Tanuzhakid Empire

The Tanuzhakid Empire, also called the Khadrami Empire, was a medieval empire in southwest Jimmada in what is now Alero. For nearly eight centuries, the empire stretched from Jimmada in the north, Kasare in the south, the Golati mountains in the east, and the Ajo Sea in the west. The empire was founded by Jarader conquerors from what is now Agarad. These zealous conquerors swept south, using superior strategy and cavalry to defeat the native kingdoms, city states, and tribes sometime in the second century. The Tanuzhakid imperial structure as it is remembered, however, is sometimes dated to the third century, starting in the rule of Emperor Idam ha-Tanujak Ha-Khadrami. This imperial structure lasted in some form until the 1100s, until shortly after the death of the last major emperor, Arshan ha-Tanujak Ha-Khadrami. It was during Arshan's reign that the empire achieved its maximum wealth and geographical extent. Reduced subsequently by the Bindu peoples and their Great Migration, the empire was formally supplanted by the Empire of Kakere in the 12th century.

Although the Tanuzhakid Empire was created and sustained by warfare, it came to rule by establishing new administrative practices and incorporating diverse ruling elites, leading to more efficient, centralized, and standardized rule. The base of the empire's collective wealth was taxation on regional trade. These taxes, along with revenues from mineral wealth and some coastal agriculture, were paid in the well-regulated silver currency. This allowed traders and artisans to enter larger, neighboring markets. The peace maintained by the empire in its eight centuries of rule was a major factor in the economic development and expansion of what would become Alero. Burgeoning foreign presence in the Ajo sea and the demand for trade goods originating from within the empire created still greater wealth in Tanuzhakid courts. There was a great deal of conspicuous consumption among the Tanuzhakid elite, resulting in an explosion in patronage for painting, literary forms, textiles, and architecture.