul was born as Yanerkand, heir of Pashtek, coinciding with the beginning of the first Pashtek-Qisim war, which was lost upon his father's death. He would assume the Tallakh of Pashtek Talla at the age of 16, renaming himself to Qīpsha Pashtek-a Tallakh.
The Gūdyam
Qīpshakhūghul would invent a new philosophical and religious concept during his rule: the Gūdyam (Great Diam). It was a position of power higher than even the Khogen of Idan societies- at least according to the Imurets of the time. In order to fully understand what this title meant in 6th century Pest. Tarunese society, one has to delve into the etymology of the word itself.
The word Dyam comes from the Andegan Diam, itself descended from an Idano-Imuret word meaning "clear, pure (referring to bodies of water)". The first application of the word Diam in Andegan society as a term for a ruler was with an unnamed king of the Andegan sea only referred to in surviving documents as "agha diam", or "purest leader". While one may recognize the word "agha" as a suffix on the names of various scholars, philosophers, etc., the word originally was a title for rulers of political polities, until its supplanting by the word Diam.
Diam first came to be used as a title by Mrasaghibi in 632 Pestaran, a ruler of the Andega heartland, whose citizens lauded her as a righteous, upright, and just king. It henceforth was a title for those rulers who wanted to appear as Mrasaghibi was. Gradually, over many centuries, the title arbitrated until it was basically a regular term for any "emperor". Still, at the time of Qīpshakhūghul's ascension to to the Tallakh, this title was more or less significant in and around Andega, even holding influence in Jammub and Osoi lands, with some southern Imuret rulers adopting the title into the language as Dyam. Simply combining the title of Dyam with the prefix Gū- (meaning great, holy, good), Qīpshakhūghul created a new title of prominence for the Imuret leaders- but mostly himself.
the Cultural Renewal
After founding the Pashtoi Confederation in 698 Pestaran with Qīpshakhūghul as the Gūdyam, Qīpshakhūghul deigned to make a series of sweeping cultural, ritual, and religious reforms to Imuret society. The word Pashtoi is derived from Pashtek, the name of the Talla which Qīpshakhūghul was the Tallakh of before founding the confederation. Famously, Qīpshakhūghul's cultural policies suppressed traditions of other Imuret peoples, essentially enforcing the Pashtoi culture onto the entire confederation. With these reforms, a culture of formality, a hierarchical society, and a government promoted strain of the Ridume religion all became essential parts of the Imuret state.
Legacy of Rule
Generally, Qīpshakhūghul is seen by Imurets today as the man who founded modern Imuret culture, if not the man who forced Pashtoi culture on the rest of the Imu Basin. He is seen as a unifier, a just but firm leader, and a figure of great piety, however true any of these may be.
