Rulers of Novar Ohan

There has been a vast number of rulers across the the continent of Novar Ohan. Listed below are some of the more prominent:

Kings of Oriental Ruthenia

The Kingdom of Oriental Ruthenia was founded in modern day Agua in 1655 by boyars and peasants fleeing from power struggles and Mongols in the lands of the Rus.

King Ivan Drakharn (1655-1690)

Founder of the Kingdom, formerly Kniaz of Lykengrad-Upon-The-Don. His son was Josif Drakharn.

Radimir Drakharn (1718-1722)

His rule and those of his immediate predescessors were marked only for the collapse of his kingdom under the weight of further immigration from Russia and the arrival of large colonies of the French, Spanishand the Portuguese, who brought with them the Catholic faith. This immigration led to the formation of the Principality of Roan and the Duchy of Arquis, and a growing European population at the modern site of Port Agua. In addition, dynastic struggles in East Asia and the failure of Chinese rebellion against the Manchu led to some members of the Ming Court, their retainers, and some sympathisers fleeing to the uncivilised northlands of Novar Ohan (known to the Chinese for centuries, but rarely visited) and the foundation of The Serene Court of Yun Al-Tai in approximately 1690.

Under this pressure, the Kingdom would eventually collapse, and central authority in Agua moved up the coast to Roslin-By-the-Sea, with the eventual supercession of the old authorities by Portuguese Merchants who called the marshy territory 'Terra de água', from which the present name has appeared.

First Internecine Conflict

In 1750, the remnants of the Oriental Ruthenian Kingdom (headed by King Akim Drakharn) launched an attack upon the independent Grand Duchy of Agua (at the time under Grand Duke Afonso Emannuel II). This war would eventually pull into its orbit Prince Mikhail Chyornyev of Roan, Emperor Bao-Dong of Yun Al-Tai and Archduke Simon d'Arquis I of Arquis. The conflict lasted for 5 years, with the Grand Coalition's superior numbers being driven back by Afonso and Mikhail's superior armaments. In 1755 the Bishop of Tarniqin (then only a minor provincial town noted solely for its Cathedral) forced a peace between the Christian rulers, to which Bao-Dong also willing acceded.

Under the terms of the peace, the current political situation was recognised, with the Drakharn family being granted nominal primacy over the other established families in the south, and Bao-Dong's complete rule over the north, even at the expense of the newly forming European outposts in the region of Fort Altara and Novy Archangelsk.

Ming Bao-Dong, Eastern Ming Emperor of Yun Al-Tai

Unusually for an Altaran ruler, Bao-Dong is well-known in the lands of the south. One of the more respected figures of Divine History, his likeness can be found in halls of power from his old capital, the city of Al-Tai (modern day Altaioc), through to the Houses of Parliament in Tarniqin. Remembered primarily as a cultured, gentle man with an abiding interest in spiritualism, Bao-Dong was renowned in his time as a patron of the sensual arts.

Being determined to maintain his Empire's independence from the squabbling Europeans to the south, Bao-Dong first ended his family's emnity with the Manchu Rulers of China by forever renouncing any claim to the throne in Nanjing. He then engaged in a massive armament scheme across the northern passes of the Stony Mountains, a project which he completed in 1732 after his overseers drove hundreds of Altarans and natives to their demise. Entering the war on the part of the ORK, his men played no part in combat in the south, instead concentrating on capturing and breaking the immigrant populations in Novy Archangelsk and Fort Altara.

The Emperor being a practicing Buddhist, initially the Bishop of Tarniqin had decided to unite the South to attack and destroy Yun Al-Tai. When the two men met, however, Bishop Louis was so impressed that he was to write in his journals: "A heathen, but a cultured and intelligent heathen. He expressed much interest in the teachings of the true faith, and demonstrated to his own satisfaction (but not to mine) that the practices of Buddhism were not diametrically opposed to those of the Lord. From this opinion, it is but a short step to recognising and correcting his own folly, and embracing the true beliefs with which he shall ascend to Heaven." It was this high opinion that led to the Bishop proposing that Bao-Dong be confirmed in his overlordship of modern Altara, in the hope that continued contact with 'civilisation' would convince the Emperor and his court to renounce Buddhism and join the ranks of Christian kings.

