The chronology of the Uzdumalidan Empire has been a much-disputed issue among scholars for many years, but at this point there is a general consensus on the rough outlines and most of the continuing disagreements are on matters of terminology.  The conventional approach is to divide the imperial era as a whole into Early, Later, and Last Periods, some of which are further subdivided.  Most of these divisions are based on political changes, and there could be significant cultural continuity in large parts of the empire across many periods.

The Early Period

The Early Period is traditionally dated from the foundation of the city of Uzda.  It saw the rise of the Uzdans as a political force in a world of competing kingdoms and city-states, and the eventual conquest of most of these by the powerful and technologically advanced armies of Uzda.  It is generally subdivided into the Pre-Imperial, High (called by some "Early Middle") Imperial, and Middle Imperial periods.

The Pre-Imperial period (years 1-138 after the founding of Uzda) was a time when Uzda was merely one city-state among many, and its rulers were known as Kings rather than Emperors.  The traditional story of the foundation of the city credits King Yurghan I with bringing together the goatherds living in the foothills of the Tarhanian Mountains and convincing them that they'd be better off living in a city; though this is probably just a legend, archaeology has shown that Yurghan did exist, and the city was probably founded around his time (at least, there are no earlier kings whose names are attested).  It was not until after the year 100, however, that Uzda began to prosper and gain military superiority over its neighbors.  The development of air travel using balloons was almost certainly the key factor in this newfound military strength, and the abundant helium reserves to the south of Uzda were vital to the strength of the city.

The Uzdan armies, backed up by their fearsome helium-powered airships, soon overran all the other states in the immediate area, and with the collapse of the Kingdom of Mal in 138 King Inighar II of Uzda proclaimed himself Emperor of Uzda and Mal and a new political entity was formed: the Uzdumalian Empire.

The High Imperial period (138-362) was a time of great prosperity and expansionism for the empire.  The rapid acquisition of more and more territory, particularly during the long reign of the boy emperor Devon-Lars I (202-282), gave the Uzdumalians control over ever-greater resources, particularly the fertile Solta valley to the northwest and the sugar plantations of the Kreyinten Peninsula to the east.  The growing wealth of the empire spawned a golden age of culture and thought which included the work of Mueschler and the Artificer of Graves.

The High Imperial period came to an end in 362 with the death of Emperor Inighar V in the Battle of Palentar Creek, which marked an end to the expansion of the empire and the fixing of its northern border at the Sarpak River.  Since Inighar was only 19 years old at the time of his death and had no wife or children, a fierce struggle arose over the proper succession which was eventually won by an obscure cousin of Inighar named Drevis of Grabz, who took the throne and became Emperor Drevis I.  His accession marked the beginning of the Middle Imperial period (362-458), a time of slow but largely imperceptible decline for the empire under five emperors, all named Drevis.  The empire was no longer expanding, but it had not yet begun to contract.  Social instability began to set in as economic conditions worsened, and the period came to a close in 458 with the peasant insurrection known as the Reapers' Rebellion, when rioters completely overran Uzda and hauled a terrified Drevis V out of his palace and killed him in the temple square.

The Later Period

With Drevis dead and the rest of the royal family either killed as well or having fled to far-off corners of the empire, there was a power vacuum in Uzda.  This is the conventional start of the Later Period, a time of severe decline and increasing poverty and instability.  It is often divided into the Low Imperial and Late Imperial periods.

The Low Imperial period (458-522) was a time of near-anarchy, as seven different dynasties managed to each put one or two emperors on the throne in the course of 64 years.  Coups and counter-coups were frequent, and the army held the ultimate power to decide who would be Emperor.  Peasant uprisings were frequent as well in many provinces, but they never managed to match the numbers or organization of the Reapers and had little effect on imperial politics.  The madness came to an end with the accession of the respected general Jacinu in 522 in a coup that was supported by the merchants in the towns as well as the military and the rural grandees.  This wide base of support gave Jacinu the leverage to reestablish strong imperial control and found the Jacini dynasty.  His accession was the beginning of the Late Imperial or Jacini period (522-661), the last era of Uzdumalian power and glory.

One of Jacinu's first acts as emperor was to move the capital from Uzda to the new city of Jacina.  This was a brilliant move that consolidated his power and gave the empire an opportunity to renew its status in the eyes of a cynical populace with a shining new city.  Jacina was built slightly to the west of Uzda at the foot of one of Mount Yunika, one of the most spectacular peaks in the Tarhanian range.  It soon grew to be one of the largest cities of the empire, with a thriving merchant community and a distinguished cultural and religious tradition.

Though the Jacini Dynasty had renewed the power of the empire, economic and social conditions remained dire, and threats such as the Drakna Conspiracy were frequent.  The dynasty eventually ended when the last Jacini emperor, Arghar III, died childless in 661.  This set off such a violent struggle between power-hungry factions in Jacina that hundreds were killed and much of the city was destroyed.  This bloodbath marks the end of the Later Period and the beginning of the Last Period.

The Last Period

Although the time between the end of the Jacini Dynasty in 661 and the collapse of the empire in 696 was very short, it is traditionally considered a separate period by historians because of the importance of it for the rise of Targhandism.  The violence following the death of Arghar III eventually subsided in 663 with the victory of the Neo-Uzdan faction, whose leader, Ighidar of Uzda, took the throne, and renamed himself Devon Lars IV in homage to the Boy Emperor.  An implacable foe of the Jacini, he also renamed the capital city Naghalar and took whatever steps he could to erase Jacini influence there.  He wanted to move the capital back to Uzda, but that city had declined so much that restoring it to a state fit for an imperial capital was beyond the means of the crumbling empire.  Devon-Lars reigned over a steadily deteriorating empire until 669, when he was assassinated by an irate general and succeeded by his son Lagador II, who reigned from 669 to 679 amid mutinies, rebellions, and the steady growth of Targhandism in the eastern provinces of the empire.  By the end of his reign the eastern provinces were effectively independent states governed by Targhandist warlords, and the new faith had spread as far as Uzda and seemed poised to overtake the entire empire.

Upon Lagador II's death in 679, his incompetent son Lagador III took over and presided over the final 17 years of the empire, during which time more and more provinces became independent and the tide of Targhandism rose ever higher.  Finally, in 696, Lagador and his few remaining forces surrendered the city of Naghalar to a Targhandist force from Kreyinte, which allowed him to live in exchange for renouncing the throne and declaring the empire dissolved.  Lagador lived for another 22 years in dissolute luxury, confined to a small but well-maintained palace on the outskirts of Naghalar, but the empire was no more.  Henceforth the relationships between the various Targhandist states would dominate the political history of the area.

See also:

Artificer of Graves

Drakna Conspiracy

Mueschler