Tevinter Imperium

Tevinter Imperium is a nation that features in Dragon Age.

History

The Tevinter Imperium was a nation of humans that was formed in the mainland of the continent of Thedas. It was formed in the years after humans came to the region where several tribes began to spread through out the lands where one of them came to settle in the port-city of Minrathous. This city came to first be ruled by a dynasty of kings but in time a Circle of Magi came to form in these regions that began to develop as closed societies for mages who trained and studied the mystical arts. It's believed that around -2800 Ancient, the Old Gods began whispering to humanity from the Golden City. They taught the Dreamers of the Neromenian tribes magic, and those mages became the priests and rulers of their people. In -1700 Ancient, the Neromenian tribes eventually split into four kingdoms: Neromenian, Qarinus, Tevinter, and Barindur. By -1610 Ancient, Barindur had disappeared under mysterious circumstances; legend says that it was destroyed by the Old God Dumat for scorning his High Priest. In -1595 Ancient, Thalsian, First Priest of Dumat, claimed to have personally contacted Dumat in visions and learned blood magic, which he used to declare himself king of Neromenian. Though Thalsian was often believed to be the first blood mage, mages of the Imperial Chantry now believe that blood magic was actually learned from the elves of Arlathan rather than the Old Gods. Thalsian established temples to worship Dumat, turning dragons into a symbol of divine power and popularizing worship of the Old Gods. He is also credited for creating a mage ruling class, as many of his own pupils founded the noble houses that still rule over Tevinter to this day. In time, the Court of Magisters began to convene in Minrathous where they decided the mandate for magic in the kingdom of the Tevinter Dynasty.

In -1195 Ancient, Darinius seized the throne whereupon the the Court of the Magisters became the royal court and the title of Magister became was the only form of nobility recognized in Tevinter. He took the title of Archon whereupon he founded the Imperium whereupon he established the magisters as the new aristocracy of the Tevinter Imperium. Darinius also became the first human to successfully all with the Dwarves of Kal-Sharok where he began to extensively trade with them. A body of dwarven representatives titled Ambassadoria was established at that time to advise the Tevinter leaders and manage trade relations between the Imperium and the dwarven kingdoms. In -1195 Ancient, marked as O TE in the Tevinter Calendar, Darinius married Queen Rathana of Qarinus, joining his kingdoms to hers and founding the Tevinter Imperium where he declared himself the first Archon.

Though faded, traces of its old rule still existed across Thedas such as the Imperial Highway that was used by many and the ruins of fortresses as well as centers of magical study residing over the landscape.

A traditionalist cult known as the Venatori formed from within the Imperium though was not sanctioned by them.

The centuries-long war with the Qunari greatly taxed the Imperium of its resources that were strained as hundreds of refugees fled to the capital of Minrathous.

Overview

Its capital city was the settlement of Minrathous that was said to had once been the centre of the world.

The Imperium was a magocracy where the ruling class were spellcasters such as mages. Leadership was held by a figure who held the title of Imperial Archon who was assisted by a court of magisters that consisted of powerful though corrupt mage-lords. The Magisters replaced the older dynasty of kings that once ruled their nation with each society being ruled by a society of mages that formed the Circle of Magi. It was the Magisters formed a council of the most powerful mages in the kingdom. As such, political power rest solely in the hands of the magisters that only came from the ranks of the Circle. Every young mage aspired to become a Magister's apprentice as it served the best means of ascending the ranks to become a Magister themselves. Governance was held in the Imperial Senate with the upper house of the body being held by a Magister who sat in the Magisterium with this being the body that made the laws in the Imperium. It was also responsible for choosing a new Archon if their was no approved heir. The lower house of the senate was the Publicanium that consisted of elected officials but had no true power and was essentially a bureaucratic body.

As a empire, it was almost universally reviled by other nations. Its nobility was known to be over-indulgent, and slavery was still practiced. The Imperium was the center of the black market, smuggling including the harboring of mage fugitives from other lands and the slave trade. Tevinter would crumble without slaves, given that it is the only way to support their economy. History had shown how deeply committed they are to the practice; when an archon once outlawed slavery, the archon was quickly assassinated. Though slave rebellions occur frequently, the Imperial Senate unites in the face of 'sedition' to suppress them. Though merely a shadow of its former glory, the Imperium is still a very powerful nation with considerable military might.

Tevinter society was divided into three social classes that with each operating completely separately and different from the others. At the top were the Altus who were called the Dreamers that were descendants of those that possessed the ability to speak to the Old Gods in the Fade. Whilst the Old Gods are no longer a source of worship, the descendants of these powerful mages still held high esteem in the Imperium and were the highest ranking among the Tevinter. Below them were the Laetans that were mages born into families that had up to a point no magical ability or had been mages for generations but with no ties to the Altus class. The higher ranking Altus were known to sneer at the Laetans who in turn sneered at the Praeteri with all vying for dominance in the Magisterium. The common citizens were called the Soporati or Sleepers that had no magical talents but vastly outnumbered the wages though were beholden to their will. Some resent their standing with them plotting in secret whilst some hoped their children developed magical talents so that that they could climb the social ladder. Despite this, they made the majority of the massive class of publicans, civil servants and leaders of the Legionnaires along with forming a large merchant class. At the bottom of the society were the slave class who were similarly divided between the freed Liberati that acted as personal servants to Magisters or workers on farms and the Servus Publicus that do the lowest of tasks not deemed appropriate for citizens of the Imperium. A key resource within the Imperium was the use of slavery that was the foundation of their nation. Typically, most nations forbid the buying and sale of slaves in their borders but typically everyone shipped people to the Tevinter Imperium for sale. Slaves were used in every aspect of life within the society of the Imperium where they fought as soldiers against enemies, worked as miners, served as labourers and acted as servants to their mage overseers.

The people of the Imperium was said to treasure their past and preserved it where everything they built had been carefully preserved as well as renovated.

Originally, the Tevinter people came to believe in a pantheon known as the Old Gods. The primary religion in the Imperium by the modern era was the Imperial Chantry that replaced the worship of the Old Gods. This branch of the Chantry was shown to be more accepting of magic and even allowed men to join the ranks of the priesthood.

It drew its soldiers from its various territories with these forming the impressive Tevinter army. They were known to use elephant mounts that had been imported for centuries through the coastal colonies near the north-western jungles. Cavalry forces of the Imperium were known to ride on the back of dracolisks. The capital of Minrathous was known to be protected by a trio of gigantic war golems called the Juggernauts that had been purchased from the Dwarves.

Blood magic came to be banned by the Imperium though mages that practiced it were unofficially acknowledged as the most proficient of dreamers and diviners.

Inhabitants

• Calpernia :
• Danarius :
• Corin :
• Aurelian Titus :
• Felix Alexius :
• Francesca Invidus :
• Varian Ilithis :
• Dorian Pavus :

Notes

• The Tevinter Imperium was created by BioWare where it featured in the setting of the Dragon Age universe.

Appearances

• Dragon Age:
• Dragon Age II:
• Dragon Age: Inquisition:

External Links

• Dragon Age Wiki Entry

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