Whether this was to be will never be known, for just two short years after the peace Bao-Dong was assassinated by a fanatical Jesuit and the Serene Court of Al-Tai collapsed into anarchy.

Mikhail Chyornyev, Prince of Roan

When the Chyornyev family established itself in Roan in 1703 with fellow colonists, no thought of rule had yet occured to them. Certainly Alexander I had little in mind besides running his own estates at Chyornograd (the estates still stand, currently run by the 'distaff' branch of the family, which in actual fact is the closer in pure bloodline to Alexander I). However, his son Mikhail had other ideas. In one short year he had, with Aguan help, made himself master of the dry lands between the Mountains of Sorrow and the marshes of Terra de Água, setting up his capital at the desert fort of Roan.

His friendship with the Grand Duke led to him counter-invading the territories of King Akim, his Legions devastating much of the eastern sections of Agua to an extent that it took twenty years for the city of Far Novgorod to recover. Unfortunately, such an attack weakened the homeguard and when the armies of Simon I marched south, they reached Roan itself before being blunted by the homeguard. Thus, while Roan's borders to the west increased at the peace conference to include Tarnaqin and Far Novgorod, it was chased from the foothills of the Rose Mountains and lost the cities of Tyrell and Maronberg.

This, however, was to be the only time that the territories of Roan and Arquis clashed, and the alliance secured the following year by the marriage of Daniil I to Lady Anabelle d'Arquis, and the conversion of Mikhail and his stalwarts to Catholicism, has never been broken. To this day, the d'Arquises are the closest allies of the Chyornyev family, and vice versa.

Simon d'Arquis I, Archduke of Arquis

When Simon's father Pierre, the second son of a minor noble from Brittany, moved to Arquis in the second inflow of immigrants, the mountainous region already had a leader in the form of a Gascon, whose name has been lost to history through the great fires of 1840 (possible candidates include Donato of Toulouse and a Lord Amiel). Simon married into this family, and took the title of Archduke as the territory of his land increased. When the war began, he led his own forces directly south, defeating Roanian garrisons but maintaining honour throughout the battles.

In recent years attempts have been made by the d'Arquis family to have Simon I beatified for his support of the Roman Catholic Church and his effective creation of the Imperial Patriarchate. The movement has gained little traction.

Alfonso Emmanuel, Grand Duke of Terra de Água

Little is now known of this shadow figure or his family, after Alexander IV (Alexander Tyomny; Alexander Duellist), Prince of Roan and Steward of the Imperium declared the Emmanuels 'Anathema', destroying them and blotting out their memory for unspecified crimes. What we do know is that Alfonso had risen to the top of Terra de Água's nebulous political system following the suspicious deaths of his older brother and sister. Having ascended to the Duchal Chair, he declared complete independence from the Oriental Ruthenian Kingdom, and set about building up his armed forces with the intention of siezing Roslin.

Akim's preemptive attack upset his calculatons, forcing Alfonso to call upon indebted friends and allies to aid him. One of his mercenary captains was a little known 'Oliver Deuchamp', who would later rise to great heights indeed.

Akim Drakharn, King of Oriental Ruthenia

The last King of Oriental Ruthenia, Akim was the fallen son of great ancestors. Keenly aware of this failing, he conceived great schemes to rebuild his family's fortunes. Firstly, he began arrogating to himself the title of 'King of Novar Ohan', proclaiming that he was the real font of all power across the south and north. In order to avoid a conflict, his counterparts politely accepted this fiction.

He then struggled to build together a coalition to destroy what he viewed as the 'rebels' in Port Agua, who had refused his demands for tribute and taxes. However, his men were products of a lost time and they easily fell beneath the rifles of the Roanian attackers.

At the end, the Bishop of Tarnaqin settled the question, restoring Akim to his pre-eminent position

Collapse of Oriental Ruthenia; War of Falling Stars

Despite the political successes of Akim Drakharn, the family was on its last legs